mySportsCar.com

A coworker of mine was taking an internets (I use it in the plural) break yesterday and I figured out it was the Factory Five Racing site. He was looking at the Mk3 Roadster, which is a helluva car, but it reminded me how much I love the concept of owning a GTM. For around $20,000, you can have a complete kit with instructions. The estimate on the site lists the total build cost between $35k and $40k, which may seem like a lot. Then you realize that you can have a “supercar” to rival 99.99% of cars on the road and 90+% of cars on the track, and it doesn’t seem so bad.

The other major “cost” is time: an estimated 250 - 300 hours. But outside of spending time with my son/wife/family, I can think of nothing else I’d rather do. This is far more preferable than duplicating the route I’ve taken with the 240SX where I have to work around factory constraints and put a car partially back together after tearing it apart. And if I can reassemble a turbo engine, I can damn sure put one of these together. Some folks pay to have them assembled. I think they are missing half (or more) of the fun.

Speaking of family, this would make an excellent father:son project if I have the time, facilities, and money down the road.

Out of sheer curiosity, I searched the eBays (also, plural usage) for “wrecked Corvettes.” Unfortunately, I only came up with a car that “had not been wrecked” and a bare frame, but I saved the search. This feature will notify me when an auction is listed that meets my criteria.

Not that I have the money or time to do this any time soon, but it IS fun to dream…

I have been slowly converting the car to 5-lug to take advantage of some cheap rear hubs that I found recently, and resultantly sold my Kosei wheels/tires to a friend. I have decided to replace them with 17″ wheels as they will allow a wider option of brake setups, including 350Z Track rotors and my Wilwood calipers.

The other reason to convert to 5-lug is the abundance of cheap options, including Mustang wheels as they share the same bolt pattern (5×4.5″ or 114.3mm) and are generally the correct offset. If offset weren’t as much of a concern, a host of other options would become available. The great thing about Mustang wheels is that you can easily find inexpensive 17×9’s, either used or new. From a style standpoint, the Cobra R wheels are one of the only ones that work on a 240SX although the Saleen, GT500, and FR500 wheels work too. The main problem with all of these except the R’s is that 18″ wheels look stupid on an S13. They would work well on an S14 however.

After keeping an eye on eBay and Craigslist (CL) for a couple of weeks, I pulled the trigger on a set and met the guy down I-85 in Gastonia. I bought a set for of chrome wheels and tires for $450. The wheels were in really good shape, and the tires had plenty of tread on them except for the driver’s side rear. Apparently this guy liked to do 1-wheel burnouts…who knows. Here is a picture of me test-fitting one on a friend’s S14:

Cobra R Wheel

After purchasing the wheels, I’ve learned a few valuable lessons:

1. Since the Mustang is a muscle car, chrome wheels are very popular
2. Chrome is not easy to strip (see below)
3. Used Mustang wheels are almost as much as new ones

Since most of the wheels I found were chrome, my plan was to remove or paint over the chrome. Unfortunately, it is nowhere near as easy as I thought before buying the wheels. Painting over chrome was covered in an episode of Muscle Car, and I figured out that you have to use a special basecoat after preparing the chrome. Not only do I not have easy access to a painter, but getting the mix right is critical or you risk the paint peeling off. So I looked into stripping them and found two methods: chemical and blast media. The former is nasty, nowhere near DIY, and is not done industrially in my area. With that option off the table, I tried blasting one of the wheels myself using my dad’s outdoor blaster. Between the blaster being difficult to operate and not well-maintained (not complaining, just the facts) and the process itself taking awhile, I spent 3 hours and was only able to strip the front face of the wheel. So yeah…that didn’t work so well either.

I called around later that week and was only able to find one or two places willing to pick up the phone and blast wheels. One of them uses sand and charges $18/wheel, which is my best option at this point. The only problem with this approach is that the powdercoating guy strongly recommends aluminum oxide blasting media as it does not pit the surface like sand will. He offered to strip the wheels for an additional $25/each over the $60/each he would charge me to have them powdercoated. Considering I was thinking about having them coated anyways, this isn’t a bad proposition except for one thing: research on the internets shows that powdercoating aluminum wheels CAN be a bad thing. I didn’t pay it much mind until some friends insisted that it’s more than an internet “urban legend,” and have found that certain furnace temperatures can undo the heat-treating process that wheels undergo when manufactured. It is dependent on the wheel material and powdercoating/baking equipment, and takes subjective research before embarking.

