The best hydraulic steering
 

i am a little confused at the moment. i am trying to find the best full hydraulic steering system to be mounted between the drives, i can buy, without waisting money. one seller says zeiger is the best, the only one with stainless ram, not chrome plated like all the others and the biggest ram. the other says imco triangle, easy to install and the most common system. the other want to sell mayfair, the most complete system for least money.

its really hard to get answers, but i think this is the reason why i am in this forum. you guys have the real experience and are able to help me out, like you did a few times.

thank you at this point.
chris

2 bravo I, 34" centerline, rams to be mounted between gimbals, full system wanted from helm to tiebar, (which i have). Stainless Steel for saltwater. Budget around 4.000,- usd .

Marine macihine and latham marine top notch(most expensive),zeiger marine next level,imco marine the most affordable,all will get the job done,have installed them all and very few issues with any of them,all depends on how much you want to spend

as i said in the beginning, i do not want to waste money, just to have a special brand. i want the best steering. if the cheapest is no quality differnece to the more expensive, i will be happy with the cheapest.

For a plessure boat and not a super fast cat ,,,they will all work and are all SS,,,No money wasted at all ,,on none off them.

I would go with IMCO,,,seen raceboats with them and NO problem.:ernaehrung004:

For your baha i would go with the imco kit,very complete kit nice dual bracket for mounting the rams,just installed one on a 32 sunsation

Unfortunately thats like asking what is the best boat.

They are all very well made and its mostly your budget and application that determines the kit you go with. All the names listed are quality products and you cant go wrong with either of them.

Email me at [email protected] and I can get you several prices on Mayfair, Zeigler and Imco if you want.

Kirk

i asked about 5 sellers to find out what are the advantages of the different brands. in the end i do not know more and i am still confused. the price range for a full steering system is between 3.450,- and 4.050,- for mayfair, imco and zeiger.

did anybody have any issue with one of the systems? if they are really all the same quality, i will buy the cheapest.

YEP,,,cheapest is fine !!!!!!:ernaehrung004: And let me quess ,,IMCO ?! right?:rolleyes:

mayfair seems to be cheapest. than imco and zeiger is most expensive.

a very confusing thing is that a distributor said: Zeiger is stainless and Imco and Mayfair are good systems too but the rams are bronze with a chrome coating, not so good in salt water.

is this true?

Not true.

very interesting!!!

I just put a full Latham system on my single V over the winter and have had the boat out once since and eveything work out great, and I feel the quailty of the Latham parts are second to none, but its a little more than your budget probably. Steve

just a little more?

Well I really liked the way the Latham system looked and the quailty of the overall system, had I not gotten the deal on the Latham I was going to go with the ziegler as my second choice sometimes you get what you pay for, my .02

can you give me an idea how much i would pay for a latham?

Not really sure but I'm sure there are dealers on here that would shoot you a price. It ain't gonna be nearly as cheap as the Mayfair or Imco and if cost is your major concern the Marfair is a very nice system for the price. As stated above any will probably do you just fine. It really comes down to how you like the way it looks and the price your willing to spend.

I bet it made a huge difference Steve. I am looking forward to seeing your setup in May

I'll be there!! Wanted to take it the other day but we know how that turned out:angry-smiley-044:. Really hadn't had much time to play since i put it all on, but spring is in the air minus the 6" of snow that dumped on us last night :rolleyes:

Cool..

Fire me your number over to the Donzi site. I was going to give you a call to catch up.

I can hook you up with IMCO at a deal - good system, easy install - never had any issues.....

Christian,

Nice chatting with you the other day. I hope I was of help. :)

The best values for the dollar Im ny opinion are Imco, Zieger & Mayfair. My preferences are the first 2. Also the Latham is an excellent product but will be substantially more for the parts. I have Latham on my Donzi as per my email in response to yours yesterday. However for what it is worth we install more Imco's & Zieger systems than any of the other ones out there.. I also would not have any problems running them on my boat as again they too are good quality units.

Good luck in your quest which ever way you decide to go.. :)

Jamie

i still did not decide what to buy, but i got good support from you, this make you stand in the first row. (together with two other companies) :ernaehrung004:

We installed Marine Marine steering on a twin Bravo set up on ext boxes in 1994-1995. I have a lot of high performance hours on my boat and we have never had one issue with the MM steering system since the install; it has performed flawlessly.

I have to say ,,,smae thing here,,,,MM on the raceboat i have since 1992 !!!!

Had to replace the o rings in the cylinders (15 Bucks ) and easy to do ,did it last year .

But still performing perfect !!!:ernaehrung004:

WOW! I guess I never really realized the many myths and just how confusing it must be for the consumer to understand the steering market and from our stand point we should do a better job. We sell every brand of steering on the market today. But I think what you may appreciate are some history and facts as I imagine only a few of the forum members have seen every system up close and its contents.

Let me try and clarify a few things first or all everyone's steering system available will work for your application. What separates all of them is mostly just how much money the MFG is trying to make as well as the quality of materials, ease of installation, tech support and knowledge, and I think value is what your looking for if I'm not mistaken?.

