diy for steering wheel change

[joey1320]

you will have to disconnect the battery. remove the airbag and the steering wheel. you'll need an adapter of some sort to install the aftermarket steering wheel.

thats it pretty much. and i'll rather not have an airbag on my car. i have seen what they can do and i'll take my chances with the seatbelt on. planing on removing my stock wheel and going with a momo also, great quality.

[punch]

Originally Posted by joey1320

. i have seen what they can do and i'll take my chances with the seatbelt on..

please provide some links, I'd like to read up on this claim of yours... I have seen what they can do also, and thats save your head...

[drifto]

lol i have to agree with not having an air bag. i hate to say it but most times your face is hurt more with the bag than without. that bag deploys in milliseconds and ive seen a few friends including myself get facial burns due to it. just wear your seatbelt thats all. so whatever not to get off topic... they sell adapters that keep the srs drivers airbag circuit shorted (simulates there being an airbag present) just search sites that carry hubs and steering wheels, easy to find. and its pretty difficult to blow-up an airbag installing a st.wheel. unless your applying voltage to it, which if you are your insane. some details may be off but most cars are the same.
1.disconnect the neg. battery cable and wait for 2min. straighten wheel so it is at 12 o'clock
2. unplug the srs connector at the bottom of the steering wheel. it is yellow
3. there should be 2 torx bolts one on each side of airbag, remove them.
4. pull off airbag.
5. remove wires for horn .
6. mark steering shaft and hub for alignment for later when putting in new wheel. remove steering hub bolt, usually 17 or 19mm
7. use a pull hammer to remove wheel, but if not available with 2 hands pull wheel towards yourself, might have to rock back and forth a little . it might be tough, so be carefull not to smack yourself in the face with it when it pops off its not that bad really, anyone here can do it. the most important part it making sure the new wheel is aligned properly.

[joey1320]

Originally Posted by punch

please provide some links, I'd like to read up on this claim of yours... I have seen what they can do also, and thats save your head...

sorry man i don't have any links to back up my claim but i have friends who have had accidents with and without the airbags on their cars and the ones with the airbags ende worse than the ones without.

maybe just crazy luck, but i really don't care, i'm going aftermarket anyways.

[Thai_Dang]

Originally Posted by joey1320

sorry man i don't have any links to back up my claim but i have friends who have had accidents with and without the airbags on their cars and the ones with the airbags ende worse than the ones without.

maybe just crazy luck, but i really don't care, i'm going aftermarket anyways.

Lol search youtube for toyota yaris crash test for the most obvious proof that airbags would save you. Looks like w/o airbags, your head would be skewered by the steering column. W/o side airbags, your head would leave the car cabin and smash into whatever's out there.

A common misconception about seatbelts are that they keep you bolted to the seat during an accident. Seatbelts are there only to slowly reduce your traveling energy, just like car crumple zones. Your body is still allowed to travel to extend the distance in which you're decelerating. If seatbelts were totally restraining, you'd suffer massive internal injuries imho. The driver side definitely needs an airbag, because the steering column is so close, lots of potential for skewering.

Keep your airbag please. If you mod, mod at your own risk, but don't advise others to disable things that would save their lives if they personally aren't modding.

[hystria]

Originally Posted by joey1320

you will have to disconnect the battery. remove the airbag and the steering wheel. you'll need an adapter of some sort to install the aftermarket steering wheel.

thats it pretty much. and i'll rather not have an airbag on my car. i have seen what they can do and i'll take my chances with the seatbelt on. planing on removing my stock wheel and going with a momo also, great quality.

In this case, I'll strongly suggest replacing the stock seatbelt with a 5 points harness. Stock seatbelt is modified to work with the airbag. Take a look at crash test videos. The upper part of the body is NOT retained by the diagonal belt. The upper body always moves towards the steering wheel and impacts the airbag.

Some time ago, a guy in a civic had a frontal crash at 35mph. His honda civic had aftermaket steering wheel - no airbag. His girlfriend walked away, but the guy had thorax injuries - broken ribs - after hitting the steering wheel even though he was wearing the seatbelt. The car had only front damage.

No airbag = the head/thorax will 100% hit the steering wheel in a crash at 15mph or more. Take care