The Art of Installing a Steering Wheel Hub: A Deep Dive

When it comes to modifying your car, one of the most critical components to consider is the steering wheel hub. The hub serves as the foundation for the entire steering system, and its installation can make or break the driving experience. In this article, we'll delve into the world of steering wheel hubs, exploring the different types, patterns, and considerations that go into choosing the right one.

One of the most common steering wheel hub patterns is the 6x70 millimeter bolt pattern, with top dead center positioned at the top bolt hole. This pattern is widely used in aftermarket hubs and is a popular choice among car enthusiasts. However, there are some minority steering wheels that use a slightly different pattern, such as the 6x74 millimeter pattern. In this case, we're using a Works Bell hub with both patterns to demonstrate our versatility.

When selecting a steering wheel hub, it's essential to consider its length and overall height. The height of the hub can significantly impact the depth of your steering wheel, and some hubs come in different lengths. We're currently working with an 80-millimeter tall hub, which provides ample depth for most steering wheels. However, it's worth noting that this is just one factor to consider, as other elements like quick disconnects and steering wheel offset can also affect the overall depth of your steering experience.

To give you a better idea of what to expect from our current setup, we're using a Momo wheel with an overall height of about 65 millimeters. This measurement helps determine how much room there is between the hub and the steering wheel, and it's essential to ensure that this clearance is sufficient for your driving needs.

Before installing the new hub, it's crucial to take its length into consideration. We're using a Works Bell hub with two available lengths: short and tall. The tall version measures approximately 80 millimeters in height, which should provide ample depth for most steering wheels. However, if you find that this setup isn't deep enough, we can always add a quick disconnect to increase the overall depth.

Another critical aspect of installing a steering wheel hub is aligning it correctly. When setting up our Works Bell hub, we're using two little cutouts that match up with the clock spring on the Miata. These matching pieces ensure that our steering wheel shaft is properly aligned and prevents any potential issues down the line.

Torquing the screws on the hub can also be a bit tricky. We've set it to 35 foot pounds, which should provide a snug fit without causing excessive wear or damage. However, keep in mind that the correct torque setting may vary depending on your specific setup.

Now that our steering wheel hub is installed, we're ready to attach our Momo wheel. This process involves six little screws for securing the wheel in place, and we've taken care to ensure a snug fit. As we tighten these screws slowly, it's essential to keep in mind that this is one of the more enjoyable parts of car modification – getting to customize something as vital as your driving experience.

With our new steering wheel hub installed, we're confident that the overall depth will be sufficient for most drivers. The Works Bell hub provides ample clearance between the hub and the steering wheel, ensuring a smooth and seamless driving experience. Additionally, its quick release feature allows us to adjust the depth if needed – an essential consideration for those who require a customized fit.

The installation process itself was quite straightforward, with only minor adjustments needed during alignment. This highlights one of the benefits of having a solid plan and resources available when it comes to car modification. With careful attention to detail and the right tools, even more complex tasks can be accomplished.

Upon taking our first drive in this modified Miata, we're thrilled with the results – the new steering wheel hub provides an unparalleled driving experience. It's no secret that this was a necessity for this particular project, and it truly makes all the difference.

Before wrapping up, we have to mention the issue of being slightly off-center due to our choice of hubs. This is not uncommon when switching between different parts, and there are various ways to address this problem. One possible solution involves adjusting the wheel's position or exploring alternative steering wheels that better match your specific needs.

As we move forward with further modifications and testing, we're excited to share our progress with you through DonutMedia and Instagram. With more adventures on the horizon and an ever-expanding collection of behind-the-scenes content, follow us for a constant stream of fresh and exciting car-related material.

We're now gearing up to tackle full alignments in the garage during our quarantine stay. It's going to be fascinating to see how these modifications come together and make this Miata truly shine in all aspects – performance, handling, and overall satisfaction. We'll keep you updated on all our progress and invite you along for the ride.

