NA A Clean Steering Wheel Install

I found it hard to find good info and good pics in one place on steering wheel swaps. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. Anyway, I'd like to share my experiences. I installed a Dino steering wheel onto my 1990 using a Works Bell adapter. When I first saw so many people removing the airbag, I was confused. Then I found this NHTSA study saying that first generation airbags were only marginally effective for people in a certain range of heights. Placated by this as well as the low price of OEM looking Dino wheels on eBay, I dove in.

First off, I'm not going to go into taking off the stock wheel. The San Diego Miata Club has an excellent guide I followed. It's straightforward and effective in not allowing you to get knocked out by a face pillow. The only addition I have is to say you should go get a boombox since you still want tunes while working. After all, you're going to be SUPER SURE to disconnect the battery, right? Safety third and all. With the airbag and wheel off, wrapped up for storage, and placed somewhere safe, you'll be facing something that looks like this.

http://i.imgur.com/IUPyTBG.jpg

If your adapter has some vertical reinforcing walls on it, you may need to cut the bottom one off like I did. A hacksaw and bastard file made worryingly quick work of the rather soft aluminum. Mine also came with a brass electric slip ring stuck to it. Toss that off if you have the same issue, you won't need it. If you're wondering what hubs will fit, you only need a splined connection of the right size, the two holes at the top and bottom for proper turnsignal function, and the bolt pattern to install your new wheel. Paying for much else is a waste of money, this isn't complicated.

I stepped up to a "used" Works Bell hub adapter because I had heard too many reports of failures with the current ~ $13 eBay specials.

http://i.imgur.com/UDIXp3u.jpg

And this is why you need to do this/what it will look like mounted.

http://i.imgur.com/1Fvefp9.jpg

I don't know how other wheel and horn combos work, but mine was a two wire system, with a power in and ground wire. The Dino came with a grounding ring, but it was too big, so I made my own. Put it under the hub nut when the time comes.

http://i.imgur.com/LSRqT65.jpg

Now, how to get the horn power wire to the wheel? Most guides tell you to cut the wire connector from the first picture off and solder in a jumper wire. You could do that, but it's unnecessary. Unless you're one of those RACEKOR people who count every single gram and discount any possibility of ever going back to stock or parting out, you can simply use a vampire connector to feed a jumper wire to the horns. Normally I hate those little dudes, but this isn't a high amperage circuit, and (hopefully) it won't be exposed to a lot of water. The horn wire is the single wire connector, tap in there close to the plastic portion so you can slide the rubber cover back over it. It's clean and probably less work than cutting.

http://i.imgur.com/vLNSCff.jpg

The airbag light is annoying. If you're OG cool like me and have a '90-'93 1.6, you simply need to make an electrical connection between the two prongs of the airbag connector. A female blade connector works great for this and slips over both. If it's a loose fit, remove, crimp it a bit tighter and reinstall. I put heatshrink around the blade connector for peace of mind. Later NAs actually need a 3-ohm resistor between the contacts, so you'll need a way to do that. You could pay some boutique Miata retailer for an airbag simulator or make it yourself. It shouldn't be that hard, but with RadioShack bankruptcy issues who can be sure where resistors will ever be sold again?

Now make sure our work is good. Reconnect your battery since the danger of getting decked by your car is gone. Hook up your horn, ground the steering wheel to the steering column if you have a single wire horn setup, and make sure it works before moving on. When it doesn't, reconnect the wires below the steering column if you followed the SDMC disassembly instructions. Additionally, take apart your ancient NOS cheap Dino wheel and clean the horn contacts. YMMV. The airbag light shouldn't be blinking. If it is, turn the key off and back on again to see if that fixes the issue. Seriously. If the computer reads an error, it will blink the light until the airbag is checked again, which only happens right after the key is turned.

Now the fun. Slide the hub on with the part that says "Top" facing what you consider to be the top. Bottom would probably work too, but if you're not going to follow manufacturer instructions, why are you reading mine? My WB hub came with a little packet of grease and instructions that might as well have been moon runes to me. I assumed it was for the splines, since you're mating aluminum to steel and don't like galvanic corrosion. Grease it up nice and slick and slide it on. Torque the 21mm hub locknut to not-going-to-fall-out lb-ft of torque, or roughly 29-36 lb-ft if you're feeling anal. Take your newly jumper wired harness bit and wrap it around the hub. Feed the jumper wire through the hub wire window and slide the hub cover on. Trim it to fit if need be. Use a new Exact-o blade, the thin and sharp cutting edge is a lot easier to control than my dull pocket knife. Attach the horn wires. Toot the horn again to annoy neighbors and be sure it's still working. Attach the steering wheel and pop on the horn button or whatever most people use.

I will put a pretty picture of my wheel here later.

Pat yourself on the back, admire how awesome it looks, and enjoy the feel of a steering wheel with a rim thickness not sized for small children. Then order that 1/2" wheel spacer you need because you didn't bother to measure anything and you can't turn the wheel without turning on your flashers. In the meantime and after, never drive your car on public roads again, because I just helped you remove a government approved safety device and disavow all responsibility for your continued health and well being.

Thanks for reading my wordy story on a basic Miata mod and what I learned while doing it.

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