Which aftermarket steering wheel should I buy?

Been slowly making the Civic a nicer place to be. Rattles are all eliminated. Stereo and speakers installed. The next annoyance on the list that needs addressing is the steering wheel. It's too thin, the top third of the rubber has come loose from the steel rim and has deteriorated significantly and it's too far away from me. 

Momos and other premium wheels are way out of my price range. 

I'd like to go slightly smaller in diameter, not too much as the slow speed steering effort is extremely high with the manual rack. 

I'd like it to be at least an inch closer to me. I haven't done any measurement yet but I'm probably needing two inches. I have very long legs and to have proper positioning to the wheel me knee has to come up almost to my chest to release the clutch. It's very uncomfortable. If I give myself enough room for my legs I have to pull my back off the seat a couple inches to reach the top of the wheel. I don't like that at all. 

And I'd like to get a slightly meatier wheel for my big hands to grip.

I'm very suspect of the quality on the cheap eBay wheels. 

So what is your favorite budget friendly but decent quality aftermarket wheel? 

Grant? You should be able to find used Grants all day on Ebay. They were pretty legit back in the day. I had one on something..... the RX7 maybe? It was a nice solid thing to hang on to. 

LeCarra and slightly used Momo would likely fit the bill.

Grant are also a good value option too.

Check out NRG, they are supposed to cover that midrange between the low end Grant and super pricey Momo stuff. 

Hard to go wrong with a grant.

I've seen NRG wheels break and bend, so personally I'd go with Grant or Grip Royal.

In reply to Casual Six :

Was that what that dude in blue broke in his Nissan?

That Grant GT is the same wheel my buddy put in his Plymouth Champ when we were in high school in 1986. I think he bought it at K-Mart. 

I’ve had a grant in every car I’ve owned, they are sturdy AF. 

Nick Comstock said:

In reply to Casual Six :

Was that what that dude in blue broke in his Nissan?

Yup. It's also slightly alarming when one of the spokes decides to detach itself from the rim mid-autocross run. 

I ran a Grip Royal for a while, and they look nice and seem to be reasonably well constructed.

I have a Dino that I use in my Porsche it would fill all your requirements. No idea on cost I got it more than ten years ago. 

From the date of the photo looks like it has been longer. 

What kind of dollar range are you looking in?

Was also coming to recommend Grant and NRG.

Nick Comstock said:

I'm very suspect of the quality on the cheap eBay wheels. 

 

As you should be:

NOT Grip Royal!  Flimsy crap POS. 

I'd look around for something lightly used by a real name.  I think you can even find entry MOMO wheels for under $200 new.

Also, keep an eye out at junkyards. I had a friend find both a genuine non-OEM application Nardi and a killer old-school Nismo steering wheel at junkyards and grab them for $20. In fact, the Nismo wheel was in a boat that was absolute junk and dropped off at the side of the yard.

Also, keep in mind that just about every Honda of that era had steering wheel interchangeability, so check out some other OEM options. For example, I know that guys would put NSX and 3rd-gen Prelude steering wheels into 1st-generation Legends and even the horn and cruise control buttons would retain functionality. I have a Sparco steering wheel adapter that I believe lists working on NSXs, 3rd, 4th and 5th-gen Preludes, 1st-gen Legends, and EF and EG Civics

DrBoost said:

What kind of dollar range are you looking in?

Anything much over $100 is probably a no go. 

In reply to NickD :

I was just thinking about that. Texas sun usually plays hell on steering Wheels but it's worth a shot. 

Nick Comstock said:

In reply to NickD :

I was just thinking about that. Texas sun usually plays hell on steering Wheels but it's worth a shot. 

I know that 3g Prelude Si steering wheels, which are a nice thin 3-spoke, used to go for like $50 on eBay. Bonus points if you get one with the 4 Wheel Steering badge and fake everyone out. 

I had a 3g prelude wheel on my EF Civic for a bit, while it fits the spacing is wierd. I forget if the wiper and turn stalks were too close or too far now, but I swapped the original wheel back in after a week.

Where are you? If you're in Michigan, I've got a very nice Grant three-spoke deep-dish you can have free.

The best steering wheel I've ever had is the stock '86-89 Honda Accord wheel. It is stiff in all planes, heavy, has no sharp edges, has four horn buttons on the spokes, and doesn't force my hands to any one driving position.

In reply to chaparral :

Unfortunately I'm in Texas, which is a long way from Michigan. I'll keep my eye out for the Accord wheel you mentioned.

One question about different factory wheels. What are my options to move them closer to me? 

My Go-to aftermarket wheel is the MOMO prototypo. Cheap? Not really, but is is the most "interacted with" device in the car, after the seats of course.

Pete