ctwentytwo

iTrader: (9)

This thread is created to share information about steering wheels, e-brake handles, and associated boots and their manufacturers.

I am/was in the market for an aftermarket steering wheel, but information on steering wheels is very sparse, so I decided to consolodate it here.

Please post and share thoughts and information on your particular item that you feel would also be helpful.

Steering Wheel Brands

Nardi
Manufacturer: Nardi-Personal S.p.A.
Website: http://nardi-personal.com/
Info: Nardi makes steering wheels as well as e-brake handles, e-brake boots, shifter boots, and shift ***** which are made in Italy. They are known for their classic styled wheels and is known for being the first aftermarket steering wheel company.

(from Nardi-Personal) On March 1st, 2005 the ownership of Nardi Italia S.p.A. was officially taken over by Mr. Lorenzo Cerofolini C.E.O.

The company was renamed Nardi-Personal S.p.A.

The Trademarks Nardi and Personal have been bought from the previous company, allowing the new company to inherit fame, history and know-how achieved in many years of experience.

The aim of the new ownership is to relaunch the Nardi & Personal trademarks both as first equipment of prestigeous cars (for example PAGANI and LOTUS) and in the aftermarket.

Nardi's production has always included modern leather and wood-rimmed steering wheels as well as traditional classic steering wheels, such as the famous Anni '50 and '60.

Personal
Manufacturer: Nardi-Personal S.p.A.
Website: http://nardi-personal.com/
Info: Personal Wheels are manufactured by Nardi-Personal. See above. There are also Personal branded shift boots and shift *****. Personal has a history in F1 as viewed here in Final Lap's F1 Steering wheel catalog... you can see the progression of F1 Steering wheels and it's influence on some of the current designs: http://www.finallap.net/Catalogue.aspx?i=8 (click the camera icon).

Momo
Manufacturer: MOMO S.r.l.
Website: http://www.momousa.com/
Info: Momo has a range of Steering wheels, shifters, shift and e-brake boots, e-brake handles that are made in Italy. They also manufacture wheels, seats, as well as racing attire. Momo also has a history in F1 as viewed here in Final Lap's F1 Steering wheel catalog... you can see the progression of F1 Steering wheels and it's influence on some of today's designs: http://www.finallap.net/Catalogue.aspx?i=8 (click the camera icon).

(from Momo UK) It all began with a passion for motor racing…

Giampiero Moretti, an amateur racing driver, had a unique steering wheel made for his car. Aside from being a smaller diameter than a conventional racing wheel of the day, the most distinctive part was the large diameter handgrip, that made the car far easier to drive.

It attracted the attention of many racing drivers, amongst them John Surtees, who drove for the Ferrari F1 team at the time, and had the Moretti wheel fitted to his 1964 race car.

It was a great year for Surtees and Ferrari, who won the F1 World Championship, and also for Moretti’s steering wheel, which had its share of the glory.

Requests for the steering wheel began to pour in and what started as a passion grew into a business.

In 1966 a plant in Tregnano, near Verona, Italy, was opened to produce these steering wheels, giving birth to MOMO (initials that stand for MORETTI-MONZA).

The first order was from Ferrari, who had decided to use MOMO steering wheels on all its racing cars. With this formidable entrée, MOMO began to scale the international market. The steering wheel range broadened and production diversified, with the company starting to produce light alloy road wheels.

The importance of design in the success of MOMO products led to the creation of a separate division, MOMO DESIGN, in 1982. And the following year saw the birth of MOMO CORSE, specialising in the production and distribution of high technology racing equipment.

Today, MOMO is a global brand, representing the pinnacle in high-style accessories, tuning products and race equipment, designed for real enthusiasts and manufactured with the same passion that started the ball rolling over 40 years ago.

Sparco
Manufacturer: Sparco S.p.A.
Website: http://www.sparcousa.com/
Info: Sparco started with roots in rallying, but has branched out into other professional motorsports organizations. Part of the Big 3 Italian auto accessory companies, along with Momo and Nardi-Personal.

(from Sparco Italy) The birth results from the meeting of Enrico Glorioso and Antonio Parisi united by a common passion for rallies. The founding year is 1977. One of the first projects is to create a protective suits for pilots which is flame-resistant. SPARCO, whose members, at that time could be counted on one hand, sets out on the adventure, race after race.

(from Sparco USA) Drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Mika Hakkinen, Alex Zanardi, Scott Sharp, Bobby Labonte, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmy Vasser, Jacques Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher, Dario Franchitti, Bill Elliott, Paul Tracy, David Coulthard, Jean Alesi , and more than 20 other professional drivers in Formula One, Nascar Winston Cup, CART, and IRL, demand Sparco for their safety needs.

Sparco has always worked closely with professional drivers to develop the safest, most technologically advanced products available.

