3 spoke Flat 350 mm Dia. competition steering wheel
Alcantara synthetic suede grip with twin horn buttons
Sparco does not manufacture wheel hub adapters, however the six bolt pattern on the steering wheel is the same as a Momo hub adapter. There are several detailed descriptions of the Momo hub adapter installation in the miata net garage.
http://miata.net/garage/momowheel.htm
Check it out. This is the same basic procedure I followed. The only real difference in my own install was to have my machinist mill the hub adapter to allow the clock spring's harness to pass through the adapter rather than modifying the clock spring itself. ( This will make more sense after looking at the photos at the above url.) Wiring the two horn buttons is slightly different from the example, but still very simple. Because of the smaller diameter of the new wheel, I used Momo's eccentric wheel spacer between the hub adapter and the steering wheel. Depending on which direction the eccentric is installed, it will either raise or lower the wheel by 10 mm. Setting it up to raise the wheel allowed me to clearly see all of my gauges, and a nice side effect, from the additional thickness of the spacer, placed the new wheel in the same plane as the stock steering wheel. No change to my driving position was necessary. My hands rest comfortably on the new wheel exactly where they should, and the horn buttons are in easily reach without removing your hand from the wheel.
The finish of this product is excellent. The Alcantara's consistency and durability is far superior to any of the natural suede competition wheels I looked at. ( including other Sparco wheels ) I chose the classic black/black combination but the grip is also available in red or blue, and the spokes in black or blue. As far as I know this is the only competition wheel on the market using synthetic suede for the grip.
The finished installation really looks good. A nice complement to the tan interior.
Highly recommended.
350mm steering wheel. Available in varied colors and leathers. Comes with 2 horn buttons.
Troyer quick disconnect.
The steering wheel is great. It's not cheap and it shows in the quality of construction. It's much smaller in diameter and now I can't see the top of the guages. Theoretically it should be harder to steer the car, but with power steering I haven't noticed any additional difficulty steering.
Time & money consuming install. If you want to replace the steering wheel you will need a steering wheel adapter, but I hear these are hard to get.
I went one step further and decided to use a quick release from Troyer. The Troyer has 2 parts to it, a hex shaft that is supposed to weld to the steering column and a quick release mechanism that attaches to a steering wheel. The only way to make this installation reversible is to sacrifice another Miata steering wheel. The splines off the original wheel were welded into the troyer shaft, and then a special bolt was made to attach to the steering shaft. Since the Sparco has a 6 hole pattern and the Troyer a 3 hole pattern, special adapter plates were fabricated to mate the two.
A smaller 350mm diameter steering wheel. High quality. Available in leather or suede in red, blue, or black. There is no central airhorn button, they are on the spokes. This is not suitable for the Miata in most cases.
I used a quick disconnect as well so I can remove the steering wheel from the car. It took $125 atop the $220 for the wheel itself and several hours to adapt the steering wheel to the QD.
I also moved my airhorn button to the dashboard because the wheel is no longer permanently attached.
A great product but it will permanently alter your car to install. I cannot see the turn signal arrows and the top of my guages anymore. I wouldn't recommend you use this version of wheel for it truly is for racing purposes.
Difficult to remove without leaving damage
| Back to Product Reviews | 15 November, 1998 |