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Working on a new steering wheel.

38K views 330 replies 103 participants last post by  anryo 
#1 ·
UPDATE* Teaser pics from Redline Goods!





Prototype mold done


I ran out of Task 9 so I will need to redo this one, and it shifted a little in the mold so its not perfect but that can be fixed with the next one. Still needs to be leather wrapped and I will do another one next week when I order a bunch of task 9 and I will make one to ship out for the leather template.

Tired of looking at the boring GTO wheel and have seen a few people come up with decent ideas like the generic GM three spoke wheel on the vette and everything else.

Then I saw an aftermarket R8 wheel


and I wanted it. So I made my own. This is the first trial before I actual make the real one. Im waiting for foam rubber rather than polyurethane foam like I used here. Then off to redline goods to have a cover made.




The beauty is I will use a stock wheel and just remold it. So the airbag will work and the radio controls should bolt right in. it will be like the JHP/HSV wheels just way more aggressive. And hopefully I have less in it than if I bought one of theirs.

Tell me what you think

EDIT* Added pictures with the airbag and back plastic piece to show how they will bolt right in. Didn't feel like taking my whole wheel off my car so didn't get the radio controls off.
 
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#24 ·
Awesome, What wheel is that in the first pic?
 
#3 ·
Thank you. Hopefully done in a week or two. Really its shipping that holds me back. I was going to make the rim smaller but then using the stock metal wheel under the foam would be out.

Also this will get rid of the crappy silver pieces that wrinkle, that will be covered in leather.
 
#5 ·
I ordered that polyurethane foam from US Composite and the rubber, mold wax, and release, I'm getting from Smooth-on. And those I just got from a google search. Im not using the polyfoam any more. The mold I just made out of plaster of paris. Seems to work great for this so far.

Why do you know something I don't?
 
#14 ·
Sorry for the late response, I was going to highly recommend Smooth-On. I have very high amount of experience working with molding chemicals both professionally and as a hobby. Smooth-On chemicals perform better than anything I've ever seen. If you need some help or advice PM me, I'd be glad to help via phone or e-mail.

I'm thinking that Smooth-On's TASK 9 is possibly the 2 part mixture you'll want to cast your steering wheel in. It's machinable and obviously very rigid. Mold release can be substituted with Vaseline (use a very thin layer), and the rubber you'll want to use to make your mold with would be Dragon Skin. Don't forget a couple pigment powders, one for the rubber mold and one for the actual casting.

Again contact me for more info if you'd like. Hope this helps.

Essentials:
-Dragon Skin® 10 Fast
-TASK® 9
-Pigment powders (Amazon.com)
-Vaseline or a can of actual mold release
 
#7 ·
I am in love
 
#10 ·
I'll replace my brand new HSV with this the day you launch it
 
#12 ·
Sure, I'll take 2$ lol out of the 644$ haha just kidding. Jhp will take all their prices up because of the fast dropping of the us dollar. Their gauge pod is now almost 900$. IMO we will see their steering wheels going up 100-200$ this year
 
#15 ·
I'm not worried about pigment so much. But I got oomoo for the mold and flex it iii for the actual cast. I bought the mold release for the polyfoam, I'm not new to plastic production haha. Crisco and Pam work great as a mold release too. I appreciate the info, if what I have doesn't work I will pick that stuff up.
 
#16 ·
Gotcha, yeah Smooth-On will be the priciest too. It's pretty much the best stuff out there, professional grade. Curious though, why Flex it iii? That's more for soft props and mock hard objects? I guess what I'm getting at is it won't work for an actual steering wheel. OOMOO is great but probably not the best suited for repeated use, but I'm sure you won't be mass producing these anytime soon lol. Also, if you don't use pigment in your cast you'll have to paint it or just be happy with the color the chemicals give. I'm anxious to see how this works out though!
 
#18 ·
Thanks, I ordered the task 9; and I think for now I will stick to the oomoo and If I need to make another mold later I will order the dragon skin. Im not making a huge amount of these ha. I got the flex it iii because I wanted something softer than a hard plastic or the polyfoam I got. Trying to match it to what actually came on there. Can you tell me why it won't work? You are a big help and I will PM you if I have any questions. Mostly I know about thermoforming and all of that I learned on youtube, reading, and my own experiments with it. not easy doing it with 1/4" plastic.

So that puts me back until this stuff comes in, good thing I only have school 2 days a week and nothing but free time other than that.

And don't worry Im full steam ahead on this. I like having this bundle from splitters to be able to completely fund my other projects. I also want to have a stitched airbag cover (seen this on a vette forum) and maybe a leather dash that redline goods did for someone else.

Thanks guys
 
#17 ·
it looks awesome. can't wait for the finished pics!1
 
#23 ·
awesome job!!
sent you a pm.
 
#25 ·
#28 ·
Suscribed this looks cool as hell.
 
#30 ·
It's not a factor of 'if' it will work. It's when and how much I will have to spend to get it to. The more trial and error the more it costs me. The thermoforming there was a lot of "ifs" this is pretty easy. It's literally just pouring a compound into a mold letting it set, pop it out and put leather on it.

I don't want to get this thread locked or get banned so I'm not going to talk about prices or selling these. I do want to get my own sponsorship though. Wasn't enough money ever with the splitters to justify it. I'm just a guy who makes stuff I want and others have wanted it too.

I added some more to this base mold, a little more bolstering on the bottom sides. Trying to get this as ergonomic as I can while still looking good. The back plastic piece is what is holding me back though since I dont want to have to make that. Well see. Give me two weeks or less and I will have a leather wrapped one. I can almost guarantee that.
 
#31 ·
let us know if you need funds to complete the prototype
 
#33 ·
Anyone who has bought a splitter has funded this. I don't spend that except on projects like these. It just sits in PayPal. Thanks though haha. I have all the stuff ordered but if I mess up this next mold I will have to order it again and that expensive. If I have to I will take a personal loan from myself. Money isn't a problem but the less I have to spend the better.

If these do go into production I'd love one without the flat bottom... I've never been a fan of wheels with the flat bottom.
That would have to be a separate mold and making it would be a lot more. One mold will cost about $400 in materials. I'm making this for myself. The HSV wheel is a great alternative if that is what you are looking for. And my biggest reason for wanting that is I Hit the bottom of the wheel getting in and out all the time.
 
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