Steering Wheel thickness

[T I T A N I U M]

Hello all,

As a long-time user of other forums, I'll start by saying I did search for this topic, but wasn't able to find anything. Perhaps I'm not using the proper search terms...

New 2012 3.8 owner as of yesterday. Love the car. Hate the steering wheel. The thickness of the steering wheel is the smallest of any car I've ever driven.

What, if anything, have folks done to beef up the grip? I don't want one of those slip-on covers that you get at the auto parts store. I'm thinking more along the lines of a WheelSkins leather cover, but one with some sort of padding underneath that would give the wheel more girth.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated...thanks!

 

[Mark_888]

Just curious as to what you were driving before that had a thicker steering wheel?

 

[T I T A N I U M]

2007 Acura TL, 2007 Infiniti G35, every BMW I've ever driven, my girlfriend's Toyota Corolla, et cetera, et cetera...

 

[snork]

I don't have any complaints with the thickness, but will agree it is a tad thinner than the wheel in my old Subie Legacy and my wife's Tribeca.

I had a wheelskins leather cover on my old Civic (my 2nd car) since it was just a plastic/vinyl wheel. They're good quality, just have to take the time to lace it up properly. Also since I see you live in Ohio, try to do it in the garage or on a sunny/warmish day now that it's getting into the fall. Warmer temps will help the leather be more pliable for installation.

 

[T I T A N I U M]

I don't have any complaints with the thickness, but will agree it is a tad thinner than the wheel in my old Subie Legacy and my wife's Tribeca.

I had a wheelskins leather cover on my old Civic (my 2nd car) since it was just a plastic/vinyl wheel. They're good quality, just have to take the time to lace it up properly. Also since I see you live in Ohio, try to do it in the garage or on a sunny/warmish day now that it's getting into the fall. Warmer temps will help the leather be more pliable for installation.

WheelSkins are great! I had one on the Infiniti. Will almost certainly put on on the Genny as well. Just wondered if there was any other/better way to beef it up. WheelSkins will only add a small amount of thickness. Thinking maybe some sort of dense foam tubing, maybe 1/4", around the wheel and under the WheelSkins.

 

[Vince2]

An online Hyundai accessory importer (KAI.com) use to sell a very nice, thicker steering wheel. The steering wheel is made by Hyundai and mates up perfectly. I've looked for the wheel from other importers (I don't trust KAI after a number of complaints on this forum about them). That could be one solution albeit expensive. The add on covers are huge buzz kill for me.

 

[T I T A N I U M]

An online Hyundai accessory importer (KAI.com) use to sell a very nice, thicker steering wheel. The steering wheel is made by Hyundai and mates up perfectly. I've looked for the wheel from other importers (I don't trust KAI after a number of complaints on this forum about them). That could be one solution albeit expensive. The add on covers are huge buzz kill for me.

Their site's not coming up for some reason...will have to try again later. Would be expensive, but might be worth it over the life of the car. Thanks for the rec!

 

[bmbutler]

I agree. I expected "more" from the steering wheel.

 

[Kevinc5a]

Is the 2012 steering wheel thinner than the wheels on previous models? I've never seen this complaint before.

 

[T I T A N I U M]

Is the 2012 steering wheel thinner than the wheels on previous models? I've never seen this complaint before.

My rudimentary measurement is 3 15/16" in the 2012. Noticeably lacking is any kind of contour or extra grip at the 10 and 2 positions as many other steering wheels have.

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[Vince2]

Titanium I should have written "http://www.koreanautoimports.com"...after arriving look in the Genesis sedan interior section. I can't remember which of the posters here has the high end unit. He posted pictures. There is a provider who uses E-bay (many bought their wing emblams from him) that might be able to import the wheel. It was expensive (around $650) but it was thicker, covered in both wood and leather and as I said before it works perfectly with the vehicle. A really nice "high end unit" fitting our vehicle. Apparently the steering wheel is used on the Genesis as sold in Korea.

