do steering wheels need to have airbag for car to be street legal?
 

anyone know if theres a law that requires cars to have a airbag for the car to be street legal?
and if a airbag has to be present for the car to pass safety test?
<<< wants to install me sexy momo steerin wheel on

thanks!

I was told that if it came equipped with one, it has to stay.

who told u that?

It's true. If the car initially came with an airbag, it has to stay. Insurance will not insure you if you decide to remove a "safety" device that came initally in the car.

If you happen to have an early 91-92 model with the Enfini steering wheel, then you have no problems. But if your model came with the airbag, it's best not to remove it.

Alot of people remove them and don't tell insurance about it. God forbid something happens to the car, they inspect it after the crash and they don't find the airbag, they can walk away no questions asked. You're screwed!

Keep that in mind. :)

Yup thats the rule. That being said, lots of people run aftermarket steering wheels. If a cop pulls you over for that specific reason.........well I just don't see that happening. If you're pulled over, having an "unsafe" wheel wil lbe the last of your worries.

Someone might say "who's goign to know it had one?" well thats what the airbag stamp on the factory windshield is for......among other things.

EDIT: Neo touched on the insurance thing - which is true. If you make a claim and they find a missing or purposely diabled airbag - you're f00ked.

now im pissed :mad:
my dashboard and armrest piece are painted red to match the outside along with the red and black momo steerin wheel, now i gotta stick with ugly stock wheel :cursing:

anyways, thanks for the info guys!
also, how many of you guys are doin what im bout to do :rolleyes:

Get rid of all the ugly red pieces in your interior, restore it from a civic interior to a FD interior.

Zhe,

That's why the majority of us have switched over to the later model steering wheels. They look alot nicer than the stock 92-95 wheel and they're a tad bit smaller.

Try to stay as close to OEM as possible.

Same thing goes for aftermarket bumpers and such. You have to retain the rebar. Alot of folks cut some of that stuff out for intercoolers in various cars.

The deal is pretty much any car after 1993 you can't screw with the safety stuff. Before 1993 is fairgame on most models.

thats true, but does the later model wheels use the same hub as 93-95?


alak, so your basically saying, cars over 15 years old does not require safety?
kind of like 20 year old cars means they no longer need emissions?

No hub needed. You will need to splice a couple wires for the airbag though. Search for Nardi wheel.

haha, your sig is priceless Dom. Should read "asian fan-boy magnet" :) :)

Funny I was thinking something VERY similar...

so every1 here bored enough at work to make fun of dom? :hahaha:

Sorta. Think like a 1969 camaro has no seatbelts. Even today they arn't required in that car because it wasnt standard equipment back then. Im not talking about the 15 year rule. Its just conveinient to the conversation that 15 years ago crash standards changed to require all sorts of things, including airbags. :lol:

so in 1993, they put airbags in cars and one came with my rx7, that means id have to leave it installed right?
damn it

Yes, regardless of year - if the vehicle had X saftey device, that saftey device must remain in the car indefinetly. Example - S5 verts with airbag steering wheel (older then 15 years) or even any vehicel equipped with pre tensioning seat belts.....you can't change those out for a harness for street use as the pre tensioner is a safety feature.

[QUOTE=Neo;8344652]Zhe,

That's why the majority of us have switched over to the later model steering wheels. They look alot nicer than the stock 92-95 wheel and they're a tad bit smaller.QUOTE]

How much smaller please?

Nova7,

Slightly smaller by 10mm.
The original stock 93 wheel is 380mm. The 99spec-2002 wheels are 370mm.
It seems negligable, but you do notice the difference when you're driving.

Also, the later models lose the cruise control. It's hard to believe, but it's true. 99spec-2002 models have no cruise control.

Please note, the first steering wheel for the FD is the original Enfini wheel. No airbag and it's also 370mm.

Just some info...

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/tp/tp13178/page1_e.htm

Guess I'm the only one on here who likes the look of the stock wheel huh? :(
Seems to me it's the only one that fits in with the rest of the interior.

I don't mind the look of the stock wheel, i just really need some more leg room. My legs hit the bottom of the wheel just behind the knees if you try to do anything like heel-toe shifting. If I could figure out how to pull the stock wheel back and up and bit it would be perfect but that doesn't seem likely. I wish Mazda had put some adjustment in the steering column. Perhaps there is a small wheel with airbag that will work from another vehicule and/or maybe I can figure out how to put in a spacer of some kind. There's got to be a way.

i also like the stock wheel look, but my dashboard plus armrest is painted red
and the stock wheel really really does not match :(

Not trying to be a total jerk here (read total...i am a partial jerk) but it sounds like your best option would be to simply restore all of those red interior bits back to black. Please don't violate any safety regulations just so your steering wheel can match your tacky interior.

Either that or deal with the non-matching wheel.