Steering Wheel/Airbag Removal Discussion Thread

[tsingson]

Questions and concerns about Steering wheels, and removing airbags, you can discuss in this thread, please stay on topic, no personal attacks, etc etc etc.


"per user request............ we have separated this thread for further discussion"



Placing these posts here in this thread

so a discussion can be made regarding the changing of the OEM steering wheel and the removal of airbags.

Moderator Edit

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[bootz]

Adam I luv ya heaps but deleting an airbag wheel is retrograde both in safety and legality terms.

That said, I do like the d wheel looks wise and the gauges. Just don't want to see you die in an accident for a good looking wheel.

[Golden Stallion]

I don't think you will be happy with most miata's here man. Adam was in a huge accident with sharka 1 and he still put an aftermarket wheel on sharka 2. Every miata sold in America comes with an airbag in the steering wheel. Also got to understand(might not be the case for NBs yet) is that some are over 2 decades old. It is a possibility that the bags might not go off.

[bootz]

"2. Every miata sold in America comes with an airbag in the steering wheel."

Are you saying he had airbags and they did not go off when he had that horrendous accident?

Removing an airbag wheel on NB is 1. height of stupidity 2. illegal.

[theothersawyer]

That is your opinion and you are inclined to it, but at the end of the day it's his car and he can mod it as he seems fit.

[bootz]

An owner removing an airbag is legal in my own state. I'm pretty sure it's legal in every state, but I'd need to read each state's laws.

Seriously? Well God Bless America. Will send a floral tribute to your wife in the shape of a wheel if the worst happens.

[revlimiter]

I'm truly sorry that you think I'm enjoying my car incorrectly. I appreciate your concern. I really do. But I'm going to continue on with my own choices.

I actually have very strong feelings about explosive devices in cars. An ex-gf was blinded by the airbag in her late 90s Mustang. It went off in a low speed collision and shattered the glass contacts she was wearing. She never saw anything in focus again, just blurry shapes. That, combined with having NEVER once had an airbag go off in a collision I was involved in as a driver (though an airbag should have gone off in most of the wrecks I've been involved in), has colored my opinion to the usefulness of airbags in cars. I know they've saved a lot of lives. I know they've also hurt a lot of people. I choose to remove them in most of my cars based on my own life experience.

My opinions on airbags are my own. I'd never try to encourage folks to remove one. I think of the subject somewhat like religion or politics - something that one should only speak about in small groups of very close friends. I would also never post over and over trying to shame someone into conforming with my views on airbags. I wish that others would respect my wishes in removing the factory wheel and respectfully let me go on enjoying my own car.

[Phatmiata]

I can understand why Adam wants the airbag removed, it is HIS Miata, and I would like to leave my .02 cents about airbags in the NA 1990-97 Miata as well....



I don't know about the NB models, so I won't get into that, however I got a check for something like $3000 from Mazda back in the late 1990's as they admitted that not all Airbags would deploy on impact. This was from a class action lawsuit back then.

IIRC it was something like $1500 per Miata that you had registered in your name, I owned TWO Miatas at that time.

I was also in a really bad accident on the highway (I-4) in Orlando back in 1997ish, where my Miata spun out in the rain (at 60+ mph) and slammed into the concrete center barrier and cost $7800 to fix, it was a few hundred from being totaled back then, but they ended up fixing it. The airbag in that 1992 Miata did NOT deploy either.

So if you have an NA Miata with an airbag I can tell you from my personal experience it may not deploy, however you can take that risk yourself. Removing the airbag is dangerous since it is an explosive device, so I make no recommendations taking them out, and I am only stating what has happened with me and my past Miatas.

[Dandy]

I am a believer in seat belts. I am not a believer in airbags, especially on cars that are a decade old or more. The air bag's primary function is as a backup safety device for drivers and passengers not wearing their safety belts.

Air bags aren't used in race car applications for various reasons and we all know that a properly designed race car is much safer than the average street car. However, if air bags had some sort of magical safety ability, race organizations would require them and engineers would figure out a way to make them work in a race car application.

Be sure and remove the rip stop from your seat belt when installing a non-air bag aftermarket steering wheel in your Miata as described in this thread: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread.php?9430-DIY-Removing-Rip-Stop-from-OEM-Seat-Belt-on-a-NA-Mazda-Miata&p=137171&viewfull=1#post137171