na steering wheel help

hello collective brain trust. i have a quick question. the cheap walmart custom steering wheel in my NA mazda is broken. i need a replacement. i dont like the factory wheel, and i dont want one. what i want is the momo competiton unit thats flat on the bottom, and missing the top part of the hoop. however, im not paying $220 for it, and then buying the hub adapter for it for another $60.

first question - Does anyone make a cheaper knock off? second question - does anyone have one they dont use they want to let go of cheap? third - can i modify a cheaper wheel to not have the top hoop?

reason i want the hoop gone is i cant see the gauges. the wheel i have now, and the factory wheel, directly cover all 5 gauges in the car, from the perspective of a 6'2" man in a miata...

what would grm do? (and dont say bite it and get the momo. i cant afford it, its not happening)

thanks, -Jon

Grant wheel + Sawzall

Let me just say this about that. My old CRX came with a no-name steering wheel, and I have driven other cars with crappy wheels. They suck. For one, they flex--flex!! Who wants to drive a car with a steering wheel that flexes? I know that you said that a good wheel is out of the question, but why skimp on the one thing that you always touch and use to guide the car?

For the CRX, I found a killer deal on an NOS Momo wheel on eBay Motors. Yes, it did cost a few bucks. In the end, it totally transformed the driving experience.

I realize this isn't what you want to hear, but just my two cents. I'm just a fan of running a decent wheel, even if it's just the stock piece.

I'm 6'1" and can see all the gauges. Try pulling the seat forward one spot and recline the seat back. If this doesn't work, foamectomy!

Had a flat bottom steering wheel in my NA. I have long dancers legs, so it was great for clearance. Absolutely HATED it.

Also, what's the current used Momo market looking like? Last time I checked, I couldn't find a great deal. That NOS Momo was the best deal going.

Yeah, dont buy a no name wheel. I went to do an auto-x run a friend's 240sx with one, I grab the top of the wheel to adjust myself in the seat and I almost bent the wheel in half. It honestly felt like the wheel rim was just a molded piece of hard rubber bonded to the metal center section.

In GRM spirit, you could take the stock wheel and cut to top and bottom rings off to make a poor mans butterfly wheel.

And for those looking for deal on a low-buck wheel, check out the marine wheels. When I sold Momo, Nardi and Personal wheels a million years ago, we stocked the marine wheels for those on a budget--same quality but vinyl instead of leather.

There's also grant or joes racing wheels. The trouble is adapting to them I have a joes racing wheel in my miata, but I had to machine my own 6 bolt momo to 3 bolt american style adapter because no one sells one to put a 3 bolt wheel on a 6 bolt hub. Plenty sell them cheap to put 6 bolt wheels on 3 bolt hubs though. The cheapo grant I used at first was mega heavy (still lighter than stock) and, chrome w/3" dish looked wicked mexican style, but it was like a $30 wheel. The joes racing one is lighter than the cheaper momos and only like $70.

6'2" miata driver here...

Tried a foamectomy? I run the stock wheel with no trouble. (other than replacing a stock vinal wheel that was self destructing with a stock leather option wheel)

David S. Wallens wrote: Also, what's the current used Momo market looking like? Last time I checked, I couldn't find a great deal. That NOS Momo was the best deal going.

About a year ago I bought a really nice used leather Momo with adapter and cuff trim for $100. It looked like new. Of course, getting in and out of the racing seat, my pocket knife has screwed up the bottom leather through my pants.

beans wrote: Had a flat bottom steering wheel in my NA. I have long dancers legs, so it was great for clearance. Absolutely HATED it.

Yeah I don't like flat bottom steering wheels either, I like mine perfectly circular and centered on the hub. Anything else is only acceptable in something like a kart or F1 where my hands don't have to move much.

You can probably find a cheap Logitech MOMO. I have one around here somewhere. The wheel seems to be fully MOMO quality, though it's Formula car size.

guys, im not skimping, im a dad with a stay at home wife and two infants...im broke. i need a $50 solution to a $200 problem. im going to look at the available off the shelf units at the local marine store and go from there. thanks for the tip.

-jon

http://www.mco.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15498

A decent price for a great wheel -- stock, but not NA stock . . .

If I was in your position, I would look at a factory Mazda wheel from another car, and then go hunt the junkyards or forums. Like everyone said, cheap wheels suck. And Mazda has some very nice factory steering wheels.

How about a non airbag wheel from a 1990 Canadian market Miata? CDM-eh!

If you can't afford a decent aftermarket steering wheel and you already have a broken one, I wouldn't spend the money on another cheap wheel unless you like the current outcome.

You can retrofit the NB steering wheel to an NA, which is exactly what I'm planning to do once I get the OEM wheel off the steering column in my NA.

Woody wrote: How about a non airbag wheel from a 1990 Canadian market Miata? CDM-eh!

I have one of those you can have for shipping costs. But really, you can't probably beat the Mazdaspeed one I posted the link to for the price.

zoo - your link gave me a 404...

also, whats the outer diameter of the CDM? i may be interested...

BHtim - the current cheapo is broken because it was broken when i bought it. i can take care of my stuff, the PO not so much. all 6 screws were loose, the main bolt to the column was loose....things like that are why it failed. im sure any thing round and new i put on there will far outlast my needs for this car.

i like this one, but cant find one local, and i despise buying something without holding it in my hands...

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=434389&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50366&subdeptNum=50385&classNum=50389#.UeKRv2egTZw

still looking...

-Jon

I have found that boat steering wheels look good but feel terrible, mainly because they have to be made waterproof.

I got my entire wheel setup for my mazda for 50 on ebay. Bride knockoff. Its actually fairly sturdy. The hub adapter had no problems at all either. Mind you its been 8 years or so, dunno what the prices are now. And I highly recommend that you dont get a d shape cutout. They suck to drive. Either lower ur seat or raise the wheel. And a smaller diameter wheel is just going to make the gauges harder to see, as It did with mine until the kirky goes in.

the d-shape is almost a requirement. the current wheel is that way, and i like it fine. just cant afford a good one.

still looking...

The CDM wheel is awfully close in diameter to the airbagged one from the US.

I seem to recall that Subaru uses the same splined section on the steering column. The FB and FC RX7 certainly share it. That might open up your market.