Wheelskins installed - pictures and thoughts

[tpirman]

I've asked a bunch of questions on the forum, now it's time to give back to the community.

One gripe I have about my 4R TE was that this $40K vehicle didn't come with a leather wrapped steering wheel. I also don't like that it is spindly between the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock positions. The rest of the wheel is nice and fat, not sure why they stopped there.

Anyway, I did some studying and found that Wheelskins has a pretty good reputation.

I ordered an Original Black from them in the size they recommended which is 15 1/2" X 4 1/2". I installed it and it ended up not fitting quite right, a little too loose all around and too baggy at the top.

I contacted Wheelskins and got a very nice reply from the owner saying he would make it right. I am in San Francisco and they are in Berkeley, so I offered to drive over and let them measure my wheel. Jim, the owner, said absolutely.

He measured and actually had a special one made for me on the spot in the factory in the size of 15 1/4" X 4 3/8". I am not that special though, you can order in that size too.

I went right home and installed it and it fits much better. It adds the feel I was looking for which was well, the soft leather feel, and it actually makes the wheel fatter which is great.

You don't need to be a seamstress to install it, you just need to be patient, have about an hour to an hour and a half of uninterrupted time, and the willingness to backtrack if need be. What I mean by that last part is sometimes you need to thread the holes in different ways when you get to the spokes to figure which way it's going to fit best. This may involve undoing some of the threads and re-trying to make it look and fit best.

Here are some pics of the final install. Enjoy!

 

[PracticalFJ]

Looks great. Guess I have the wrong size since I ordered the 151/2 x 41/2 a few months ago and have yet to install it since it's been cold up where I am. Thanks for the review and pictures.

 

[Canadian144]

Nice. I've never been a fan of wheel covers... yet if I can't find a Limited or SR5 upgrade package steering wheel on ebay soon I may be reduced to ordering one..

 

[tpirman]

Looks great. Guess I have the wrong size since I ordered the 151/2 x 41/2 a few months ago and have yet to install it since it's been cold up where I am. Thanks for the review and pictures.

Thanks for the comment!

I would absolutely return the one you have and and get the size I recommend. Jim told me they would shrink a bit due to humidity, but not enough to make the size you have work. I feel the one I got could even be a bit smaller, though I am not sure how precise they can get on sizes. Having said that, the leather is tight all around.

 

[tpirman]

Nice. I've never been a fan of wheel covers... yet if I can't find a Limited or SR5 upgrade package steering wheel on ebay soon I may be reduced to ordering one..

I was never a fan either, and I would like it more if this one looked more factory, but it's as close as I am going to get without throwing down big bucks. I considered going the Toyota leather wheel route, but it would be expensive, I don't like taking apart things that aren't particularly broken, and I tried the leather wheel at the dealership and was not impressed. The leather of this Wheelskins is superior in quality and feel to the factory leather, IMHO.

 

[PracticalFJ]

Spoke to Jim this afternoon. Told me no 2 pieces of leather are the same and you received an extra stretchy piece of leather.
He asked me to try what I have, just reverse the first step of the installation step where you stretch the leather over the wheel and if it doesn't work I should call him and he would work something out for me. Sounds fair, I appreciated him taking the call.

He also said warm weather or cold weather has no bearing on install. Might tackle it one night this week or over the weekend. Def sooner than later!

 

[Trevloc]

the stiching reminds me of the movie jeepers creepers... under the church, where they find all the plastic bodies stiched together... (goosebumps)

all jokes aside. looks pretty darn good. :trophy:

 

[Foques]

how long did install take, and what did it consist of?

 

[Brad2064]

Tpirman- do you think on the bottom where the silver plastic, you could take those pieces off and cut/work the leather to fit under the plastic, then replace plastic to make it more factory.

 

[TxCJ3Pilot]

Don't like

I do not like the looks of the aftermarket wheel wrap. Looks cheap and afterthought. JMHO

 

[Mtn.Rush]

I do not like the looks of the aftermarket wheel wrap. Looks cheap and afterthought. JMHO

x2, looks cheep ,im not a fan.

 

[Prolex7]

I think I would be more of a fan of wheel covers if the cover was a textured leather or textured cloth to match your seats.

 

[tpirman]

Nice. I've never been a fan of wheel covers... yet if I can't find a Limited or SR5 upgrade package steering wheel on ebay soon I may be reduced to ordering one..

how long did install take, and what did it consist of?

It takes about an hour, a solid hour. You just need to take your time and be patient. The instructions that come with it are pretty complete, you just use the provided thread and needle and work your way around the wheel. When you get to the end you just tie the two ends of thread together and you're done.

 

[tpirman]

Tpirman- do you think on the bottom where the silver plastic, you could take those pieces off and cut/work the leather to fit under the plastic, then replace plastic to make it more factory.

That not a bad idea, I just don't think I have the cojones to do that. I might take a look though and see if it's possible.

 

[tpirman]

I do not like the looks of the aftermarket wheel wrap. Looks cheap and afterthought. JMHO

Yeah, it doesn't look great. I am typically not a fan of wheel covers either, kind of remind me of something you'd buy at a cheap car parts shop. But damn, does it feel good. The leather is supple (I love using that word) and it fattens up the steering wheel very nicely. I really don't like the stock wheel feel and I think the Limited wheel is not any better, even if it is with leather.

I sure do miss my leather FJ wheel, it was the perfect wheel.

 

[tpirman]

I think I would be more of a fan of wheel covers if the cover was a textured leather or textured cloth to match your seats.

I thought about turning the cover inside out so that it had a rough look and suede feel, but I guess it doesn't have color protection so it would fade.

 

[tpirman]

I was sitting here thinking about this little project and I thought, "Yeah, it doesn't look great, but damn it feels good." Just like my Glock 17 grip. Purely functional.

 

[PracticalFJ]

That's awesome!!!:bluejump::bluejump::bluejump::bluejump:

 

[PracticalFJ]

I gotta say I'm digging my steering wheel cover. Installed it this past weekend, it took just under an hour. I went with their original recommended size and it fit like a glove. Also, since my trail is Silver I went with the Charcoal leather and it blends in very well.

If I had to do it again, I might have taken more time and laced it up a little tighter, although it doesn't move and looks really good for an aftermarket wrap....if I had a little more patience I could have done a slightly better job.

It's a wonderful nice fat leather wheel versus that plastic crap it came with. Also, I'm happy to have saved $700 over replacing with an OEM leather wheel and then having to try to sell the plastic OEM one I wouldn't have needed anymore.

Thanks for the motivation!

 

[tpirman]

Thanks for the motivation!

Glad it worked out! Can you post some pics? I'd love to see it in action. I am really liking the way mine feels too.