What ever happened to Quadrasteer ?

[White Lightening]

Greetings Fellow Silverado fanciers,

In 2003, GM stated that they expected to have Quadrasteer in all their GMC/Chevy trucks by 2005 - then they came out with it in a couple select models - and that seems to have been it.

GM hit the PR hard about why everyone would and should have quadrasteer eventually - yet it seems like they've pretty much now downplayed it almost entirely. Obviously it added to the cost - and made it a bit stiffer - but still - it seems like GM has abandonded the concept that was to be their biggest truck "thing" in the last decade.

Anybody know what the scoop is on Quadrasteer?

[BlenderWizard]

AFAIK it was unpopular, and has since been discontinued.

On a side note, my last vehicle was a Prelude with 4WS, and, man, a car with 4WS is awesome to drive, and I bet the QuadraSteer Silverado was no slouch.

[dr_of_lovephd]

I saw an interview with the guy who was in charge of the silverado at GM and I think he headed the development of the quadrasteer project. He said everyone at GM loved the feature and most people who bought it really enjoyed it, but they could not sell enough of them to justify keeping the feature.

Personally, I think the biggest mistake was that the quadrasteer was not a feature that could be added to a normal silverado. The trucks had a special bed with fender flares on it. That meant the trucks had to be special made. In other words it was not a feature that could just be added at the factory or that the dealer could add.

If it was just an add on, I think they would have keep it around. But since it required the truck to be specially made, it was probably not worth the extra expense.

[guumbah]

Quadrasteer is amazing IMO. I love mine. I can park this behemoth anywhere, turn completely around on the street in front of my house (my wife's Passat can barely do it!), it corners better than my friend's normal Silvy at high speed, cornering with a trailer is way easier, I could go on and on.

Unfortunately, it's been discontinued. Delphi is no longer even manufacturing the units. They used to give out free stickers, and when I wrote to their PR people, I was informed that the program had been completely halted. Makes me sad. I love it enough that if I ever run this one into the ground, I'll probably hunt down a later model (I think 2005 was the last year) instead of buying a NEW truck.

[guumbah]

Originally Posted by dr_of_lovephd

Personally, I think the biggest mistake was that the quadrasteer was not a feature that could be added to a normal silverado. The trucks had a special bed with fender flares on it. That meant the trucks had to be special made. In other words it was not a feature that could just be added at the factory or that the dealer could add.

The bed is not really special, it just has special skins on the side. They are made of the same plastic as the Saturns, I think. They are basically just to comply with the law that the fender has to extend far enough to cover the wheel, because the axle is slightly wider, and the wheel will obviously flex out when turned. On the inside, the bed is the same as any other. The system itself just bolts up, the problem is the computer and harness. I've read on some Quadrasteer forums where guys were trying to add it to a normal truck, and apparently it's just a matter of hooking the Quadrasteer module into the vehicle speed sensor, and steering position sensor, and then wiring up the switch in the dash. I don't know if the guys doing it ever actually did it, but there was a whole discussion of the tech requirements, and it definitely seemed doable. Point is, you are right, it is dumb. If it's easy enough that there is a way to rig it up, how hard would it have been to design it from the start as a plug in type of deal. The bedskins and axle just bolt on in place of standard stuff.

[White Lightening]

I guess if Quadrasteer was a "small thing" it might make sense that it would get phased out so easily. However it wasn't a "small thing" - at least not if you measured it byt GM's proclamations or its quadrasteer advertising budget and efforts. When GM first announced the quadrasteer - it claimed that in less than 18 months of introduction - every GM full sized truck would be quadrasteer.

How could they have been so far off? So blatantly bad. They took a "corvette" idea - and made it into an "Edsel" activity. The concept was excellent - yet GM seemed to fail to have any sense of implementation of it to the markets. Maybe I should say it another way - how could they take a great idea and screw it up so bad - and still get paid big salaries for it? I believe we'll see the quadrasteer process come again in the future - but from the foreign makers - and it will be a big hit. My single biggest pain with my Silverado - is a 46 foot turning radius - its the Number 1 negative.

White Lightening

[TexasF355F1]

It was gay, that's what happened to it.