The Miata is back, and it's ready to take the road by storm with its new and improved steering wheel hub.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Steering wheels have been allowing usto point our majestic horseless carriageswherever we wanna go with just asimple rotation for over a 1000 years.But for a simple a job assteering wheels may have,there are plenty of reasonswhy you might consider changing yours out.Maybe yours just doesn'tfeel right in your hand,or maybe it's too bigto comfortably get inand out of the car,and maybe you smash yourknees into it all the time,or maybe you just don'tlike looking at it.In my case it's all three.So, today we're gonna yank out.(birds whistling)Today I'm gonna show you how to removeyour old steering wheel.Including how to deal withall that airbag stuff,and I'll show you what to look forwhen you're buying a new steering wheel.Like how to know whatsize to buy and all that.And then I'll show you how to install it.I'm Zack.And this is money pit.(deep bass music)Hey,(speaking in foreign language)Yeah, (laughs) thanks.I know it is pretty sick.Yeah, we're gonna takesteering wheel off there.Obviously one of the thingsthat annoys me most aboutthis car is the steeringwheel c'oz I don't fitunder my knee.Anytime I try to go from the gas pedalto the brake, God forbid I try to dolike a heel toe type thing.I just smashed my kneeinto the steering wheel.The seats all the way back Idon't even have a floor mat.I've got as much roomas this wheel allows meto have and it's just not enough.So we're gonna go smaller and bring ita little closer to me.All right, so the firstthing we need to doto take the steering wheel,out is actually in the trunk.We need to disconnect thebattery with this 10- millimeter.All right now with batterydisconnected, move upto the front and take off the airbagwith this same tool.All right, so on the backof the Miata steering wheel,there are four 10- millimeter nutswhich hold the airbag on.So we gotta take this off.And I guess realisticallywhen you're playingwith the airbag it's a decentidea not to sit directlyin front of it.Okay, so now we got adisconnect these connectorswhich are the horn and the airbag.O kay and there's a rope andthat's an airbag from 1994 probablyAll right before we go any further,we are gonna make sure our steering wheelis perfectly centered, that looks great.And then at this pointyou're gonna want to markyour steering shaft ifthere's not already a markfor a top dead center.And it looks like we've gota little tiny indentationfrom the factory here.So I'm not going to mark it,We'll use that as our mark.Now we can pull off thisI think 21 millimeter nutand that'll let thesteering wheel come off.Okay, so now we've still gotthe nut on there a little bitand we'll try to breakthe steering wheel loose.It's been on there fora long time after all.There we go, take the nut therest of the way off,(mumbles)(bright upbeat music)So since the early 1990s, steering wheelswith airbags became commonplace,and here in the US theywere mandatory as of 1998.These airbags they're designedto react within the first10 of milliseconds, after an impactand fully inflate within60 to 80 milliseconds.Keep your old noggin safe.Any sooner than that,or any longer than that,and it could actually injureyou more than it helps you.But while it is a big, gigantic, oldand clumsy airbag, it's still an airbag.And I don't remove safety measuresfrom a car lightheartedly.Now there are of coursethings that you can doto help make up for the lackof an airbag, for exampleyou can add multi-pointseatbelt harnesses.But to do that you haveto install a roll cage,or a roll bar, or at least a harness barthat's sturdy enough to attach them to.And then you have to wearharnesses all the damn timeswhich kind of sucks in a daily.But for the Miata, that's fine.We're gonna add a roll bar,we're gonna add harnesses, we'regonna add seats and all that stuff andwe'll do it pretty soon.If you don't want to have towear harnesses all the time,it's probably best to leavethe stock steering wheeland airbag in place.So much room without the steering wheel,get used to that.All right, the factory sizeon the Miata steering wheelis a 365 millimeter diameterand that is way too big for us.There are many size optionsavailable on the marketfrom like 280 millimetersto like 380 millimeterswhich is a pretty wide range.So what do we choose?Well, we've got to think about some stuff.For one you need to rememberthat the smaller the wheel