Anyway, my steering wheel (FED airbag monstrosity) has gotten worn to the point where any moisture, whether rain, sweat, or simple humidity, makes it a bit sticky and black crud rubs off of it onto anything it touches, like my hands or the legs of my trousers. I can't have that.
I'd love to buy a Raid wheel and adapter, but that's in the area of about $700US, plus installation. I don't really have that to spare at the moment.
I can't stand to put one of those steering wheel covers on it that you buy at the auto parts stores. They don't belong in a Lotus.
have you tried a good clean up with something that is designed to clean leather ? or are the Fed steering wheels not leather like the brit ones ?
Is it rubber, plastic or leather under the crud? I bought a secondhand car that had crud like that on a leather wheel and I just sat there with a bowl of hot water and a cloth and cleaned off the sweat, dirt and crud. Back to the leather it looked a bit pale where it's normally held so used a bit of black shoe polish to get it back to black and a good rub with a polishing cloth so I didn't get black hands. Came up like new and wasn't slippery - or gooey.
Acetone or alcohol are good for cleaning general goo off steering wheels - but test on a small area first to ensure it doesn't attack any of the undelying material.
The FED airbag wheels are not leather. They are fake leather. Some sort of rubber I would guess. Real leather would make the ugly thing almost acceptable.
tweetdriver63 wrote: The FED airbag wheels are not leather. They are fake leather. Some sort of rubber I would guess. Real leather would make the ugly thing almost acceptable.
Oh, that's a bummer! Rubber has probably perished so not possible to clean up. Think I'd look at a cover just to keep the goo of my hands while I saved up for something decent. Some of the sew on leather covers can look half-decent if you are good at sewing... www.ebay.com/itm/PU-Leather-Steering-Wheel-Cover-With-Hole-Needles-Thread-DIY-BLACK-SIZE-M-/291047797984
That's exactly what I'm thinking. I saw a nice-looking black/red one on Amazon. Also, there's an airbag wheel from a 1990-1992 Pontiac Firebird on ebay for $99 or best offer that looks to be in great shape and should be a direct fit. Just have to use the airbag with the LOTUS on it instead of the one that says Pontiac. I'm assuming since it's the same wheel as ours it will fit, although I know what assuming means. haha
I thought they are wrapped in real leather, not pleather. Mine was in similar shape when I got Smaug. Careful cleaning with, of all things, Method brand kitchen cleaner from Target pulled the crud off. It truly was just hand-mung built up over the years. Once down to leather, a bit of leather dressing kept it nice. Now, I wipe it with a warm, damp terrycloth every so often to keep the mung away. I'd at least try a good clean before swapping wheels. You could also buy a sew-on leather wheel cover. Properly done, you'll cut grooves in your fingers stretching the thread when you put it on, but it will look and feel great.
tigerdog wrote: I thought they are wrapped in real leather, not pleather. Mine was in similar shape when I got Smaug. Careful cleaning with, of all things, Method brand kitchen cleaner from Target pulled the crud off. It truly was just hand-mung built up over the years. Once down to leather, a bit of leather dressing kept it nice. Now, I wipe it with a warm, damp terrycloth every so often to keep the mung away. I'd at least try a good clean before swapping wheels. You could also buy a sew-on leather wheel cover. Properly done, you'll cut grooves in your fingers stretching the thread when you put it on, but it will look and feel great.
I didn't realize any of them had a real leather wheel. Maybe yours was modified by a previous owner? Mine is definitely not real leather. The only difference between mine and other cheap s**t GM wheels of the same era (that look the same, like this one from a Pontiac Firebird) is that it has stitching to make it look like it's leather.
I've had very good luck with leather steering wheel lace on covers. I have used them on several cars. My pickup has had one on it since new (late 2000). It is just starting to be shabby.
Chris, there's a guy on r3vlimited.com (BMW forum) that does an incredible job of wrapping wheels in leather. They look better than stock. Check it out. The guys user name is stitched. He's charging around $150
So looking at that, if I haven't mis-read something, a Pontiac Wheel costs $99 and a Lotus Wheel costs $199, yet there's no difference!
You aren't missing anything Pete, it's just the guys selling the Lotus Esprit wheel knows it fits the Lotus while the people selling the Pontiac wheel don't. Adding the word LOTUS to a part's description automatically doubles the value.
I noticed that several of the Pontiac wheels show they have the newer horn push housings (clear plastic) but don't all show the plungers are there. The M100 used the early version (black plastic) switches and the complete assemblies are interchangeable, but the internal parts are not. Anyone looking to buy should try to get the complete switches if they are available or they will have to swap the "fragile" switches.
If you look closely, you'll see a difference between the Lotus wheel and the Pontiac wheel. There isn't any stitching on the Pontiac wheel. We have stitching on ours to make it look like leather.