Blue carbon steering wheel and steering wheel trim... installed!

[Pointmutation]

Been wanting to get blue carbon pieces for my car but only see regular black carbon fiber and red carbon stuff, no blue. But then I was flipping through my 86 & BRZ magazine and saw some blue carbon products on some cars. Then I checked out minkara and see Japanese guys doing all different kinds of cosmetic mods from what western guys do to their cars. Anyways...

Fresh off the boat from Japan... Revier blue carbon x black sport steering wheel and blue carbon steering panel. The panel is not just a stick on cover, but an actual replacement trim piece. Love how the colorr changes and glistens with the lighting. Steering wheel has a European stitch. Thought I'd go with that instead of the cheaper baseball stitch since our stock steering wheel has the thicker stitch pattern.




Trim on wheel and more close ups...





Blue wheel for a blue car...



I thought the red stitch might clash with the blue, but I think it's alright. I figure, I like superman and Spider-Man and they're blue and red. Lol.




Can't wait to install these! Have to see if I have time on my next day off. Will update this thread when I install it.

[Inextirpable]

Great to finally see a blue carbon steering wheel! I have a WRB blue car myself and always wondered how it would look. Thanks man!

[olsonpg]

Whoever wrapped that steering wheel trim was lazy and didn't cut out the center hole I know cause i've done it and its a huge PITA.

Beautiful set up anyways.. Is it actual carbon fiber or is it intertwined with some other sort of fiber?

[ryoma]

is that the cusco steering wheel? who did you contact to get this done? it looks pretty good lol

[willypongtb]

Nice match your car color don't forget to update pic when you done install

[Pointmutation]

Revier blue carbon x black sport steering wheel and blue carbon replacement trim installed!

Installed this the other day. Finally got some time to post about it. Overall a pretty easy install...

After disconnecting the battery, popping of the airbag took all of a few seconds. Just need to press in the 3 retaining clips and it pops right off. Lift tabs and remove wires. Then I unplugged the cruise control wires and put the airbag to the side. Also marked the bolt with a marker so I knew that it would be straight when reattaching the new wheel.



The wheel nut (17mm hex) was a bit snug but not too bad using a longer ratchet for leverage. Loosened that a bit and the taped down the clock spring so I wouldn't accidentally yank it out or move it. Loosened up the steering wheel by wiggling side to side and then pulling back. When it broke free, then I removed the nut followed by the steering wheel careful not to pull on the airbag switches and yank the clock spring.

Clock spring taped down with a strip of tape.




Transferred all the parts from the stock wheel onto the new wheel (don't forget the airbag clips). Added on the trim piece. I didn't screw in the cruise control stalk until I was ready to reattach the airbag to give me some wiggle room since the plug is at a weird angle and looked easier to reconnect the plug prior screwing down the stalk.

Removing everything from the stock wheel...



Comparing the trim pieces.



Rear plastic cover removed.



Stock parts added to new wheel and new wheel mounted.



Unscrewed cruise control stalk until wire reattached to it made things easier.




Screwed the nut back on, then popped the airbag right back on. Reconnected the battery, no error lights on my dash, and all was good. 👍🏼👍🏼

Done!



Closer shots





View from outside in.



Shot with better lighting from the sun...



Overall impressions...
Love how the blue carbon looks so different in different lights. It's so hard to get a good pic of it installed now. My phone's camera flash makes it look way bluer than in real life. And without flash, phone camera not so hot. Lol. I really should bring out the fancy camera for my pics but kinda humbug mid-install to fuss with a big camera.

Driving impressions... 'omg, this steering wheel feels awesome!' is what I think when I drive. Compared to stock, it's chubbier so it feels better. And the ridges feel great in a turn, giving more friction to hold on to. The flat bottom D-shape is pretty cool too, more clearance, but I'm not too tall or fat so leg clearance wasn't a problem for me. The thumb grooves are sweet and make my hand feel more a part of the wheel (kinda like a bolstered car seat enveloping you vs sitting in a regular boring family sedan car seat). Steering wheel diameter is 355mm so it's smaller in diameter than stock, so that's nice (stock is 365mm). Also, I think this Revier steering wheel is larger than the Cusco one but a little smaller than the DAMD/Prova ones. I don't have or know anybody with the Cusco/DAMD/Prova steering wheels to compare in person though.

Overall, definitely a great purchase. The steering wheel is one thing I'm always in contact with while driving so steering wheel feel/performance (and look) is very important to me. And it retains the factory airbag. I didn't think taking a corner without greater speed could be more fun until I installed this steering wheel. Worth every yen.

[Pointmutation]

Originally Posted by Inextirpable

Great to finally see a blue carbon steering wheel! I have a WRB blue car myself and always wondered how it would look. Thanks man!

Yeah man, it's awesome! Need more blue representation! Lol.

[Pointmutation]

Originally Posted by olsonpg

Whoever wrapped that steering wheel trim was lazy and didn't cut out the center hole I know cause i've done it and its a huge PITA.

Beautiful set up anyways.. Is it actual carbon fiber or is it intertwined with some other sort of fiber?

Dude, I totally didn't even realize there was a hole in the stock trim until you mentioned this. Haha. The name/description said real carbon so I assume it's real. Lol. How would I be able to tell?

[Pointmutation]

Originally Posted by ryoma

is that the cusco steering wheel? who did you contact to get this done? it looks pretty good lol

This is the Revier steering wheel, not the Cusco one. They sell it in red/blue/silver/black carbon colors. Didn't realize I forgot to mention the brand name in the original post. Lol.

[Pointmutation]

Originally Posted by willypongtb

Nice match your car color don't forget to update pic when you done install

Done! Little bit of a modem burner with all the pics though. Haha.

[olsonpg]

Originally Posted by Pointmutation

Dude, I totally didn't even realize there was a hole in the stock trim until you mentioned this. Haha. The name/description said real carbon so I assume it's real. Lol. How would I be able to tell?

Haha yeah I debated on not cutting out the hole myself but reward was worth the challenge.

Im sure its a dyed carbon intertwined with kevlar similar to this one here.

http://www.protechcomposites.com/colored-fabrics/

[halleffect]

Originally Posted by Pointmutation

Been wanting to get blue carbon pieces for my car but only see regular black carbon fiber and red carbon stuff, no blue. But then I was flipping through my 86 & BRZ magazine and saw some blue carbon products on some cars. Then I checked out minkara and see Japanese guys doing all different kinds of cosmetic mods from what western guys do to their cars. Anyways...

Fresh off the boat from Japan... Revier blue carbon x black sport steering wheel and blue carbon steering panel. The panel is not just a stick on cover, but an actual replacement trim piece. Love how the colorr changes and glistens with the lighting. Steering wheel has a European stitch. Thought I'd go with that instead of the cheaper baseball stitch since our stock steering wheel has the thicker stitch pattern.




Trim on wheel and more close ups...





Blue wheel for a blue car...



I thought the red stitch might clash with the blue, but I think it's alright. I figure, I like superman and Spider-Man and they're blue and red. Lol.




Can't wait to install these! Have to see if I have time on my next day off. Will update this thread when I install it.

Those seats look pretty cool. Which kind are those?

[Drambeenie]

I really hope you didn't pay carbon fiber money for that. And I'd hate to be a stick in the mud, but that looks like blue tinted fiberglass

[x808drifter]

Originally Posted by Drambeenie

I really hope you didn't pay carbon fiber money for that. And I'd hate to be a stick in the mud, but that looks like blue tinted fiberglass

Was going to say the same.