steering wheel mod under $20

sirruph

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ok, guys, before i start - i'm a poor european student, so please no jokes on my english


the beginning

i've arrived to Texas with a big hopes, dreams and a $3k in hand to buy a car. two weeks lates i was a happy owner of 2001 coupe LX. mechanical stuff apart, the only thing that bothered me was the steering wheel: it was thin, ugly, sun damaged and, well, it was not a pleasant thing to touch

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the Project

after a brief research i knew about the acura swap option, but prices from $60 on ebay for a really bad ones left me no choice but to ditch this idea.
inspired by my previous car (civic type R FN2) and its steering wheel

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i've bought the $4.99 floor mat from ROSS and a $8.99 vynil pseudo-perforated upholstery from ebay. with taxes and delivery it came up at grand total of exactly 20 bucks

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ready... steady... GO!

first – I’ve decided to cut the damaged part rather than trying to restore it

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second – I’ve sliced the floor mat and begin to gain the necessary thickness by sewing layer after layer

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well, I’m lazy, so after the first layer I decided just fasten it

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when the desired thickness was reached, I’ve leveled it up with some layers of electric tape (the duct tape, probably, would be better, but as was stated – I’m a lazy person and the electric tape was just there)

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third – the layer or mat across the whole wheel should in theory eliminate the problem with the thinness of it

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and it did. in fact, the material was so pleasant that I drove it that way for a couple of days and even considered the option to embrace my laziness and leave it that way and call it abstract art or fusion style. again, the electrical tape to level the edges of the spokes


final stage

and the anal stuff begins
I've used the two needles technique in order to get an even and smooth stiches. unfortunately, I had only thin threads, so I had to quadruple them in order to get the strong enough thread. that was PITA. but I’m dedicated, stubborn and have a lot of free time, ahaha

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electrical tape helped me to temporary fixate the spokes parts while I was done with the wheel
as for my biased opinion – I did pretty good

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and then – BAM! my laziness strikes again. I found the small tube of glue at home and tired from all the stitching I just decide to glue the spoke-parts. well, it went better than I’ve expected, but not as good as I thought it could be

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anyway, comparing to what I’ve started with, I’m more than pleased with myself. and keeping in mind that it was maybe the second time in my life I’ve hold the needle and a thread in my heads – hell yeah, I’m super pleased with the results!


if you decide to go along with this mod, I have a few tips:
- sewing on the disassembled steering wheel will be a 1000000000 times easier (and, eventually, neater)
- check the direction of your upholstery stretches. it tend to stretch a lot in one direction and almost doesn’t stretches in the other
- use glue with caution. although, the most usual cyanoacrylate hold the upholstery on the wheel perfectly


aftermath

so far I’ve done couple of weeks on my new steering wheel and haven’t spotted any flaws. it is beefy enough and the resemblance with the FN2 steering wheel is uncanny (which also raises the question about the quality of materials used for production in Honda’s models. because it was THE CHEAPIEST upholstery I could find on ebay)

anyway, I’ve got enough upholstery for another 4 or even 5 steering wheels, and since I’m now an experienced seamstress … I’m open to your offers, ahaha


cheers
 

Silver99

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This is awesome. I cannot believe that you aren't experienced with sewing. Good job :)
 

604ACCORD

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When I saw the pic of it all carpeted I laughed I thought that was it. When I scrolled down and saw the finished product I was amazed nice work man it turned out really good, props for the job well done... rags to riches
 

sirruph

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When I saw the pic of it all carpeted I laughed I thought that was it. When I scrolled down and saw the finished product I was amazed nice work man it turned out really good, props for the job well done... rags to riches

believe it or not - it was SO GOOD on the "carpet" stage. soft and nice to touch. almost like the alcantara, ahahahaha
 

RedRyder

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I have to admit I was skeptical at the beginning, but you wrapped up this project pretty well. :Boo: You even lined up the perforations on the different pieces where they meet, nice job.

The only criticism I can think of is it would look even better if the material was adhered somehow on the four parts where the airbag and wheel intersect. But in the last pic the wrinkles on those sections aren't very noticeable.
 
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f23.Tetsusaiga

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I'm impressed, I thought the same thing 604ACCORD said though, thought you were finished with the carpeting, hahaha. I for one think the steering wheel is huge (in diameter) to begin with :rofl: heh. Nonetheless man, I like the way you solved your problem, good job!

:banana-mario::High 5:
 

604ACCORD

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I got my TL-S wheels for 20 bucks and put my oem airbag back in color is different but I'll get a black center soon or go to a nardi wheel
 

Teesak

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nice work it came out looking good! Ingenious way of fixing the mucked up part on the top of the wheel.
 
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