APC D-shape Steering Wheel

[9/23/2003] Reviewed by: David Hazim - hazimwood@yahoo.com

I am associated with a company that sells this product.

Applicable to: '90 - '97

This is an APC Steering wheel with a flat bottom and three spokes.

I already had the Grant wheel installed (see my grant write-up). I simply removed the 5 screws holding the grant wheel on and bolted the new wheel up to the grant adaptor. I needed the extra space for my legs and this did it. The wheel feels very nice and solid and looks tremendous. I replaced the horn button with a voltmeter and it looks even better now.

I shopped around for a two tone blue and black wheel with three spokes and I couldn't have found a nicer wheel with more money. The only thing I do not like is the cheesy horn button that all these cheap wheels tend to have, I plan on running a seperate Sparco button for the horn function as I have the gauge in the center instead.

Difficult to remove without leaving damage


APC Steering Wheel and Hub adaptor

[4/2/2003] Reviewed by: Jason Kutsch - j_kutsch@hotmail.com

Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter

This is a steering wheel made by the company APC (American Products Corp). It is very similiar in style and design to Grant steering wheels. This model is a black leather d-cut steering wheel. The wheel is pretty well made. The directions however, are not. Both the wheel and the hub adaptor came with very crude drawings showing order of assembly. They were not very clear and there were parts included that were not on the instructions. This was my first steering wheel install, so I was not familiar with horn wiring. I was able to figure it out though with no help from the instructions.

The hub adaptor is made for all mazda cars 1976-1991. There are disclaimers printed on the package saying that it is not for use on airbag equipped cars. Installing it required some modification to the clockspring. The black tab with airbag/horn connector wires at the bottom of the clockspring is in the way of the adaptor. It would be possible to cut a notch in the adaptor to clear these wires, but it is a solid piece of metal and I did not have a grinder or dremel tool. Instead, I gently cut the black plastic tab surrounding the wires with a utility knife. This must be done carefully to avoid cutting the wires themselves. After doing that, I cut off the connector plug on the other end, leaving enough wire to reconnect the plug should I ever reinstall the airbag and stock wheel. To wire the horn, I soldered the stock horn wire to one lead of the horn button, and the wire that came with the kit to the other lead. This second wire was then grounded to one of the bolts inside the hub.

Overall, I am happy with this wheel. I got it from Pep Boys. With the hub adaptor, spacer kit, and wheel it was $113. It looks quite nice on the car and feels good to the touch while driving. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to install, mostly due to the poor instructions and the fact that I had it almost all the way together and had to take it all back apart to properly do the horn wiring.

Under 30 minutes to remove completely


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