WHEELSKINS steering wheel cover

[diinIndy]

Got my Wheelskins on, and I'm happy with it. However, this is not a job for the impatient. Don't attempt it if you're tired or in a bad mood. I put it on over the course of two days, and it took at least 2 hours total. Some of that time involved pulling out the stitches around the spokes and trying different things. Also, the thread is looooonnnng, and you're pulling it thru with every stitch. It gets caught on things sometimes, especially the parking brake. The needle eye is thicker than the holes you're pulling it thru.

Here are some helpful methods I used. I got some cheap, 99 cent Wal-Mart gloves to save my hands. Without them, this would have been torture on the hands. Also used a rubber/vinyl glove to pull the needle through each hole, just to give me some grip on it. I wasn't wearing the vinyl glove, just picked it up with every stitch to pull the needle.

The string is waxed. This made it stick to my gloves, which was annoying, but it was good in that it made it MUCH easier to keep things tight as I laced around. I laced mostly with my right hand and held things taut with my left. It's best not to pull the last stitch too tight until you stick the needle in the next hole, so you can find and reach that hole. Then, tighten it.

Working around the spokes was a little tricky. At first I was afraid of the dummy stitch method, thinking it would gape there. It's a little bunchy, but doesn't seem to gape.

The leather seems really nice. It's top grain cowhide, and smells wonderful... It's given the steering wheel a nicer feel than the hard, rough plastic that I didn't mind before, but don't miss now. It might not look as nice as ones that come with the car, but the leather is actually nicer and I'm happy with how it looks and feels.

I would not go with the two-colored wheelskins, though. They are kind of bulky where the colors join, and it's right where some people hold the wheel.

Here are some pics of the process.

Stretched over the steering wheel, ready to put on. That was a little hard, too, but I'm a wimp:




Needle and thread. Look at that there--the instructions called me a dummy...




Halfway on at 2 a.m. Well two-thirds of the way on.




Dummy stitching around the larger side spoke. Slightly bunchy, but lays flat. This is pretty thick leather. The thickness varies with the color, or lot, or something, because the two samples I got were two different thicknesses.




Stitching around the smaller, lower spoke.




Other spoke, from another angle.




Finished. This isn't a very good picture. This angle and the harsh lighting make it look a little rough. The bump around 2 o'clock is the thumbrest.




And here are some websites to check out. This is baseball stitching, apparently takes more thread but looks fantastic. I did the regular stitching, which looks good enough for me.

Wheelskins Steering Wheel Cover Install/Review - Club Touareg Forums


And the Wheelskins gallery. I got mine off of ebay from wheelskinsoutlet. It came FAST!



Wheelskins - The World's Finest Genuine Leather Motoring Accessories, Steering Wheel Covers, Driving Gloves and Shift Boots

[diinIndy]

Oh, here are the gloves I used, from our lonely gloves box. There is now a hole in the index finger of the black glove, and some of the pink glove is stitched up in my steering wheel.

The dark lines across the pink one are from the wax on the string. They went in the trash after this, where they should have been a long time ago.

[trucker]

Don't mean to be smart, but what's the point? Do you think it looks better? Feels better?

I don't get it. Looks weird IMO. Sorry.

[diinIndy]

It definitely feels better. The plastic steering wheel is rough, so this makes it smoother and adds a little padding. I wouldn't say it looks better, because the plastic looked fine. My finished picture isn't very good, but if you check out the links at the bottom, you can see better pics of them finished in various colors.

Just wanted to add that I looked more closely at the samples, and they seem to be the same thickness, but the cobalt one is much more pliable. I think it would have had a smoother finished look. It was just a variation in natural leather.

[graham.webb89]

Originally Posted by diinIndy

It definitely feels better. The plastic steering wheel is rough, so this makes it smoother and adds a little padding. I wouldn't say it looks better, because the plastic looked fine. My finished picture isn't very good, but if you check out the links at the bottom, you can see better pics of them finished in various colors.

Just wanted to add that I looked more closely at the samples, and they seem to be the same thickness, but the cobalt one is much more pliable. I think it would have had a smoother finished look. It was just a variation in natural leather.

I think it looks way better, and I know it feels way better because I have a wheelskin on my 2010 Accent, so much better than the hard plastic, and the leather is way nicer than the "leather" steering wheel that came on my dads 2010 Accent SE.

[diinIndy]

Thank you.

[someguy]

Thank you for the pics overall it looks really good. I'm thinking all black would look good and match closest to stock. I know its a little late in the year but I'm curious iif this gets hot in summer. One thing I like about the stock wheel is that it stays cool

[graham.webb89]

Originally Posted by someguy

Thank you for the pics overall it looks really good. I'm thinking all black would look good and match closest to stock. I know its a little late in the year but I'm curious iif this gets hot in summer. One thing I like about the stock wheel is that it stays cool

hmm I can't remember to be honest...I think it did when it was out cooking in the sun for a couple hours, but it's not too bad...definitely not as bad as my aluminum shift knob, that thing got hot!

[diinIndy]

Originally Posted by someguy

Thank you for the pics overall it looks really good. I'm thinking all black would look good and match closest to stock. I know its a little late in the year but I'm curious iif this gets hot in summer. One thing I like about the stock wheel is that it stays cool

Tomorrow I'll take some more pics from a different angle. The stitching around the wide spoke on the right came out much better than the one on the left. I think it might be better not to pull the dummy stitches too tight, though the instructions don't say that. The right sided one is flat and smooth. Have to go to work now, so I'll have to do it tomorrow.

Also, probably if I had to do it again, I might do black. That would look really pretty. Maybe if I wear this one out someday...

[graham.webb89]

Originally Posted by diinIndy

Tomorrow I'll take some more pics from a different angle. The stitching around the wide spoke on the right came out much better than the one on the left. I think it might be better not to pull the dummy stitches too tight, though the instructions don't say that. The right sided one is flat and smooth. Have to go to work now, so I'll have to do it tomorrow.

Also, probably if I had to do it again, I might do black. That would look really pretty. Maybe if I wear this one out someday...

LOL these things never wear out...just saying, we've had one on our Mazda for probably almost 10 years strong, and unlike the Mazda the wheelskin is still in great condition!