larger steering wheel

[therieldeal]

okay so i noticed that the protege's steering wheel is quite a bit smaller than my escort's steering wheel. this is making my lack of power steering a bit more bothersome

are there any other mazdas which have larger diameter steering wheels, that will fit the protege??

[Turpro]

The 2nd gen wheel I pulled from the yard was a little larger in diameter and thickness of the grip. I'm still debating putting it in cause there's no cruise controls on it.

[therieldeal]

i hate thin steering wheels, so i have "universal" slip-on black leather steering wheel covers for both cars. on the escorts they fit really tight... when i went to transfer it over to the protege it slipped on with like an inch of free play lol.

could you measure the 2nd gen wheel when you get a chance? i might be interested if you decide not to use it. i have no cruise control.

[MATT91GT]

so the 4wd has no power steering either? did you yank it or do they not come with it?

[almighty4wd]

the 4wd has power steering. but it has a small wheel, and thin. I like it, easy to flick around without getting in the way. and its smooth, so you can do one finger turns without fake leather stitching eating your finger.

[Turpro]

The 2nd gen RX7 wheel I pulled from the yard was a little larger in diameter and thickness of the grip. I'm still debating putting it in cause there's no cruise controls on it.

Fixed. Sorry for that confusion

[therieldeal]

is the 4wd wheel smaller than a normal protege wheel?

i really dislike power steering. i pulled the belt off to see if the car was manageable without it... obviously it would be easier still if i removed the pump/lines. so far it seems to be okay, and a bigger wheel would help even more.

[almighty4wd]

is the 4wd wheel smaller than a normal protege wheel?

i really dislike power steering. i pulled the belt off to see if the car was manageable without it... obviously it would be easier still if i removed the pump/lines. so far it seems to be okay, and a bigger wheel would help even more.

Not that I was aware of. It looks the same as every other one I've been in.

Why the PS hate? I seriously can't imagine not having it for the things I take the 4wd through.

[Turpro]

A pic of the wheel I grabbed is in this thread

http://www.wihandyman.com/forum/showpost.php?p=467421&postcount=44

[therieldeal]

well i ended up putting my lowering springs/struts on it, and making some brackets that bolt to the strut mounting bolts to support the brake hoses. so its about 1.5" lower than stock... its not going offroad any time soon (well maybe some gravel would be fun... i put it sideways in gravel yesterday :D). but yeah. i like the manual steering in my other cars for driving on the road... i was just concerned that since this car was heavier it may be a problem.

[almighty4wd]

well stock its 2800lbs, really not much more than a extra fat chick in the car compared to the 2wd. If I didn't want serious offroad I'd depower as well.

hah. I made fun of myself...depowered, hasn't driven itself in 15 months...
ohh, I made myself sad

[Lex]

The protege wheel is indeed smaller than the EGT even in the 2wd proteges.

[almighty4wd]

So Lex, or anyone with a EGT wheel and Pro, is it worth swapping the EGT wheel to the pro for the extra radius, or is the Pro wheel enough when depowered?

[therieldeal]

well so far with my PS belt removed it seems okay, however its also annoying to have a smaller wheel with the low MX3 seats.

[Hadoken]

So Lex, or anyone with a EGT wheel and Pro, is it worth swapping the EGT wheel to the pro for the extra radius, or is the Pro wheel enough when depowered?

You would have to swap the entire steering column with it since Ford doesn't use the splined setup for mounting the wheel like Mazda. So probably not worth the extra trouble when you can just buy an aftermarket wheel and hub and be done.