Considering my wheels were chromed by the manufacturer, I became very nervous about blasting and powdercoating them. It would be one thing if they only saw street duty, but I had track duty in mind for either this set of wheels or another. So my current best option is the have them sandblasted and paint them myself using a self-etching primer, paint, and clearcoat. In addition to sandblasting, several folks on coating forums suggest that you follow up with either sanding or blasting with a finer media to even out the surface.

The other option is to keep an eye on eBay and Craigslist and find a partial set of chrome wheels, sell a complete set of 4, and keep the leftovers. With the exception of an eBay auction that I just missed last night and a seller on CL who seems incapable of answering his phone or returning messages (WTF is wrong with CL people?), I have very few leads. The good thing about this approach is that I can buy a new set of wheels for $100 more than I would likely be able to sell the chrome ones, including shipping. I have exchanged a few emails with AFS Wheels, and can get a set of with silver powdercoating for $485 to my door.

This didn’t become an expression for no good reason.It’s been on my brain quite a bit lately, since I am trying to get the car street legal. I’ve considered this option for some time now, but only recently did I decide to act on it. I’ve grown weary of making an hour round trip to get a trailer, only to tow to an autocross for 4 runs, then another hour to take the trailer back to its storage place. Including loading and unloading the car from the trailer, this is 4 hours that I could have back for every event I attend.

Getting the car street-worthy will require quite a few things, including:

• Adding back headlights, w/o headlights motors
• Adding back turn signals
• Adding back side markers

Eventually, I’ll have to do some exhaust work to get things where they really should be, but this’ll do for now. While the above may sound easy, it will be quite a task for me, as all excess wiring was removed years ago. I took a trip to the junkyard a week or two ago, and basically took all the interior wiring from a donor car except what I knew I didn’t need. This was quite a task, too. The easiest method was to simply cut big bundles where I would have to put too much effort into pulling pieces through. Given the rain at the time, this seemed like a good idea. Hopefully it won’t backfire.

Street driving will also mean that I need to get some “comfort items” back in the car, like door panels, carpet, and a center console. As a side benefit, this might bump me to a more competitive class in autocross. I don’t care that much though, because I stink at it.

I’ll also need to give careful thought to the oil cooler situation, as I have no thermostat. I think I can solve this through careful driving and cooler core masking, but have no developed a plan yet. I may be a non-issue, but depends heavily on how often I will actually drive the car. It will not get driven to work, and cannot carry my son. So I might drive it a few times a month. Given the lack of A/C and power steering, those times could be even fewer.

Add to this list the lack of water-tightness of the windows and crappy paint, and it may only see daylight once a month, 6-7 months out of the year. Time will tell.

As much time as I spend on the Internets, I really need to shift my focus back to creating content here. I’m assuming, of course, that my commentary is not the proverbial “tree falling in the woods, as that would invalidate the time I spend here. It would also make me cry. nortly though

To that end, if you are reading any of this, leave a comment. Let me know you’re out there. While you’re at it, let me know what you like and don’t like, and what you would like to see added.

After getting back in town Sunday and losing 4 valuable days in my build, I decided that I would take the first half of Monday to run a few errands. I took the two lines I bought from raceprovenparts, an eBay store, to BMRS where they were originally manufactured to have them altered. At $19 each plus $10 for shipping, they were a steal. I had 3 lines made out of them:

1. Oil block to check valve (then filter canister); straight into 90°
2. Filter canister to oil cooler: straight into 45°
3. Oil cooler to oil block: 90° to straight

I spent $85 on two straight and two 90° fittings, which most enthusiasts would say is too much. But the price includes the labor to crimp them on and pressure-testing the lines to 375psi to make sure everything works as designed. Considering the lines were used, I think I came out way on top. I have four feet plus of high-quality Nomex, -10 lines with world-class fittings for $135.

I test-fitted the lines when I got back home, giddy as a boy on Christmas morning. Line #1 was a little long and had a vertical hump if attached straight, but I turned the 90° fitting a little and now the line kinks slightly to the left. The line from the oil cooler back to the block was longer than I really needed, so I routed it between the check valve and wheel well and covered it with a piece of rubber hose and zip ties. I could’ve taken the line back and had it shortened, but then I’d have to pay for the new straight fitting at $16 plus the gas to and from, plus the time to do it. This way the run becomes a little longer, but gives the check valve some support and moves the line out of the way of other components. It also looks nicer despite the rubber hose piece. The line from the canister to the oil cooler was by far the easiest.

