Is it just me or is the pencil-thin steering wheel in our cars uncomfortably small? After an hour of driving my hands cramp up or get numb. In the past I've always dealt with this by getting a Momo wheel or a steering wheel cover but I don't want to lose the airbag and steering wheel covers are just plain tacky.

So, after a bit of research, I found http://dallassteeringwheel.com/

It seems the Mustang and Porsche guys love this place. I called up and spoke with Don for a while and decided that the thick (1/8") padding and a standard leather recover is what I was looking for. All in all, it was $330 shipped to get the stock wheel padded and recovered.

So, I shipped off my wheel on a Friday, FedEx Ground, and got it back on Thursday afternoon. The wheel looks great. It went from 4" in diameter to 4.5" in diameter. The leather is top notch and the wheel is infinitely more comfortable to hold. Now, on to the pics....


Stock diameter:


Recovered diameter:


Side by side:


Let me know if you guys have any questions. This has to be the best mod I've done second only to the GST boost pill and tune.

 

Man, that is actually a good find and looks great by the way. I am gonna do the same for me since I want to mix up a little color in it along with alancentra leather.

 

You mention "padding" to increase the diameter, but is the wheel still firm like the stock wheel though, or did the extra thickness add some "squish" to it. While added size may be nice, I like the solid feel of the stock wheel.

 

The wheel is still quite firm. I'd say it added a little bit of "squish" but all in all it's quite hard.

 

I wonder if this can be paid for using some medical expense reimbursement programs like FSA. It is technically helping your hands with pain while you drive.

 

twss.

 

Awesome find!

 

I may do this soon if the leather quality is much better. I have a bunch of worn spots on my wheel that would be awesome to get rid of.

 

I actually like the small stiff wheel. Reminds me of kart wheels, rock hard, no power steering (now that'll grow some hair on your palms) and my gran turismo rig in my living room.

 

its either the steering wheel is pretty small or you have big hands good find though

 

I have an HSA, that way $$ isn't 'use it or lose it'

 

You can use FSA for condoms!

 

I had one on my 996tt and was debating doing the same thing. I wanted to find one on e-bay so that I could do a core swap and wouldn't have the downtime.

Is there a write up somewhere on here for disassembling the steering wheel? I'm always a bit wary due to the airbag wiring.

 

The install was so straight forward I didn't really think to do a writeup.

You just:
1. Disconnect the battery
2. make sure the steering wheel/wheels are in the center position/straight
3. Remove 2 torx screws through holes in the black plastic steering wheel back cover. These hold the airbag in.
4. Gently remove the airbag. Disconnect the yellow connector for the airbag by pulling back on the spring-loaded quick disconnect.
5. Disconnect the horn connector (it's a single wire, female spade connector)
6. Disconnect the steering wheel controls connector from the clock spring housing
7. Use an impact gun to remove the large single nut from the center of the wheel
8. Pull straight out on the steering wheel.

Installation is reverse of removal. I used the Mitsubishi Factory manual to figure it out.

 

Sounds painless. When I did mine, I marked the spline and the wheel with a grease pen to make sure I got it lined back up right on re-install. Thanks for the writeup!