Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
After market wood/leather rimmed wheel.
The leather does not feel like leather (feels like vinyl) nor does it match the other black surfaces in the interior. It is more of a charcoal cover and once fitted, the black horn buttons were a much darker black than the leather on the wheel. Nothing like the leather on the original wheel. Also the wiring for the horn had to be modified to make it work.
The wheel definitely is high quality and has a thicker rim than the OEM wheel....it just doesn't match the rest of the interior. My fault for not noticing this in good lighting before I scheduled the installation. If I had noticed it, I would have never had it installed.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Miata OEM-styled wheel, only in Rosewood and Leather; retains OEM AirBag.
Installation is cautious because one is removing and replacing the AirBag. Instructions are adequate; the excellent write-up http://www.cardomain.com/ride/406457/5 was of great assistance to me. The OEM wheel on my '96 M-Edition did not come off without the use of a small puller, and when it did so the resulting >BANG< did startle me {grin} but of course, all was well. I subsequently brushed a small quantity of anti-seize on the old splines, a lube they clearly needed. Wiring requires cutting the ORANGE horn connector from the old OEM wheel, and soldering it to the new MOSS wheel. You will need to torque the 21mm fixing nut to ~35 ft-lbs. And for what it's worth, the most fiddly-bit for me was the two, 10mm TOP nuts that hold the AirBag to the wheel (the two, 10mm bottom AirBag nuts were easy).
The ~$200. buck MOSS wheel is Made In China; it *IS* beautiful, but do not expect the same fit and finish as your OEM wheel, or a $500+ NARDI {grin} Everyone loves the RoseWood, which is nice, since this is the only wood-tone choice available (i would have preferred a less red, more blonde wood-tone, to match the NARDI handbrake and shift lever of my M-Edition car). The wheel also has an excellent tactile feeling, your hands fall exactly where they did on your old OEM wheel, because this is a copy of that design. The horn buttons on either side are flush, rather than slightly indented: besides the fact that this subtle difference does not look as "finished", you may find yourself inadvertently BEEPING your horn as your hands brush across the slightly different buttons ~ especially while parking ~ until you re-train yourself NOT to toot. Else the only other tidbit you need to know is that the MOSS wheel's SPLINES will give you a choice of either slightly LEFT or RIGHT bias! ed mounting. You read that correctly: on my car, the wheel does not lay "dead-on" straight, it is ever-so-slightly counter-clockwise set.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Factory-style steering wheel covered in leather with wood accents at top and bottom. Allows re-use of factory airbag module and generally retains OEM style (i.e., doesn't look like a racing wheel, etc.). The wheel appears to be built on a stock wheel frame, and is finished in wood and leather. The wood is stained a deep red, and matches the OEM Nardi wood shift knob almost perfectly.
My stock wheel was showing it's 10 years of age, and the leather was falling apart. This was a great option to retain the stock airbag on an M1, and add some class. Installation was straight-forward, if a little time-consuming and slightly harrowing (whilst working with/around the airbag). The wheel feels wonderful in my hands, and the wood has a deep, rich hue protected by a thick gloss coat. I expect it will last for a long time. The only thing I would change is that there is no padding under the leather-covered parts of the wheel, so the wheel has very little give for hard gripping. The luxorious feel more than makes up for it, however, in my opinion.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the product, and for about $170, it's a great value. The installation was made much easier with LGO's excellent instructions available at: http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/406457/5
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97
Moss Motors Wood Rim Airbag Steering Wheel for 1990-1997 Miatas.
The Moss Wood Rim wheel allows you to retain the stock airbag. It's 4 inches thick, about as thick as a stock wheel with a leather cover. I installed it myself, and have been driving with it for two weeks as of May 08, 2004. I've documented the removal of the stock wheel and the installation of the Moss wheel with photos and instructions. The photos and instructions are available at my CarDomain site (Member Rides/Little House) and may be posted to the Miatanet Garage in future.
Beautifully finished, and a fairly good fit, it truly livens up my car's interior with an old world accent of nostalgia. Personally, I find the wheel to be rather feminine, and I've become somewhat infatuated with it... I can't seem to keep my hands from caressing it... It's like the Hollywood starlet of steering wheels, but it's bolted down so it can't run away! My old airbag cover was rather faded, more gray than black, so I dressed it with a tire-black product call Black Magic, and that has really improved the apparance of the cover. Note that wood finishes may scratch. I wear no jewelry so that isn't a problem for me. However, driving gloves would provide finish protection and enable a better grip, as well. I highly recommend the Moss Wood Rim Airbag Steering Wheel as a safety conscience accent to an otherwise colorless interior. If you install this wheel and find yourself spending more time than usual in the car, please remember to be discrete!
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
This is the Moss wooden steering wheel that uses your keeps the airbag from the OEM wheel.
