New steering wheel is in!!

[boostjunkie]

Geez, I never really realized what people were talkin about when they'd speak of changing out thei steering wheel for an aftermarket (read: smaller) steering wheel. For the record, it's a 330-340mm Pilot steering wheel and it must have been discontinued, because I can't find it ANYWHERE! Even on their website (www.pilotautomotive.com)!! Kinda cool, cause there will be less people with this wheel driving around :p Here are my results:

Ergonomics - I'm a pretty short guy, 5'6", and don't have too wide of a shoulder width, so I like how the wheel is smaller in diameter as my arms end up angling towards each other until the point of contact with the steering wheel. Seems a little more natural to me, but anyways . . . The wheel is not as deep, which means I can set my seating postion PERFECTLY. Something I couldn't do with the wheel I had in there . . . Just the right width to keep all of the dash gauges in sight. If I had gone smaller there would've been some hidden idiot lights. Also, the wheel uncovers some of my partially hidden boost gauge display. Has been a nuisance for a while now.

Styling - Hands down, better than any stocker, unless you're talkin about the STi v3 wheel, but I'm not sure whether that wheel is as small. I thought I remember people saying it was the same size as the stockers we get.

Feel - The wheel weighs close to twice the weight of the stocker (without airbag). This extra weight prevents the wheel from randomly jerking itself when going over ruts and such. The smaller diameter gives a more precise feel of the road when turning (not that semi-floaty-am-I-really-turning-the-wheels? feeling. But not too small to prevent quick turn situations such as parking.

Problems - the wheel needed to be mated to a Grant wheel hub adapter. Everything bolted up fine but the hub adapter didn't have a provision for the the grounding ring harness adapter piece. I could've drilled a hole to make a provision for this piece but opted instead to break off that piece. No more horn, until I can figure out a way to re-wire one in. No cruise control either . . . check the classifieds for these pieces if interested. Hehe.

So there you have it. Pics to come shortly.

[evolutionmovement]

Sounds similar to what I've got in my car. The difference is really amazing. I was disappointed with the Legacy when I got it due to the (for me) overagressive power steering and wishy washy feel. I was used to armstrong steering GLs and Zs to that point. When I put the wheel on it was like a different car. Now it has more feel than any new cars I've driven and for that alone I wouldn't get anything else. It feels almost like manual steering and reduced torque steer and bump steer to almost nothing. In fact the car will spin both tires in a straight line instead of one unless there's an uneven load on them like a weak limited slip (nothing to do with the wheel, just thought I'd mention it).

The Grant adaptors do suck. Mine had the adaptor to use the horn, but the horn button on the Grant wheel never worked right so I rewired a button to the lower right of the wheel in the plastic surround. I wanted to put a switch on the wheel for the horn like some of the more expensive wheels, but I couldn't find the right button. Also lost cruise control as I was too lazy to do the work required to fit it to the adaptor. I hate cruise anyway.

Steve

[boostjunkie]

[boostjunkie]

[magnux]

Jeez man, you better be careful.. in that first pic it looks like you're on a collision course for the sun.

In any event, nice steering wheel.. it adds a whole new look/feel to the interior, doesn't it?

[BAC5.2]

I'm still trying to find a WRX Momo steering wheel for as little as possible with air-bag

[magnux]

I'm still trying to find a WRX Momo steering wheel for as little as possible with air-bag

I believe mine was $75 @ NASIOC.

[boostjunkie]

Jeez man, you better be careful.. in that first pic it looks like you're on a collision course for the sun.

In any event, nice steering wheel.. it adds a whole new look/feel to the interior, doesn't it?

Nah, that's me hittin LUDICROUS speed!! LOL!

The addition of the wheel definitely added to my liking of driving this car!! That's for sure.

evolutionmovement, which wheel do you have on your car?

BAC5.2, I thought about a wrx wheel, but at a premium price of around $200 or so for a wheel that is the same size as stock, it wasn't worth it to me, especially since I don't have an airbag in my car stock. Add to that, the momo symbol fell off of my shift knob a LONG time ago. No need to match it anymore.

[BAC5.2]

I don't really have any issues with the stock wheelsize. It's almost the exact same wheel that's in my 95. I do have the air-bag, so I'd like to keep that. Plus, the WRX wheel looks so cool .

Magnux - I hate you now

[evolutionmovement]

Boostjunkie - I don't know what the wheel's called. I bought it about seven years ago for my last Subaru in Virginia near an ex's place. It was about $60. I liked it because it reminded me of the older sports car wheels. Here's an old shot of it. The horn button wasn't installed yet, but would be under the wheel adaptor to the right.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... 06a819.jpg

Steve

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Hey Junkie, i didnt see anywhere in here how much that wheel was. I really like the way it looks, and would like to get one for my Legacy.

-Brian