Let me start by stating; if your street driven car has an airbag equipped steering wheel, please leave it alone. Airbags can save your life when your primary restraint is the cars original seatbelt.
With that clarified, lets discuss the main reasons for installing a Sparco steering wheel in the first place. 1)Sizing options - You can get aftermarket steering wheels in many different sizes including 300, 330, or 350mm. What is the benefit? In some older cars the steering wheels are large and the steering gear ratio is low, resulting in lots of steering input needed to turn the car in a racing situation. A smaller steering wheel acts as a mechanical steering ratio increase. 2)Weight reduction - Have you ever held a airbag module? Well they aren't light, weighing about 5-8lbs each. Then you add the weight of the original steering wheel with all of its electronics for cruise, audio, and hands-free options...Ok so weight reduction isn't the main purpose, but a welcomed side effect. 3)Feel - You can get these steering wheels in a variety of spoke designs to complement your preferred hand placement. You can also get them with a flat bottom for more leg clearance. Most of them have thick, suede grips to form a solid union with your racing gloves as well. The Sparco MOD 375 and the Yaris hub adapter were drop shipped directly from SparcoUSA here in California, thanks to Paul @Circuit Motorsports. Shipping was fast and so was the install, only taking about an hour to complete. I did not show how to enable the horn or install an airbag resistor in my Sparco MOD 375 Install video, because my 2zrVios is stripped down and only used for competition. There is a ton of information on the internet if you need assistance, and of course I'm always available to answer questions. If you followed all of the steps in my video and upon test driving the car you find that the steering wheel is not straight, simply remove the 19mm nut in the middle of the adaptor and move the steering wheel/hub one notch in the desired direction. Reinstall the nut and tighten, then test drive the car again to verify the wheel is straight. My thoughts: I love everything Sparco. Of course the steering wheel looks amazing, but it also completes the theme of the cockpit. Race Car! The grip feels perfect with or without gloves, and because the yaris already has a awesome electric steering system we stayed with the 350mm.
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"An automatic Yaris: I know, you're probably thinking 'Who races an automatic Yaris?! hahaha". We've all heard it: those people who feel the need to make fun of everyone for anything thats not mainstream or out of their comfort zone. That same initial reaction you're having was a regular response to my constant efforts to learn how to modify and successfully autocross our Yaris in early 2013. Now fast forward to April 2015, where my efforts saw progress. I placed 2nd at the SCCA National Tour at Crows Landing. After, I placed 5th at the Pro Solo. While this isn't winning, I was the only guy in STF with an automatic transmission. Since then I've done a lot more autocross and even managed to do laps at Thunderhill Raceway and the iconic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Unfortunately, during the El Nino of 2016 our Yaris fell victim to the storms. The engine was hydrolocked and ended its run at 184,000 miles. The 1.5L 1NZFE was parted out to other Yaris owners, and I purchased a 1.8L 2ZRFE from a auto recycler in LA. The 2ZR is a perfect fit for the Yaris chassis, and instantly made the car so much more fun to drive and race. However, the original automatic transmission was struggling to keep up. I continued to autocross the car and was even featured on "The Smoking Tire". In June 2016 the car was retired so we could care for our new baby, and by now everyone seemed to be noticing the potential of the Yaris.
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July 2019
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