So I wanna add a steering wheel to my truck...

[STONER-X]

as far as taking a steering wheel off to keep a safe mind may not be the cure..... there was a episode of "overhauling" where a chick did this with her el camino the dude simply took another steering wheel and slipped it on and drove away.... also my 72 VW beetle has no steering wheel on it (or a motor) i had it in a storage and towed it behind my truck with a rope.... my solution for a steering wheel????? Vice-Grips ever so lightly clamped on the the splines and worked like a champ for the mile drive...... soooooooooooo keep that stuff in mind... the best solution for anti-theft.... is a very nice alarm system that will meet your needs for anti-theft.... and Low Jack.......

 

[shook]

I would like to give you a couple of what ifs.....

What if, your brother (sister, g/f, whomever) drove your truck, got into a wreck and got hurt.

You would feel bad and the insurance may not cover it. I am not talking about a little fender bender. I am talking about major head on collision.

What if, you were having the truck worked on, someone test drives it and get into a wreck (not their fault). The mechanic may sue you for not informing him on no air bag.

It may sound a little chicken sh**t, but this happens and people look for someone to blame.

It might be you.

What are the chances of someone else driving his truck ? what are the chances of that person getting into an accident ? what are the chances of that accident being a head on collision ? There's just too much things to think about for switching out a steering wheel with out an airbag. We take chances with of all sorts of "what ifs" in everything we do and if you were to analyze every single outcome, then nothing would get done. I'm not saying you're chicken shit, and I'm not saying, **** it and do it, but it's not like he's the only one out there who thought of and has already swapped a factory steering wheel for an aftermarket wheel with no airbag. Do it because you want the look and feel of an aftermarket wheel while knowing the chances, be optimistic, don't think that something bad is definitely going to happen just because you decide to do something new. Imagine if everyone thought so much about blowing up their motors, no one would be boosted or even install an aftermarket intake, thinking it'll throw a check engine light on and run too lean :ahhhhh: this hobby would never progress.

 

[TahoesHateMe]

Just wondering if anyone else in this thread is certified and trained in airbag systems and how they operate or is it just me?:hmmmm2:

 

[shook]

Just wondering if anyone else in this thread is certified and trained in airbag systems and how they operate or is it just me?:hmmmm2:

Probably just you, so, maybe you can help answer a question for me. Would it work if I were to wire up one or both of the dual stage airbag wires to my single stage airbag in my TRD steering wheel ?

 

[Coupe]

If you remove a safety device from your vehicle, you could be liable for the modification.

Don't get me wrong, I dig your wheel. I would love to do it.

Accidents happen every day. A lot happen on this board. I have seen more than a few with "popped air bags".

I am sure none of these people thought they were going to have an accident.

What is one of the first things the adjuster is going to look for? Did the air bags "pop"?

Just food for thought.

 

[shook]

If you remove a safety device from your vehicle, you could be liable for the modification.

Don't get me wrong, I dig your wheel. I would love to do it.

Accidents happen every day. A lot happen on this board. I have seen more than a few with "popped air bags".

I am sure none of these people thought they were going to have an accident.

What is one of the first things the adjuster is going to look for? Did the air bags "pop"?

Just food for thought.

Thanks, Coupe, I wasn't trying to attack you personally. I was just simply saying, if people start worrying too much about every little possible outcome that could happen, then nothing would get done. I could care less if anyone else does or doesn't change out their stock wheel, but, I agree that you have to realize the chances of disconnecting,removing or modifying the airbag.

 

[Coupe]

No insult taken.

I am just taking a more conservative view point on this one due to the safety aspects.

 

[STONER-X]

air bags, seat belts, crumple zones, safety glass, fuel shut-offs...... WHO NEEDS THEM.... just add more steel to your truck and you will be fine.... look at an old classic car.... more metal.. less problems :laugh: jk

always keep safety in mind and do what you feel.... coupe and shook both are on the right page...

one thing to keep in mind also is if you go to get your truck inspected and the air bag light is on it will not pass.... im not sure how the scan tool works that they hook up but it may since the light being on if you to the tape trick......

 

[BlackCat]

look at an old classic car.... more metal.. less problems :laugh: jk

Not necessarily ... More metal isn't necessarily better. It's all a function of where that metal is along with all the other parts of the car. Though it can be argued that modern vehicles are "weaker" then older ones, there is a helluva lot more safety engineering that goes into modern vehicles versus the vintage ones. Among reasonably comparable sized vehicles, the newer one will almost always surpass the older one in safety. So, unless you're taking on a Geo Metro with a Fleetwood Brougham, the new car is worse vs old car is better argument isn't necessarily valid.

Take a look at the video below for an example.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7ghttp://dvice.com/archives/2010/01/head-on-crash-t.php

 

[TahoesHateMe]

Old steel cars are great. You wipe the brains from the dash and resell it.

Probably just you, so, maybe you can help answer a question for me. Would it work if I were to wire up one or both of the dual stage airbag wires to my single stage airbag in my TRD steering wheel ?

