Well, on my white Miata... i disconnected the power steering.. so i was running a power steering rack with no pump. i loved it, the steering ratio was killer and i could flick the wheel around.

My new car has powersteering though, im not ditching it becaues it feels better then my p.s. on my old car.

From a Miata stand point... a de-powered rack is very nice and direct with just enough weight on the steering wheel to make it feel right.. gotta remember the cars weight/tires selection and alignment make a HUHE difference when you take out powersteering too. I might try no p.s. on my green car one day. The reason i took it off my white car was because when making very quick transitions the pump couldnt keep up and i would end up fighting the wheel when i wasnt expecting to.