Late to the party, as usual ! Oritt tipped me off that there was a steering
wheel issue being batted around on the list. I haven't been keeping up with
my reading, but just had to go see what was going on. While some may
consider me a steering wheel expert (I'll be giving a tech session at
Conclave in Vermont (great fun !)), no one but oneself can be an expert on
what you like best. That being said, I've learned more about steering
wheels than I ever would have thought. It's just hard to find anyone that
wants to hear about it ;-)
I've come to view the issue from a perspective of what is most appropriate
in any particular car. I prefer larger diameter wheels in older cars. I
like the 16" in the 100. The later cars can more easily get away with a
15". This is all from an appearance perspective. I realized early on that
this was a tough decision for some people, so I made what I call a
compromise size, 15.5". I personally like this size a lot. Even though the
difference isn't that great, it does have a larger appearance - yet a
smaller feel. Keep in mind that the original banjo is 16.5", so even a 16"
is a reduction in diameter.
I enjoyed reading the thoughts of some of the others and I have comments for
some.... as follows:
Bill Moyer said "I also find myself using it more for support
to get in and out of the car so there's that age thing going again."
* I'd recommend not using the steering wheel for support. The aluminum frame
wheels can bend out of flat and the wood will develop stress cracks. I see
this a lot with older Les Leston wheels. It's typically the left spoke (on a
9, 3, 6 o'clock configuration) that bends. I'm not the most nimble person
myself (used to be, but nimbleness seems to diminish over the years) and I'm
carrying some good life across the middle, so I have developed my own way of
slipping into the seat and exiting without stressing any part of the car or
my body. This became particularly important when I was having back trouble.
It works equally as well with Bugeyes. Perhaps another tech session ? ;-)
Robert Williams said "By my estimate it should require exactly 8/7.5 ths, or
16/15ths more force
to turn a 15" diameter wheel vs a 16" diameter wheel. Therefore the 15"
diameter wheel would require 6.67% more force tangent to the circumference
of the wheel to turn, all other things being equal."
* Good grief !
Michael Salter said "On the subject of steering wheel weight I have always
found that Healeys
with Woodrim wheels tend to exhibit more kick back than the originals"
* With no mathematical algorithm to back it up, wouldn't it make sense that
with a smaller diameter being harder to turn that it would also be harder to
control the kick back ? My assumption is that Michael is not only talking
about wood, but smaller diameter as well.
Dave Malaney wrote "Potential solution: request Mike Lempert design more
mass into the rim
of his wheels to bring inertia in line with original wheels. Joking !!!"
* Well, joking aside, this actually happens as a result of wood choice. The
mahogany wheels are very light, but some of the woods I work with are much
more dense than mahogany and thus weigh considerably more. But I don't
think weight is really the issue.
Regards,
Mike Lempert
|