I wondered what experiences people have had of fitting a moto lita steering wheel to a late mk1 MX5?
Mine has a momo steering wheel with an airbag as standard but I would like to fit a moto lita wheel which I already have. My question is three fold really:
Will the boss offered by Moto Lita (F55 DH) fit my steering column?
Any problems with removing the steering wheel with an airbag? I’ve removed airbag steering wheels in the past but not on an mx5. Is it possible to do without causing the airbag warning light to be permanently?
Any body have any experience of driving an mx5 with a 14" wheel with a 2" dish?
Look forward to hearing people’s opinions/experiences.
p.s I have a boss for an MGB (71-76) incase anybody has one and would like to do a straight swap (long shot I know!)
Ok I was perhaps asking too much in the original post.
The only thing I need to know really is whether there is a difference between the steering column on a non airbag mk1 and the steering column on a mk1 with an airbag fitted. If there isn’t a difference I shall just buy the boss and see how I get on!
There is a difference between 1990-96 and 96-97 cars. Pre-1996, MX5 could be had with airbag or without (usual). Those without an airbag had straight stalks, those with, bent stalks. In 1996, Mazda standardised the bent stalks for all MX5s, whether or not an airbag was fitted.
Cars with airbags have a spacer between the steering column and the dash frame; this seems to be to enable a short pause between the airbag deploying and the column collapsing. The bracket securing the column to the dash frame is a break away design.
When Mazda fitted non-airbagged wheels to these later cars, bizarrely they retained the spacer. This meant, in order for the wheel not to scrape people’s knees, the wheel hub was eccentric; non centred. The result is, if a steering wheel with a centred hub is fitted, and the spacers are left in place, the steering wheel will be very low.
Thanks that’s exactly what I was looking for! Mine is a 97 car with an airbag and dog leg stalks so i guess if I choose to swap to my moto lita it will just mean a lot more dismantling than I was anticipating in order to remove the space plate.
When I eventually get round to doing it I shall update this thread with some pictures etc. Could be a month or 2 until I get round to it though I suspect!
I’m not sure about UK cars, but airbagged cars in the US has a tear-away looped section in the seatbelt. Owners over there removing their airbags unpick this stitching.
There’s a few threads on miataforum.com about fitting Motolita wheels.
Valuable advice about how to remove the airbag safely: