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Thread: Wheelskins steering wheel review

  1. #1

    Wheelskins steering wheel review

    Hi all,

    When I bought my truck (2 previous owners), the top of the steering wheel was showing wear. About last year, pieces of the leather started to turn upwards and it became almost irresistible to start picking at it---which I did. It was like biting fingernails!

    So I bought a steering wheel cover from Amazon. Pilot was the brand. Got great reviews. The problem was it was really thick and didn't feel right. So I ended up giving it to Kafene.

    Fast fwd to last week, I received the Wheelskins steering wheel recovering kit. It came with the cover and a thick needle with waxed thread. The thread is pretty tough.

    Installation was relatively straight forward. You can only thread and tighten one hole at a time. It's best to hold and tug the previously tightened threaded string, thread through the new one, etc. This is to keep the thread from slipping backward. I discovered this about 1/4th of the way through. The hardest part is how to thread around the spokes. Takes practice. Take your time if you're really anal about how it will look. It's tedious for sure. Took me a good hour from start to finish. Oh one thing I would do over: if pieces of leather are peeling off, I would try to glue it down flat and then sand the high edges down. If you have access to leather filler of some kind, fill it and sand it down. This is the only reason why I'd do this stitching all over again.

    How does it look? Well of course it is a wrap, so it is not flush fit around the spokes. However, it looks really good around the steering wheel part. The leather feels so awesome. I'm actually enjoying driving the 4Runner more because of it. Sounds stupid, but the steering wheel always bothered me.

    There's one little section towards the end where I had a bitch of a time tightening it up. However, it's not bothering me at all. 90% of the stitching is good. I may redo it again. I called the company and they sent a new needle and thread at no cost to me.

    Before:



    After:



    All 9 pics are here:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/sizzler...7633803268381/



    Verdict: to replace the leather steering wheel leather is really expensive. There's some dude in Texas a lot of internet car guys say is really good, but it costs hundreds of dollars, you're without a wheel, and assed out if you only have 1 car. The slip over ones I mentioned are really thick. I believe this <$60 is the best option in terms of comfort and looks. Just takes about 1 hr to install and you're golden

  2. #2
    Looks great! This is on my list of stuff to do, although I am trying to find a light tan color to reduce the steering wheel temp in the summer time.

    I apparently have a strange steering wheel. I will get pictures of it later, but basically I have a wheel skin currently but there is not a normal steering wheel underneath.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz View Post
    I apparently have a strange steering wheel. I will get pictures of it later, but basically I have a wheel skin currently but there is not a normal steering wheel underneath.
    Que?

    The wrap looks really good Bob. My 4Runner also had two previous owners and somewhere along the line the leather took a hit. It's still in OK shape but with as much driving as I seem to do I don't know how long it will last. This looks like a nice option. Thanks for the review.

  4. #4
    So this is what my steering wheel looks like:


    Looks like it already has a wheel skin on it. 2/3 of the steering wheel is fine, but the bottom and left side are falling apart. a few years ago, the leather ripped out and it destitched itself. I had to cut the thread to not get my hand caught in it. I figured underneath would be a worn wheel like you have Bob, but instead I found this:


    It looks like someone trimmed off the leather wrapping, except for the spokes, and applied a wheel skin over it. I have NO idea why... silly PO.

    So I am in the market for a new wheel skin, preferably tan.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  5. #5
    Bob that looks great! I think once my steering wheel starts to look like crap I'm gonna have to do this mod!
    Lance
    TLCA Member

    2003 4Runner SR5 4x4 Chaos Edition
    2000 Toyota Landcruiser
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  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Good Times View Post
    Bob that looks great! I think once my steering wheel starts to look like crap I'm gonna have to do this mod!
    guys,

    id have to say that if your leather is starting to crack (or worse like mine w/ holes), recover it asap. the reason is like I mentioned above: it'll feel smoother underneath when you put the new leather on. there's a noticeable bump where I didn't smooth the defraying leather and it does sorta bother me. I know I can make that area flat again with some glue, some leather filler and a sanding pad. I would definitely take a 220 grit or finer sanding pad next time to the leather to smooth out any raised surfaces. then I can redo the stitching at the bottom too. but for now, i got other things to do.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz View Post
    So this is what my steering wheel looks like:


    Looks like it already has a wheel skin on it. 2/3 of the steering wheel is fine, but the bottom and left side are falling apart. a few years ago, the leather ripped out and it destitched itself. I had to cut the thread to not get my hand caught in it. I figured underneath would be a worn wheel like you have Bob, but instead I found this:


    It looks like someone trimmed off the leather wrapping, except for the spokes, and applied a wheel skin over it. I have NO idea why... silly PO.

    So I am in the market for a new wheel skin, preferably tan.
    sean,

    i cant see the pics from work, but i can guess that the PO didn't like how the wheelskin over the spokes part didn't look flush. I actually considered cutting off the leather too, but it would leave a noticeable cut line on the spoke part. that would look worse.

    they do sell tan. go to their website, they have all kind of color options too, even dual colored ones.

  8. #8
    It still has the raised part over the spokes. Just the top layer of leather is missing, but it is well past where the wheelskin sat.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz View Post
    It still has the raised part over the spokes. Just the top layer of leather is missing, but it is well past where the wheelskin sat.
    Yeah the original leather just covers a pad that's over the inner part of the metal core. I considered removing the leather (unstitching), but thought better of it.

  10. #10
    my wheel has been slowly wearing out where I grip it at the top. What I think Im gonna do is sand it down and fill it with leather crack filler.

    I found this site that sells what I think would work best for our wheels. Its a soft feel type filler http://www.viperproducts.com/index.p...958ca0a725b4cc
    Last edited by CJM; 05-30-2013 at 07:18 PM.
    Marc<br />96&#39; T100 SR5 4x4<br /><br />Other rides:<br />00 Honda 416EX

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