i think that's the point man... want to keep everything possible, but just position the wheel better.

besides, you can't just relocate the cruise controls without making a whole switch panel or something like that. there's a bunch of buttons stuck on the steering wheel spokes. and some cars also have the bluetooth controls which add another few buttons.

 

UPDATE: ISSUE RESOLVED!

Dear fellow Evo X pilots,

If you're slightly taller than the average Japanese driver, the problem you've been facing is how close the stock steering wheel is to the dash (or, how far away from the driver the wheel is located). Finding a comfortable driving position is literally impossible. That's the issue in a nutshell. If your legs are a bit longer, it throws off the entire seating position -- this could be solved by a telescopic steering column, but Mitsubishi has never engineered one for any of their passenger cars. (Incidentally, my friend's '10 WRX has a similar issue; he's just smaller so he doesn't seem to care)

Extremes of seat slider, wheel tilt, and seat back adjustment are nothing more than imperfect stopgap measures that don't address the real problem -- length of the steering column. If you track your car and need to wear a helmet, it just get exponentially worse.

I just got my car back from KAS (Kito AutoSport), a tuner and AWD dyno facility located in Seattle, Washington. Kito, the owner-operator and a master fabricator, has determined a permanent solution that actually solves the problem -- and safely. It will only take him 6 hours of labor and incur extremely minimal parts costs (somewhere between $600-700 total, due to excessive local sales tax). The fix would bring the entire steering wheel, steering column, all controls, paddle shifters, OEM plastic column shroud, etc, toward the driver. This will work for MRs and GSRs.

Now, I'm not a very mechanically inclined person, but I'll explain the fix to my best understanding. I will also contrast it to the "fix" that speedware (Redmond, WA) suggested and quoted me on Monday. You do not want to follow speedware's approach; you'll see why in a minute or two. After I learned more about their "fix", for my money, I wouldn't want to work with them on anything where personal safety could be involved.

In basic terms, the steering column has the steering wheel mounted on one end, and on the opposite end has 2" of splines, or grooves, that interact with the rest of the steering system. Those splines work like the teeth of a gear to assure that as you turn the wheel, that the rest of the system receives your inputs. The factory overlap, or contact patch, of the splines with the rest of the steering system in stock format is 2".

Apparently speedware's "fix" was to slide the column toward the driver, REDUCING the spline interaction/contact patch to only 1" (OEM = 2"), then fabricating some mounting pieces to stabilize the column as it's hanging half off of the splines. That means the steering wheel would only have HALF the OEM engineered steering input load strength. This is an obvious safety risk -- if those splines strip/slip, the driver loses complete steering control of the vehicle. If you've been following this thread, DO NOT let someone modify your steering in this manner. I don't want to have anything to do with someone being harmed because of this research. Furthermore, I'm pretty upset at speedware; first they charged me $105 for their "estimate" process, and second they didn't explain their "fix" to me at all, much less the way it could affect safety. They said, "we can get you an inch." That they would deem it their own privilege to keep an obvious safety risk from a prospective client is very concerning -- especially as the alleged pre-eminent racing and custom shop in the greater Seattle area. As far as ethics is concerned, they actually quoted me more hours than it will take KAS to build an OEM spec solution that is far more extensive in actual labor time. That tells me that speedware is content to unnecessarily gouge the pockets of their clients, while also being willing to quietly put their clients well-being at risk. No thanks.

The solution offered by KAS involved a lengthy discussion - Kito was up front with everything: safety, cost, engineering strength and OEM reliability. He did all of this for free, and just won a customer for life. He is going to fabricate an extended column so that the spline contact patch remains the same as OEM standards (2"). This way he can buy me exactly as much extension as I need; no more, no less. The entire plastic steering column shroud, column mounted controls, and shifting paddles (if I had an MR), will move toward the driver with the exact same spacing to the steering wheel as stock. This will open a gap at the base (dash end) of the plastic steering column shroud, where you would see the internal mechanicals from the drivers seat. Kito thought this might be an aesthetic concern, so he volunteered to run industrial black felt around the base of the column to keep the internals out of sight, and make everything on the dash look clean.

I just have to determine the specific extension length that I need, then I'm scheduling the appointment to have this done. He'll need the car for a day; perhaps two. Let me know if any of you guys would like more info. Kito has emailed blueprinted plans to other fab shops around the country before; I don't think this is so complicated that it only can be done in-house at KAS. You just have to find a savvy fabricator.

Cheers!

 

wow that's awesome man! ...while you're doing this, can you ask him if he can duplicate the parts? so, if i decide to go this route, i can buy prefabbed parts from him and get them installed down here.

even cooler would be some kind of adjustment option. i dunno if it would be possible to lengthen the splines even more, and offer spacers to tailor the length to a person's taste? i'd appreciate if you could ask him that.

