[Eric]

I recently installed a dual tone perforated leather steering wheel cover from Wheelskins... I ended up having to do it twice - it wasn't tight enough the first time around... It turns out you can get them cheaper from drop shippers on eBay than from Wheelskins.com. You can; however, order free samples from Wheelskins.com to see what the material is like and see the actual colors for yourself. I went with the Black and Charcoal. I probably should have gone w/ all Black, but the Charcoal sample seemed to match the stock steering wheel cover a little better than the final product. Keep in mind that if you go w/ Perforated, you will have 4 seams to deal w/ instead of one w/ the solid leather. That's another reason I went w/ the two colors

Also note the $.99 eBay special cell phone holder that I modified to flush mount on the dash w/ my silver & black Nokia. That reduces the rattles from having my cell phone in one of the storage slots & I can see incoming calls easier if I have the music up

 

[Eric]

I should note that I don't really have any tips on a perfect steering wheel cover install. It comes w/ instructions & all I can say is that you want to pull the string tight & do it often. Each time you thread the needle, it will loosen up, so you want to retighten it before you move on. The places you want to make sure you tighten the most are after you do the loops around the front of the spokes. Even after doing it twice it's not 100% perfect, but much better than before.

Sure, it doesn't look as nice as the optional leather steering wheel from Scion, but I've gotten some compliments & the difference in price is huge!

 

[yanges]

thanks for the tip on wheelskins site giving out samples Eric!

i am going to get some to checkout - your wheel looks Great! a lot cheaper than the Scion steering wheel

 

[yanges]

I recently installed a dual tone perforated leather steering wheel cover from Wheelskins... I ended up having to do it twice - it wasn't tight enough the first time around... It turns out you can get them cheaper from drop shippers on eBay than from Wheelskins.com. You can; however, order free samples from Wheelskins.com to see what the material is like and see the actual colors for yourself. I went with the Black and Charcoal. I probably should have gone w/ all Black, but the Charcoal sample seemed to match the stock steering wheel cover a little better than the final product. Keep in mind that if you go w/ Perforated, you will have 4 seams to deal w/ instead of one w/ the solid leather. That's another reason I went w/ the two colors

Also note the $.99 eBay special cell phone holder that I modified to flush mount on the dash w/ my silver & black Nokia. That reduces the rattles from having my cell phone in one of the storage slots & I can see incoming calls easier if I have the music up

i wish i lived near Sacramento Eric!

i would pay you to install my wheel cover!

 

[Eric]

LOL ...did you get one? They can be a pain! I'm still waiting to see if my wife wants one in the Camry...

Here are some resources that might help.

http://www.dccarcare.com/tipowk/tipowk19.html

http://www.jeepspeak.com/wheelskin.asp

http://www.stylintrucks.com/template_article.aspx?aliaspath=/Articles/Wheelskin_Install/Article

 

[yanges]

LOL ...did you get one? They can be a pain! I'm still waiting to see if my wife wants one in the Camry...

Here are some resources that might help.

http://www.dccarcare.com/tipowk/tipowk19.html

http://www.jeepspeak.com/wheelskin.asp

http://www.stylintrucks.com/template_article.aspx?aliaspath=/Articles/Wheelskin_Install/Article

thanks for the resources Eric!

i am sure i will get some good tips there...

i have not picked one up yet - still deciding over the colors! what colors did you use? silver and ?

 

[Eric]

black & charcoal... the charcoal swatch seemed to match the steering wheel better than the actual cover. If I had to do it again, I'd go all black. I'd also be tempted to go w/out the europerf, so it would only have one seam. I didn't because the pictures of the solid leather looked too glossy, like vinyl or plastic and I figured if I had to have four seams, I might as well do two colors... it was a tough call. I debated it for a while

 

[yanges]

black & charcoal... the charcoal swatch seemed to match the steering wheel better than the actual cover. If I had to do it again, I'd go all black. I'd also be tempted to go w/out the europerf, so it would only have one seam. I didn't because the pictures of the solid leather looked too glossy, like vinyl or plastic and I figured if I had to have four seams, I might as well do two colors... it was a tough call. I debated it for a while

other than the extra seems, how is it driving with the europerf type cover? also, do you know if the wheels are the same size as the original xB? thanks!

