Steering Wheel

[nzmike]

Hi all, I have just bought my first E Type, an S1 4.2 FHC. Its original steering wheel is in poor shape and in need of refurbishment. I am quite tall and find it hits my legs. I note that Mota Lita do an E Type wood rim wheel in 14, 15 and 16 inch. 14 inch is appealing as it would make it easier for me to fit in the car, can anyone advise if this will make the steering too heavy? Any advice on this or other wheel options welcome.

[cactusman]

Why not look at the quick release steering boss....there is much info from others on here if you search....then you can use a 16 inch wheel so not such heavy steering and also have a degree of security as you can remove the wheel when away from the car.....just a thought.

[Heuer]

I have tried 16", 15" and 14" wheels on my car. The latter made the steering too heavy when manoeuvring but was satisfactory once on the move. The 15" is OK but you can't beat the fluidity and lightness of touch the original 16" offers at all speeds. The removable wheel upgrade is an option but that only really helps getting in and out of the car. I assume you have adjusted the column to be at its highest position? The other option is lowering the seat squab by cutting away some of the foam.

[mgcjag]

Hi ....whats your name please try to put it with your car model in the signature area.....I have a S2 2+2 with a 15in wheel fitted....i did not notice a difference in the steering feel after fitting it......obviously a 14 will make it slightly heavier....in normal driving i dont think you would have a problem but very slow manouvering/parking is heavy with a 16in compared to a modern car so 14in would be a bit more awkward.....but how often are you parking it?.. All the best...Steve

[Heuer]

It is not the parking, it is the three point turns you have to make when your SatNav sends you the wrong way!

[Moeregaard]

I'm a semi-skinny six feet, with long legs, and a 15" Moto Lita was a good compromise. Getting in and out wasn't a problem with the original wheel, but driving long distances with the wheel against my thighs became tiresome. I also ran 185-15 skins, so steering at low speeds was as light as it was going to get.

[abowie]

I'm 6'1" and 17 stone. I have standard steering wheels on all my cars. I had a smaller diameter wheel on my first car and it makes the already heavy slow speed steering effort a lot worse.

I position the seat right back and then move the wheel back as far as it will go towards me on the adjuster. I can only just reach the indicator stalk while holding the wheel. There is also a little bit of vertical height adjustment on the column and I have it as high as it goes. Try this first and see if it works for you.

[nzmike]

Thanks Andrew - I had no idea the wheel had any adjustment at all - but by moving it toward me that had made a big difference. I'll stick with the standard wheel for now and see how it goes.

Thanks all for your help!

[abowie]

Excellent! Enjoy driving your E Type!

[MarkRado]

I am 6'1" too and, as already indicated, I adjusted the wheel column as high as possible. Furthermore I cut the seat foam about 3/4" and I put additional washers under the front of the seat slides (double the exising using the rear ones, use longer bolts, needs some detail work). This gives you noticably more seat rake and improves the distance to the wheel when pulled far back as mentioned by Andrew.

[ChrisC]

Yep what Mark says - I did the same :)