heinrich

Oak Green on light grey? GORGEOUS!!

Vilhuer

That's it, not common color it seems. There's one GTS in Japan and one was for sale in Switzerland last year, both autos. Other than that, haven't seen same color GTS anywhere. Mine looks barely ok from distance, needs lot of work. So far only cosmetic thing done to it is quick wash on a day it arrived. Nothing has happened over past two months. Place where it's located is friends old barn turned into Porsche storage some 30 miles east of Helsinki.

Erkka

1992 928 GTS 5-speed work in progress
Oak Green Metallic 22L
Classic Gray MX

Nicole

Interesting that it fit - I had been told that 928, 944 and 911 all had different hubs. Maybe they tried to standardize with the airbag wheels. Very interesting!

Also, I am curious to how you colored your ***** in the dash pod. Did you paint them, or cover them with thin layers of leather?

Your interior looks very professionally done. Great job!

Flott Leben

Heinrich,
I agree with you. Maybe Randy can edit the name out.

Erkka,
If you are a woman - Erica or Erika. If you are a man - Erik or Eric (like the Viking). I looked at your pictures. Nice colors, very unique, great car! Good luck with the cosmetic detailing. How does the engine run?

Vilhuer

Could use some minor tuning. It hasn't been started since 2002. Would need very long cambelt as crank and cams are 30 miles apart.

Erkka

1992 928 GTS 5-speed engine almost totally in boxes
Oak Green Metallic 22L
Classic Gray MX

heinrich

Thanks Flott :-) I don't care what people say about me, but leave my family out of it. I think of it as a basic courtesy.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Nicole ..the 90 > "928 sports steering wheel " ....(airbag) is a part # 944 347 804 .....the airbag is 944 347 089 03 . Porsche switched to the different size steering shaft when they added airbags .

Weissach

It's very easy. I used the front sensors of a 98 Ford Escort. Anything over a 15 mph crash or a crash that passes the headlights ..... it will explode. But to be honest, I did it for the looks and feel. I hate those 70's looking Momo steering wheels. They just make the interior look old and dated. One of the main reason the GTSs interior look better is because of the steering wheel(it will look even better when I put the 996 wheel in )

heinrich

that is a beautiful interior, especially for an '83

Dave H.

in a previous episode, heinrich asked:

here's your extra ingredient:

crash sensors are calibrated for the mass of the car and how the structure of the car crumples (heard of "crumple zones"?). there are more parameters than just the speed of the car. the force of the crash has to exceed a predetermined g point.

does an Escort wheigh the same as a 928? does the front end crumple exactly the same way as a 928? if you used the 928 airbag brain, how do you know it will get the right signal from the Ford sensors? if the bags deply too early or too late, you're [potentially] f'd...

this is an even bigger hack than installing a complete 928 airbag sysytem.

at least you guys will die happy, thinking you're safe. i'm done...

aircooler

I also replaced my 70's 4 spoke wheel with the airbag wheel.

I love it!



Cheers,
Mike

aircooler

For those that are curious about the steering wheel for the 928, there are "4" different wheels found on the 928 by Porsche part #'s.

1978 - 82 #928 347 084 01 (3 spoke)

1983 - 89 #928 347 084 02 (4 spoke)

1990 - 93 #944 347 804 51 (airbag)

1994 - 95 #944 347 804 52 (airbag)

The 1990 - 1993 model year steering wheel is also found on:

1989 - 1990 944 (airbag equipped)**
1992 - 1995 968

**PET lists another 944 airbag wheel from 85-88 (# 944 347 804 50)

If your 928 is not already equipped with an airbag (78- 89) the air bag wheel will not fit. The hub splines are different sizes.

Later 928's (90-93), later 944's(89-90), and 968 wheels are intechangable.

I have found a relatively easy procedure for adapting the newer airbag wheel to 83–89 928’s. Here is the link:



Mike

Nicole

I wonder, what they changed in '94...

Question for Mike: Is the steering wheel now closer to the steering column switch stalks, or farther away? It's hard to tell from the pictures, because the wheel is also smaller and thicker.

Were the bolts that held the hub extension to the old wheelsignificantly smaller than the ones you use to attach hub extension to new wheel? I am amazed to see that they considered three bolts to be strong enough to hold this together...

Also, interesting when comparing the pictures: The airbag wheel does not have the mesh like piece that allows it to deform, if it is hit in an accident. In other words, it won't give way like the original wheel. For that reason it would never pass German vehicle inspeciton without the airbag activated properly...

Of course that's not an issue over here - instead you only need to ask yourself, if you can handle banging your head against something that does not deform as much or as easily... ;-)

aircooler

Hello Nicole,

The change in 94, I don't know either?

I got my air bag wheel on ebay for $60 (including bag). It is from a 968.

Once I purchased the wheel I used the steering wheel base from the stock wheel to mount the new airbag wheel. I had to use 3 bolts (they are twice as large as the stock bolts), drill 3 new holes, and have 3 holes tapped to accept the new bolts. The wheel looks and performs perfect, and the horn buttons function as well.

The newer Porsche airbag wheel is the exact same diameter as my old stock 88 wheel, 15 inches (380mm).

After I installed the Porsche airbag wheel it was 1/2 inch (13mm) shorter, or closer to the pod.

So the difference (13mm) is negligible, and that difference is closer to the pod, or away from the driver.

That being said, my car did have option 018 "sport steering wheel with elevated hub - 30mm". I'm not sure how common that option is, but without it the wheel would be 17mm further away from the pod.

The pics on my web site do not do the difference justice. It really is a striking improvement. I think it takes 5 years off the car.

Please excuse the lack of detailing of my interior. I have not yet had a chance to even wipe it down since I re-installed the entire interior.



Cost:
Used airbag wheel (with bag) $ 60-150
Tapping and drilling (metal shop) $ 30
3 hours work $ 0
2-3 beers $ 6

Cheers,
Mike

Nicole

That's the most scary thing I've read here in a long time... I always picture the "explosion" of an airbag in my face like getting a hit on my chin by a heavy weight boxer - providing I am closer to it than sitting in my normal driving position. I have read that when the airbag shoots out of its case. it can achieve speeds of around 150mph. It will also deflate in less than 2 seconds...


Interesting comment. I feel similar about some of the aftermarket wheels, esepecially those with metal spokes. I don't like to have anything hard or sharp in front of me when I drive or ride in a vehicle.

I remember when I was a passenger in a rollover accident, how the radio ***** in that 911 injured my left knee - even though the radio seemed so far away. You never know how your body parts move in a strong impact, and I prefer not to take any chances. No objects in my car that can hit me easily, no sharp objects either. My cell phone - if it's out - is the most dangerous piece around. I'm a chicken, but that's OK. I prefer to live...

But I can't consider the 928 airbag wheel exactly beautiful. I like the greater thickness and lesser diameter over the previous style steering wheels, but not the bulky airbag module. If there was an easy retrofit for the 993 four-spoke wheel, I'd love that! The only alternative I have found so far is the TechArt Airbag wheel for the 928. It costs about US$1,200 but you can be sure it works. It has German TÜV approval - a tough hurdle to take for an aftermarket airbag wheel.