 

[Eric]

According to the size chart on wheelskins.com, no, they're different sizes...

Beginning Year Ending Year Model SIZE
2004 2007 tC 14 1/2 X 3 7/8
2004 2007 xA, xB 14 1/2 X 3 7/8
2008 2008 xB 14 5/8 X 4

http://www.wheelskins.com/size_chart.php?entry=sizes&manuf=Scion

 

[yanges]

According to the size chart on wheelskins.com, no, they're different sizes...

Beginning Year Ending Year Model SIZE
2004 2007 tC 14 1/2 X 3 7/8
2004 2007 xA, xB 14 1/2 X 3 7/8
2008 2008 xB 14 5/8 X 4

http://www.wheelskins.com/size_chart.php?entry=sizes&manuf=Scion

i thought that would be the case - i have a black wheel cover i never tried to sew on my original xB but i know it will not stretch to fit the new wheel - it was really hard to pull over the old xB'x steering wheel...

 

[yanges]

I recently installed a dual tone perforated leather steering wheel cover from Wheelskins... I ended up having to do it twice - it wasn't tight enough the first time around... It turns out you can get them cheaper from drop shippers on eBay than from Wheelskins.com. You can; however, order free samples from Wheelskins.com to see what the material is like and see the actual colors for yourself. I went with the Black and Charcoal. I probably should have gone w/ all Black, but the Charcoal sample seemed to match the stock steering wheel cover a little better than the final product. Keep in mind that if you go w/ Perforated, you will have 4 seams to deal w/ instead of one w/ the solid leather. That's another reason I went w/ the two colors

Also note the $.99 eBay special cell phone holder that I modified to flush mount on the dash w/ my silver & black Nokia. That reduces the rattles from having my cell phone in one of the storage slots & I can see incoming calls easier if I have the music up

hey Eric

now that you have had the wheelskin on for a while, how do you like the perforated version?

i am looking at getting one and can not decide which version to order - i like the smooth look but the perf'd one might be cooler [temperature wise]

 

[Eric]

I still like it... I don't have a non-perf one to compare it to as I haven't ordered it yet for the Camry. Either version should feel better than the stock plastic. And I don't know if it would actually help w/ temps, especially now that it's winter and we're down in the 40-60s

 

[boblamb58]

Ya know, I was pondering this very issue today, what to get to cover the steering wheel. I don't know if you have noticed, but on cold days, the steering wheel is cold as $%^&. And it seems to take forever to warm up.

My wife got me a fuzzy one for Christmas, but it was ever so slightly too big, which made it a bit loose. I then remembered I had one many moons ago in one of my cars, a leather wrap-around with threading. Kinda like the wheelskin one, but since it was so long ago it was a generic brand.. I think it was threaded with plastic thread. I did a small bit of looking today, and then I thought, what about bicycle handlebar tape? I have not found any yet, but I also have not looked in an actual bicycle shop either.

 

[yanges]

Ya know, I was pondering this very issue today, what to get to cover the steering wheel. I don't know if you have noticed, but on cold days, the steering wheel is cold as $%^&. And it seems to take forever to warm up.

My wife got me a fuzzy one for Christmas, but it was ever so slightly too big, which made it a bit loose. I then remembered I had one many moons ago in one of my cars, a leather wrap-around with threading. Kinda like the wheelskin one, but since it was so long ago it was a generic brand.. I think it was threaded with plastic thread. I did a small bit of looking today, and then I thought, what about bicycle handlebar tape? I have not found any yet, but I also have not looked in an actual bicycle shop either.

i found my old leather type cover that is black w/ red dragon on it and pretty comfortable - it is nice but a little large compared to wheelskin type cover - my only concern is having to sew it on

here are a few pics of the dragon cover:

 

[eviljack]

I was going to but one of those for my Jetta but never got around to it. Was going to get it in red and black. I think it looks pretty good. Plus I bet it will look better in the summer when the heat makes it shape up to the wheel better.