Steering wheel fitment

[Ekapol]

Elanlover

I also, for the longest time, have my eyes on the Elise wheel with the airbag. Please post more info/pictures if you have them. Thank you.

[tweetdriver63]

Has anyone tried one of these Elise airbag wheels?

I'd like to get rid of the POS stock wheel, but I also don't want to go without the airbag (one of those saved my life two years ago). How hard is it to fit the Elise wheel on a U.S. Elan?

[Elanlover]

Has anyone tried one of these Elise airbag wheels?

That'd be the one I've bought (less the airbag module) and that I'll be fitting this winter if all goes well. I've no doubt the wheel can fit. Its a MOMO. The electronics for the airbag are what concern me. Although, I'm less worried since the dealrer was kind enough to make copies of the tech and parts manual pages for the Elise wheel.

[tweetdriver63]

Has anyone tried one of these Elise airbag wheels?

That'd be the one I've bought (less the airbag module) and that I'll be fitting this winter if all goes well. I've no doubt the wheel can fit. Its a MOMO. The electronics for the airbag are what concern me. Although, I'm less worried since the dealrer was kind enough to make copies of the tech and parts manual pages for the Elise wheel.

Out of curiosity, how much did that wheel cost you?

[Elanlover]

I got it off a vendor on ebay that sales Lotus parts they've from broken cars they've wrecked. I think the wheel and contact ring cost me about $350. The airbag will be about $400 new I think.

I'd be wary of the vendor offering that wheel you cited on ebay for $0.99. That makes no sense to ma at all. He's got a number of things on sale for $0.99 including a few helmets, etc. How can you sell a wheel like that for $0.99 and INCLUDE shipping?

Something's not right there...................

[tweetdriver63]

I got it off a vendor on ebay that sales Lotus parts they've from broken cars they've wrecked. I think the wheel and contact ring cost me about $350. The airbag will be about $400 new I think.

I'd be wary of the vendor offering that wheel you cited on ebay for $0.99. That makes no sense to ma at all. He's got a number of things on sale for $0.99 including a few helmets, etc. How can you sell a wheel like that for $0.99 and INCLUDE shipping?

Something's not right there...................

He's not selling it for .99. He's got a reserve price on it, which is secret. He only sells if the reserve is met. The .99 starting bid is just to get people bidding.

Sorry. I'm sure I didn't need to teach ebay 101. I've missed the "reserve not met" line many times, myself.

[Elanlover]

I did not see a Reserve indicator at any time on this item. I viewed it almost the minute it was listed. Usually (unless I'm mistaken) if a reserve is in place and its been met, there will be a notice saying reserve met. None show on this bid.

No matter, we all take our chances to a degree on Ebay. Perhaps its a great bargain afterall. I just get nervous about sellers with no selling history.

[tweetdriver63]

They just say "reserve not met" until it's met, then there's no reference to reserve anymore. Last time I looked at the item, the price was at $150 and the reserve was met.

[Elanlover]

I just went and looked at the seller's other $0.99 cent items and sure enough there a little "Reserve Not Met" indicator so I stand corrected.



Guess I better get busy bidding

[tweetdriver63]

I haven't seen any pictures of this type wheel in an Elan. I don't suppose you photoshopped it before you bought the thing did you?

[Elanlover]

No, but there's a few pics on the forum (somewhere?) that show the Elise non-airbag wheel installed. The combination of black, silver and gray seems a good fit for the Elan interior.

[Doug]

My poor memory is telling me LGM has an Elise wheel (non-airbag).

[tweetdriver63]

Maybe I shouldn't even ask this, but what the hell. Would there be differences (size, shape, inflation force) between the original Elan airbag and the Elise airbag that could make it dangerous if it deployed? I'd hate to be killed in a parking lot fender-bender by the airbag, as has happened to passenger seat occupants in the past (obviously not in the Elan).

[F1 LOTUS]

My poor memory is telling me LGM has an Elise wheel (non-airbag).

[Doug]

well, tweet, I have only hear-say knowledge, but the airbag is deployed by a current change, so hopefully the triggering voltages will be the same (industry standard??) so I would think in theory it could be hooked up.

I remember Rich Lemeuix put on an "aftermarket airbag wheel" to his Elan a few years back (has sold it and moved on since so likely can't track him down). Thus, I recommend you research the info you can get from companies like these and see how they recommend hooking up their airbag to your current car set-up = their general directions. Maybe this will confirm it is an industry standard and is easily done.

It is an explosive change so you'll have to be careful and hook it up with the battery disconnected and all juice drained from the car, etc. Then hold your breath when you reconnect the battery

[lotusgirlmarie]

Doug your are correct... 90% of all airbags use the same trigger voltage. I think some early Fords are the only ones that use a weird voltage then the newer cars became standardized.

I got the Elise wheel as I hated the size of the factory airbag wheel. That the fact that I wanted to track the car and airbags can be a detriment to driving on the track if deployed. I also wanted a wheel that would provide for faster turn in.

[tweetdriver63]

I'm now going to re-direct this thread toward the original question behind it.

Does anybody know if there are steering wheels on any other car models that are a direct fit on the Elan? In other words, what other cars share the same hub that's on the Elan? Can the wheel off of some Vauxhalls or Opels, or Pontiacs, Chevy's, etc (European or US) be directly mounted in the Elan without mods or adapters?

There's got to be some. I can't believe the steering wheel hub would not have been something standard from GM. If you look at Momo adapters, for example, the #2401 is the correct adapter for almost every GM car (in the US at least).

[Don.Hasi]

No, but there's a few pics on the forum (somewhere?) that show the Elise non-airbag wheel installed. The combination of black, silver and gray seems a good fit for the Elan interior.

Do you think the alloy of the momo will fit too? I thought about galvanic coating it, cause on the elan is no natural alloy seen so far... As you could see some pages before, I have posted a Type116/VX220-wheel. The appearance of the the leather is different too... so perhaps one have to combine it with a matching gear knob or something else ...


Sorry, tweetdriver63, but its a high interesting topic

Perhaps it would make sense to get the gm-partnumber of the hub for searching in common vauxhall/opel/gm-communities?

[tweetdriver63]

Sooo......

If there's anybody doing any work that involves removing the steering wheel, could you please check for a GM part number on the hub somewhere?

[Ekapol]

My poor memory is telling me LGM has an Elise wheel (non-airbag).

I'm lucky enough having chances driving around in this white beauty.

As much as I want to add Elise airbag wheel to my car, the design of S2 Elise wheel will look out of place with our Elan interior.