 

[dg_moore]

Titanium I should have written "http://www.koreanautoimports.com"...after arriving look in the Genesis sedan interior section. I can't remember which of the posters here has the high end unit. He posted pictures. There is a provider who uses E-bay (many bought their wing emblams from him) that might be able to import the wheel. It was expensive (around $650) but it was thicker, covered in both wood and leather and as I said before it works perfectly with the vehicle. A really nice "high end unit" fitting our vehicle. Apparently the steering wheel is used on the Genesis as sold in Korea.

I have the KAI wood/leather wheel and I love it. It's much thicker than the stock, has a very chunky feel, and has finger indentations that make it much less slippery. It's also pretty expensive, but I'm not sorry I bought it. There are pictures in my album - have a look for yourself.

 

[CC4.6]

Maybe one of these?

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[T I T A N I U M]

I have the KAI wood/leather wheel and I love it. It's much thicker than the stock, has a very chunky feel, and has finger indentations that make it much less slippery. It's also pretty expensive, but I'm not sorry I bought it. There are pictures in my album - have a look for yourself.

That is quite nice! Did it come with the wing emblem airbag, or did you have to get that separate?

 

[Vince2]

Thanks dg. I couldn't remember your handle. This unit was offered by KAI but its not listed on their site anymore. I was reluctant to buy from KAI after all of the negatives about their business I read on the forum. Although expensive the steering wheel was one of a very few, classy upgrades available for our cars. Maybe one of the Korean accessory importers on E-bay would be willing to import the piece. Had someone other than KAI offered the wheel I would have bought one.

 

[jnc2000]

Does anyone know what happened to the CF steering wheel?

 

[dg_moore]

That is quite nice! Did it come with the wing emblem airbag, or did you have to get that separate?

I bought the airbag separately. According to Vince2 KAI is no longer listing this wheel, however. Too bad - it's a nice one. Maybe somebody will import it.

 

[T I T A N I U M]

I bought the airbag separately. According to Vince2 KAI is no longer listing this wheel, however. Too bad - it's a nice one. Maybe somebody will import it.

Yeah, I noticed on their site that they have a different steering wheel available now. Not nearly as nice. Also does not include airbag.

I've got a cheapo slip on cover from the auto parts store. Exploring custom options from WheelSkins or similar vendors. Not looking to spend too much on this - it's just a pet peeve.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[LIRspecSedan]

http://www.autotux.com/genesis-sedan-deluxe-wood-leather-steering-wheel/



http://www.autotux.com/genesis-sedan-carbon-leather-steering-wheel/



wood/leather and cf/leather wheels. beautiful. how easy is it to change out the wheel and controls dg_moore? i changed out the steering wheel on my audi s4 to the flat bottom mfsw from the ttrs. it was moulded for the hand positions like this one is. the rs6 came with a beefier version like the ones posted here. the look and feel of the wheel is great. maybe if a few people were interested, we could get a good price. not a cheap mod, but for something you can actually enjoy every day as opposed to a mod that other people might admire, its worth the money.
thanks,

 

[dg_moore]

http://www.autotux.com/genesis-sedan-deluxe-wood-leather-steering-wheel/



http://www.autotux.com/genesis-sedan-carbon-leather-steering-wheel/



wood/leather and cf/leather wheels. beautiful. how easy is it to change out the wheel and controls dg_moore? i changed out the steering wheel on my audi s4 to the flat bottom mfsw from the ttrs. it was moulded for the hand positions like this one is. the rs6 came with a beefier version like the ones posted here. the look and feel of the wheel is great. maybe if a few people were interested, we could get a good price. not a cheap mod, but for something you can actually enjoy every day as opposed to a mod that other people might admire, its worth the money.
thanks,

I had my dealer do the work - remove the old wheel, swap the controls to the new wheel, and install the new wheel. It took about an hour and they charged me $42.00. And I didn't have to mess with the airbag. That alone was worth the $42 to me.