Hi, everyone,

I'm new to the forum, but I've owned my RX since March 2004. I'm sure you all would agree that it's a really fun car to drive.

My first question on this forum regards the steering wheel: would anyone know of an aftermarket steering wheel that has these characteristics?

-smaller than the stock wheel
-has an airbag
-has compatible stereo controls (a la the stock wheel)
-alcantara or equivalent grippy material

I've found that the radius of the stock wheel is quite large and would like a smaller diameter one. Also, my hand slips off it so much that I have to wear a silly leather glove for safety, even when driving normally.

I checked out Momo and Sparco, but they don't seem to have all the things that I'm looking for. But I could be wrong!

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!

 

that my friend will be a tough find, i really can't think of a single aftermarket wheel with an airbag and radio buttons. maybe you should research other mazda cars and see what there steering diameter is and try a straight swap. BUT gun to my head the rx8's is the smallest out of mazda.

 

yea you aren't going to find an aftermarket that has all the features like the stock.

 

You wear a glove while daily driving haha thats a first. You could try using two hands.

 

haha it's kind of hard to downshift in mid turn with two hands on the wheel haha.

Are there any aftermarket wheels with airbags? Maybe I can find a stereo-control accessory to fit on a new wheel? Anyone heard of this kind of stuff?

dilssrotary: researching other Mazda vehicles for their wheel diameters is a good idea. I'm sure you're right about Mazda's flagship sports car having the smallest wheel diameter, but it's worth a shot. I'll let you guys know my findings if there's anything relevant.

 

I just stumbled upon this on a google search:

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...CT_ID=32347919

Things like this are available for BMW's, so I'm hoping that they're available for Mazda's or Asian vehicles, at least.

The saga continues...

 

you're suppose to downshift before the turn and turn with both hands on steering wheel.

 

AutoEXE has one, dont know if its a smaller Diameter

 

Grr...! You're right. But things happen when driving in the city, yeah?

Excuses, excuses.

Hey, maybe I should try one of these:

http://grantproducts.com/default.html

I'm actually kind of parial to the "rosewood".

**Edit: woops, the page won't display properly... for the punchline, click on the "Airbag Solutions" link.

 

Bindon: my Japanese is kind of rusty. Would you mind sending a link to what you're talking about?

 

yeah but they don't produce one for the rx8

 

Darn it all...!

 

lol what I was thinking.

Maybe Mazdaspeed6? although it probably would be hard to find its wheel since it is so new even if it were smaller.