Photo: Wheelskins steering wheel cover
 

Wheelskins is a leather steering wheel cover for those of us who have plastic steering wheels and don't wanna lose our airbag.

I just installed Wheelskins last weekend. I'll post pics this coming weekend. The leather cover is very good quality and the material is top notch leather, soft and supple. Contrary to what some may think, it's not made in China nor Taiwan. It's made in California.

Others have said in this forum that it only takes about an hour. This is not true. If you're experienced and do this kind of thing for a living, then maybe it's so. There are about 100 pairs of holes in the stitching. Even if you do a pair per minute, that adds up to more than an hour. Mine took about 4 hours. If you're new to stitching, it will take about 10-20 pairs of holes to get used to. Then you'll spend a lot time adjusting, tightening, and redoing stitches you don't like, as well as aligning and such.

Here are some tips to getting this done painlessly:
* Single-tone Wheelskin does not need alignment, but a Eurotone (2-tone) version needs precise aligning. So if you have the 3-spoke steering wheel, start from the bottom center spoke and align it precisely (count the holes!). If you don't do this, you're going to go all-around the steering wheel and find out it doesn't align. Ouch! Then you'll have to redo it all over again.

* The bottom part of the 3-spoke wheel is slightly thicker than the top. So stretch the leather out prior to installation. If you don't do this, no matter how hard you pull on the lacing cord, the gap won't close.

* Align the seam of the stitching to the seam of the steering wheel's plastic fusion.

* The spokes are tricky to lace through. Do not do the "dummy stitches" nor skip stitches as the instructions on the product shows. This is ugly since the leather will "float". I will post detailed instructions on how to lace the spoke if I get enough interested individuals.

Bottom line: I think it's worth it. The steering wheel feels more substantial (thicker) and sporty. It looks great and has a factory look if done right (tight). My neighbor has an Audi A4 and he grabbed my steering wheel and said, hey this feels like the one on my car, but the leather is nicer.

Hey! Good stuff. How much was it? I can't wait for the pics!

If anyone wants- I have a black one with red inserts from my Old Rx7, I also have brand new from wheelskins the stiching that they sent as a spare. It looks brand new, sorry no pics, but you can see it on the website, about from 10-2 o clock and from 4-6 is red, the rest black...I'll sell it for $25.

I bought mine for $32 + shipping (about 6 bux) from http://www.dccarcare.com. This site has great tips on detailing cars.

Photo: finally took it
 

Here's one of the Wheelskin install.
http://users.rcn.com/enamho1/mazda/interior02.jpg

looks real nice. that's the color i'd get if i were to get one. as a matter of fact i might actually be considering one now lol. how tight is the fit, does it feel like it's gunna need tightening every few weeks?

It's gonna be as tight as you make it.

The nylon lacing cord is waxed to prevent slipping. Pull as tight as you can when you stitch. Wear gloves or you'll get blisters.

Mine has been on for more than two weeks now and it's perfect.

Re: Photo: finally took it
 

What´s that blue thing on your center/right vent?

The wheelskin look really nice.

It's a capsule air freshener (one of them Japanese things).
You just open the capsule and put some scented "pills" in it.

The design of the capsule made me buy it. It looks like the "Aqua" buttons on a Macintosh Operating System.

:)

are the holes that big that you can just wear gloves when you do it?

I don't know what you're getting at Brian, but isn't the size of the holes self-evident in the photo? Look at the stitching on the center spoke.

Basically, I worked with one gloved hand to pull and the other ungloved hand to thread. However, if you're the macho-type and love pain, you can work ungloved.

no i'd def. try to avoid blisters lol. i was just saying if you're wearing gloves wouldn't it be hard to thread that through small holes. but i get where you're coming from now.

:p

Hey dynamho,

Where'd you get that little "stick-on" shift map from? Did it come with your knob? I'd be interested in something like that.

Maxx Mazda,
A whole bunch of metallic stickers (including 2 shift pattern decals) came with the leather knob that I got. It's a RAZO RA-68 (400 gram) shift knob. I got it at http://www.imotorgear.com for about $38.