Wheelskins Tips & Pics

[edthefox5]

Hi all,
Here's some finished pics of a basic black Wheelskin with Wet Okole seats in 2 tone on a Driftwood pearl 07. There were a few tricks to putting the Wheelskin on that if I knew before hand would have really helped so maybe this will help someone else:

*A small hand mirror really helps to count the holes on the backside when you go over the spokes.
*Use a pair of needlenose pliars to pull the needle through because when the skin is new the holes are tough to thread.
*Be careful on the spoke hole count front to back because if you miss one it will end up on the wrong hole when complete and it will have to be done all over again.
*You should have 3 empty holes on the back of each spoke if done properly.
*The thread although of high quality if handled alot kind of comes undone and the fibers begin to separate. If possible before starting put one end of the thread in a bench vise and the other end in a drill and twist up the thread nice and tight. Use a glove.It will make a much tighter & better looking thread job.

The finished leather product is of excellent quality and the steering wheel feels so much softer and easier on the hand. The stock plastic wheel is really rough to me but my hands are pretty beat up. Best accessory addition I have added so far and available at the PriusForum Shop.
Thank you.

[Bill Merchant]

Nice job on the Wheelskin, and good tips. I wish I had thought to twist the "thread". The seat covers look great in your car too.

A tip I'd like to contribute, having learned from experience, is to make sure all the little leather plugs from the punched holes are thoroughly removed and the inside of the Wheelskin is clean before you start. Anything that gets between the wheel and the leather will cause a little bump that your fingers will always find.

[edthefox5]

Thanks alot Bill. And I wish I had spent some time cleaning out the wax inside the leather also. How right you are. I noticed that issue when I missed a hole and how to unwind the skin about 6 inches...noticed lots of wax in there but too much work to pull the whole thing back off. Good one. Thanks.

[Boo]

Thanks Ed and Bill for the tips. I'm going to use them when installing my Wheelskins.

[cnschult]

you know you're getting a quality steering wheel cover when it comes with a needle & thread!!!

I thought wet okole's were for convertibles and jeep wranglers, but they sure look nice on your car with the 2 tone.

[Prius_Gnome]

I just wanted to say that the tips here were very helpful when I was just installing my wheelskins.

However, instead of 3 empty holes for each spoke, I had 4 empty holes, so I just wanted to let others know that's not a hard rule. I probably could have done 3 but I didn't want the lacing to "cut" into the spokes.

I really wanted it to look nice so I pulled the lacing tight. Beware: your first few tight pulls don't hurt your fingers but they will before you're halfway through. Wear gloves or use bandaids or some form of cushioning. A tip for people like me who wanted a tight fit: stitch a few rows together without tightening and leave the loops hanging. After you have a few loops, go back and start pulling one after the other to get a tight fit.

On a similar note, I think the wax that previous posts were referring to was, in fact, glue. The edges are folded in and glued together. I just peeled the excess glue off myself because I didn't want to feel the bumps after the cover was installed. The wax could also be from the lacing. The lacing was covered in wax which I didn't like. But I guess it was there to keep the fibers from fraying so I just moved on.

I got the Eurotone black sides, sand top/bottom and it looks great in Driftwood Pearl bisque. I haven't used it extensively yet but I'm happy with my purchase so far.

[Godiva]

I use a metal crochet hook to help pull the loops tighter over and over as I work around.

[badrufus]

I put my two-tone Wheelskin on last weekend and was quite pleased with the outcome. I have done a fair amount of bookbinding and was familiar with the type of waxed linen thread used in the installation--although the Wheelskins thread is 2-3X the number of plies I'm used to. It is very strong thread, but I've heard of folks using pliers on the thread itself, and that can damage the thread--just use the pliers on the needle if you need to help the needle through the holes. I made the mistake of ignoring the suggestion about bandaids or gloves and discovered upon completion that I had a serious blister/cut on my right index finger first joint. That's where the bandaids needed to be. You have to pull much harder on this installation than you would ever dare to on a handmade book.

edthefox--beautiful interior!

[thedutchtouch]

i have one in my current car- if you email a supplier you can usually get an extra needle and thread for cheap/free. you'll need one to do the baseball stitch (which i did, looks better and pulls tighter).

[freshmtt]

Here is a pic of mine that I put on in May


I would have to disagree that the steering wheel is soft with these on. The leather is very soft, however when the cover is actually on the steering wheel the steering wheel is as hard as a rock and does not actually feel very comfortable at all. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am used to having a more padded type feel to the steering wheel and not feeling like I am holding onto a piece of iron.

The cover is really nice to look at and I love the Sand/Charcol combination I got as it matches very nicely with my Driftwood Pearl and Bisque interior, but I will say that I am not happy at all with the actual feel of the steering wheel. I have always covered my steering wheels with very soft and padded type covers and I now feel like I am holding onto a piece of hard iron when I am driving. I am now looking for something padded to maybe put underneath it, which would mean I would have to buy more string and re-sew it. I might see if Joann fabrics has some really thin foam like what I used under my center console cover but thinner and try and re-modify the wheelskin cover.

Am I the only one that does not like the hard feel to it??