CHOOSING AND INSTALLING A RACING WHEEL

I TALK ABOUT HOW TO LOOK FOR, BUY AND INSTALL A RACING WHEEL OR MORE GENERALLY AN AFTERMARKET STEERING WHEEL

Its been a while DriveTribe, but I'm back. I was going to start off in some incredibly interesting way, but let me get straight into it.

CONSIDERATIONS/REASONS FOR BUYING

Lets start off with aftermarket steering wheels. There is obviously an array of options and brands out there to suit different needs. Some of the reasons you might be looking into an aftermarket steering wheel are; looks, strength, stability and perhaps the need for a quick release mechanism if you are prepping a full on race car. From my point of view, as a guy who is looking to transform his car into a 'race car' with little compromise, my priorities were strength and stability, but I won't lie the 'race car factor' of an aftermarket steering wheel was also a compelling reason.

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR STEERING WHEEL

When you shop around you will see cheap wheels and more expensive wheels. The actual costs may vary depending on country etc, but good quality wheels in Lithuania come at prices above 120 euro roughly (I will go into what I mean by that later). Long story short, if its a cheap wheel it will be made of cheaper materials and more likely to bend (hence lack of strength and stability) just YouTube 'ebay racing wheels' or something like that and you will see what I mean. This might be ok if you're not using your car on the track, but if you are this could be an issue as you are putting alot of force into the wheel (especially during the corners) - so first thing to think about is usage. If you are ever unsure, go to a racing shop and try out the wheels, put them on the table and press down hard, you will see how the cheaper wheels bend. Usually the reputable brands such as Sparco, OMP, MOMO or Sabelt make those 'good' wheels that I talked about earlier (the ones which won't bend) so expect to pay in the range of 120-200 euro. With regards to which brand, I enquired at a race shop and they told me that all of the wheels of the above-mentioned brands are essentially the same other than the style so its just a question of picking what you like. There are also carbon-fibre steering wheels for those us who just get tired of carrying around all that money every day.

'BOSS KITS' AND INSTALLATION

Aftermarket steering wheels are universal and thus while they can 'fit any vehicle' they require some sort of an adapter- called a boss kit or a wheel hub adapter. Boss kits can be specific to a model or even a series of models (the boss kit that I bought can be used on other 3 series BMWs, refer to image below).

Once again, to my understanding boss kits are like steering wheels, you have to look past the brand and only think about the quality of the actual product that you are buying. What I mean by that is that it doesn't matter if you buy a Sparco or MOMO wheel hub, they are identical in function and material, I can't speak for budget options such as Chinese wheel adapters though and so on.

The super exciting wheel hub! It's some metal, but because its a Sparco product it costs 83 euro :D Got mine for 63 though :)

The super exciting wheel hub! It's some metal, but because its a Sparco product it costs 83 euro :D Got mine for 63 though :)

QUICK RELEASE MECHANISMS

I did look into this, but I got over my 'want to be super flashy' and decided to not spend 240 euro on a quick release mechanism. Again its one of those things that you don't want going wrong, you don't want the wheel to come off the steering rack mid-corner on a race track and apparently that does happen. According to racing shop assistants the only safe option that all the professionals go for is the Lifeline quick release (the only safe option for sale in Lithuania, I know there are NRG products in the US, but I'm not sure how good or bad they are). I think something like this is a personal choice whether or not you want to take the risk or not and buy something cheaper, but in my eyes if you are even considering something like this (and you aren't doing it for the bling factor) you will most likely be using it on a serious racing car and will go for the tried and tested safe option and in that case none of what I've just said would be new to you-making this whole section obsolete :D

INSTALLATION

I will give a quick rundown of the general process and then outline some E46 specific things, but as always use YouTube and forums to your aid.

1. Disconnect battery (so that if your steering wheel has airbags-they won't go off in your face as you're disconnecting the wheel) you don't have to remove it completely, just break the circuit, wait for a few minutes and then move on to step 2. This is probably the most important step.

2. Remove the wheel and potentially any other 'things' that might be obstructing you from mounting the hub adapter (I go into specifics below)

3. Mount the hub adapter and then mount the wheel to the hub (run horn wiring inside the hub so you can actually connect it up)

4. Wire up the horn

Without the stock wheel

Without the stock wheel

I know that this might seem like the easiest install in the world and it is, but the simplicity of it means that there's not alot of model specific videos or DIYs and in the case of the E46 taking off the stock wheel was not sufficient to get the hub on. In the photo above you will see the circular plastic disc that has the connectors in it. I thought the hub had to go over the top of that and when it didn't I thought I had the wrong part... Long story short the part was good, I just needed to remove the plastic disc (can't remember its actual title) and the stalks (the turn signal and wiper stalks) and only then could I mount the hub adapter. I'm ashamed to say that this realisation cost me a few hours. After that though the job is a simple one. I haven't hooked up my horn yet though :D

My MOMO Model 07 Steering Wheel

My MOMO Model 07 Steering Wheel

CLOSING REMARKS AND CONCLUSIONS

As always the most important thing is to do your own research and be knowledgeable (in the interest of saving money and not being fooled by salesman). Find out what you want/need and then look for the product that meets the criteria. I too sometimes fall into the mistake of thinking that more expensive is better - that is not always the case (as I will discuss in a future post on bucket seats and harnesses). I ended up spending 140 euro on the wheel (182 euro list price) and 63 euro for hub adapter (84 list price). I saved money literally just by asking if I could get a discount, I'm not sure if I got the discount because I'm a regular customer or just by being nice, but its always worth trying to get a good deal :)

Thank you for checking my post, if you read all the way to the end I would appreciate feedback on my posts, leave a comment or get in touch. Are they too long, too long-winded, not in depth enough etc. My aim is to share my experiences, but also help and inform other people on E46 specific things and to achieve these goals I need you guys to tell me how well I manage to do that. Thanks in advice! :)

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