Finkle

Hello all in Maximaland!
I have been looking around for cool looking steering wheels at the junkyard for a while now. I wanted something other than the 5th gen wheel.

I found a 2001 celica wheel and jumped on it.
After a couple afternoons of work, this is what it looks like:







Never mind the Toyota logo, I am going to make it into a Nissan logo.

I used the Maxima 5th gen clockspring I had in there from my steering wheel audio controls I had on the stock wheel. I will be making new controls for this wheel.

I got really lucky, the airbag on the celica is the same as the mazima's. I swapped the airbag connector, no air bag light! My multimeter had 4.4ohms for the celica one and 4.3 for the maxima. My meter has a tendency to run a little high, might be closer to 2ohms. Either way the computer cant tell the difference.

For the cruise controls, I trimmed down a little bit and screwed it onto the side where the toyota ***** looking cruise control stick would be.

The horn works too. Easy wire splice.

The celica wheel is smaller and does not extend out as far, making it look sportier and also easier for me large legs to fit under it. Its about 5 pounds lighter as well.

Let me know what you guys think.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

I like the look of that steering wheel. The Maxima steering wheel looks big and bulky. Plus I like to have my hands down at the 4 o'clock/8 o'clock position, which is pretty tight on the Maxima.

yellow_cake

That does look pretty good.

Off topic - what are all the extra buttons below the stereo for?

Finkle

Thanks guys!
The switches are a relay pack from a conversion van. I use it to control some interior lights, and my heater mirrors since my car didn't come with them. I use it because it's wired to turn off when the car is off, but not back on when its turned on later. I only use three out of six.

ChrisMan287

iTrader: (34)

I went with a R34 steering wheel for the same reasons. It's sitting on the modded clockspring in this vid.


I'm waiting on my interior overhaul to install.

maximaham

iTrader: (1)

Off topic- does the 2002 Q45 steering wheel fit?

Finkle

Here's a daytime pic. Ignore the floor, I know I need to vacuum.

schmellyfart

iTrader: (46)

Ooh 5lbs? Do you happen to know the weight of both steering wheels?

2kMaxim

This also solves the "flaking" issue that plagues all maximas and g35's..lol. Im a little jealous but for some reason i feel like this is more work than i want to put into solving that

maximaham

iTrader: (1)

guess not

Finkle

I didn't both to weigh them, I was just going off feel. The celica wheel is made out of aluminum and has a much small center metal peice. The three spokes come together in the middle and form a T where the bolt is. The max wheel has a large center plate that the four spokes are welded to. The airbags weight about the same, might be a slight weight advantage to the celica one as it is physically smaller. What I remeber is holding the 4th gen wheel without the airbag or cruise controls in one hand, and the full celica wheel with bag in the other. The max wheel was still heavier.
After driving it around a couple days, I am surpised how much better the steering feels. Not just from the smaller outer diameter, but how much easier it is to turn. I figured with power steering, the weight of the wheel didn't matter much. I was wrong. Oh, the celica wheel doesn't have one of those small black weights in it. I'm not sure what thats for. I think its worthwile to do because of the feel more than the looks.

Question to those of you who have aftermarket wheels with no bag, was the feeling of the lighter wheel noticable when doing average driving?

Finkle

The hardest part is going to be finding a nissan logo that is the same size as the toyota logo to cover it up It helps they are both circles. I am looking for an all black one, I don't have chrome anywhere else on the car, trying to keep with the murdered out theme.

bumpypickle

iTrader: (1)

looks good. Didn't think you could swap steering wheels with different makes that easy. I would spray that logo with platidip and clear coat if i were you or sumn. Im sure you can fab something up.

schmellyfart

iTrader: (46)

Good enough for me. Is the only reason you used the 5th gen clockspring for the audio controls?

ABIGBRAIN

iTrader: (1)

Try modifying a Nissan centercap from a 16" 5 spoke wheel

Finkle

Yeah. The 4th gen has 5 wires, the 2001 has 7. They would both work for the wheel swap. I haven't decided how I am going to put wheel controls on this wheel, or what I want to control. I put my 00VI on last august, but haven't wired up the switch yet because I haven't gotten around to putting my e-manage blue in. I was thinking of putting a switch on the wheel to control my VI. The cruise controls swapped over with minimal cutting, I was thinking of putting a set with the letters rubbed off on the other side to control the audio. Next trip I make to the junkyard I am going to look at switches and see what I can rig up.

Finkle

Thats a good idea! Thanks. The yard I go to has a big bin in the office for hub caps. My only worry would be if the airbag goes off, that wouldn't feel good on my face. The seam for the bag splits right under the logo. I'll look into it, I'm overdue for another trip up to the yard, its been a week.

maxprivate

iTrader: (12)

Nice job man, looks good too. Will look better when you get rid of that Toyota logo

schmellyfart

iTrader: (46)

I picked up one of these Celica steering wheels today, non leather.

Non leather Celica wheel w/airbag, no cruise control: 5.6lbs ~14.75" Diameter
97 GXE/GLE steering wheel w/airbag & cruise control: 10.2lbs ~15.5" Diameter

Finkle

I tried a Nissan burger logo off the front grill, it is too big to cover the T in the middle. I think I will just put a black sticker over it for now. I don't really care if there is no Nissan logo, but I want to get rid of the Toyota logo. Toyota's used to be decent looking cars, now they all look way to mainstream. The three I've owned so far have given me no trouble, and needed almost no repairs however. Can't fault them on quality.

schmellyfart

iTrader: (46)

The one I bought has seen better days, I was planning on just painting over the logo.

Finkle

I weighed the max wheel. Fully dressed with airbag and cruise control it weighs in at 10.5 pounds. It feels heavier than that. The outside circle of the wheel feels heavier than the celica one. The airbag is most of the celica's wheel weight. Without the airbag, it must weigh no more than 2lbs.

schmellyfart

iTrader: (46)

I went to install mine and this is a no go for me.

The Maxima steering shaft is too small for the celica wheel, so the splines don't interlock when the wheel is pressed onto the steering shaft.

Finkle

No they do not. That doesn't mean they can't swap. Mine is also too small for the splines.
However there is a simple solution I used and so far have no problems with it whatsoever.

I ground the Celica wheel hub flat and popped out the splined insert. I grabbed a junk maxima wheel from the junkyard and cut out the splines along with the two holes for the wheel puller. I bolted the maxima hub onto the celica wheel using the bolts for the wheel puller. By pure chance, the angle I bolted the maxima hub lined the celica wheel up perfectly. The steering wheel nut fits inside the celica hole, so it is held on by not only the two bolts, but also the center nut.

I literally stood outside the car and pulled as hard as I could on the wheel, nothing budged. It is on there solid.

I turned the clockspring to the right slightly, an the wires fit inside the plastic shroud. There is enough pressure to keep the clockspring moving with the wheel without using the white nub, but it wont damage the wires.

Sorry, this sounds like a mess, I should have taken a pic of the wheel. It makes a lot more sense in photo form.