Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Advice on steering wheels

Steve

By 'offset' I take it you mean an eccentric boss. I never understood the point of this along with flat bottom rims. In UK we have things called bends on our roads which require us to turn the steering wheel to navigate them. If you bought an eccentric boss wheel to get more leg clearance then as you turn the wheel the rim gets closer to you. I suspect theses are a fashion thing along with vinyl roofs & so called privacy glass.

Tim

On the contrary Tim, whilst these things called bends will negate any clearance whilst moving, not many people will decide to get in or out of the car whilst on the move, whilst practically everyone will do this when stationary, when the benefit of an offset wheel will be felt, if the steering has been left in the correct position.

As a matter of interest my MINI has a slightly offset wheel, from standard and very useful privacy glass to the rear which stops your average thief from easily identifying my stash in the back, but you are quite right, I couldn't think of anything practical that could be achieved by sticking a piece of vinyl on my roof, so have concluded that it is merely a fashion item.

Steve if you are a big chap, I'm sure you will find some benefit from the offset wheel, and won't even notice it when driving.

Bring back the Quartic wheel. Not so daft after all!

You seem to have outed yourself as a member of the all-aggro fan club

I have an offset Mota-Lita on my Plus 4, which does indeed improve access & egress. It's fine for normal manoeuvering but if you tackle somewhere with lots of hairpins & give it'plenty of wellie' e.g. zig-zag hill near Shaftesbury, it all starts to feel a bit strange as it whizzes through the hands. If access is not a problem, suggest stick with a uniform circle.

I had a 14" leather rimmed mota-lita for about 8 years and now have a 13" Simmonds super spoke on my current car, a year old. Both wheels are brilliant, both companies will match the leather to your interior colour if you wish quality on both is superb and a matter of personal taste which you prefer.
If you haven't driven a car with a narrow rim wooden wheel before I would suggest you do before ordering one. I think they suit the traditional look of the Morgan and look better than the leather wheels but after 5 or so years with a mota-lita 15" wooden wheel on my first Morgan I had had enough of a cold wheel in winter and having to wear gloves in summer because when it's warm your hands will sweat and the grip isn't consistent, not great when you are driving quickly. I also didn't find it that comfortable.
It is such a personal choice that we will all differ in what suits us best but a replacement steering wheel is expensive so important you make the right choice.

Good advice. We had a wood rim Motolita on our 1985 car. It looked great but long distances became tiring - as I got older my hands started to become quite uncomfortable. We left the steering wheel as a factory original on the current car. I like the Brooklands wheel but begrudge the extra cost. The factory wheel would look a lot better with a more elegant centre but I can live with it. The view down the bonnet makes the look of the steering wheel seem insignificant.

Option as below but mine had to match my dash

I find it very comfortable even on 250mile drives

Your're right it is so personal. I can't think of any disadvantages to the wooden Mota Lita. I love the feel and look of it, summer of winter, and wish it was on all our cars.

Thanks for the advice Guys very useful