When attached aluminum fittings to aluminum fittings, it’s always a good idea to use some Anti Sieze to keep the threads from galling. Apply lightly and run it down a time or two to get all the threads covered, and you’re good to go. Tighten them by running them hand-tight, then turning 1/4 turn more with a wrench. Some of mine were difficult to attach, and it turns out it was from water in the fittings from the pressure test. Make sure you remove this, as it’s far from being the best lubricant.

After getting everything in place, I filled the oil cooler by pouring oil in the element-less filter canister and letting it run down the line to the cooler. I then put the filter element back in, tightened the cover, and cleaned the Anti Sieze off the fittings.

The oil pressure sender caused even more headache than I thought it might. After getting some BSP:NPT fittings in my BAT Inc. order, I thought I had it licked. Not only was the oil block not BSP, but I really can’t figure out what thread it is. I took the old brass fitting used with the OE oil block to four places yesterday morning, and was none the better for my wasted time and gas. The block end appears to be metric, 10×1.25, but even that was uncertain. So as much as I didn’t want to, I reused the brass one because I thought it a better alternative than pulling my dash to re-route the sender wiring, and having the sender hang off the oil block. For the latter, it is generally believed that this has led to sender failure from vibration, and I have no desire to replace the $120 sender. Hindsight being 20/20, I would’ve gone with a used NASCAR Stewart Warner gauge or a new Autometer. It will be especially silly when I eventually put an LS1 in and have metric gauges, but I could likely sell them for a profit.

I decided to test the system for leaks because it’s laborious to put the intake manifold back on. I filled the engine up with oil and checked the level, then hooked up the battery. I turned the key partway, then heard a fluid spilling sound. Apparently, it’s a good idea to pull the fuel pump fuse when you have open fuel lines and want to turn the car over. I cleaned that up, cursing myself, and pulled the fuse. After 7-8 times turning the engine over, I was unable to build oil pressure. I looked for leaks, and realized that I hadn’t tightened the drain plug. I was on a roll!

I didn’t try again, but think the culprit might be the open connector on the valve cover that connects to the fuel rail. I will cap it off and try again, but it might simply be a matter of turning the engine over a lot. If this is the case, I might borrow the battery from the Pathfinder as the little Odyssey gets worn out quickly from when the engine was first fired up. I’ll also get someone to help me by opening the fill cap and making sure oil is coming out of the cam squirters. It’s probably something small, as no engine work was done and the oil pump should be working without issue.

At this point I’m more than halfway through the steps in the last post, having removed the intake manifold and installed the Tomei oil block. I realized Monday night that I needed to place a fitting order to keep the build going, and called up British-American Transfer (BAT Inc.). While I could get some of these fittings locally, I could not find all of them and the prospect of driving around to get some of them AND paying for shipping for the remainder was not an appealing one. Yeah, it’s great to live in Racing Land, but not so great when you need oddball fittings or metric pieces. Within 5 minutes I had confirmed availability and placed my order for the following:

1. P/N 816-10 -> -10AN male : 1/2″ NPT male fittings, black -> 2 @ $4.90 each
2. 920-10-12 -> -10AN male : -12ORB (o-ring boss) male, black -> 2 @ $12.70 each
3. BSM3PT -> 1/8″BSP male : 1/8″ NPT male, steel, cadmium-plated -> 1 @ $3.50
4. 900110 -> -10AN female/female coupling -> 1 @ $9.15
5. BSM4PT -> 1/4″ BSP male : 1/8″ NPT male -> 1 @ $2.50
6. 910-2 -> 1/8″ NPT female/female coupling -> 1 @ $2.50

Items 1 - 4 are for the oil cooler setup: #1 is the fittings for the oil cooler core and #2 is for the Canton-Mecca filter housing, as it was designed for -12 ORB fittings. This is a plus, as it allows me to retain this piece if I choose when swapping in a V8 down the road. I actually have the -12ORB : -12AN fittings and could’ve purchased a -12AN female : -10AN male part to ave some money over the above, but that ’s two more possible failure (leak) points. Item 3 is for the oil block, to adapt to the NPT line to the oil pressure sender, and #4 is to connect the oil filter inlet to the check valve I purchased a few months ago.