isthe more quickly you'llbe able to rotate itfrom one position to anotherwhich means it'll be a littlebit more responsive feelingbut it'll also require alittle bit more effort.Think of the differencebetween a 1/4 inch ratchetversus a 1/2 inch ratchet.You get a lot more leveragethe bigger tool you're using.That is all to say that if youhave power steering it reallyshouldn't make much of a difference,which is great becauseI need a smaller wheelto free up this legroom.But there's another way tofree up some more legroomwithout shrinking thewheel anymore and that'sby bringing the wheelfurther towards my body.So when I sit in the carnow, pop this thing on,you can see that the wheelis actually pretty far awayfrom me.My arms are fairly outstretchc'oz i have the seatall the way back.But if we pretend to bring thewheel a little closer to me,I still have plenty ofroom to turn the wheelbut I get a little bit more knee roomand that's what I want.All right so sitting in the carand imagining the depth ofyour wheel is pretty easybut it's pretty difficultto really imagine the changein diameter of a steeringwheel and how that'll feel.So there are a few things you can dowhen you're trying to nail downyour new steering wheel sizeyou could talk to otherpeople, especially other peoplethat have the same caryou have and alreadyhave aftermarket steering wheelsbecause they've been through thisand they've got a data pointthat you could benefit from.You get on the forums also.There's a lot of peoplethat have aftermarket wheelswith a lot of opinions on them,and they'll tell youhow tall they are too.So you get a good gauge ofwhat you're getting into.There's another thing you cando which really worked outfor me and I think it's thebest thing you could do.You can borrow a buddies.This is my roommateswheel, it's a 330, it's gotthis nice offset and to be honest,I'm not sure if this is the right sizebut rather than buying oneand finding out that way.I'm just gonna borrowmy buddies install it,see how it feels and we'll go from there.I think that's the best way to do it.I'm not gonna end up owningsomething that I don't love.Now another thing to thinkabout before you go installingyour new wheel is what to do aboutyour steering wheel electronics; your hornand your airbag wiring.Most aftermarket wheels aregonna come with a horn buttonthat may take a little bit of wiring up.But it's usually very easy,it's just two wires a positivein the ground.But the other thing tothink about is your airbag.So now that there's not an airbag,the car's computer seesno airbag and it seesthat as an issue.So now we need to figureout how to trick this thinginto thinking there's an airbag in place.So the first thing we're gonnado is install the resistorto trick the airbag light.So I'm gonna cut off this airbag harnessand solder in this 3,000ohm resistor in lineor in series and they'lltrick the airbag light.But first let's talk aboutsoldering c'oz it's really easyand really handy.All you gonna have is the right stuffwhich doesn't take that much.You need to have some fluxwhich we'll put on to our little jointand then that will clean thejoint and suck the solderin to all of our copper strands.We've got a 60/40 rosincore wire solder herewhich is what I like touse and a soldering gun.This is a 100 Watts gets nice and hotand it'll solder stuff it's all you need.We're basically just gonna put heaton the joint, get the tip on there nicelyand just kind of wait and let it get hot.So now we've got our first joint soldered,I've got a piece of heat shrink on therethat I'm about to shrink.So to do that got my heat gun.Lovely, okay let's start on that other oneand you got to make sureyou get the joint hot enoughwhen you're soldering.If you solder and your solderends up looking really dullor grey your joint was probably too cold.It should look nice andshiny once you're all done.Wow yeah, heat shrink thispuppy the rest of the way up.All right, so that wasthe tough part I guess.Really it's time to put that wheel onor the hub first I guess.This one's made by worksbelt, and it connectsyour aftermarket wheel toyour factory steering shaftIt's pretty simple.Steering shafts havesplines on them like thesetheir factory steering wheel slips on toand then it's bolted down onto so that when you turn itit doesn't just slip it gripsall these little spine teeth.Most aftermarket steeringwheel hub manufacturerswho have a catalog on their websiteso you can find the right hub for your carwith the right amountof