
Well sure, I’ll take some Momo!
The first step in making a track car? Well it’s to put a race steering wheel in it of course! Don’t let those pansies that say you’re supposed to do suspension or tires first, they just don’t know.
Now, you can’t just slap any wheel on your car, it’s gotta be L-E-G-I-T. That’s why I went with this crusty Momo steering wheel that has been in my friend’s basement for 4 years. Yes, its tried and true (read: busted, used, abused).
The install itself was pretty straight forward, except when it isn’t. Before you get started there are a few things that you need to get:
- An aftermarket steering wheel
- Aftermarket steering wheel adapter (I choose NRG)
- Steering wheel quick release (Optional — I also choose NRG)
- A 3.3 ohm resistor or 3 10 ohm resistors
- Solder
- Soldering Iron
- Basic tools (Screw drivers, 10mm socket wrench, patience)
First you have to take off the airbag. There are 4, 10mm nuts that hold the airbag. After that, just pull it out and take the clips off the back (NOTE: Airbags are dangerous and I’m not responsible for your idiocy, be careful). After the airbag is out, there is simply 1, 17mm nut that holds the steering wheel in place. Remove that, then wiggle the wheel to pull it off of the steering rack.
Now comes the fun part, you will have to remove all of the panels behind the steering wheel. There are 4 philips screws under the steering column. After removing those, you can simply take the top and bottom halves off.
There is a metal plate under the steering rack, it is only held in place by two philips screws in the every end.
With that remove you will now see where the wires for the horn and airbag run to. Unclip them from the main harness and remove any zip ties to remove the wires themselves. You should now be able to pull the clock spring out of the center (NOTE: make sure that the clock spring is not moved, there is only so much turning that it can do before it breaks. Make sure that it is 2.5 turns from each side). We will have to massage this piece later. You may also have to remove the piece behind that, it houses the electrical components for the wipers and the indicators.
Now that you have the clock spring removed, you may notice that there is no way you can fit it in to the short hub adapter. There are a few things you must do. On the back of the short hub adapter, remove the plastic backing plate. Now, on the clock spring, remove the plastic surround on the wires.
Now, you will also have to snip off the clip at the end of the wire. This is way too big to fit into the short hub and is also not needed.
Now, if you have a 3.3 ohm resistor, you can solder it onto the white and red wires. This will trick the airbag ECU into think it’s still there. I would suggest solder it it after you’ve stuck it through the hole in the short hub. You will also have to trim the base of the wires to fit into the short hub (I used a dremel for this).
If you only have the 10 ohm resistors then you will have to solder them between the wires in parallel. If you’re not sure what this means, please read up here. I would also suggest shrink wrapping the wires so you don’t short anything.
Now start putting stuff back together. The clock spring and wires should go back through the same space as the wiper controls. Make sure to center the clock spring as well as the short hub adapter. Now bolt on the quick release if you haven’t done so. Finally bolt on the wheel to the quick release, then snap the horn button on (make sure to connect the horn button first).
You should be all done now!
Look at you, you didn’t even need any pictures! Congrats, now drive it around to see if you broke anything. If you’re lucky like me your wheel will be cocked to one side!