Steering wheel options

[Zxrob]

I find the standard steering wheel a tad large, my legs keep catching it and to be honest, not a sporty feeling, I have seen smaller ones to fit the car, questions being, any recommendations as to a nice sporty one that wont break the bank and how difficult are they to fit

Rob

[1979scotte]

I find the standard steering wheel a tad large, my legs keep catching it and to be honest, not a sporty feeling, I have seen smaller ones to fit the car, questions being, any recommendations as to a nice sporty one that wont break the bank and how difficult are they to fit

Rob

Have you considered the mot ramifications?

[Joesson]

I find the standard steering wheel a tad large, my legs keep catching it and to be honest, not a sporty feeling, I have seen smaller ones to fit the car, questions being, any recommendations as to a nice sporty one that wont break the bank and how difficult are they to fit

Rob

Have you considered the mot ramifications?

I believe I have read on here about a someone having the OE wheel reshaped / cut off at the bottom. That keeps the airbag and allows leg clearance when straight ahead but not so good on the twisties.

[Zxrob]

I find the standard steering wheel a tad large, my legs keep catching it and to be honest, not a sporty feeling, I have seen smaller ones to fit the car, questions being, any recommendations as to a nice sporty one that wont break the bank and how difficult are they to fit

Rob

Have you considered the mot ramifications?

What would they be, I would have thought the only issue would be the horn, I could wire something up, I presume you would delete the airbag and wire to suit so no warning lights, something Im missing, worse case scenario would be to put the std wheel back on for a MOT ?

Rob

[Alex Knight]

I'm using a personal neo grinta 350mm and I find it perfect 👌🏼

[Roj]

I find the standard steering wheel a tad large, my legs keep catching it and to be honest, not a sporty feeling, I have seen smaller ones to fit the car, questions being, any recommendations as to a nice sporty one that wont break the bank and how difficult are they to fit

Rob

Have you considered the mot ramifications?

What would they be, I would have thought the only issue would be the horn, I could wire something up, I presume you would delete the airbag and wire to suit so no warning lights, something Im missing, worse case scenario would be to put the std wheel back on for a MOT ?

Rob

Removing the airbag, or any other standard fit safety equipment, should result in an MOT fail. However, some testers don't seem to be fully up to speed on the rules, or they choose how and when they apply them Best check with your preferred tester for their opinion.

Either that or swap the OEM wheel back in/out once a year.

[1979scotte]

I find the standard steering wheel a tad large, my legs keep catching it and to be honest, not a sporty feeling, I have seen smaller ones to fit the car, questions being, any recommendations as to a nice sporty one that wont break the bank and how difficult are they to fit

Rob

Have you considered the mot ramifications?

What would they be, I would have thought the only issue would be the horn, I could wire something up, I presume you would delete the airbag and wire to suit so no warning lights, something Im missing, worse case scenario would be to put the std wheel back on for a MOT ?

Rob

As others have said its not just the light anymore they are supposed to see an airbag if one is fitted.

As always you can swap it back on at MOT time.

[Topdownman]

I havent removed mine for a while but not too complicated to change but releasing the airbag is a bit fiddly, the screws are hard to find. Removing the airbag connector the first time is hard until you learn how to lift up the locking clip so you can remove the connector. I had to watch youtube to find out how they work. You may want a puller to remove the wheel off the spline but not strictly necesscary.

Always disconnect the battery first as you dont want the airbag going off in your face! And dont forget to park with the wheels dead ahead when you start either.

[Petrus]

You may want a puller to remove the wheel off the spline but not strictly necesscary.

Just do not take the nut óff so you don´t whack yourself in the face with the wheel and give it a few brute thumps; it will come off.

[Petrus]

I find the standard steering wheel a tad large, my legs keep catching it and to be honest, not a sporty feeling,

The are possibly alternatives to changing the steering wheel.

It took me quite a while to find my place:
The enthusiastic steering assist lured me into sitting too far backward so as to make the legs comfie. I even wanted one click more than avileble...
Deleting the p.a.s. I wanted a bit more elbow angle ... but, but my knees!!!
I faffed A LOT with the seat angle and in the end sit more straight up, the seat one click fórward yet a cm móre under the steering wheel.


The angle/hight adjustment is a bit weird. Well not the knob but the curve of the adjustment.
It  moves the seat in sort of on arc down/back it angles the back forwards, more straight up. It gives unexpected leg room adjustment.
Have you tried to wind it to the extreme back/down?

With long legs, the seat back, the steering wheel can be a bit far forward. Mounting a higher boss to bring it closer can than create extra space for the legs too.

As a left wing option there is taking the plastic cover under the dash around the steering column out. It only serves to hold the OBD port and you can stick that behind the wheel well cover. This creates a bit of space for the knees.

My solutions:

You cannot view this attachment.

[rusty0273]

You'll need a boss kit which are a few ££. Momo or HKB. HKB comes with a resistor for the airbag connection which fits - the one with the thicker legs (not sure about the Momo kit). Make sure that the resistor is fitted nice and securely before you start up or you'll get a warning light which you'll need to delete using a coder (and not just the cheap versions).
Thin pliers needed to pull out the bolt holding the original airbag unit and as mentioned, the airbag connector is bit tricky to disconnect.
I wouldn't bother with cheap Ebay copy steering wheels - not stiff enough. There are loads of good quality options available but obviously more expensive.
I'm 6' and have a 325mm diameter wheel and a 25mm spacer, which is perfect for me. Only issue is that the top of the dials are obscured to a degree.
Re. MOT not sure how a tester is supposed to know if an airbag was originally fitted or if you actually have an airbag fitted in the original wheel, as long as you have no warning lights showing. I am going to try it in a couple of weeks. If it fails, will just refit the OEM wheel and take it back in.