This has always been a problem during autox, but when I showed my buddy a video of one of my runs he was amazed at how much I had to turn the wheel to make it around the turns. Basically, to make a 90* turn I have to turn the wheel 180*, which isn't especially helpful on tight courses. To lessen the amount I need to shuffle the wheel, I've been considering buying a smaller diameter steering wheel. Here's a video of the last event from inside the car:
http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...rent=autox.mp4

And the same run from the outside:


I drive my car 365 days a year, so the thought of driving around without an airbag kind of freaks me out. How many people here would drive around with no airbag in a DD? How big of a difference will a smaller wheel make? The stock wheel is about 390mm, and most wheels are 350, but some go down to 300. Would going down to 350 be a big enough difference to justify it or should I just go to a 300mm wheel and get the full effect?

 

As long as you always wear your seatbelt I see no problem driving around with an aftermarket steering wheel. But thats just me and I drive the car about 5000 miles a year at most.

I think one guy had a smaller diameter steering wheel on his black 5th gen. IIRC he said it helped the steering quite a bit, albeit it was harder to turn the steering wheel but it turns the front wheels faster.

Also I've noticed with my new track wheels that have a much lower offset and wider track (17 x 9 +25) that it is harder to turn the wheel quick. But it is more stable and consistant at medium to higher speeds, something I want on a road course but not something I would want on an auto-x. So the offset and track of your wheels can make a difference as well.

 

I always use my seat belt, so that's not an issue. I've heard that seat belts can wear out over time, and mine is 15 years old now. Maybe I should get a new one if I get this wheel....

IIRC you're thinking of BlackBirdVQ. I even know what post you're talking about, but I can't seem to find it. Either way, his post was the impetus for my desire for a smaller wheel, I would just like some feedback from other people that have gotten smaller wheels, even if it was in another car.

My track wheels=my DD wheels, so I can't do anything about offset right now

So after watching my interior video, would you say that amount of sawing at the wheel is normal for a Maxima, or am I doing something wrong? If I get a wheel that's 10% smaller (390-->350), would that roughly equate to 10% less distance my arms have to travel?

 

It should help. Your hand positions and shuffle look fine but there is alot of sawing on smaller courses. I've got a 350mm Momo Commando on another car and it's much better than the OEM Max size and nowhere near that much 180deg+ needed. I've got a 270mm Logitech for gaming and it's awkward small.

 

I put a smaller wheel on the Mustang, but that's where the parallels end

I'm a pretty big advocate for airbags. Its easy not to like them at times until they come out before you feel the impact of a minivan with a drivers ed student behind the wheel turn head on into you on a 50mph road. It really depends how much you drive on the street vs events and your own judgment. You could always do it if you have a lot of events coming up, but then if you think you'll be absent for a while toss the bag back on. By no means the most convenient solution but it is easy to slip your mind it isn't there.

But then again my Mustang and FZ1 don't have airbags and are substantially more powerful than my BMW and half the time in my Mustang I forget I don't have front/side/curtain/rear/etc airbags surrounding me . This post probably didn't help convince you one way or another but if you have some extra cash burning a hole in your pocket give it a shot.

 

So how does the wheel/steering feel on the Mustang compared to stock?

I considered putting it on solely for events, but I'm worried about wearing out the connectors, since I'm pretty sure these things aren't meant to be taken on and off all the time. Would this be insane?

 

I'd be more worried about it going off accidentally. Maybe swap to the race wheel after spring rains stop and back to OEM before winter. Guessing more likely to get in an accident when it's wet, cold, snow, etc. That's what I did with my shocks in fact.

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, take it off for winter. I noticed today that while at a rest with the car off I can move the wheel 1" in either direction before anything happens at the wheels. Is this normal? It feels "loose".

 

PM'd you several days ago.

The stock steering wheel is huge and it sucks. People drove cars just fine for many decades without airbags in the steering wheel.

 

the play in the steering could just be the tiny amounts of play in everything, or it could be a bad tie rod end, ball joint, steering gear, etc..
is it COMPLETELY loose for 1" each way, or do you slowly feel the tension picking up through that inch? usually there's about that much play in the system before there is enough angle in the steering that the tires start really fighting against the steering..

 

nick I don't have any real suggestions. I wouldn't want to airbag delete, but then again, a smaller wheel is indeed very nice (the one in the wrx is around 365mm and is "perfect" in my opinion. Of course the steering ratios differ as well.

As for yours, here's a vid of mine so you can see how much mine has to be turned in the maxima for comparison's sake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9VWVsF26AY

note it's multiple views...

 

Hmm, got any in-car videos from events this year?

