Steering wheel and boss

[Bossworld]

I'm going to fitting an aftermarket too.  What operates the indicator self-cancelling?  And the airbag resistor, is there a tolerance or does it need to be 3.3 Ohm. Wattage?

The Momo boss has two lumps on the rear at 3 and 9 o'clock. This, I believe, is what was referred to in the long winded Spyderchat Momo hack write up. I think there must not have been a mk3 specific boss at the time. Will confirm tomorrow but these same lumps are on the stock wheel and should act as the indicator cancelling mechanism.

The Momo comes with a plug in resistor with what looks like a 2amp fuse on two pieces of wire. Now I was never very good at science but I assume its resistance is the 3.3ohm mark that's required. This plugs into the two smaller holes on the yellow clock spring

[Gaz mr-s]

Ok thanks.  I've seen 3.3 ohm mentioned...... can anyone shed light whether that's the correct figure or if there's a tolerance.
Presumably it's low current & therefore low wattage...?

[Bossworld]

Ok thanks.  I've seen 3.3 ohm mentioned...... can anyone shed light whether that's the correct figure or if there's a tolerance.
Presumably it's low current & therefore low wattage...?

3.3ohm seems to very common across the web. As before, the Momo boss comes with it, is collapsible and is 'reasonably' priced.  If you've not already got one, I'd go for that.

Took the car out for a spin today having tightened everything down.

Long term impressions

+ve

• I fit in, at 6 foot 2, can easily swap between brake and accelerator without pain, wonderful
• It's an absolute hoot around roundabouts
• It feels chunky and secure
• My horn works fine
• Airbag light comes on with the ignition then goes off
• It's easy to get in and out of the car
• The additional feedback versus the stock wheel makes a big difference around S bends and country lanes

-ve

• It is small, and therefore low-speed maneuvering is taking more effort than before
• I think the boss makes it ever so slightly off-centre in comparison to the stock wheel, though it could be that it's just more noticeable with the smaller wheel
• Not a criticism of a modified wheel or boss, but a critique of the stock wheel.  The screws that retain the air bag are an absolute nightmare to get out of the housing/get the airbag past the captive area!

My home made horn grounding cable.  Connected to the rearside of one of the screws that connects the wheel to the boss, and I've added a nut to secure it.  Excuse the poor soldering.



Only other fitting notes - follow Lee's video all the way through, these are only suggestions:

1) I would recommend you dismantle the original white connector for the horn. You can then bend the connector pin ever so slightly, and fit it onto the receiving pin without needing to solder at that end.
2) I soldered the extension cable to the original cable.  Couple of reasons a) I can simply use a desolder braid to undo it after b) it was loose when just connected - I guess you could crimp it but I didn't fancy it
3) If you have a wheel that doesn't include an earthing point, and your combination of wheel + boss doesn't allow for use of the horn retainer ring (as per mine), you will need to imagine up something to earth the horn.
4) I left the airbag connector and the resistor, bent and taped together, in the outer void between the boss and the clock spring.  The clock spring still turns absolutely fine, but I didn't want more wiring stuck through where I was trying to tighten down the 19mm.  I may have to revisit this if it causes any problems with the indicators but I don't think it will.

[shnazzle]

How has it made it a hoot around roundabouts?

[ManInDandism]

Also - trust that you have some contingency for MOT time? Tester might to expect an airbag.

[shnazzle]

The term "rally car" is sufficiently vague that its yet another thing that's down to tester discretion.

Take cptspaulding for example; he does rallies in near-stock cars. Closer to stock than what we would consider rally. But, it's most definitely a "rally car". So, under that rule, the steering wheel is allowed.

One tester may want to see numbers, bucket seats, harnesses and roll bars to allow a steering wheel without original airbag. Another tester may be happy with some modified suspension, bracing and thr word of the client.

Good excuse to mod your car more

Mine with "enhanced" suspension, all the bracing, track alloys and engine mods would probably pass the bill quite easily for an aftermarket wheel

If you want to "fake it 'till you make it" for MOT time, screw in some bright tow-straps and mount a fire extinguisher visibly in the car.

[Bossworld]

How has it made it a hoot around roundabouts?

