Steering wheel options

[a_ahmed]

Well we have a battery thread, a seats thread, a tires thread, plenty damper threads, now I was thinking about a steering wheel thread

What do you run?

I am currently stock.. but back in the day when I was driving it half a year ago... I felt the stock steering wheel to be too large taking me too much rotation... so I was considering something 330mm/320mm... something smaller essentially... however I've never actually tested one out...

The only aftermarket steering wheel I felt was a nardi (the one thats everywhere) it felt like a retro steering wheel thats about it... not bad, but not great imho.

The rest I saw in some chinese malls lol.. was plasticy CRAP with so called brand names... if they were authentic surely they sucked big time... I remember even one guy buying off amazon.com an 'authentic' steering wheel but when I touched it.. it felt like a gran turismo playstation 2 plastic steering wheel in other words garbage.

Soft grippy Leather is what i have in mind...

One thing I noticed while reading one corvette owner's track project was he bought a grant steering wheel (apparently cheap but recommended/good best bang for the buck but not big name).

So discuss...

[turtl631]

I've got a 330mm Nardi Deep Corn. It's a simple 3 spoke wheel with a slight dish and nice perforated black leather with red stitching. At first I kinda felt like you about it, "retro, not bad but not great", but now I really like it. 330mm felt small at first but now feels perfect. With 245 MXs, 7.5 caster, this wheel, and power steering, I really like my steering feel. The wheel is definitely high quality, but also pricey.

[veilside180sx]

I personally do not like Grant wheels at all, unless you absolutely broke and can't afford anything else. (not to mention they use different hubs than everything else)

I have owned 2 Momo wheels and a couple of Sparco's as well. My prefernce are the Momo's. They just...feel right in your hand

Currently, I have a 320mm Monte Carlo and a 340mm Sparco Mugello. The Monte Carlo works great to speed up the steering a touch since the B13 has a manual rack, but I haven't tried to put it on the B14 with PS to see how it is. I have take the time to try that, in the oncoming weeks.

This is one of those things, that it broke or came off while driving...you are dead. So it's worth it to pay for a quality one. Momo, Sparco, OMP, Nardi, Personal are all good brands. If you purchase suede, expect to take care of it. The same goes for the hub that you choose to accompany it.

[a_ahmed]

I just googled up the 320mm monte carlo... looks interesting... kind of the thing i would like... i was considering a neo grinta 320mm/330mm... i guess that would do.

What sort of hubs would you recommend also... how much is the monte carlo also

[veilside180sx]

I got my Monte Carlo used for free, with a car I purchased=)

Both the Momo and Sparco hubs are nice and TUV rated. I have one of each to match the wheels currently. FYI the Momo Mod 78 is identical to the Monte Carlo, but is suede. (in case that's what you wanted)

On a 240 I kind of prefer a straight round wheel with out any raised portions and a little dish to it. The Sentra's have more of an upright seating position while the 240 is a little more laid back, so it's nice to have the wheel a little closer to you. The downside is that the dished wheels only come in 350mm, so it's a tough decision.

http://shopmomo.stores.yahoo.net/momosteering.html

[turtl631]

My hub is a Works Bell. It's a high quality Japanese hub with a resistor pack for the airbag system so the passenger airbag still works. Cheap hubs are more work to get functioning properly. I recall that the Momo was reputed to be a pain for the S14, not sure about S13.

[spool_sample]

My hub is a Works Bell. It's a high quality Japanese hub with a resistor pack for the airbag system so the passenger airbag still works. Cheap hubs are more work to get functioning properly. I recall that the Momo was reputed to be a pain for the S14, not sure about S13.

The Works Bell is a good hub, but I'm not entirely sure why they leave such a huge gap between the hub and steering column.

[McCoy]

I've got a 330mm Sparco Ring and have been happy with it. The size seems right for me, and it feels good in the hands. It also helps that I only paid $40 for it

Of course I think I'd be happy with about any steering wheel as long as it sits in the right place. I use a 50mm spacer with a momo hub adapter and it sits just right for me, elbows bent just like I like them

[a_ahmed]

^wow awesome setup although i dont like the D shaped wheels... I am kind of tall/big... with an aftermarket seat i guess thats a good idea... i pretty much have the stock wheel adjusted all the way up..and moved the seat inwards so that i can have my elbows bent... it feels so far away though.. yet the knee space is at the very limit with my legs heh...

[turtl631]

That's why I loved having my wheel so much- with the hub, quick release, and the dish of the wheel, it sticks out towards me pretty far. I have tons of leg room and don't feel like I'm reaching far forward for the wheel. I also like the QR for the theft protection aspect. I live in a pretty shady area unfortunately and park on the street. Supposedly the new thing around here is taking a Sawzall to truck/SUV cats to sell them for the platinum. Luckily my car has about 4" of ground clearance so ain't nobody crawling under there.

[underdog17]

how hard was it to install that wheel on your s14? and does your passenger side airbag and horn still work?

also i like that shift knob

[turtl631]

The wheel was easy to install. The Works Bell hub comes with a resistor that tricks the airbag system into thinking the stock wheel airbag is still there, so the passenger airbag still works. Horn works as well, although the horn button actually shot out and hit me in the face a few weeks ago and I haven't bothered to put it back in yet. The shift knob is a JDM '99 Z32 one; when I swapped chassis the original owner wanted the shift knob back for sentimental reasons so I needed one asap. And I'm a sucker for red stitched black leather

[spool_sample]

Since we're sharing setups:




Suede is the best **** ever... the wheel never slips out of my hands, gloves or no.

Also, by the look of turtl's pics, my wheel sits almost as close as his without the QR, being the 350mm deep corn instead of the 330mm. So if a QR isn't quite in the budget, this is a nice option. I sometimes wish it was a little further back, though, since when I'm driving, I like to stuff myself close to dash.

[e1_griego]

I sit pretty far back, and I have my wheel spaced out pretty far back as well. I have QR and a 40mm spacer haha. I might swap the 40mm out for a 20mm, but I'm not sure. I currently have a 350mm momo competition that's a bit tired, but my new 350mm Momo Monte Carlo should be here in a couple days. Not sure if I should have gone with the 320mm, but oh well.

Alex

[underdog17]

I'm a sucker for red stitched black leather

who isn't? i picked up a new shift boot off ebay for ~$35 shipped that is red stitched and black leather and it looks so nice and clean i definitely recommend picking one up if yours is in disrepair. now i just need a nifty shift knob like you've got to match