Works Bell
Manufacturer: Works Bell Co. Ltd.
Website: http://www.worksbell.co.jp/]http://www.worksbell.co.jp/
Info: The Works Bell Original and Yoshioka steering wheels are made in China. Only the Team Orange steering wheel is made in Italy. All of Works Bell's other products such as their Rafix branded quick releases and bosses are made in Japan. (Source: The Tuners Group [Austrailian]- http://www.tunersgroup.com/Online_St...inal_blue.html

Key!s Racing
Manufacturer: ATC International Japan Co. Ltd. http://www.atc-int.co.jp/
Website: http://www.cardome.com/keys/
Info: Key!s seems to be the brand of formerJGTC and Super Taikyu Driver Takayuki Kinoshita. I would browse the ATC International link above just to see the interesting branded (Falken?!) steering wheels produced by ATC. Although it Seems ATC is a Japanese company, the Key!s branded wheels are made in Italy it seems... only if I could read Japanese.

Vertex (Carmake T&E)
Manufacturer: ATC International Japan Co. Ltd.(?) (at least according to RHDJapan and JHPUSA, which pretty much states it verbatim. The ATC website does not list any Vertex steering wheel).
Website: http://www.t-and-e.co.jp/index.shtm]http://www.t-and-e.co.jp/index.shtml
Info: Vertex is a brand under the Carmake T&E umbrella. Could this be a true JDM, Japanse made steering wheel?

Other Steering Wheels
Italian manufacturer Isotta also makes a variety of steering wheels. There are other branded wheels available like Top Secret (Personal), Spoon (Momo)... please don't put this on a Nissan, etc... If you have info on other steering wheels, please post.

Shift & E-Brake Boot Brands

Redline Goods
Manufacturer: (?)
Website: http://www.redlinegoods.com/
Info: Out of Poland and a small independent company, they specialize in shift and e-brake boots, as well as arm rest covers made to fit specific vehicles. Great customer service too with live, instant support.

Other Brands
Currently, Momo and Nardi-Personal makes universal shift boots and e-brake boots that fit their particular e-brake handle. Italian manufacturer Isotta also has a variety of e-brake boots.

Other related links

Aftermarket steering wheel pics thread

DIY e-brake replacement thread

ctwentytwo

iTrader: (9)

Personal Neo Grinta vs Momo Montecarlo

I tried to dig up information on these steering wheels. It was such a hard descision... so many choices, so many other choices like e-brake handles that affect your decision of steering wheel. I just got them both Too much members have the Neo Grinta, and too many have the Momo e-Brake. Also, I didn't want to mix/match the brands of e-brake and wheel, it made it that much tougher.

The Momo Montecarlo has been around for a while- pre 1998 as here is a picture of a Montecarlo in a Supra from the September 1997 issue of TURBO Magazine.

Source: http://www.supraturbo.com/supra2.html

As you can see, the Montecarlo has basically remained the same since then.

The oldest material I found on the Personal Neo Grinta... or original Grinta was here in a .pdf of a 2002 Personal Catalog hosted by a Swiss motoring store:
http://www.delta-motor.ch/GER/Produk...l/PERSONAL.pdf


Comparison between the bigger 330mm Personal Neo Grinta (left) and smaller 320mm Momo Montecarlo (right). I'm surprised that the seemingly slight 10mm difference makes the Montecarlo look much smaller.

Notice the thicker horizontal crossbar on the Montecarlo, while the Neo Grinta has a thicker vertical bar. Also take note of the more pronounced finger indentation on the horizonal crossbar for the Montecarlo.


This angle shows the thickness difference, as well as height difference. In my hands, personally (no pun intended), I prefer the thicker Momo.


3/4's view showing the slight shape diffences between both wheels.


The Neo Grinta has awesome red stitching; also available with yellow stiching with matching colored horn buttons.


Plain black stitching for the Montecarlo, but it's dirtyness will be less obvious.


A view from behind the Neo Grina shows the grip near the horizontal crossbar is deep, making for a better feel when gripping there IMO...


...while the Motecarlo has flatter grips at the horizontal crossbar.


The Momo comes with horn button, and some wires and adapters, while the Personal only comes with horn button... but really, this is a non-issue.

ITOzann

iTrader: (30)

lots of useful info! I love my personal neo grinta(30mm)!

duro78

iTrader: (6)

Damn bro it must take you months to buy a pair of sneakers lol. no offense but are you **** retentive? good info though

Brrcats

iTrader: (10)

excellent thread, sticky worth I'd say.

I've bought a shift boot from redline goods, quality leather. Could tell a large difference between the quality of the stock shift boot and thiers.

dkwang

iTrader: (6)

Can you show pictures here installed?

ctwentytwo

iTrader: (9)

Okay, the Nardi e-brake / handbrake lever came in yesterday from Crowder's. Damn nice quality piece. Very lightweight also.

