So I am trying to figure out the controls from scratch on my truck, I basically stripped the inside and added bucket seats. The seats are spaced out towards the doors to make room for the impending transmission tunnel. This has resulted in the steering wheel being off center from me by about about 1.25" So my question to you guys is it worth moving the steering column to the left 1.25" to center it back up with me or should I get over it and move onto other projects on this rattle trap? Moving the steering column would also help me with header clearance now that I think about it.
I’m pretty sure certain GM truck series had the steering wheel slightly offset from the factory.
I’d put a wheel on there to see if the offset is going to make it hit one of your legs.
It all comes down to how much it will bother you.
If it's easy now I would do it, since it will only get harder. I've dealt with offset and skewed steering wheels in race projects and it's not super detrimental once you get used to it... but it's still annoying.
NOHOME
MegaDork
8/6/19 9:42 p.m.
Would drive me nuts. So yeah I would try to center the wheel.
Pete
Thanks guys I was worried I was being too OCD about this. It would be very fitting to have a wonky off-center seating position with the C4 vette suspension
Vigo
MegaDork
8/6/19 10:39 p.m.
If you want to make it even more ergonomically befitting of its C4 roots just weld a 6" square beam across the bottom of the door opening.
On my Opel Kadetts the column is actually closer to the centerline of the car at the firewall than the dash, so the left side of the wheel is about 2" closer to the dash than the right. It took me years to notice.
So once you center the wheel will you then have to center the gauges to the relocated wheel?
I would nail down the tunnel first then get the seat as far over as you can. This really is a safety thing as well. The more space between you and the door is a really goid thing in a side impact. Then and only then would I ponder moving the wheel.
ShawnG
PowerDork
8/7/19 12:01 a.m.
Stand on a balcony overlooking a parking lot and look down.
Nearly every car has the steering wheel offset to some degree. You just can't see it until you look at it top-down.
Don't make things harder than they need to be.
My e36 wheel is about lined up with my right inseem when I drive. I don't notice driving it but I do notice when I look at it.
What do we mean by "bucket" seats here? An offset wheel is way less annoying when you can move around, so a stock type seat and a 3 point seat belt make it mostly a non-issue. If you're running a race seat and a harness where you're really fixed in place it's more bothersome.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
Ep3 Civic Si seats, so a pretty well bolstered seat for a 3 point belt. I do plan on putting a race seat and cage in the truck down the road.
I would only consider not-fixing that on a show car or an occasional cruiser. Otherwise it would drive me nuts.