I was never any good at physics and my two As at GCSE science owed more to 4 out of 6 papers being multiple choice. But in the same way as it's more effort at low speed manoeuvring, as the circumference is smaller, it requires less movement of wheel through the hands in comparison to stock.

Does that make sense? I'm trying to apply the reverse logic as you'd have with a breaker bar as opposed to a standard ratchet handle. I still have the same number of turns lock to lock but as there is less wheel, I don't need to physically pass as much of it through my hands.

When I had the new tyres fitted, they rang a couple of local MoT stations that they'd use and neither had an issue with it, providing the airbag light isn't on.

[shnazzle]

I see what you mean. Shorter leverage arm. Less distance, more effort.

[Bossworld]

I see what you mean. Shorter leverage arm. Less distance, more effort.

Indeed, added a couple of screen grabs where someone has explained it better than me.

I should add that other than risk of a) misaligning the wheel and b) I'm not sure how much force it would take to remove this wheel/boss, you're talking a 15 minute job to swap it back to stock if necessary. Would probably take longer to get those bloody T30 screws back in/out of the stock wheel

My last point on the matter having driven out this morning. A 320/330 deep dish wheel would likely be more liveable and may still give the same legroom benefits. But, you'll be reaching for your indicators

[Gibla]

May end up sending back as I'm unsure if 300mm is going to be too small to drive with but will at least be a useful test for knee clearance/indicator reach.  Also got a horrible feeling that the price means it'll be a return of the one in the pictures (with the scratch but again we'll see).

I think I'm after a 320mm deep dish wheel.

I fitted a 330mm Personal Neo Grinta wheel (pictured below) a couple of years back, and I ended up selling it because 330mm felt too small.

Bought another Personal Neo Grinta wheel in 350mm and felt it was perfect.

Hi Alex, 2 years on , how are you getting on with the steering wheel, were there any issues with fitting it, would you consider this a thin or thick wheel? Its a toss up with one similar to yours or one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/MoMo-TUN35BK0S-Momo-mom11110335111-Steering-Wheel/dp/B000675ZU2/ref=pd_vtp_2/261-4866431-2743243?pd_rd_w=X1CON&pf_rd_p=f8be2100-4de3-46b4-9cb2-76b688b54cf4&pf_rd_r=P7RQ6N3TAGR5XSWB27KM&pd_rd_r=cb6d3663-a973-4693-9fae-2f42aa25b643&pd_rd_wg=mPNav&pd_rd_i=B000675ZU2&psc=1

[Alex Knight]

May end up sending back as I'm unsure if 300mm is going to be too small to drive with but will at least be a useful test for knee clearance/indicator reach.  Also got a horrible feeling that the price means it'll be a return of the one in the pictures (with the scratch but again we'll see).

I think I'm after a 320mm deep dish wheel.

I fitted a 330mm Personal Neo Grinta wheel (pictured below) a couple of years back, and I ended up selling it because 330mm felt too small.

Bought another Personal Neo Grinta wheel in 350mm and felt it was perfect.

Hi Alex, 2 years on , how are you getting on with the steering wheel, were there any issues with fitting it, would you consider this a thin or thick wheel? Its a toss up with one similar to yours or one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/MoMo-TUN35BK0S-Momo-mom11110335111-Steering-Wheel/dp/B000675ZU2/ref=pd_vtp_2/261-4866431-2743243?pd_rd_w=X1CON&pf_rd_p=f8be2100-4de3-46b4-9cb2-76b688b54cf4&pf_rd_r=P7RQ6N3TAGR5XSWB27KM&pd_rd_r=cb6d3663-a973-4693-9fae-2f42aa25b643&pd_rd_wg=mPNav&pd_rd_i=B000675ZU2&psc=1

I'm still very much a fan of this wheel, and haven't had any thoughts about changing at all.

In my opinion, Personal make the best wheels in the business.

I wouldn't consider this to be thick, or thin. I would consider it to be just right, but I am aware that this can be subjective.

As a side note, I would advise anyone who is considering getting a suede wheel on a daily driver to consider a leather wheel instead. Suede wheels attract and trap dirt very easily, and require regular cleaning to stay looking and feeling nice.