Mayfair and Latham have been around since the inception of power boating. Marine Machine was a split off from Mayfair at the end of a bad partnership. The others all came along as the market has grown. In the early days most outdrive attachment was done with a hand fabricated "Wing Plate" Mayfair was a pioneer of this system and it is still used today in all serious racing applications that don't have factory integrated steering. Latham developed the rear cap style steering mount. By manufacturing this part from a premium stainless steel they were able to develop a more cost effective bolt on design for a steering mount. This has been a great part to fit most boating applications for years. Later Imco ventured into this market with there own version of the Latham end cap but in aluminum. Their objective was to build a less expensive system. The problem is the aluminum cap isn't rigid enough so it requires you to literally drill and tap another hole in your outdrive for mounting purposes and this is what brings about the next evolution in steering.

Due to improper installation of the rear cap designs that require drilling of the outdrive cases Mercury finally puts their foot down and says no more "Warranty" on any outdrive using a modified or removed rear end cap style steering system!!!. At the same time Mercury decided they would change the design and shape of the Bravo outdrive to the new slope back design thus challenging the aftermarket steering companies again.

This is where Mayfair a industry pioneer comes in again as their engineering and R&D staff tackled this problem. Starting with a clean sheet of paper and no copy of any other MFG Mayfair designed an entirely new 316L Stainless Steel "Modular Wing Plate Cradle" design. This allows the new mayfair steering system to encapsulate the whole outdrive by mounting through (Not Removing) the rear end cap and also mounting to the outdrives mounting studs. This system is designed to work with the new slope back drive as well as the original Bravo out drive. The only other company to tackle this new design is Zeiger.

I know this is lengthy but I figured some clarification might be needed. So lets look at the rest of the components so that you can continue to compare. All of these brands use S.S rams (Imco, Mayfair, Latham, Zeiger). So next what separates these systems is hose connections and components. Mayfair uses S.S braided hose with one piece S.S thru hulls. While some brands choose a cheaper rubber hydraulic hose, two peise thru hulls, and brass fittings.

But I think what your going to find in the end is some of the MFG's are just trying to make a lot of money on their parts? either that or they just don't know how to source their parts very well. Because the Mayfair system offers more value than any kit on the market for less money PERIOD. Luckily for us that the Mayfair folks have the expertise and manufacturing skills to bring to market new designs at reduced costs. Remember anyone can make a great product but making a great product affordable is really the art. Here's some examples.

http://www.keitheickert.com/detail.aspx?ID=8979 Mayfair System

http://www.keitheickert.com/detail.aspx?ID=1735 Marine Machine

http://www.keitheickert.com/detail.aspx?ID=10174 Zeiger Steering

Jamie,

I have a question since you are a very valued forum member can you explain exactly why you chose the first two? What features did they offer that separated them from the Mayfair system? Have you ever actually had or seen the Mayfair system in your own hands and can you elaborate?

Just curious

Thanks for all of your contributions

I have seen and installed several Mayfair systems (along with every other system made) and can not say enough good things about it. I also have had several back and forth emails with the member that started this thread(chris-jack) I told him in every email that if I were him, I would buy the Mayfair. I also like the IMCO kit, but Mayfair offers a more complete kit, with more components(like a reservior, ALL new hoses and fittings, etc) than the IMCO and at a cheaper price. I like the IMCO for his application because of the use of the Unimount(triangle mount between drives). It is a very clean install that saves quite a bit of install time since it is all assembled. I still think the Mayfair is the best bang for the buck... Period. Hope this helps, Eddie.

PS. Chris-jack has been given a bunch of false info by at least one dealer in order to sell a particular system. Chris, you are getting straight answers here, and some from the manufacturers themselves. KEPP reiterated what I told you that no system is using brass rams. I'm not sure who told you that but if I were you, I would stay away from them.

i have learned a lot about steerings and people. :ernaehrung004:
Eddie, i had a good feeling when talking with you about the pro and cons. at the moment i am thinking about buying in europe, because shipping costs a lot and i will have to pay 10% duty and 20% tax on it. in the end i pay near the double on american products than you have to pay. it´s a shame.

Eddie,
thanks for giving the member good insightful facts about each product and your preferences. Consumers need this quality unbiased information.

Best Regards
Keith Eickert Performance Products

You are correct the outside of the USA shipping is expensive to say the least.. This usually makes any sales tough for any dealer. Sometimes it is easier to buy inside of your own country if you can.. I wish shipping outside of the USA was easier & a bit less costly. I would make it much easier for all of us to do business outside of the US.. Jamie

I purchased a Mayfair hydraulic system, full from helm back for dual Bravos a few years ago from Hardin in FL. I thought the Mayfair was the best bang for the buck. All the items are excellent quality. The machining detail & finish on the column provides a nice bling for the helm. System was very complete with all external braided stainless hoses, filter, fittings, bulk internal hose, reservoir, etc. The documentation was very good, and Jeff at Hardin was excellent to deal with.

Some things to consider:
a) Not all systems include the external reservoir.
b) All systems basically use the same Eaton helm units, but CC displacement varies.
c) Different manufacturers use different fitting materials & finishes
d) Not all manufacturers use a backing plates inside the transom, they only use fender washers.
e) If dual Bravo set-up, do you plan on using a single pump or dual pumps. The dual pumps require a different plumping & priority valve arrangement.