928ntslow

Yea, I guess padding is just for looks. All those years of studies/testing the additions of padding to metal is all a farce and a ploy to make money. The reason manufacturers use them must be just for looks. And I KNOW everytiime a car gets in an accident, the seat belts ALWAYS hold you in the perfect position so your body or head does not get thrown forward beyond what you are positive just won't happen. Most people can stop themselves from getting hurt if they just straighten out their arms and legs. lock them into position and put their head back....right?

Sorry for the sarcasm brothers, but your comments are as foolish as saying, real men don't need/wear seatbelts. Take the time to watch crash test dummies and all of the testing thats done....I know, I know thats not real life and those dummies can't lock their body joints to stop themselves from hitting everything/anything in front of them...stupid dummmies.

You guys are so far off it's frightening. The difference JUST padding makes is HUGE!

Bret928

Gee Keith,

What about older cars without steering wheel padding? Guess I shouldn’t drive my 78 MGB because it doesn’t have a padded steering wheel either. Never mind the fact that I’d be crushed by just about any SUV or Minivan on the road. Maybe we should just have all those cars impounded & destroyed.

Heck lets get even safer. Since we know airbags are far safer than steering wheel padding, maybe we should outlaw all cars that don’t have airbags? Heck lets get really nannyish and have any car that can go faster than the maximum posted speed limit taken off the road all together.

Who decides & where’s it going to stop?

airosey

Bret, my wheel came off fairly easy, just had to wiggle around on it a little. My stock wheel was also discolored, and with a large portion of my interior being new it really stuck out.

I'm really not going to get into the safety issue. I would agree that it seems safer with a padded wheel. But I like my new wheel! So, I guess I will take the risk. Hopefully I will have a 930 wheel installed if I ever do wreck.

Bret928

Thanks for the intel!

And thats all I'm trying to say.

928ntslow

Good point Bret, Let's face it, newer cars ARE safer. All the testing I was speaking of gave us padded wheels, crumple zones, then airbags, etc.. I just sold a 72 Xj6. Loved the car, but after driving new cars with airbags and all the other safety features, I have to admit, the thought did cross my mind of what would happen if some clown pulled out in front of me. Fortunately, the Jag was slow, but getting in a low speed accident in that, as opposed to a higher speed in a 928, my money is on the 928 for walking away....newer and better safety technology. Take note that all 928's came with a padded steering wheel.

Let's not lose focus on what I was saying. My initial comment was it IS riskier to have a non padded steering wheel when you don't have to have one. This is not something that has to be justified. I am not waving a safety flag, just making a comment and then responding to the opposition. I have no issues if anyone wants to feel like they are living life on the edge. I am just saying , don't fool yourself into thinking that you will suffer the same injuries padded or not, there is a big difference. 1/2" of padding will greatly better save your face or any other body part from being shredded.

FlyingDog

You might want to lay off the attitude and watcdh some of those videos yourself. Your head will hit or go over the top of the wheel. Your chest or abdomen will hit the center hub and spoke parts. That is why centers are no longer flexible (to prevent impaling your chest on the column or hitting the dash) and the outside rim is padded and deformable (to try to prevent you from smashing your face). Try thinking before posting with your head up your *** next time.

Nicole

That would only be the case if a driver does not wear a safety belt.

I'm sure he loves you, too!

OrionKhan

Actually, there are other factors to consider such as height and weight of driver, the position of the wheel/column, height setting of seat of the seat, distance of seat to wheel, speed, etc. A padded wheel is safer. But there are a lot of thing that have to happen for the metal edge of the wheel to become a significant contributing factor to injury during a collision. Its more than just saying "you going to get hurt with that thing".

For me personally, I his new wheel looks nice. I have a 930 myself. Not because of safety, but because of style. I don't think that his wheel will significantly increase the chance of him being seriously injured while driving the car. If vehicle safety was a major concern of mine, I wouldn't own a 928.

And you are right that cars aren't sold with those types of wheels anymore. But the safety concious government hasn't banned the aftermarket sale of them all together. Which might lend credence to the argument that the risk of additional injury is not increased by a terrible amount.

FlyingDog

The seatbelt will not change the results significantly. As OrionKhan pointed out, unless your seating position is completely unsafe to begin with there is no way the center area can cause any more damage, nor can your face hit the center area of the wheel.

Nicole

I respectfully disagree. If you wear a seat belt, the beld will - with some elasticity - hold our body in place and not allow it to slide far enoguh forward to hit the steering wheel. That's for a properly functioning belt, that was put on proberly (without too much slack).

So the car stops from the impact, the body is held by the belt - what else moves? The head will swing forward. If you're lucky, you'll hit the steering wheel's rim - if not you'll get a feel of how hard metal can be.

Of course, the best scenario is not to hit the wheel at all. That's why in the 70ies, before airbags came along, Citroen built a steeing wheel with one spoke that had the hub far down the center of the wheel. The Mercedes approach of the time was to have a very soft horn pad in the middle of the wheel. Later, they changed to a more "bucket" type style, because tests had shown that the bulky horn pad made it more likely for the head to strike it.

So the ideas were:

1. To create a steering wheel style that wasless likely to be hit by the head
2. To pad the hub area as soft as possible, for the case that the head would actually hit.

