I'm in the market for a steering wheel for my autocross car. I don't drive it on the street except for on the way to events. What is everyones though on suede vs. leather?

I've never really driven a car with a suede wheel, only leather wheels.

Also, I'm a taller person and when I get the seat moved far enough forward for proper arm movement, it limits my ammount of leg movement. So I'm looking to get the wheel closer to me. I'm planning on a smaller diamter wheel so that should help too.

I have a couple options from what I see...

1. Wheel with a deeper dish ($0)
2. Wheel spacer (1" or 2" are what I have found) (~$25)
3. Quick release hub seems to get it 2" closer (~$100 for LTB)

My question is if one is better than the rest? It seems a wheel with a larger dish is the way to go, the spacers seem like a fix if you already have a wheel... and the quick release isn't something I need, so I can't see spending the extra money.

Thanks,
-Jason

 

Also how about steering wheel thickness?

I want to get something that is completely round becuase I shuffle steer, but are there different thicknesses.

I've been looking at Momo and Sparco wheels on LTB, some have thicknesses listed others don't.

Like this one... Momo Mod 08 says 30mm x 30mm
http://ltbmotorsports.com/momomod08.html

And the Momo Mod 07 doesn't say anything...
http://ltbmotorsports.com/mod07.html

Maybe I just need to contact Momo....

 

I used a leather wheel last year and a suede wheel this year. Both are about 350mm which is a little smaller than the stock wheel. Personally I liked the leather one better for regular driving, but the suede better for auto-x.

I also have a sparco spacer for mine. I think I found it for about $20 on ebay. I'd rather have this than a deep dish wheel, just as a personal preference. I'm going to upgrade to a quick release hub when I find money to do it. Its not really up there on high priority list.

As for shuffle steering my wheel last year had a very small D shape at the bottom. It was easy to forget about it when steering fast, but my rounder wheel this year is much easier to steer with.

 

I recall people telling me to get a suede wheel only if you are going to wearing gloves whenever you drive. Supposedly, the suede wears out really fast.

 

My favorite combination so far is suede-palmed Sparco gloves with a perforated leather wheel like the MOMO Competition. Just the right amount of grip and feel, without being grabby. I also happen to like steering wheels with the little ears on the inside at 10 and 2. Gives me something to grab onto when I set my hands up to turn in.

I'll tentatively agree with the concern about suede's long-term durability. I've no experience with a suede wheel but it seems likely that the pill would eventually wear down, leaving you with something rather slick.

BTW, my adoration of my Sparco Speed gloves continues. A little more expensive than your usual G Force / Racer Wholesale / whatever house brand gloves...but ten times more comfy.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">BTW, my adoration of my Sparco Speed gloves continues. A little more expensive than your usual G Force / Racer Wholesale / whatever house brand gloves...but ten times more comfy.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, I gotta admit to some glove envy after seeing Karl's Sparcos. I'll be needing new ones soon and those ae choice #1.
Then again... My Simpsons HAVE lasted 4 very abusive years.
Hmmm...

 

Suede weare very quickly compared to leather. I prefer the grippiness of suede, but don't care for the wear characteristics. I remember once my dad got this cool red suede shiftknob with an attached black leather boot for his E30 M3.....about a week later the suede was brownish and shiny and the **** now resides in a box on a shelf somewhere

 

I used a OMP suede wheel for 2 years of DE's, and daily driving. I always wore gloves. I got tired of all the weird looks on the street and switched to a leather one. I regret it every time I track my car, the suede was WAY better. I don't have ps btw.

And about your spacer question, I use an OMP 2"spacer, OMP hub, and a dished wheel now. I'm about 6'-1" and my forearms are at 90 degrees to my upper arms when I hold the wheel.

 

Suede wheel with gloves. Get leather if you don't plan on using gloves.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Outrun &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Suede wheel with gloves. Get leather if you don't plan on using gloves.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ditto that. The leather steering wheel was never a problem at autocross events, UNITL I wore the racing gloves.

 

season #3 on suede wheel with suede gloves, and i don't see any wear issues on the wheel.

i only did 2 races and 2 drivers school's in year number 1, and have only done 4 races and 1 "school," this year (expo), but last year i did 14 races, 2 test days, and 2 schools.

i will probably always have a suede wheel with suede gloves.

if it's only an autocross car, you might consider getting a "D," shaped wheel. it helped me in the miata with legroom. but i never (on purpose at least) get crossed up enough that the flat part of the wheel points up, in autocross you might though.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. I like the idea of suede, but I don't want to wearing gloves when I drive to events.

I've never wore gloves while autocrossing either, not sure I want to pay for gloves to test it out either. hmmmm....