 

Stig,

I'm expecting to make the appointment in the next week or two, and I'll ask him about the prefabbed parts possibility, as well as an adjustment option.

From what I gather though, it's not difficult work for a good fab tech/shop to do this. But it doesn't exactly sound like a bolt on solution either. Extending the column is fab step 1; fab step 2 will involve making some custom mounts and supports. I'd imagine that installation and fitment adjustments will kind of be happening throughout the process. Then again, I'm not that mechanically inclined, so maybe it could be a bolt-on/weld-in kind of fix. I'll check with him when I get the chance. Either way, I don't get the impression that this actually classifies as "difficult" for a fabrication shop that has access to CNC equipment.

Cheers & Beers

 

i understand. but it's easy money for them if they already used you as prototype. and also saves us money so we don't have to pay for r&d. i can even give you kickback if you want.

in fact, if you want to organize some kind of group buy, i'd be in, and you and the shop can make some extra $$$.

anyway, i'd be very interested in buying such a premade kit, which would include all parts necessary.

 

I'll definitely talk to Kito about it and see if it's possible. My whole hope was to find a solution for this for every other Evo X driver out there that has this problem -- there's gotta be plenty of 5'11"+ Evo drivers, and this would affect them all.

Cheers & s

 

I don't want to throw any other variables into this fix but since we're on the subject of safety anyways... Aren't there sensors in the seat tracks to inform the srs system how close the driver is to the airbag, which effects the airbag timing and stage? Could the sensors in the seat tracks possibly be moved to compensate for the new steering wheel position?

I wouldn't expect those splines to strip out even if only 1" was in contact but it's still bull**** that they wanted to go about "solving" the problem that way.

 

Only sensor is on passenger side AFAIK and it's for weight not position of seat.

 

Hey there fellow Evo X pilots,

My apologies, I haven't had time to post my follow up to my earlier posts for some time. The good news is that ultimately the short steering column problem was remedied, and the riding position is light years more comfortable now than a stock Evo X GSR or MR, and should be duplicable for any GSR or MR. At the same time, after really getting into the project, it ended up taking a few more hours on the part of the fabricator than originally expected. Fortunately for me, the guys at KAS are men of their word, and they stuck to their initial quote. Solid character -- thanks guys, full props!

Considering the extra time, anyone in the area that would like to get this done should expect a higher labor quote than I noted in my earlier posts. This job is almost entirely fabrication labor; the parts cost is very minimal as they're just working with raw fab materials. With that disclaimer, KAS would be happy to help any other local drivers who would like to have their column modified in this manner.

So the extended column is in place, OEM safety specs have been exceeded and surpassed, and the fit and finish is perfect. Absolutely beautiful work; the steering response is exactly as it was before and the car tracks perfect. I'm now able to drive in a comfortable performance driving position, without smashing my gentleman's parts, and without feeling like I'm falling forward into the dash.

The complications ended up being these:

Ideally I would have liked to extend the column another 1/2 inch, but we ended up being limited by the collapsability needs of the column. In other words, in case of collision the OEM column is engineered to collapse -- this diminishes the likelihood of impaling your chest like a high speed spear. In order to maintain this critical safety feature, the column was only able to be extended about 1 3/4 inches. That may not be enough for those of you who wish they could sit laid way back in their seats, but it's plenty for those of us that just need to be comfortably upright.

So to summarize, it was a bit more difficult of a fabrication than initially expected, but it all worked out and the final product is awesome.

Cheers mates


PS- Due to the in-depth nature of the fabrication (custom modification of the column), it turns out that this is not at all something that can be manufactured and shipped around; so that part of what I was trying to accomplish failed. Hopefully in future Evo's they will put in an extending column so this becomes a non-issue. Happy AWDriving.

 

no pics?

 

Pics! I knew I forgot something... give me a couple days and I'll get something posted up.

 

i never thought i could bring myself to post on this inferior site again, but damn, this is great news. sounds expensive but the uncomfortable driving position has always been my biggest complaint. especially since i am one of the rare few who actually uses an evo X. would the MR's paddles add a lot to the fab costs? i wasn't aware kito was in seattle, thats only an hour from me.

 

lol.

 

Bradze,

Yeah, that was something I spoke with Kito about specifically -- he said that the MR shifter paddles don't complicate this procedure at all. It would be exactly the same as on the GSRs; the shifter paddle function and spacing would be exactly the same afterward as beforehand. The whole column, with buttons, controls, and plastic shroud is moved toward you.

KAS website url is: http://www.kitoautosport.com/
Phone is (206) 782-1381; I think they have pretty standard M-F hours.

Good luck man, it's worth the money -- every time I drive the car it makes me smile that I got this done.

 

ok, cool. but i thought about it, thats way too much money, i do want this but if im gonna be putting down that kinda green, ill wait til my evo is paid off then ill pull all the airbags/conveniences and put in an aftermarket steering wheel.