[16th hippy]

well, the foreign equivalent of "quadrasteer" was on the twin turbo 300ZX's in the early 90's.....they called it HIKIS or something like that....pronounced hi-kiss. from what i heard from people who owned the cras with it, when it worked was badass, but bad about going out. personally never saw one go out.

also, IMO, a sierra with quad would EASILY turn circles around that gay ass beamer in that pic...just my ...not to mention i am not the biggest fan of beamers.

[guumbah]

Turning radius is like ten feet less than normal of same wheelbase. The street in front of my house is less than 40 feet wide, and I can do it gutter to gutter without rubbing or needing somebody's driveway, if I slow down.

[White Lightening]

Originally Posted by guumbah

Turning radius is like ten feet less than normal of same wheelbase. The street in front of my house is less than 40 feet wide, and I can do it gutter to gutter without rubbing or needing somebody's driveway, if I slow down.

Yes - I heard the turning ability is really sweet. All my previous vehicles prior to the current Silverado were in the 35 to 36 feet radius. 10 feet more - you get used to it - but not happy with it. Especially with the newer parking lots - there is just no swing room getting into ever narrower slots.

One question on your quadrasteer. I'd heard they are stiffer than the normal truck - someone described it to me as a bit like driving a Ford Explorer as far as stiffness/bounce. How would you describe the ride difference between a normal Silverado and the quadrasteer?

White Lightening

[guumbah]

It came with the selectable ride package, which means stiffer shocks stock. When I first got it, it definitely rode a little stiffer than my friend's crew cab. I changed the shocks to some standard light truck shocks and unhooked the ride control (never need it, plus nearly $200/shock was outrageous) and it improved it a lot. Still not quite as nice as my other friend's crew cab long bed Duramax rode, but seems almost the same to me as the first guy's truck I mentioned.

[TexasF355F1]

Originally Posted by 16th hippy

well, the foreign equivalent of "quadrasteer" was on the twin turbo 300ZX's in the early 90's.....they called it HIKIS or something like that....pronounced hi-kiss. from what i heard from people who owned the cras with it, when it worked was badass, but bad about going out. personally never saw one go out.

also, IMO, a sierra with quad would EASILY turn circles around that gay ass beamer in that pic...just my ...not to mention i am not the biggest fan of beamers.

Yea right.

[lamehonda]

That is a funny argument to make against the BMW since the most desirable cars have a turning radius that is complete crap "<>"

[BlenderWizard]

Originally Posted by 16th hippy

well, the foreign equivalent of "quadrasteer" was on the twin turbo 300ZX's in the early 90's.....they called it HIKIS or something like that....pronounced hi-kiss. from what i heard from people who owned the cras with it, when it worked was badass, but bad about going out. personally never saw one go out.

also, IMO, a sierra with quad would EASILY turn circles around that gay ass beamer in that pic...just my ...not to mention i am not the biggest fan of beamers.

Yeah, I already mentioned my Prelude, dude. It knocked 3 feet off the standard Prelude turning radius.

[BlenderWizard]

Originally Posted by White Lightening

I guess if Quadrasteer was a "small thing" it might make sense that it would get phased out so easily. However it wasn't a "small thing" - at least not if you measured it byt GM's proclamations or its quadrasteer advertising budget and efforts. When GM first announced the quadrasteer - it claimed that in less than 18 months of introduction - every GM full sized truck would be quadrasteer.

How could they have been so far off? So blatantly bad. They took a "corvette" idea - and made it into an "Edsel" activity. The concept was excellent - yet GM seemed to fail to have any sense of implementation of it to the markets. Maybe I should say it another way - how could they take a great idea and screw it up so bad - and still get paid big salaries for it? I believe we'll see the quadrasteer process come again in the future - but from the foreign makers - and it will be a big hit. My single biggest pain with my Silverado - is a 46 foot turning radius - its the Number 1 negative.

White Lightening

Why do you think the F-Body died? Or the VHO and VortecMAX trucks didn't get crazy sales numbers? GM is a bunch of morons when it comes to advertising cool products.

After about 1993 (roughly) I NEVER saw a tv ad about either F-Body. I only heard breif mention of the VortecMAX model in one commercial, and there was that one Quadrasteer commercial where the guy backed the truck and trailer into a tight spot around a horse corral, and that was the end of it.

GM usually has some fairly innovative products, but they fail miserably at making the public aware of them.