Who has done this on their street/track cars? Regrets? Issues? Thoughts?

 

That's my thought too, a nice smaller wheel will prob block the top of gauges. How big is yours, 350mm?

 

I probably would try to stay around 350mm.

 

Oh, and I thought the stock turbo wheel was 370mm. Which would make yours 40mm smaller. The 996cup Momo 07 wheels is 350mm.

 

Stock steering wheel is 370. The 996Cup wheel is 350 with a 2" dish and a rather thin rim. I'm not a fan of the 996Cup wheel. The 991Cup wheel (like Steve has) is 320mm and has a shallow dish, about 1/2". The 997Cup wheel is 320mm also and is basically flat. The 991Cup and 997Cup wheels have the same rim feel but the 991 wheel is flat bottom and weighs about 8 oz more than the 997 wheel. The 997Cup wheel has horn buttons built in. Those are the main differences.

My previous wheel was a 360mm RUF wheel and I have the 320mm 997Cup wheel now. The small diameter is absolutely amazing at the track as it gives you the ability to input very fast corrections with small wheel movements. It has definitely improved the precision of my driving at the limit. The wheel feels perfect in your hands. The Cup wheel is one of the best driving mods I've done. With that said, the small 320mm diameter Cup wheels are a full 2" smaller in diameter than a stock wheel and as such are designed to be used with a standalone dash display like Motec which sits low on the steering column and allows you to see the gauges. I run the Motec dash and everything is plainly visible. As Steve said you will not be able to see the top half of the tach on the stock dash. Finally, in order to retain the horn on the steering wheel, you will need another $1000 in parts and several hours of additional labor and wiring to make it all work. It's not for the faint of heart and I did a thread about it about a year ago.

Unless your car is a dedicated track car, I don't think you will reap any benefit that the small steering wheel offers, certainly not on the street or going in a straight line where straight line stability is preferable and a larger wheel may actually be better. For a mainly street use car, I'm not sure getting rid of the airbag is a smart thing to do, could be a liability issue in an accident and could be a problem once the insurance company jumps into the matter. I wouldn't do for that reason alone but it's a personal decision based on your use and risk tolerance.

 

I don't know if it matters, but I have a high end momo on my e36 (used to be a race car), I love that it has a thicker grip than the oem wheel and the feel/handling of a smaller diameter wheel, but as others have said, it does obscure the top of my gauges depending on your seat position.


Side note: it is definitely in the back of my mind on occasion not having an airbag on a street car, but who actually knows if that's a good or bad thing in every type of crash situation...

 

My car is not a daily commute car by any means. Sunny weather only and only sometimes. So my car is mainly geared towards track while maintaining track legal. But in our cars we are pretty much toast in a severe accident. Not saying safety is of no concern. Just saying consider intended use.