Grant steering wheels
 

I have been doing some searching this morning all over the Internet on Grant steering wheels. There is one in particular I think would fit in with the general theme of my car -- it has modern attributes but it doesn't bop you in the nose with a modern or racing look. (That's for my next car.)

What experiences do you know about dealing with Grant steering wheels?

I am asking it this way because I have read 10% bad things and 90% good things, and most of the bad things are usually couched with some vague "I had heard ..." or "I had read ..." type of stuff. In fact, the one bad thing I had read was by someone who found the remedy through a longer steering adaptor hub and is still using his Grant steering wheel in his bug.

grant makes some nice steering wheels... but I think they like that unique feel to them.... I had one in my old car and I have a couple of buddies with em in there cars .. there cool wheels but they seem pretty generic but if it fits your theme and compliments what your doing.... and most of all you like it.. then go for it... hmm i tihkn i'm rambling because its 4:30 am.... damn you german look you have my addicted!!!:sleep:

My wheel is not a Grant but my adaptor is. The adaptor was very easy to install and the material and wormanship is great. You have to reuse the horn ring from the backside of your factory steering wheel. Just unscrew the three attachment screws and the old ring is a direct bolt on to the adaptor. This was a nice change from past experiences with aftermarket wheels. Most of the time I had to pray to the horn god to get the thing to blow! Not with this one.
Do yourself a favor though...Get yourself a wheel with a center opening for a horn button so you can bolt on the wheel before tightening the steering shaft nut. You need something to use for leverage. And sticking a prybar in the works is very cumbersome.

If cost isn't an issue.....here's a link. MOMO wheels are awesome and when I hit the Lotto or my inheritence come in....... Seriously, they offer some nice wheels that have a clean (Non-race) look!
http://www.momo.it/accessories.html

You are right! MOMO wheels are very nice and high quality products! I have the "millenium" steering wheel..I like it very much, it's a very good size + it's elegant but gives a race look to the car at the same time. My only problem is that in Europe it's a very popular wheel..and I like uniqe things..but if everything goes right, mine will be a bit different from the others ;)

Thanks for the answers, guys. :)

There is a MOMO I had in mind when I was going to do a full-on German Looker with a 1303. I have it stuffed away in my 1303 file for the day I get one. (My home renovations prevent an easy look-up for the model.)

I will check the link as soon as I catch up here. I don't remember if I looked at them for my 1302. I may have assumed they were racing wheels only.

As for pricey, the Grant I want is shockingly expensive. Hence, this extra inquiry. I doubt any MOMO is ... ah, never mind. I've been wrong too often lately to make a blanket statement of any kind. :o Maybe I will post a pic of the Grant if I can remember.

Be patient if you decide to buy a MOMO product, because the whole company is moving from Italy to France, and actually it's not so easy to order anything from them. This is my steering wheel (at the moment ;) )

I had a grant wheel for about two years, and It was OK. It is hard to find a "normal" sized grant in all but one style. and I found that as it got older, it showed signs of age, and began to creak. Overall, for the price (~$80 including hub) it was a decent wheel.

That Millenium was one of my finalists when I was leaning towards a full-blown German Looking 1303. Very nice.

Eighty bucks!? <cough cough> I only wish the one I wanted was $80.

Here is the one I have picked:
http://www.grantproducts.com/images/prod/1045.jpg
http://www.grantproducts.com/images/...45INSTALL.jpeg
I'm not sure what vehicle it is in. I would get the plain horn button and insert a "VW" sticker.

I'm not sure what you mean by "normal" sized. One of the reasons I like this wheel is its size is close to stock size -- only with a thicker grip. I know some people go with smaller wheels but I'm afraid a smaller wheel will obstruct whatever gauges I put in front of me.

The main reason I love the Millenium it's the size of it: the diameter is 32cm and it's perfect! Big enough to drive the car comfortable, but small enough to fell the go-kart feeling. Don't be scared about the gauges, I can see all of them. (the angle between you and the gauges depend also from your seat height and position). As I'm a bit taller than the average a standard sized wheel would very uncomfortable for me and my knees.
By the way, what about Billet steering wheels?? They are not the cheapest, but seems high quality and well designed products for me.

If (and when) I have a 1303, I will go with a smaller, racing style wheel. I investigated everything to some degree before I bought my 1302 thinking I was going to buy a 1303 first. If I were going to do little or nothing with my 1302, I still might consider one like the Millenium. As I said earlier, it was a quick favorite of mine.

I haven't totally decided in what direction I am going in with gauges for my 1302. There are many great ideas on this site alone. I will likely "borrow" some of them for my own. Whatever, it is likely my front panel that currently houses the stock speedo and speaker plates will be needed. A Millenium would likely obstruct my view partially side-to-side.

Billet steering wheels caught my eye -- especially for a few ( :rolleyes: ) extra bucks one could get a custom design. The more I thought about it, the more I realized billet wouldn't fit in with the carbon fiber/kevlar theme I had originally and would also look out of place in the 1302 I currently have.

Another concern I had was temperatures and billet steering wheels. Baltimore can get uncomfortably hot in the summer and uncomfortably cold in the winter. I wouldn't want my steering wheel greeting me that way as well. (I also wouldn't want to actually keep gloves in my glove compartment either.)

i have a grant sterrin wheel in both my cars and the oinly problem is finding the right size because i got the one i wanted not thinking and it is tooo small there for i cant seee 40,50,60 mph but i deal with it

I have that Momo Milenium wheel in my BMW and am very pleased with it, come to think of it it might look better in my bug :)

if we are talking about steering wheels...if I was looking for a wheel I'd buy this one..thanks for the 2 spoke-design it's retro and rally style at the same time.

