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Good morning Rudy,
I lived in Memphis for six years and all it took was one time. I came out to my car and the left front fender was pushed in. The only time I parallel park now is if I am driving my old 2002 which is put up now for an engine conversion.
Bill
Hey Craig! Yeah, you bring up valid points, many of which I’ve considered myself, but my dilemma is slightly different. I would like a wheel that’s more modernized, so the question is more of “should I risk a more modern two stage air bag adapted to my cars system” or just take out the bag and igniter so the newer design is there, just hollow inside.
I’ve already worked it all out (but it’s been a few months so I might be a little hazy); I’d get a bag from a modern Toyota, say a 2010 Camry, and place that inside a 2014+ Lexus IS or RC horn pad. Then swap over an igniter from an early IS or RX wheel with the single stage igniter. No adapter needed and in theory a fully functional airbag. Going this route is an unknown for airbag reliability and it’s expensive and it limits my style options. There’s some great looking alcantara and hand stitched horn pads out there which I really like. They claim they’re safe, but I don’t trust it. So it’s either no airbag and a stylish wheel or I keep the airbag in the more modern wheel as I’ve outlined. If I go no airbag I save a ton of money, too.
My gut tells me that as long as you have seat belts you don’t need an airbag. I’ve been in a high speed accident and if there was no airbag, I would have only been less injured. I had a swollen lip and light burns on my arms from the airbag, but the seatbelt is what kept me safe.
Thanks for all the nice comments and replies, you guys! So far I'm loving the seats. They're relatively comfortable, although you can't exactly compare them to the stock seats. Are they AS comfortable? Absolutely not. Are they comfortable enough for how I use the car? Absolutely. They work well and hold me firmly in place during tight corners which is a wonderful feeling now that this car has had a decent chunk of power thrown at it with the swap. Not having to brace yourself on the center console or door card during a hard corner is a beautiful thing haha. The seat heaters that came installed in the seats wired in perfectly with the stock switches thanks to Boergy and the heaters themselves are WONDERFUL. They get nice and hot in a quick fasion, no weird smells, and it makes hopping into this car on a chilly morning before work ever so wonderful.
As for the airbag argument. Honestly, I've had this steering wheel for some time and it's been installed in my car for what's now been 6-7 years (I also had it in an old Cressida before this). Back then I had more of a rough and tumble attitude and wasn't too concerned with ditching the air bag. Admittingly, now that I'm in my 30's and have a beautiful baby girl I'd gladly swap it out for something like what Craig has in his car, or perhaps a three spoke wood grain wheel from another Lexus. The problem for me is that these days they're so hard to find that I've had trouble tracking one down. Also, those steering wheels are all now going on 15-20 years old and my faith in them functioning properly after sitting who knows where for who knows how long is also slim. In all reality I believe the seat belt to be the most important aspect as Nick mentioned. I've seen a lot of accidents in older cars without airbags, or in cars with airbags that never deployed due to age and who knows what else. I love the way this steering wheel looks but as most of us know the older we get the more practically we look at things. Younger Rudy was much rowdier, with less concern for his well being than current day Rudy is LOL. If I find a nice wheel with an airbag I wouldn't mind having a bit more confidence, but at the same time you'll always catch me with my seatbelt on these days which definitely wasn't true ten years ago.
I’m also team seatbelt!! It saved my life when I was 18, no question about it. I sometimes put it on when I’m just moving the cars around to get the Lexus out, that’s how entrenched it is for me!
As far as aesthetics go I think yur aftermarket wheel looks great in there, Rudy!
Nick and Rudy-- I suppose I am biased toward even an older airbag system because after being in one rear end collision in a car with no driver's side airbg which knocked out one of my teeth after literally biting the rim of the steering wheel (which was addressed through implant surgery many years ago and in the last year with the now extremely old implant's failure I've been doing a slow surgical reconstructive process for that to end up with a modern implant replacement)... I'm interested in keeping a working airbag if the car originally came with one or if the chassis has a factory setup for one later in its production cycle.
I'm not going to remove the stock airbag from my GR86 either for the same reason. Factory three-point seatbelts with their tensioners are definitely a huge safety feature that saves life and injury usually, no question.
I'm not so worried about an 18-22 year old IS300 airbag center's reliability. Toyota's parts from that era are high quality. I might question its reliability by 2050 perhaps...
Nick-- From what you have described it sounds like a good plan that you have to mix and match. I wouldn't personally stray from OEM single stage airbag designs that will plug and play with the SC's factory SRS computer and sensors but you may have found a way to make your choice airbag center work.
I would say that if you are going to all the trouble to swap in another OEM wheel, airbag center and horn cover and swap over your cruise control stalk then you might as well wire up an airbag in single stage.
Otherwise with no working airbag why limit yourself to just the Toyota OEM parts bin steering wheel options? At that point there are so many great aftermarket steering wheels if a non-OEM look is to be considered.
The 1999-2000 SC three spoke steering wheel system and the steering wheel system I'm using presented no guesswork to me as to how well it might work because this same three-spoke steering wheel also came in all 1998 USDM and all 1998-2002 JDM Supra MKIVs. And for years people have been swapping in ES, RX and I think also some LS steering wheels as well. No issues reported.
To me the OEM parts bin steering wheel choices give reasonable choices for aesthetic variety over the huge LS400 style stock steering wheel plus the addition of retaining the SRS airbag safety feature in case of the unforeseen which none of us would ever want to have to deal with.
...
Nick and Rudy-- as to either of your finding the specific parts you need for your preferred steering wheel choices... save several search string on your ebay accounts so that you get regular email alerts when things pop up for sale. I have found so many parts over the years this way and I still feel that even today what you are both looking for can be obtained part by part with some patience if you stay on it and can jump on a good deal when one comes up
Kiro - thanks for the nice compliment! I swear - every year that goes by this car gets more and more compliments when I take it out. You can tell these cars are gaining a little bit of love every year that they age. I forget my car is over 30 years old now!
I also bought a set of black floor mats from Z30 concepts that helped tie the black into the interior a bit more as well. With the black seats, mats, and accents in the dash I'm pretty happy with my interior at this time! I could use a gauge cluster rebuild and some fresh door cards, but the chance of finding those these days is so slim... Makes me sad!
I sure appreciate all the nice compliments! This car is FAR from perfect, but my god, I love it! I don't think I could replace it with anything short of something along the lines of an NSX... Which I can't afford anytime soon, LOL!
I appreciate it fellas! The car started out rough when I bought it back in 2017, but it's come a long ways! It's still rough around the edges, but man, she's better than ever! It's been going on 7 years of tinkering and it's been worth every bit of it.
Bought myself a little present to replace my ten year old faded Grip Royal... I've always wanted one of these - plus it matches the stock wood trim MUCH better.
I'm REALLY happy with my old interior after a quick refresh. Up next? Her yearly fluid change, maybe some fresh plugs (I put coppers in last time and may switch back to iridiums), and a good nut/bolt/bushing check on a lift before spring when I get a chance. Otherwise - it's time to cruise and enjoy!
PS - does anyone have any experience with the VVT maps and perhaps the ignition maps for a VVTI motor? We have things set SUPER conservative right now which I don't mind, but I think I'm missing a bit of low end torque and a little bit up top that can be gained with a few adjustments.
Thank you guys!! The wood matches so much better and it's got my interior feeling awesome! It still has plenty of flaws (mostly the door cards are beat up, but oh well). I'm so happy with this car and how it sits - it's driving beautifully, sounds absolutely beautiful, and is feeling pretty top notch at the moment.
01-04-24, 05:54 AM
- plus it matches the stock wood trim MUCH better. 