Nardi E-Brake Handle

Dimensions:
Length: 5 1/16"
Outer diameter: 1 9/32"
Inner hole diameter: 1"

I got the black leather option, but comes also in red, blue, or silver leather; or real carbon fiber, or all metal.

I'll have to probably widen the space on the bottom of the lever to make it fit on the 350.

ctwentytwo

iTrader: (9)

Redline Goods

Redline Goods specializes exclusively in shift and e-brake boots, as well as arm rest covers.

This is a Redline shift and e-brake boot in black leather and silver stitch that I recently received.

Visit www.redlinegoods.com

Extensive options for personalization of boots, from thread color, to material, to piping... Redline Goods seem to do it all when it comes to boots.

They are located in Poland, and although the boots are "made to order," they arrived in about a weeks time. Great customer service. Someone answered all my questions about the ETA of the boots on the "live customer support" chat feature on their website.

I took a chance not knowing if the e-brake boot would fit on the Nardi e-brake handle (see above). Thank god I didn't have to cut the boot as it fits snug.

Highway Riding

iTrader: (6)

Some good info in here. Thanks for sharing!

Brrcats

iTrader: (10)

This is the boot I have, I cant get a picture becuase I've lost my camera unfortunately. it looks very similar to the stock boot, just better quality. Installation was very simple as well.

MethodRN

iTrader: (13)

great info!

ctwentytwo

iTrader: (9)

Thanks for the comments guys. Glad you guys are finding this in the very least, interesting... here's more...

What size e-brake will fit the 350z's naked e-brake handle?

I did a test and found a 1" diameter tube that held shipping tape. The 1" tube was able to slide all the way down the e-brake. There was only very slight play of the tube. So a 15/16" diameter inner hole on an e-brake may fit; although a 1" diameter inner hole will definitely fit.

Crowder's Customizing offers a variety of e-brakes handles. Most of the product descriptions include dimension measurements, but if it doesn't, contact them via e-mail like I did for the Nardi e-brake handle dimensions, and to which, they replied within a day.

BTW, here's more info on ISOTTA- another Italian auto interior company.

ISOTTA
Manufacturer: Isotta Design
Website: http://www.isotta.com/eng/adv.php
Official On-line Store: http://www.isottashop.com/store/
Info: Isotta products are made and Italy, and offers almost all auto interior parts including seats, steering wheels, pedals, mats, e-brake handles, etc... Be sure to check out their on-line store (linked above) for the latest in their goods... which includes their "URBAN GLOW" line of accessories. The Urban Glow accessories have Swarovski crystals embedded in them:



Although they also manufacture more conventional interior accessories. They seem to have a comprehensive selection that will suit a variety of tastes.

From Isotta.com:

"The Tuning Inside"

This is the slogan which best suits the spirit which characterises the work of the ISOTTA team.

The company was formed in 1991 thanks to the determination of a group of founding members who had already been involved professionally in the production of accessories for motor vehicles for some time.
Immediately, their objective was to establish a high target for quality and an innovative design. Before long, the ISOTTA brand became a point of reference for tuning enthusiasts.
Currently the brand is distributed in more than 50 countries and is constantly growing.
The planning and design, like the entire production process, take place almost entirely in Italy in our plants in Ferrara and Rovigo.

Research and Development Department

Thanks to the enthusiastic collaboration of our planners and designers, and with the aid of state-of-the-art technological systems, new products, solutions and cutting edge designs are developed day after day. Trials are carried out with innovative materials and existing ones are tested and improved.
The qualitative and design characteristics our products possess make them unique and instantly recognisable. Our customers do not value their flamboyance, because it is not necessary. The ISOTTA articles in themselves communicate our passion.

Production Department

The care, attention and professionalism of Italian labour are undoubtedly key factors.
Once again, in this instance they lead to extremely high and uncompromising standards of quality.
Nothing is left to chance.
The careful precision mechanical production and treatment of hides which has not forsaken its traditional methods result in the unmistakeable image of the ISOTTA brand and its products.

Marketing and Sales Office

Our marketing and sales department is made up of young, enterprising professionals, young men and women who, on a daily basis, take care of relationships with our agents and distributors, and even with individual users and enthusiasts. People who know how to listen and who continuously communicate our philosophy and our passion. The ISOTTA brand is always present at leading trade fair events, as well as in top industry journals and show cars.

MethodRN

iTrader: (13)

So does this mean I have a real JDM steering wheel?

ctwentytwo

iTrader: (9)

Maybe... But I still think the Vertex wheels are made in Italy... and this would only matter to guys who "buy JDM first."

This does bring up an uncomfortable debate as to whether you would call a part "JDM" if it's not made in Japan... now I'm wondering where any of my parts are really made in. I do know the Amuse and Varis parts are handcrafted in Japan.... but that's for another thread...

