85 RX-7 GSL Steering Wheel Question
 

Hello,

I have a bit of a weird question and it might be very simple but I am not super knowledgeable with all things rotary. My car recently got broken into and a few things are missing but the one thing that makes me annoyed is they stole my aftermarket steering wheel. Luckily my car is parked safely and its not my daily however I am in need of a new steering wheel. The one in my car was basically home made by taking a junk OEM steering wheel and cutting the inside out and attaching it to the aftermarket wheel. So I am thinking about just buying a used OEM one from the forums or ebay etc so I can move the car, but I see you can buy adapter hubs for aftermarket wheels but will that work? Right now I basically just have the splined steering shaft so idk what the adapter hub needs if anything to bolt to.

I plan on having an aftermarket steering wheel again some time so is it worth paying for a used OEM one to use it for a few months or I can just buy an adapter hub and aftermarket wheel and not waste money? Again its a bit of a weird question but I am not read up on the aftermarket steering wheels/hubs. For now I will search for a cheap OEM but maybe just end up with an aftermarket one if the OEM ones are expensive and hard to find.

Thanks guys in advance!

this should have been posted in the classifieds parts wanted section.

not so sure (about where this should be posted). Technically, a Q, not a solicitation to buy a wheel...

Stu A
80GS
AZ

The original poster made statements about searching for a used steering wheel but did not ask if anyone had one for sale. He was more or less just saying that his was stolen and had a question about whether it would be worth it to buy a used oem wheel that would be used for a short period of time versus just waiting and buying a new aftermarket steering wheel.

In regards to whether it would be worth it to buy a used oem steering wheel, I personally feel as though it would be worth it. You could save for the wheel you want and still continue to drive your car. Plus you would have a spare in case something happened to the aftermarket steering wheel or you found that you did not like the aftermarket steering wheel.

a used OEM wheel should be really inexpensive, and they look nice and fit the car really well

I would agree that this is posted in the right section currently, as it is stated as a question more so than a WTB ad.

I'd also just look for an OEM steering wheel, post a WTB ad in the Classifieds section and you'll easily find one. Best of luck!

Thanks guys. I did take a quick look on Ebay and also the forums here for an OEM one and the ones on Ebay seem a bit "expensive" (roughly $100 or more) but there was one guy selling 2 oem wheels here back in april for $50 a piece. It does make sense to have a back up to an aftermarket one. At the time I just didn't know if it would be really worth it to buy the OEM. Does an aftermarket wheel and adapter hub basically take it down to the bare spline which is how my car is sitting now? Or does it us any of the OEM wheel along with the aftermarket setup?

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c3b4b69cac.png


Ha. OP - There is always someone parting out cars in the 1st gen classifieds, and you can usually negotiate prices. I like ebay for oddball parts if nobody here has them, but they're always more expensive. I've bought and sold many parts here for half the average ebay prices.

well, in my defense, this

Oh yes, I see where you were coming from. But as mentioned in another post he didn't ask anyone to sell him one. He asked if it was worth buying one, because he would be changing it out in a couple months anyway. And he asked about how to fit an adapter. He had already seen Southern_Rotary's sale add for $50 steering wheels. He was just asking for advice on what to do.

Heck I'm thinking of buying a new rear end for my GS. Uh oh, am I in trouble now too for stating that? If someone picked on you as a child, or you're mad at your boss, you need to talk to Them. Not take it out on poor forum noobs.

Just Kidding. I'm just feeling uppity - I worked 15 hours straight today, hit 145 in my Subie on the drive home, and have been arguing with someone on another forum for the past hour. No offense Rxtasy3, I've just seen you give this same response to many members that really weren't trying to buy or sell anything. Poster - "My mirror fell off, does anyone know if Mazda still sells these?' RXtasy - "WRONG SECTION - go to classifieds".
Poster - "If I want to replace my transmission, does it have to be from the same series?" RXtasy - "WRONG SECTION - go to classifieds".

Rxtasy, I am not trying to insult or insight you. I assume you are a Mod or Admin because in 8 months of daily use of the forum, I have only seen you police people. I don't know that I've ever seen a friendly post, only whip cracking. I am snarky and like to post funny memes, so I put up the Forum Nazi. I meant no insult. But now look... We've totally blown the OP's question off course.

Sorry OP.

In his defense, rxtasy3 is a fantastic mod and he's always on top of things here. He's not wrong in what he said as the thread could have gone either way. The original poster brought it back with his questions moreover actually wanting to use this thread to buy a part. It didn't look good initially.

I mean no real offense to rxtasy3. I appreciate the work that Mods do to keep the forums clean safe and helpful. I spend my days looking over contracts, permits, scope documents, action item lists etc etc. So when I feel a "Boss" has misread or misinterpreted the intent, and then is chastising a subcontractor or employee, it is often my place to intervene. I guess I forgot I was off the clock.

So, back to being helpful-
OP, If you only need some way to steer the car to move it in the driveway you could look for a super ratty wheel for cheap. When I need a hard to find dumb little item, and don't see it listed anywhere on the classifieds or epay, I start contacting the sellers or junkyards that are advertising OTHER FB parts. I mean, if the add shows a beat up 85 GSL and the listing is for an '85 RX7 Right Front Fender,..... I write to them and say "Hey, does that car still have the Widget I need?" And if it does, they sell it to me. Most of the used parts I've bought for my car on the internet were NOT advertised parts.

I'm also interested in the custom wheel you made. You said it was home-made. Was it hoopty or do you have skills?
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7b8ef6f77a.jpg

oh none taken. it was a quick read at the time. but yes after a re-read dave's right. that phrase stood out and replied more for fun or a chuckle.

The splines are all you need, the stock wheel has the "adapter" built in. If you want to get an aftermarket wheel again, I got a 3 bolt camaro style wheel really cheap and the 3 bolt adapter can be had from an autoparts store for $20 or so its the same as a ford spline

Thanks for the tip for asking people selling other parts, could come in handy some day! About the home made one I built. What I basically did was take the stock OEM wheel and cut the inner ring out to use use it to bolt the aftermarket wheel to the OEM center. So in short it was an adapter plate to make the aftermarket fit to the Mazda spline.


Do you have a picture of your camaro style wheel? And to be clear, you are saying the Mazda RX-7 spline is the same as a Ford? I figured there might be other makes out there that used the same. That information may come in handy also down the road.