This would be such a no brainer if it weren't for that damn airbag

I replaced the steering rack along with the inner + outer tie rods last year. My mechanic said it could be a bad u joint that connects the column to the rack (IIRC). After checking it's more like 0.5" in either direction, so it sounds like that just may be normal play.

 

I have found some play when intially turning the wheel left or right. All the parts are new or fairly new. I think it is the design of the steering system on the A32s.

Its to bad I want to get this setup now as NISMO used to sell a nice hub adaptor that would also eliminate airbag lights and maintain use of the horn. You could then bolt on the NISMO steering wheel to the hub adaptor but both the adaptors and the steering wheels were big bucks and they had to be shipped from Japan. But with that much NISMO bling it is sure to add a few more HP.

I've been searching the net for that NISMO hub adaptor and only finding it discontinued or old threads on Aussie Skyline forums where people sold them used years ago. From what I gather people down there bought them then found out it wasn't legal to install them in AU street cars that came equipped with air bags.

There are a few aftermarket hub adaptors that would work with Nissans and use MOMO or Sparco steering wheels but they still have not come up with a good air bag eliminator light. Thats what I've gathered so far but I could be wrong.

 

I have a MOMO adapter at the house I'm not using anymore. I went to a weld-on quick release for the race car. It's from my S14 240SX, but I think they're the same for all Nissans.

It doesn't have anything there for wiring- just the adapter and a rubber boot- I made a small spring out of a hose clamp that got the horn button to work (you just connect the horn wire to chassis ground and the horn goes off), but the cruise and airbag are gone for sure.

If you want the cruise, it's easy enough to move the buttons to the center console or some place else and run the wiring from the steering column down to the new location.

For the airbag, I just removed the bulb from the cluster. it's not required by DOT to have airbags, and this was a fairly dedicated track car so I didn't want one anyway. (helmet + airbag = broken neck)

http://blehmco.com/pics/240SX/roll_cage/DSCN0038.jpg
http://blehmco.com/pics/240SX/roll_cage/DSCN0039.jpg
http://blehmco.com/pics/240SX/interior/DSCN0221.jpg


anyway, I'll make one of youz a decent price for it if you want it.

 

I think one guy had a smaller diameter steering wheel on his black 5th gen. IIRC he said it helped the steering quite a bit, albeit it was harder to turn the steering wheel but it turns the front wheels faster.

So,its good to have a small diameter steering....

 

GTFO

 

not really...I haven't done a true in-car mount yet...maybe at the summit pt. event next month.

This one you can partially see the wheel and see my hand movements, even though its' an outside vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjOrNkIbIO4

 

If you don't want to lose your airbag, you might look into a lower-ratio rack and pinion. I think the 97-99 SE had a smaller pinion than the rest of the 4th gens. It's a different part number at least. Worth looking into. Failing that, there are companies that make custom steering gears. They get a little pricey, though, and I'm sure some custom fabrication would be necessary to make it fit. I've seen people spend more on less helpful mods, though.

 

Already got a 99 SE rack in the car and it didn't make much of a difference....I've thought about custom steering gears but figured it would be too expensive....

 

Steering wheel swaps are ok but at the end of the day your are still dealing with a slow rack. Maybe you would like to consider something like this?

http://compare.ebay.com/like/3705209...=sbar&_lwgsi=y

A little fab and wrastlin and suddenly you can go from lock to lock with quickness.

Once your brain adjusts to the quickness of your steering you will NEVER want to go back and your turn in will gain real race car like steering response.

 

I've always wondered if something like that existed. However, from the little research I've done devices like that aren't safe for street use.

 

Shrug... define safe? I do all sorts of stupid stuff and the car mine will be going into is a mostly track car that will keep a plate so I can drive to and from track days and maybe some closer LeMons events with a trailer. Yeah... I'm a rebel.

I think the big issue is that of over correction at higher speed. I know that my Evo had a VERY fast rack and that after getting out of it I found everything else to feel very slow and bus like. In short my brain adjusted very very well and I felt safer overall as I knew that I had greater capability with the fast rack.

I would also point out that a 1.5 ratio box added to many cars such as a Maxima would not be much if any faster than a car like an Evo. Food for thought.

 

I think safety was referring to how it is integrated into the column itself, in terms of durability/longevity and crash worthiness.

 

This is the one thing i hate the most about maximas 95-03!!! Huge *** grandma steering wheels!! I need to take some measurements and possibly swap mine for a 350z wheel or something because i do no like them cheap lookin ricer wheels online i want something oem thick and leather. The wheel i really wanted to put in my 5th is the GTR wheel but that ***** is $1,999 online.