At Last: Flat Bottomed Steering Wheel Option for NA/NB

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 8:33 am

https://www.ilmotorsport.de/shop/article_detail.php5?aid=5964&oid=3&depth=0&page=2&count=100&PHPSESSID=0a5952e5a7dfeb2cde29b2c034f290a8

You send your wheel in and they refurbish it:
"These wheels are refurbished OEM parts, that are upholstered with leather in different designs. We only used the highest quality, stretchy and wear resistant leather hides,
Top and bottom parts are executed in smooth leather, the gripping area is executed in perforated leather. All work is done by hand with great workmanship.
The sport models have a flattend bottom part that gives your interior a new dynamic look.
The steeringwheels are plug and play exchanged with your OEM wheel."

This is definitely on my "One-Day" shopping list.

Nevyn72 · Postby **Nevyn72** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 11:39 am

Very nice! :mrgreen:

Just needs red stiching and some way to organise the shipping for less than the price of a small house......

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 11:44 am

The red stitching will look fantastic, considering how much it will get used

Nevyn72 · Postby **Nevyn72** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 12:04 pm

Magpie wrote:The red stitching will look fantastic, considering how much it will get used

Hold onto your socks Magpie! :mrgreen:

Lokiel promised another update today and from the engine bay shot in his garage thread the turbo appears to be fitted again...... Between that and his Megasquirt adventures Gina may actually be in danger of coming out for a dance sometime soon! :wink:

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 2:17 pm

Gina is the wife.... Ohhh wait....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 5:40 pm

StanTheMan wrote:Gina is the wife.... Ohhh wait....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Despite all my spending on her, I think she's still cheaper than a wife

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 6:16 pm

And is almost in new condition

pcmx5 · Postby **pcmx5** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:39 pm

And doesn't complain about you dress sense, and when you have had enough just close the garage door.......plus many other benefits!!!!!
Think the wheel is a great idea by the way.
Peter

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:23 pm

Magpie wrote:And is almost in new condition

Andy she doesn't talk back...... Only when there is no lube.... :shock:

Then she'll spit the dummy...... Errrr bottom end

ManiacLachy · Postby **ManiacLachy** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:50 pm

Sorry to bring the conversation back on topic, but I'm always wary of these "refurbished" wheels. I think they add material to flatten the bottom, so you actually end up with even less room than you had before because the diameter is increased at the corners. What we really need is a smaller diameter wheel that keeps the airbag, flat bottomed or not.

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 8:27 pm

They alter the OEM wheel. I'd be wary of that alone (do they bend it, cut it?
Reducing the diameter interferes thei gauge visibility.

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 9:04 pm

Based on the photo alone, it looks like they shorten the length of the vertical spoke to achieve the flat bottom on the steering wheel - I don't think they alter the other two spokes so instrument visibility should be the same as OEM.

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Thu Aug 25, 2016 8:42 pm

Kept looking at this thing every day, trying to tell myself I didn't want/need it, and finally decided to eliminate the procrastination and just get it.
I've always wanted a flat-bottomed wheel since it makes it easier to get in and out of the car (I'm not a spring chicken anymore, no matter how "studdly" that guy in the mirror tells me I am).

I asked about leather and stitching colours and they said "You can have any colour you want, as long as it's black!" - so at least I didn't have to procrastinate on the colours.

I already have a custom steering wheel so didn't want to send it away to be refurbished (after DD my SP23, I find Gina's steering wheel too thin - partly due to the re-trimming I think, the guy who stitched my pre-made wheel trim said it was tight and that I should just have got him to make it from scratch).

Instead, I bought a wheel from eBay Germany and got the seller to send it directly to I.L. Motorsports - saved time and P&H fees (only gets a one-way trip from Germany to Australia; S&H was free from eBay seller since it was within Germany).

Now the race is on, which gets here first, my new steering wheel or the TSE downpipe?