splines in diameterfor your steering shaft.However, that's not the onlything to be thinking aboutc'oz there are a coupledifferent bolt patternsfor different kinds of steering wheels.Probably the most common bolt patternfor aftermarket steeringwheels is this one.It's called the Momo pattern,and a bunch of other things.It's a 70 millimeter circle, six bolts.So, 6 by 70 millimeter bolt patternand the top bolt holespositioned at top dead center.Most aftermarket hubs willhave this pattern it's oneof the most universal, oneof the most common patternsyou'll come across.But then you've gotten minorityand personal steering wheelswhich use a six by 74 millimeter pattern.In this case this nice worksbell hub has both ultimatelyand probably gonna buy a minority.So I'll still be able to use this hubbut I can also test this Momo with it.How nice is that?So when you're looking athubs you also need to takeits length or its overallheight into considerationfor a couple reasons.With this works bell hubthere are two lengths offered,a short one and a tall one.We've got the tall one herewhich measures about 80 millimeters.So the height of this thingultimately helps determinethe depth of your steering wheel.The taller this is, the furtheryour steering wheel is gonnastick out it's pretty simple.But the hub is only onepart of the overall steeringwheel depth equation.Lots of people run quick disconnects, soultimately if this setup isn't deepenough for me, I canadd a quick disconnectto give me a little depth.The other thing to considerwhen thinking of your overallsteering setup depth is theoffset of your steering wheel.So this Momo wheel has an overall heightof about 65 millimeters and that's infothat's usually listed, so you can checkthis stuff and you can measure and makea pretty informed decision before you buy.So we're gonna start justwith these two piecesno quick-release but ifsomehow I do need more depth,I can add one, it's pretty easy.There are these two littlecutouts that match upwith the clock spring here on the Miata,so you want to makesure that they match up,and then we've got yousee a little arrow therethere's an arrow thatdenotes top dead centerso we want to match thatarrow up or that upper holewith that dot on our steeringshaft as good as we can.And there's a decentchance that we're not goingto be able to get itperfect which is why I didthis before doing analignment because if you can'tget it perfect it's notnecessarily your faultthere's just not always a spline exactlywhere you need one.And then you have to alter youralignment to straighten outyour steering wheel so if that's the casewe'll be able to fix it next week.All right we're gonna torquethis little Journey downto 35 foot pounds.Oh there we go, that's all kegs.Hubs in place now allwe got to do is attachour steering wheel for thatwe've got six little screws,five little screws, that's all you need.Do this part slowlybecause it's the best partyou don't usually get car part installsof this easy and thus rewarding.Okay we give them allcinch down that's it.(upbeat music)Wow, wow I gotta go driveit but I've got more roomthat's for sure.The depth feels okay, I can still reachmy stocks without much issue.I've definitely got more roomstill not sure if it's enoughI gotta go drive it.it already feels so muchbetter and just turning it,God it feels so much better.I can get on the break, I can heel toe,I can rev-match downshiftc'oz the wheels notin my way.This thing is gonna be somuch more fun to drive outin the canyons and literally anywhere.It's already so much better.I'm so excited and glad that we did this.This is the thing you touch the mostin the car.Make it what you want,make it work for you,not against you.The thing was so in myway that stuck nasty wheelbut this makes the whole drivingexperience so much better.The only problem now is thatwe're a little off centerwhich I expected that's not a big deal.We can fix that.All right, so thank youguys so much for watchingI hope you enjoyed it,I really did because nowwe've got a new steeringwheel in the money pit Miatawhich it desperately needed.So check me next week we'regonna do a full alignmenton the car in the garagewhere we gonna stay duringthis whole quarantine.I am still allowed togo on drives as long asI don't get out of thecar, follow me on Instagramto see more of the Miata.A lot of behind thescenes and what's going onduring the rest of the week @ ZachJobeon Instagram.Follow DonutMedia @ Donutmedia.Oh, this car is so much better.