Items 5 & 6 are an attempt to relocate my coolant temperature sender to the stock location that sends a signal to the instrument cluster. Since the stock gauge is about worthless, there are very few downsides. Some Nissan guys say that you could put the sender in the hose to the radiator as it will be the hottest point in the system, but this would involve splicing a ring into the current silicone hose, a move that I’m not altogether fond of although I do need to remove some length from it. At the end of the day, it boils down to reducing leak points and complexity, and I think the stock location is a great one if for no other reason than its redundancy coupled with the aftermarket gauge.

Once I have these fittings in place and torqued down, I will take measurements to determine line length. Unfortunately, there are not -10 BMRS ProGold lines on eBay right now, so I will need to check every day or simply call the RaceProvenParts guy to see if he has anything not up for auction yet. Failing this, I will take a trip to BMRS and get new lines.

I finally got around to mounting the oil cooler last night, and it isn’t as asethetic or strong as I would like (yet). Not having easy access to a welder or the skill, I’m left to rivet pieces together where I’d like to have them welded. A spot-welder might not be a bad idea, but it would be much better utilized with an array of steel supplies and better tools for shaping them. This would take more time to set up than I care to spend, but would make for a cleaner car. Realistically, I should probably start a list of things like this (including the sunroof) to take care of in the future at a body shop. This makes the most sense when the car gets the front half of the cage somewhere down the road. I can have the chassis stitch-welded, cover any unnecessary holes, etc. before painting the whole thing.

Enough dreaming, back to the work! I effectively walled off the hole in the stock battery location with a piece of sheet aluminum left over from the driver’s door skin. It covers about half of the hole and most of the flat part, and serves as a mounting point for the top flange on the cooler. I located and riveted a piece of 1″ angle aluminum from Lowe’s to the sheet and used some fasteners through the holes in the cooler flange. As it turns out, I did not need to keep as much of the CF flange at the top, as I didn’t really use it for mounting. I will definitely use the CF flange at the bottom though, as mounting will be a little more difficult. At 3 hours last night to mount the top though, maybe not!

It looks like the bottom will be mounted between the tension rod bracket and the trailing, lower edge of the bumper cover. On the frame rail side, I might also be able to fab a bracket to drop from the rail so I don’t have to mess with the bracket. I could also use this for mounting the underpanel that will protect the cooler from track debris and help manage airflow.

More to come soon, including finished mounting pictures!

I’ve resolved to install the oil cooler before my August 2/3 event at VIR-Full, mainly because I needed to for some time now but additionally because it’s going to be hot as Hell. For now, the post will be a procedure for doing so, both for my own edification and for you guys to see as well. When I finish the work, I’ll upload pictures and amend the process to reflect the actual order.

1. Locate oil cooler underneath where the battery tray once lived. I think I can use angle aluminum since it’s reasonably pliable and strong, and I have some sitting in the garage. Plus, it’s lightweight!
2. Remove intake manifold (IM)
   1. Remove large and small intake piping (to TB and IACV, respectively)
   2. Remove injector plugs
   3. Remove vacuum hose from fuel rail to valve cover
   4. Release fuel pressure, unhook lines to fuel rail
   5. Unhook throttle cable
   6. Disconnect wiring to IACV, MAF, and CAS
   7. Disconnect coolant lines to IACV and TB
3. Remove VC filler cap
4. Drain oil from pan, catch sample for analysis; look for any material on magnetic drain plug
5. Unscrew oil filter
6. Disconnect oil pressure sender line from oil block
7. Remove oil block
8. Clean mating surface
9. Install new oil block
10. Reinstall drain plug and VC filler cap
11. Install check valve and fittings on upstream side of filter canister
12. Take measurements for oil lines; check eBay for ones that will work or take trip to BMRS
13. Install oil lines; make note of I.D. and length for oil system volume
14. Reinstall oil pressure sender line
15. Prime filter canister and cooler with fresh oil; make note of volume used
16. Loop coolant lines that were going to the TB, cap inlet/outlet on TB
17. Explore possibility of locating aftermarket coolant temperature sender in stock “to cluster” location
18. Reinstall IM
19. Install IM support
20. Anchor oil lines where appropriate

Friday

I had an absolute blast this past weekend. I left Charlotte about 3:15 on Friday and arrived at the track about 4:45. Going was slow because I was finding my way around after not being there for almost 2 years, and the inability of SC drivers to go the speed limit. Next time I’m taking the bypass and circumventing as much stupidity and through-town towing as possible. One or two of the towns are particularly hilly, which doesn’t help at all. Once I arrived, I unloaded everything and my friend VK helped me install the SFI padding. I also met Stephen, another guy from the board and the current THSCC President.

