Im not sure if anyone else is as annoyed as i am by the steering wheel. I understand that there is no such thing as a "perfect" circle, but it seems like they can put more effort into making them more perfect; i mean this is the pursuit of perfection. They look like perfect circles but when you turn the wheel, you can see that its not. Has anybody else driven a car with a near "perfect" steering wheel? because the one in my RX is horrible

just curious

 

The reason some steering wheels are not perfect circles is that some of our bellies and thighs are oversize circles. "D"-shaped wheels (VW and Audi, especially, like to do them), along with tilting and telescoping, make it easier to get in and out when you've eaten too many Big Macs.

 

Back in the 70's British Leyland brought out the all new Austin Allegro with a square (they called it "Quartic") steering wheel. The idea being that you could see the instruments better, it made getting in and out easier and gave you more leverage - the steering was non-assisted - for parking. Unfortunately the buying public stared in disbelief and kept their cheque books in their pockets and even the police promptly converted their cars to normal steering wheels.

 

Yes......back in the late 50's and early 60's, some larger Chrysler products also had square/oval shaped wheels...but never explained why. The public, on the average, wasn't as overweight back then as they are today.

 

The subtle difference in shape also helps you sense/percieve if the steering wheel is upright or not.

 

because we dont need to turn the wheel so much and so hard now with easy power steering
and as said above, it does give us a better sense of position

 

I don't think it's that most of them aren't perfect circles, it's more that it's not mount on the exact center point of the "circle" that makes up the steering wheel, hence the somewhat "off" rotation. It has never really bothered me personally.

 

yep, and its right below:

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lol

 

You'd have hated my Porsche Turbo. The ONLY way to get your legs under the wheel was to use this one. (and they still hit it when turning)

 

Yup those steering wheels are racing inspired and becoming more popular. The RS4 has it and I think the R8 and GTI

 

I think my mercs steering wheel is a circle? maybe I'm wrong

 

you dont really need a fully circular steering wheel unless you are driving a bus or a truck

 

How so? Was it measured down to the subatomic level?

 

i dont think you guys are getting what im saying.

our circular steering whees are circles, but when you turn then, you can see its not a perfect circle either because its mounted incorrectly or because the steering wheel isnt perfect.

 

Well, that's a whole different topic then...