@Oasis! You are right, the main part of billet wheels are too much either for me, but there are 2 or 3 that I could immagine in a bug, exspecially if it is covered with their "simulated carbon fiber".

i kind of just blew through this thread so sorry if this is redundant. i consider the steering wheel one of the most important aspects of "enjoying" a car. to me it has a HUGE affect (subliminal or not) on how i "feel" about driving a car. personal opinion here, i have found most Grants to feel substandard in quality to Momo, Sparco and others. this is mostly from shopping for wheels for the Ghia i had. not actually using them on a car. i do know from experience in my GL bug, that my Momo wheel freakin rocks.

don't scrimp on the wheel no matter what! get what "feels" right for YOU.

just my 2 cents.

I couldn't agree more with what you said about how important a steering wheel feels. As for the quoted area above, I had a Sparco or two in my paws a few years ago before I bought my car. Even then, it was standing in a showroom, not in a car.

I can do some measuring and some visualization -- but it's all guesswork when you get right down to it.

So why did the Grant "feel substandard in quality?"

I certainly don't want to shell out in excess of $500 for something substandard. And, zen, you know I value your opinion.

just quality of materials. totally subjective, but they just don't strike me as the same quality. particularly the leather. grade c cows or something. :D

I saw the Grant wheel with the 2 buttons on it...and some other ones at Kragen or Autozone or one of those.... The wheel was 50 bucks and said it fit on VWs with an adaptor sold seperately. Various sizes too. Some look really nice. Just an FYI if you dont feel like waiting for the Grant company.

Thanks, both. I'm in no hurry. I am swamped with work 'til the end of July; we have house renovations; and the Shantung Cruiser has two other more immediate priorities.

Maybe I can check the one I want somehow in person.

My main concern pertained to a couple of "voiced concerns" that were posted elsewhere. These concerns were far from first-hand experiences. I will make sure I am not dealing with Grade C cows when I am likely to put out nearly 5 C's for the steering wheel I like. ;)

500$?? :eek: How much does for example a MOMO Millenium cost in the States??? I've bought mine around 170$ now it costs 200-250$...I don't think that the postage in the US would cost another 250$...

I did a quick search and a place called LTB Motorsports has the Millenium for $257 plus hub adaptors for $58. I don't know if that's normal, high, or low.

The Grant I want is on the high side of $400. Add the hub and it's over five big'ns.

A quick scan at that site showed there was quite a range for Momo steering wheels ... $130-377. Most weigh in at $173 not including hub adaptor. It figures the one I want is pricey. :rolleyes:

i have a grant wheel and they suck.
the quality is awful compared to real wheels like sparco and momo...
hell apc makes better wheels.

if mine was stolen i wouldn't buy another. ;)

What sucked about it? I know you said "quality" but could you be more specific? And why do you still have it if it's so bad?

the sponge that the grip is made of breaks down in my hands.
i had to go through 2 adapters since the first had 2 mounting bolts strip out
the painted metal spokes all turned a grosse yellow colour.

LTB is a great place. that is where i bought my Momo. their prices are as good as almost any i have seen and i did a lot of homework at the time. no complaints on their service either. i am probably going to make another purchase from them here soon.

That's pretty damning. I will heed to this heads-up. Thanks.

Good to know. I just happened to find it to get a quick quote.

I will have to do a search from Square One. I stumbled across the Grant, saw the price, and decided I would want it despite its cost. That means it has been nearly two years since I did a detailed search. There is no time frame for me. It can happen after the engine/tranny upgrade for all I care ... or it can happen next week. I just have to blow the dust off my cm-to-in calculator. ;)

Thank you, everyone.

Very nice! It kinda reminds me of a modern version of the early Porsche wheels like in the 550 Spyder.

Yeah, I was drawn to its modern interpretation of the old banjo steering wheel. I especially liked it wasn't Y-shaped with the "banjo strings" as with most genuine antique versions. Whatever I end up doing with gauges, that configuration (and size) would help.

I want to see it in person before anything else -- especially for what they're asking for it and having read some of the cautionary tales.

I like the design of the wheel you picked

The grant wheel I have was a mahogany wood version($100) with metal on the inside the wheel itself felt good the adapter just didn't fit right had a little play in it up and down had to use a couple of washers to get it to fit correctly (after a couple of years of use) also it was a little small so curves on the backroads to disney world were a bit of a workout.

I like the feel of my new (new to me) momo better

This weekend I'll be installing my momo - ebay is a good source for them in excellent shape. I paid $100 bucks for a MOMO Fighter wood and leather version (normally 300+)

Before I had the porsche dash installed

http://www.shakaworld.com/bug/MVC-187S.JPG

momo wheel I'm installing
http://www.shakaworld.com/vwpics/MOMFGT35BKZB_1.jpg

if you can get them to ship it there's a few momo wheesl on the vortex up here in the great white north

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2622123

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2557336

In the "Momo hub adapter" section on the LTB web page, it states "You may lose the horn and turn cancel features on some cars".
Does anyone know if a 1303 is one of those cars?

mrweasel

Horn will work if you are lucky, if not, with a longer cable you can make it in 2 minutes.. I had this problem in my standard, but it was caused by the hub and not the wheel..About the cancel I don't know, but I think it is the same situation.