Nope. The airbag control module sends a very low voltage signal through them to moniter the wiring. It will know the wiring is wrong when the signal wires double voltage and read back as a short or could be enough voltage to ignite the airbag.

Thats why I was thinking of using the Solara SE 3 spoke leather wheel. It should have the dual stage airbag. I just don't know if the spines on the column are the same (I'm betting they are but not 100% on that).

 

[STONER-X]

Not necessarily ... More metal isn't necessarily better.

bla bla bla:biggrin::smile: well that car was not on my list haha :biggrin: well put.......

soooooo add more metal to a new car and BAM find a video of that hehehehehhehehehe:canada:

 

[baddaddy]

I'm working on the Solara wheel mod... the splines on the shaft are the same, but there are keyways oon the sides that don't match up with the Tacoma clockspring. Ordered a Solara clockspring, supposed to be here today, so this weekend we'll see if I can make it all fit. I'll be posting pics is it works, and swearing a lot if it doesn't.

 

[Roseknight]

Being a motorcyclist.. I think safety choices are a matter of personal choice.. armored gear vs flip flops, shorts and tank top, full face helmet to skid lid to no helmet... I know where my choices are.. I know the changes in risk when I change my choices.. and I change my choices based what, when and where I am riding.. and how I feel..
I think on the safety end of things the OP has been well advised of the risks and issues... if he still wants to do this.. his truck his call.. (I wouldnt do it but there it's my truck and my call)
But we have to watch it or the nanny state will have us in 25hp cars that take a week to get to the speed limit .... (throw in the rest of the far extreame over kill safety measures you can think of here)

 

[Sproulesxrunner]

I'm no airbag specialist but in physics we did study car crashes. I'll try and explain it in simple english.

First off some elementary physics principles.

Force X time = mass X velocity. (Ft=mv). In the case of car crashes Force is what determines if you live or die. Re arranged the formula for force is F=(mv/t).

Now to the airbag. The airbag is designed to increase the time in the change of momentum (MV). For a simple substitution, ((2kg X 4m/s)/(1s)) = 8 Newtons (force). Now if you double the time ((2kg X 4m/s)/(2s)) = 4 Newtons. In the case of car crashes the lower the number the better.

Long story made short, airbags help but seat belts do a much better job of increasing the time... however the combination of seat belts and airbags make cars safer.

And for the topic of old cars being safer because they made out of metal is a complete myth. Cars today have a very strong "cocoon" around the passenger area that stays intact through a car crash. The bumpers and engine is designed to "crumple" therefore absorbing energy and increasing the time of the crash.

 

[redarkx]

^^^this is true. It's not about smacking your lid on the wheel all the time, it's how fast you slow down. We have referred to it as "deceleration trauma". What the restraint systems in vehicles does is slow down the time it takes you to decel (physics majors calm down, I know deceleration isn't an excepted term) or the "impulse". When airbags become dangerous is if, God forbid they throw something at your face( they deploy at an ungodly speed), or you aren't wearing a seatbelt in conjunction with them. That means you get to the airbag "deployment area" before the airbag deploys fully. Plain English, the explosion smacks you in the face and doesn't do as good a job slowly stopping you, but more forcibly arrests your movement and causes a few more injuries.

 

[Scarface]

Wow... so how'd the solara wheel turn out?

 

[Sproulesxrunner]

^^^this is true. It's not about smacking your lid on the wheel all the time, it's how fast you slow down. We have referred to it as "deceleration trauma". What the restraint systems in vehicles does is slow down the time it takes you to decel (physics majors calm down, I know deceleration isn't an excepted term) or the "impulse". When airbags become dangerous is if, God forbid they throw something at your face( they deploy at an ungodly speed), or you aren't wearing a seatbelt in conjunction with them. That means you get to the airbag "deployment area" before the airbag deploys fully. Plain English, the explosion smacks you in the face and doesn't do as good a job slowly stopping you, but more forcibly arrests your movement and causes a few more injuries.

I actually was going to use the term impulse but considering it took me a couple of classes to grasp the concept I thought I would re-word it haha.

What are you taking/took? You definitely know your stuff. :top: I'm definitely no physics major. That is senior high physics in Alberta:canada: ... not to mention that was only 1 of 5 units. Now we are out of "classical" physics and into magnetization, electricity, electrical fields and a bunch of stuff I have no clue on :thumbdown:

 

[redarkx]

Couldn't have explained it better, just elaborated. I have a BS in electrical engineering with a physics minor. Statics and magnetics is when it gets really fun and confusing!

 

[Sproulesxrunner]

Couldn't have explained it better, just elaborated. I have a BS in electrical engineering with a physics minor. Statics and magnetics is when it gets really fun and confusing!

Congrats on the BS! I received early acceptance for Universities in Alberta for a Bachelors of Science with a bio major. I will have to take some physics classes though. I find the magnetics and electrical stuff much harder to visualize. What other "units" did you do in your physics minor? I'm curious how many subjects over lap... of course yours will be in much more depth and harder concepts haha.