The aftermarket wheels with metal spokes don't take this into account. Maybe they have laxer standards to follow - I don't know. I haven't seen all metal wheels on sale in Europe for years, so I assume they might not be considered safe there. Here, I dont' think the aftermarket steering wheel market is regulated in any way. You make what sells - and sometimes unecudated consumers will buy stuff that isn't safe. Until someone sues after gettin hurt...

OrionKhan

Actually, there are numerous factors that will determine where the head may or may not impact. The rim, hub, windshield, ect. I think we are all here talking with insufficient data to make definitive statements regarding where a drivers head will strike in a collision. You're first explanation is very general. It doesn't factor a great number of variables that are involved in every collision. To say that the head will fly forward and hit either the rim or hub, is very general. A collision at 80mph will probably result in serious injury if the drivers head hits the rim, hub, windshield, etc. How much of a difference will a quarter inch of padding make? At 10mph that padding probably will make a bigger difference. But then the driver is less likely to hit his head on anything at a lower speed collision.

Your example from the 70's is interesting. Back then seatbelts weren't mandatory. And I would wager that the quality of the belt systems versus what are used in more modern cars were poorer.

By your argument alone, doesn't it seem odd that this would not be regulated? Especially considering how much we complain about "federalized" cars here? I don't think that anybody here is saying that a padded hub isn't safer. Its more of a question about how much the increased risk to significant injury is created by using a wheel what doesn't have one.

I think what is hacking off some of the readers here is that, your position has been presented in a manner(not necessarily by you Nicole) that implies that by using a wheel without a padded hub, the driver has created an unacceptable safety concern and is putting himself at risk by driving the car. So unless there is something more definitive than "you'll hit your head on it in a collision", those of the opposing view aren't likely to buy it.

928ntslow

Geeeeeeeezzzzzzzzz...Hey Matt, you can be a bad *** all you want, I promise I won't save you.I just responded to what you "thought" you knew. Don't accuse me of your practices (i.e. Head ^>***). As noted by others AND myself if you re read my post, it can be anything from the hips up depending on the car, positions, belt condition, among several other factors.

So Dude, lighten up! What makes you think you're so tough that you don't need no stinkin' airbag? The question was what any of us thought of his steering wheel. I responded on what I had thought. Did I offend you in my noting, better safe than sorry? Thats my opinion, let it go. I would think the entire automotive industry would side with my thinking.

I amazed that you would challenge something like this. ...and need justification! Go for it man, be a rebel! Woohoo.

Nicole

The way aftermarket prodoucts are regulated is by the courts and juries. If something goes wrong, you can be sure there is a lawsuit (providing someone realizes the involvement of this part), and then things go from there.

Yes I'm surprised these products haven't been outlawed, yet.

Bottom line for me: I would not buy a such steering wheel, except for a race car that is exclusively drivn with a helmet. Thsi decision is based on the images from over one hundred crash tests I have seen over the years.

OrionKhan

Nicole (and Keith too), I understand you views. And honestly don't disagree with you contentions. My issue is more with the actual increase in risk attributed to the use of these wheels. For me, I wouldn't buy for because of style and comfort (I like to rest a hand on the arms of the wheel at times). Safety wouldn't be the primary reason for not using it.

But I do have a question for you. Speed is clearly a leading contributor to serious injuries and fatalities in car accidents. On this board daily, there usually multiple threads going on regarding adding forced induction to already very fast cars. There is a constant hunt to add more hp to these cars. Increase the speed dramatically. Based upon posts to this board it is more than obvious that most of these cars are not used on the track. Its also obvious that many of the owners often do their own seat of the pants dyno testing on public roads. Its not uncommon to see the "kill" posts announcing the lastest victim to fall prey to a shark. Yet, very seldom is their ever a voiced opinion about the clearly obvious dangers of driving at excessive speed. There is little argument that collisions at excessive speeds are going to result in a high number of serious if not fatal injuries.

Now here we have a guy, who may be the safest driver in the world, who just posts a pic of wheel to update the look of his car. We've got listers going out their way to tell him that his wheel is dangerous. Talk about how they hope he never has to find out how dangerous it is. Pretty strong arguements are laid out. Yet where are these voices trumpeting the dangers of excessive speed to the forced induction crowd. When excessive speed is clearly a more dangerous situation than that the steering wheel in question. A situation that endangers everyone on the road not just the driver.

If you're going to be a safety nanny, be an equal opportunity one. Voice the argument as aggressively towards the obvious and clearly more prevelant safety problem too. Don't pick and choose the battles to snipe at...

(Chris, sorry for the thread hijack )

airosey

LOL, Can't we all just get along! This has been an interesting thread, usually some people would say "yeah it looks good" or "no it looks like ***", but I like it when other points are brought up. I'm open to everyones views and don't take offence. I would rather one be honest. These issues are important so don't apologize for thread hijacking or any of the such. Anyway, I went ahead and took a picture with the cover on. I guess it would help a little if I did actually come in contact with the wheel. When I first saw the wheel I thought I liked it with the cover off. But the more I look at it, I think I like it better on. It looks a little more refined and fits the interior of the shark. Again, I'm open to comments, so let me know what you think!



Chris