Steering wheel upgrade for Gen 4

[aspirated]

As you can see in the photos included my existing steering wheel is very badly deteriorated, probably quite typical of many other camrys out there

The amount of solar damage is really evident in these pictures

So rather than buy a new wheel, I prefered something leather and sporty. And sadly the touring model wheel just won't cut it with me. So...............

I managed to find a Gen 5 Sportivo wheel at a great price and to be honest its a sweet upgrade

It really matches the black cluster background perfectly and feels nicer to drive with.

[aspirated]

For anyone considering doing this upgrade I can give a few tips on successful installation

* The wiring harnesses from both wheels are totally different but...

* The cruise control unit has a different harness, however other than the harness the units are both identical. So I unscrewed the units from the wheel and swapped them. I had to cut the earth wire from the old wheel, But the new wheel has a blade fitting perfect for a crimp terminal to go onto.

* The new cruise control unit has a rubber dust cover which I simply stretched and slid off and put on the old one.

* The airbag itself has a different harness so a quick trip to repco I managed to buy a generic harness plug which has two crimp terminals inside. The airbag has blue and yellow wires on both models so I cut the wires on the new airbag and installed the generic harness.

* I had to pull it out a few times to get the wheel in the correct position but anyone with a bit of mechanical/ electrical aptitude will knock this over easily

Edited September 7, 2012 by aspirated

[curry__muncha]

wow, i've never seen a steering wheel that badly deteriorated! =\

Either way, the new wheel really looks the part!