A fully custom flat bottom steering wheel - I'm in heaven!

[Tomedkaz]

I wanted to share with you my recent project: a fully custom flat bottom steering wheel for the R (but could work on other Volvoes as well)

I partnered with Polish based company named RedlineGoods to build this wheel for me (I was born in Poland and am fluent in the language so that sweetened the relationship). 

Essentially, I specified what I wanted: thicker than OEM, flat-bottom, half-perforated and half smooth leather wheel, with blue 12 o'clock mark and contrast blue stitching. 

Process: 
1. I bought a used and beat-up wheel on eBay ($80)
2. Sent the wheel out to Poland ($45)
3. This being their first R wheel, the fact that their designer got sick and that I wanted a lot of custom work, the process took 3.5 months, but typically should take less than two. I paid a good amount of $ for it since it's never been done by them and I wanted to pave the way. 
4. I communicated throughout the process with the makers who were very supportive and responsive. I sent them photos of wheels that I like (CLA AMG, Audi RS etc.) and we came up with the design you see below. 

Impressions: 
- AMAZING WORKMANSHIP and material quality
- PERFECT FIT
- Car feels more like a race car! 
- I can't stop driving the car and sitting behind the wheel!
- I will have more impressions after next week's Track Weekend at NJMP

Do you want one?
- The company and I are talking about a significant discount if enough people were interested. I cross posted in on SS (link here)
- For what you see above (flat bottom etc.) if we gathered over 10 people, the price would be around $525 shipped. It would be a bit less without flat bottom and 12 o'clock mark. You could also have one that's not as thick etc. Keep in mind that you'd have to ship our your own wheel
- If you are interested in one, reply in this thread and specify what type you'd be interested in.  
- This company can customize any steering wheel so don't limit yourself to just the R; spread the word

I'm not gaining anything from it - just wanted to spread the word

- If you want one ASAP I could sell you my prototype pictured below for $1,000 shipped. 

Guys - this will change the way you feel about you caRs. Steering wheel is one of the few connections you have with the car and having a true sporty one makes for a great driving experience! 

Enjoy the photos, let me know if this is something that you'd be interested in and spread the word! 

 

[andyb5]

That's a really nice upgrade!! 

[EricF]

That is pretty cool. I like the stock P2R wheel but that is obviously a pretty meaningful jump forward.

[Matt88ch]

Wow! Zajebiste! Bardzo ładnie zrobione!

[Andzey]

Do you have any photos from the welding/processing the wheel ring? How did they add meat under the leather around handgrips and how did they flattened the bottom?

[Boost3237]

What pedals are those? I've never swapped any out and was wondering where to get any, are they a universal thing? 

[RedlineGoods]

On 28.03.2017 at 9:39 PM, Andzey said:

Do you have any photos from the welding/processing the wheel ring? How did they add meat under the leather around handgrips and how did they flattened the bottom?

We actually outsource the job to a professional steering wheel fabricator. Depending on the wheel shape ind inner structure they usually cut the bottom round part and weld a piece of straight rod instead (they use steel or aluminum, depending on the OEM material used). Then they build up the flat bottom part using the kind of resin that is closest to the OEM spec (they use a few different types of resins to match the OEM material in terms of firmness/hardness for the flat bottom part to provide the same feel as the rest of the wheel). Building up the resin takes place in specially designed mold to provide 100% symmetry and repeatability.

Then the wheel comes back to us for wrapping :)

Hope this helps. Should you have any more questions, do not hesitate to ask. I'm here to help :-)

Take care
Jack
RedlineGoods Team