Steering the Ship – Upgrading Your Steering Wheel

It amazes us how many cars have steering wheels that are either in rough shape or are awkward to handle. If you think about it, every second you spend driving your car, you have your hands on the steering wheel.

From that perspective, you could argue that your steering wheel is the most important component of your car. It’s also the one part that you see constantly. It should look good, right?

Besides beautifying the cockpit, a steering wheel swap can also solve minor ergonomic problems. You could move the wheel closer or farther away, or fit a smaller or larger wheel.

On our early Triumph TR6, the original steering wheel had seen better days. As a temporary replacement, we found a late TR6 wheel at the Carlisle Import & Kit Nationals.

That replacement didn’t fit so well though. The early TR6 wheels are dished away from the dash, while the later wheels are dished toward the dash. End result of the swap: Our fingers kept hitting the switch gear.

Our goals were simple: Retain the stock diameter so steering effort wouldn’t go up. We also wanted a wheel with good looks and proper fit.

In a quick browse through the Moss catalog, we found all kinds of cool aftermarket steering wheels. Moto-Lita wheels are gorgeous, but they aren’t always the most affordable choice. However, Moss sells a line of Tourist Trophy steering wheels. They are nearly $100 less expensive and look every bit as nice as a Moto-Lita wheel.

When the wheel arrived, we were impressed. It was nicely made, fit the TR6 perfectly, and solved all our steering problems. The Tourist Trophy hub moved the steering wheel away from the switch gear, and the new wheel is comfortable to hold.

Changing a steering wheel is easy, and any decent home mechanic with a few common hand tools can do it in less than an hour. The only tool that may not currently be in your toolbox is the 1¹/16-inch or 27mm socket required to remove the wheel.