Is the Vertex Wheel JDM... as in "made in Japan."

This is what I dug up...

According to RHD Japan in this link:
http://www.rhdjapan.com/vertex-racin...mm-350mm-24183

"You are viewing a Brand New Deep-Type Steering Wheel by Vertex in conjunction with the Italian wheel company, ATC. Vertex Racing Steering Wheels are both stylish on the streets and capable of the hardest driving scenes..."

But digging deeper, unlike what is written by RHDJapan, I believe ATC is a Japanese company that has their steering wheels manufactured in Italy. RHDJapan might have just worded their description wrong.

A link to ATC's company page showing indeed shows ATC to be a Japanese company... the ".co.jp" suffix in the URL is also a good sign.
http://www.atc-int.co.jp/COMPANY/CAMPANY.html

A blog from Austrailian company JDMConcept:
http://blog.jdmconcept.com.au/2009/08/
"Key!s Racing Steering Wheel has been developed by pro driver Kinoshita with co-operation of ATC steering wheel company in Italy."
Now the wording here seems to point out ATC wheels are made in Italy, but ATC not to be an Italian Company. In fact, when Googling "ATC Steering wheel," the results mostly point to Key's steering wheels "Developed in conjunction with ATC in Italy."

Now searching for an actual "ATC Racing" steering wheel always results in Japanese links. This seems to be a "rare" wheel... or rarely seen outside Japan. I'll do an "ATC" company write up soon. Interesting company indeed... they are more like the Japanse version of Isotta, who I profiled abover, and catering mainly to Euro styling.

Digging even deeper...

The Vertex Deep, Key's Deep, ATC Rally-cone are pretty much identical bearing the 12&6 o'clock Momo-type bolt pattern. But You can pretty much throw in another Italian accessory company's wheel: OMP's Corsica that bears an uncanny resemblance to them all! Momo's Prototipo comes close, but the vertical bar doesn't quite match up.


Vertex Deep


Key!s Deep


ATC Rallye-Cone


OMP Corsica

What's even more interesting is that the Vertex Flat and Key's Flat steering wheels are identical, and would therefore be identical to ATC's Sprint-Cone 45... "45" being the "45mm flat" offset, compared to the deep 90mm offset of the deep wheels above. What is intriguing is that these steering wheels have the offset of the 9&3 o'clock Nardi-Personal type bolt pattern unlike the deep steering wheels above. No other steering wheel manufacturer uses the Nardi bolt patterns... Sparco, Isotta, OMP all uses Momo's bolt patter.


Vertex Flat (Special Black edition)


Key!s Flat


ATC Sprint-Cone 45 ("45" being millimeters of offset- from the surface where the wheel attatches to the boss or quick release, to the front edge of the wheel portion that you hold.)

So in conclusion, the Vertex steering wheels are pretty much the same as the ATC... and the Key's steering wheels are found on ATC's website, with all 3 looking identical. Also, several sources say Key's steering wheels are made in Italy... with the OMP Corsica deep steering wheel looking like the deep versions of the other wheels.

Who makes the Vertex/Key!s/ATC flat wheels are still up for discussion... but I really think it may be Nardi due to the bolt pattern.

This all could probably be confirmed with a phone call to Carmake T&E and ATC... someone up for it?

ctwentytwo

iTrader: (9)

Stock Nissan 350z vs Momo Montecarlo vs Personal Neo Grinta steering wheels.

Well, the only reason why the Personal is on instead of the Momo is that I chose the Nardi e-Brake handle. Nardi makes the Personal items and I didn't want to mix brands I chose the Nardi e-Brake handle because I wanted to be different and nobody has it on their Z.... at least not yet

Based on feel, I like the thicker Momo Montecarlo. But it must be said that I haven't tried the smaller Momo on the road yet.

How thick are the steering wheels compared to each other?





The Stock wheel rim with cover is roughly 35mm thick, the Personal is only thicker by a slim margin being 36mm thick at it's thickest parts at 10 and 2 o' clock. The Personal is 35mm at 12 o' clock. But the Momo is super thick being roughly 40mm thick.

Also consider offset when choosing your wheel.

Offset is the distance from the back of the mounting area to the front plane of the rim. Some companies like OMP have this offset information readily available.
OMP Racing

Obviously, offset will determine how close or far the steering wheel rim will be to the driver. The lower the value, the further away the wheel will be, the higher the value, the closer the wheel will be.

The Montecarlo's offset is 40mm and the Personal is 45mm.

donut_ballz

iTrader: (10)

awesome! thanks for the review....i really want to try out the momo!

2k6-z33

iTrader: (67)

Montecarlo FTMFW! Probably my most favorite steering wheel of them all.