some new miatas look to have a NARDI steering wheel similar or identical to the ones in the brand new rx7's in japan with the special packages. i was wondering if anyone has tried putting one of these miata/nardi steering wheels in an rx7, if the airbag would work, and whether it could theoretically be done even if no one has tried it before. thanks in advance.

1994 rx7
Dan

 

As far as I know, no one has tried this yet. I'm very interested, but I'm not willing to be the guinea pig. If you try it and it works please post and let us know.

eric

 

By guineapigging I could only tell you if the steering wheel fits on the same size threads and if I could plug in the air bag and get the horn to work. I was hoping someone might have mazda mechanical info to show the airbag would actually work on one of these sweet three spoke leather bags nardi is making now. Otherwise I might as well use a wooden wheel or a racing type wheel

 

The '99+ JDM RX7s have the three spoke Nardis, just like the Maitas - not sure if they are the exact same size though.

I bought mine from a JDM parts car, and I know the horn and airbag connectors are different. No biggie, just solder the old connectors onto the new wheel. As for the bag actually being functional in an accident, I hope I never find out....

Got my wheel boxed up, probably one of the last things to go in.

 

I believe Wael tried this and found that they don't match up. Call Corksports, I think that is where he got it from.

 

I am running a Mazdaspeed Miata red-stitched steering wheel on my FD. To get it to fit:

The turn signal cancels are at 3 and 9 oclock, for the FD they need to be at 6 and 12 oclock. 3 minutes with a die grinder and carbide bit took care of that problem

There also is not a pre-drilled hole to mount the ground on the metal horn contact, so I got inventive and used one of the 10mm bolts that hold the airbag to the wheel.

You'll also have to swap the connector.....I was already running an FD Nardi wheel (I used the same airbag as before) so didn't have to perform this step.

Also, I have an R1 w/no c/c so didn't have to mess with it.

I have a pic floating around here that I'll post later

 

You know you just bumped a 7 year old thread Rich? Sniffing too many exhaust fumes re you? FYI - I just found a Miata wheel on eBay for $70 so I'll be doing this soon if the wheel is as advertised.

 

Just thought it would be cool to post 7 years after Chris did, and figured the info was still relevant

 

Yes, saw that. Makes you stop and reflect on the guy doesn't it? Your info will be helpful to me. I would think the wheel I ordered will be here any day now. I got the one with cruise control and I just read that this can be hooked up also.

 

My 2002 Maita/Protege wheel came in and it is as promised, in near mint condition so I am very excited. I paid a whopping $62 for it off of eBay. There are a few others available but not at that price. I pm'd the seller with a lowball offer and he accepted. Tough economic times mean our gain

I also just found an airbag in very good condition and closed the deal this morning. Cost? $50 shipped! So my total for the new steering wheel swap will be $112. Beats the heck out of buying a used Nardi RX7 wheel as they go for over $300 with most in the $400 range.

As mine is a Miata/Protege wheel (search eBay for each of these and you'll find others), I'll have to drill out two holes at the 12 and 6 positions but I think I can do this. For cruise control to work, I'll need to connect two wires together off of the wheel to the one on the RX7 wiring, but I can handle this also I think. Jesus Padilla is going to help anyway.

As an aside, I found the airbag on http://www.mazdas247.com/forum so you might want to check there for used steering wheels. There are a few right now with the airbag that appear to be in good shape for a good price.

A few shots of the wheel (I haven't cleaned it yet so what you see are smudges not scrapes). I wanted one with perforated leather after seeing goodfellafd3s:









And the airbag:

 

Subscribed for installation pictures and final product. Nice Find! What is the diameter of this wheel? Do you think it will project further then OEM FD wheel?

 

Interesting. I had the wheel that Rich is currently using on my old MazdaSpeed Miata. Its a great wheel. I've never seen the Protege wheel in person. What diameter is it?

 

Its 370mm according to a 3rd party website I found.

 

You sure? I thought it was 350mm

 

Nope. Perhaps the OP can measure for us.

 

It is just a bit shorter than stock. I have a special edition miata wheel with tan sides. It looks great with the tan interior. The wheel is fantastic. I have really sweaty hands and the stock wheel almost slipped as I used it. This one definitely feels grippier and aesthetically its perfect. It sits behind the gauge cover and lines up perfectly to its shape. I dont know how to explain it. The stock one kind of obstructed my view a tad bit.

Its definitely one of the best upgrades I ever had done to the car. I highly recommend it. I found mine for $200 shipped on the miata forums. I plan to get a second one soon for a second FD in the future.

 

Full install write up and most of the steering wheels that will work and resources found here:
https://www.rx7club.com/interior-exterior-audio-26/oem-nardi-wheels-dummies-716233/

http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/b...diWheel003.jpg

That is my car in the picture above and I used a protege steering wheel(I didn't have the cruise controls mounted in the picture) in my car and it is the one shown in the write up. The biggest advantage of the protege wheel is you can retain your cruise control controls in the same location as the stock cruise controls.

 

opps, here is the picture of the protege wheel installed:

 

i need one of these wheels. so nice

 

I was wrong, it is 370 mm. Just measured mine. The airbag should be here by Friday and then I'll make the mods to get it to work.

 

wonder if it would work on fc?

 

I have never seen the back of an FC wheel so i don't know.

Here is an interesting one. Don't like it as much as the Miata/Protege wheel:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-I...ht_1631wt_1326

 

My airbag showed up today. It's in pretty good shape, with some small scratches on the flying m logo. The black plastic cover is fine with no scratches and the black of the airbag matches the black of the wheel.

Pics:







I reflecting on what to do about the scratches on the emblem. Options:

- nothing. Once it is installed on the car, you'll never really notice the scratches.
- paint it. Thought about masking off the black areas on the logo and repainting the "chrome" portion. Problem with this is all chrome paint I've ever used doesn't exactly look like chrome and I'm just not sure. Another thought I had was to "black out" the logo by painting over the entire logo. The flying m logo has ridges in it defining the "m" in the logo and this would show through the black.
- swap the cover out. Minimally I'll call Ray Crowe and see if I can source the cover only. Think I can but this is big bucks.
- swap the bag out with my wife's. My wife has a 2003 Miata with the much sought after Nardi wheel on it and her airbag cover is pristine. Should I ask her if I can have her cover?

 

Do the swap! Isn't there a coating on the paint? If you did find the perfect paint I don't think it would look right anyway.

 

The wife unit has graciuosly offered her pristine airbag to me stating I am **** and will obsess about the scratches whereas she doesn't care. So swap I will!