Aftermarket steering wheel installation

[Kswizzle]

Hello everyone!

I just installed my aftermarket steering wheel and I love how it transforms the car. I asked the manufacturer to thicken the wheel abit as the OEM one is just a too skinny and does not seem to have much foam padding. Mine is firm when I squeeze but not nearly as hard as the OEM. Huge thank you to @markboris for this original write up and answering some of my own questions on how to remove the airbag and steering wheel. The whole install is pretty straight forward. I used this link:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...nual-to-disassemble-the-steering-wheel.21033/

My custom wheel came with the heat function which requires you to splice the original harness from the original wheel and the new wires so that the connector is connected to the new wheels and will connect to the car. There’s a ground, live, and 2 additional ones that control temperature. I personally used wamos for this but I’m sure there’s plenty of other options. I then wrapped them in electrical tape and hot glued them down so they would not rattle.

Transferring the buttons was easy and self explanatory. The torx screws are tiny. I think T12 was the correct size that eventually fit.

The only 2 thorns in my backside was popping the airbag clips off to take it off the wheel and popping the airbag cover off. For whatever odd reason Ford decided to create these tasks to test your patience.
I ended up removing the lower steering shroud so that I can position each clip at the 830/9 o’clock position. I started with the left one, unclipped it, and turned the wheel clockwise until the right clip was where I wanted it to be.

The airbag cover was also a fight. I lost my patience and basically cut the cover off. My steering wheel came with a new cover anyway. Once it’s in, the metal tabs should be resting on each corner and should not be deep or on the interior portion. They should be resting superficially.

All in all, super happy with the install!
I’ve attached some pics and a video showing the wheel.

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[markboris]

Hello everyone!

I just installed my aftermarket steering wheel and I love how it transforms the car. I asked the manufacturer to thicken the wheel abit as the OEM one is just a too skinny and does not seem to have much foam padding. Mine is firm when I squeeze but not nearly as hard as the OEM. Huge thank you to @markboris for this original write up and answering some of my own questions on how to remove the airbag and steering wheel. The whole install is pretty straight forward. I used this link:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...nual-to-disassemble-the-steering-wheel.21033/

My custom wheel came with the heat function which requires you to splice the original harness from the original wheel and the new wires so that the connector is connected to the new wheels and will connect to the car. There’s a ground, live, and 2 additional ones that control temperature. I personally used wamos for this but I’m sure there’s plenty of other options. I then wrapped them in electrical tape and hot glued them down so they would not rattle.

Transferring the buttons was easy and self explanatory. The torx screws are tiny. I think T12 was the correct size that eventually fit.

The only 2 thorns in my backside was popping the airbag clips off to take it off the wheel and popping the airbag cover off. For whatever odd reason Ford decided to create these tasks to test your patience.
I ended up removing the lower steering shroud so that I can position each clip at the 830/9 o’clock position. I started with the left one, unclipped it, and turned the wheel clockwise until the right clip was where I wanted it to be.

The airbag cover was also a fight. I lost my patience and basically cut the cover off. My steering wheel came with a new cover anyway. Once it’s in, the metal tabs should be resting on each corner and should not be deep or on the interior portion. They should be resting superficially.

All in all, super happy with the install!
I’ve attached some pics and a video showing the wheel.

Thanks for the review on this wheel and it looks awesome. I like the red accents. . Glad to hear the leather area is padded well and a little thicker than the OEM wheel.

 

[NateZhao]

Wow, your new steering wheel is super cool.
The red carbon, red stitching, and red pony look very well together.
Airbags are difficult to remove because Ford doesn't want users to remove these safety-related components themselves. Generally, a special tool is needed, or a long tool can be used to pry it open from behind the steering wheel.

 

[Kswizzle]

Wow, your new steering wheel is super cool.
The red carbon, red stitching, and red pony look very well together.
Airbags are difficult to remove because Ford doesn't want users to remove these safety-related components themselves. Generally, a special tool is needed, or a long tool can be used to pry it open from behind the steering wheel.

Yeah that makes sense. It was such a pain to get it removed

 

[markboris]

Airbags are difficult to remove because Ford doesn't want users to remove these safety-related components themselves. Generally, a special tool is needed, or a long tool can be used to pry it open from behind the steering wheel.

My special tool are credit cards. I slip them down between the airbag and cover where the tabs are to keep them flat then lift the cover off.

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