At first I was hesitant to install this myself because of the airbag, but eventually people on the forum convinced me that as long as I did it right there was no danger. It took me an hour or two to install the first time. After getting it on I realized it was off a notch, and it only took me 15 minutes or so to take it back off and reinstall it correctly.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Direct replacement for Miata OEM steering wheel. Moss builds the wheel using OEM core. Maintains airbag functionality.
Looks great. Relatively easy to install.
Used information available in Miata.net garage to remove steering wheel. The only scary part about this is cutting the wire with the orange connector from the old steering wheel. This connector provides power to the horn so if it is not correctly installed, you won't have a horn. Doesn't impact the airbag functionality at all. The Moss wheel comes with 2 red wires attached. The wire plugged into the upper horn connectors provides power. The wire plugged into the lower horn connectors is for the ground. I removed the ground wires from the factory wheel and installed them in the Moss wheel and discarded the red wire Moss had connected to the ground (lower horn) connectors. I clipped the orange connector from the factory wheel and crimped a female spade connector to it. I then attached to the orange connector to the red wire on the Moss wheel (the wire shipped with the Moss wheel has a connector which will accept a male or a female spade lug).
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
[7/21/2002] Reviewed by: Anonymous
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.8 liter
Is a cherry wood colored steering wheel. It is not slippery as it has groves on the back to catch and keep your fingers in place, not just smoth all the way around.
It is a pure joy in the car. It makes you dream about the next time you can drive your car. It is also a great way to show that you are serious about your car and care for its looks.
The stock airbag is not always going to fit back the same way you had it on the original steering wheel.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.8 liter
Wood-rimmed steering wheel. Direct replacement for factory steering wheel; allows use of airbag.
My leather-wrapped OEM wheel was falling apart and getting irreversably sticky, so I bought the Moss Motors wood steering wheel when the price fell to a fair $199.95. The wheel is very nice, a big improvement in looks and feel over the leather. The wood is not slick at all; instead it is grippy enough for bare hands and very grippy on my Coach leather driving gloves. No change in steering performance.
Installation was tricky. Taking everything apart and getting it back together was easy. Getting the horn to work properly was not. To save anybody else the trial-by-error, here's the jist: Clip the wire from the orange connector (that's the horn power) close to the left horn button. The red wires on the Moss wheel can be classified into two lines: "upper" and "lower." Splice the orange connector into the upper wire near the left. There is a ground connection on this upper wire: cut that off and solder/crimp the two wires together. Basically, you just want to use one of the grounds; specifically, use the ground connection from the wire that DOESN'T have the orange connector spliced on it. The other ground can be either taped up or cut off and inline crimped or soldered and taped.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Moss Motors Wood rimmed steering wheel, shift knob, and brake handle.
I had been wanting to get the Moss Motors wood wheel for quite some time, but had hesitated for who knows why. The product was ordered from RSpeed in GA and was hand-delivered to me at Deal's Gap 2000. I installed the new wheel soon after arriving home with very little trouble. The only catch was making sure to hook the horn wires up to the right terminals, since there were no instructions that made this clear. The easy solution is to hook it all up then try the horn to make sure it works. Working with the airbag unit was a little worrisome at first, but a Mazda Technician I consulted said that there was little to no risk of it deploying while the power was on, but to be safe I should unhook the battery and wait a while for the back-up power to fade. No problemo...
The wheel is absolutely beautiful. The wood is very dark and has a deep grain to it. So far I have no experienced any problem with gouging or scratching of the wheel, and I wear a good-sized college ring daily. There are some very minor imperfections, but only I can see those! For Christmas, I added the matching Moss wood shift knob and brake handle, and they are superb quality also. It gives the car a look on the inside not duplicated by any other add-on. I highly recommend this product.
Under 30 minutes to remove completely
Gloss finish wood steering wheel replaces the standard Miata steering wheel without sacrificing the driver's side air bag. Available in walnut or burlwood.
This poroduct is really gorgeous. Consequently, owners were snapping these up as fast as Moss could install them at this year's Gold Rush. Because it dealt with the airbag, I let Moss do the install. I think they actually recommend that either they or a dealer do the installation. This wheel is a real eye-catcher and the more beefy feel of the wheel makes it more than just a looks item. The only problem that I've seen is that it seems to scratch very easily. I wear only a simple wedding band and don't carry my keys in my hand when I grab the wheel, yet I have several serious gouges already. Others don't seem to notice them at first glance, but I know they are there and they really bug me. Someday, I may make it a project to refinish the wheel using a urethane that is a lot harder than that used on this wheel.
The wheel is just beautiful, but for being so pricey ($250), it sure scratches easily. Still, it's sure attracts admirers. If I had it to do over, I'd probably do it again, but since Moss is such a seemingly solid organization, I'd be surprised if they didn't figureout the marring problem themselves and fix it in subsequent models.
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