 

Jason,
Come find me sometime this weekend at peru. You can try mine out and see how it feels. You can drive my car around the paddock some and see how the suede wheel feels.

I've stopped wearing gloves while I drive for convenience, but still like the suede. It was much nicer when I was using gloves though.

 

I use batting gloves when I autocross. They are cheap, $20, and feel great. I got use to wearing gloves from my road racing days and just carried it over to autocrossing, but I got tired of wearing out the expensive Simpson Talon Grips.

A student of mine was using batting gloves, so I went to Target and bought a pair of the padded style and they work great. I use them to work out and to race

I like the look and the feel of the suede wheel, but I went with a leather Momo Monte Carlo, which I sell in my shop Speed Dynamics. The leather is very nice and is nice to the touch while driving on the street. I drive my STS car on the street quite regularly, so the suede wheel wouldn't have lasted very long.

Hit me up if you want a nice inexpensive leather wheel, I have the Monte Carlo in stock, but would need to order the hub for your application.

Jeff

Manager
Speed Dynamics
Escondido, CA
760-738-5575

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Outrun &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Suede wheel with gloves. Get leather if you don't plan on using gloves.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ditto x3. One more trick is to get your gloves a little wet before you go out (suede wheel only). Curt Storms ruined me for life on this trick, so now if I forget to have wet gloves before I go out, I start freakin' out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by johng &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ditto x3. One more trick is to get your gloves a little wet before you go out (suede wheel only). Curt Storms ruined me for life on this trick, so now if I forget to have wet gloves before I go out, I start freakin' out. </TD></TR></TABLE>

x4 Outrun is right.

OK, what's up with the wet gloves? I've never heard of that one before. What does it do? I guess you just have to try it. Sounds like some evil ploy from the NW people to get us to feel their pain of wrinkly hands and mildewy gloves.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dr Pooface &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
And about your spacer question, I use an OMP 2"spacer, OMP hub, and a dished wheel now. I'm about 6'-1" and my forearms are at 90 degrees to my upper arms when I hold the wheel. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Does the wheel feel solid still even with all of the extension? How large of a offset? I'm looking at something like 75mm or 90mm....

I think I'm going to try the deeper dish wheel first, if I need more projection I'll look into a spacer or quick release.


Modified by Mugenlude at 3:38 PM 6/30/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ryan12321 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Jason,
Come find me sometime this weekend at peru. You can try mine out and see how it feels. You can drive my car around the paddock some and see how the suede wheel feels.

I've stopped wearing gloves while I drive for convenience, but still like the suede. It was much nicer when I was using gloves though.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks Ryan, I'll have to find you this weekend. Might just be easiest to do it after our runs bright and early on Saturday morning....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AndyHope &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">OK, what's up with the wet gloves? Sounds like some evil ploy from the NW people to get us to feel their pain of wrinkly hands and mildewy gloves.</TD></TR></TABLE>

On second thought, maybe the Cali boiz aren't ready for our speed secrets just yet (or prepared to replace their gloves every 6 months). Now that it's out, I'm curious how many people actually show up on grid at Infineon with wet gloves.

 

Wouldn't the grand plan then since it seems that for the track or auto X that suede is better and for street the leather is better would be to have a detachable wheel and have one that is leather for DD, or driving to the event and another wheel that is suede used at the track only. If you use the hub you could switch back and forth. Expensive yeah but it would be a solution I think.

 

Just get a suede wheel, just be careful with it (no eating and driving). I have one and it is incredible for both daily driving and autox.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ralphie14 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> If you use the hub you could switch back and forth. Expensive yeah but it would be a solution I think.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This sparked an idea... how about just using a wheel cover on my way to events?

Again the car is parked when I'm not racing it... it's driven about 80 miles on a typical race weekend for about 20 events a year....

 

my car has a leather momo wheel. When I bought it, I really wanted a suede one and thought I would hate the leather, but I love the leather.

I drove a friends SM a few weeks ago with a suede wheel. Hated it like nothing else. All the suede was matted and become polished. My hands hurt for several days from having to grip the wheel so tight. (which is really not what you want to have to do)

I will be sticking to leather from now on.

 

Yeah, definitely like leather better than suede. Unfortunately, my pimp wheel in the SM right now is bigger than stock. Does make good practice for driving a bus though.

 

I have a suede wheel in my car; it's a sparco 330 IIRC.

I love the feel of it when new and textured but the faux suede; i.e., alcantera, will actually become flat and slippery over time if exposed to wet hands, the oils from your skin, etc. which would suggest a leather wheel is a better option for a street driven car but who cars, the suede feels better and can be re-upholestered.

Even so, with my sparco gloves (suede palms) on my matted down suede wheel feels better than a leather wheel.

I like small diameter wheels that are thick; just feels better.

My 2 cents.