Friday night VK, Stephen and I ate at a Greek pizza place in Camden with some other guys from the club. It was a lot of fun listening to stories, observing the local wild life, and eating. After that we headed back to the hotel and hung out in the room for a little while before retiring.

Saturday

We ate breakfast Saturday morning at the place behind the Colony Inn. Food was OK for the price, and the highlight was VK sticking his foot in his mouth after starting a lesbian joke. Once at the track, we started getting everything ready then attended the driver’s and instructor’s meetings. The club safety guy (Mark Cooper) rolled up shortly beforehand and I made arrangements for him to do the safety part of the tech inspection after we finished up the meeting.

I met my instructor, Bill Gratton, during the “meet & greet.” Bill seems like a nice guy, and ended up being a good instructor. I felt bad that the car was so loud as he was unable to talk to me even under partial throttle, despite trying throughout a lot of the first session. Most of the feedback I received was after the session, and was along the lines of braking, turn-in, line, and those types of things although I did get some feedback on keeping a little bit of distance and waving after I was by someone versus while I was passing them. There were only a few occasions (that I remember) of being too close to someone, and he said that people will give me a wave if they see me back there. Most did not however, including myself, I suppose because we were concentrating on driving. I did run into a few people who were bad about giving the signal, but most were very courteous and track-conscious.

Mark came to look at the cage in the morning and I told him the whole thing was done in 1.75 x 0.095, which was a problem because the rules call for the main hoop to be 0.120″. I drilled an inspection hole in the main hoop and found out that my fear came true: the hoop was 0.095″ wall. Mark talked to my instructor and decided to let me run the weekend, but told me I would need to get it fixed. Later that weekend he showed me the rules, but I cannot seem to find anything in the 2008 SCCA GCR other than the overall tubing diameter (section 9.4.F). There is nothing specific about the main hoop being a different thickness in 9.4.B. Upon further investigation, it seems like I might be OK, but I need to ask around more.

Sessions 1 and 2 were mainly learning the track and feeling out where I needed to pick up more speed. I was signed off after the second and thought I did well on the third. I didn’t mind soloing because I think I can still learn from a lot, and actually saw Bill trailing me for a couple of laps to observe outside the car. He mentioned having trouble keeping up because of his brakes, but he might’ve just said that to be nice because he felt fast around the course from when I rode with him earlier that day. He has a mostly-stock black FD with bronze FN01RC’s and it’s a nice-looking car (and FAST for stock!). Apparently it was campaigned in One Lap by a friend of his who was having multiples and needed to clean out the stable.

I went to the skidpad later in the day, and Stephen was nice enough to take some footage outside of the fence. I really enjoyed it, and got some good practice opening the wheel to correct understeer which I was causing a lot of in the new parts of the course. The fun part was counter-steering to pull the car out of an oversteer situation though, but I wasn’t good enough to do it repeatedly. I will link some video when I manage to get it uploaded. We ate at The Armory in Camden that night with the same crew from Friday night plus some guys at the other end of the table I never got a chance to talk to. The food was flippin awesome for the price and we probably had a better time than even at the Greek place. On the way, Stephen and I stopped at the AutoZone for pads, which was comical considering the “small town” employee and trying to find pads for an early 90’s import. It was back to the hotel and (relatively) promptly to bed afterwards.

Sunday

First session was for Instructors, and I let VK take me out in my car which is always fun. It seems that I am a “show me” guy as I learned more go-fast tidbits from riding with VK than I did the prior instruction in both car and classroom. At least it felt like it. I picked up a TON of speed in the Kink, 8, and 4/5. I became much better at 4/5/6/7 by the end of the weekend, but still stuggled with 12/13 because of understeer and lack of grip. Bill rode with me for the first half of Session 1, I soloed for Session 2, then VK rode with me on Session 3. I think VK, me, and the car have developed a “good enough” communication style because of the noise, and his hand signals were helping a lot in the third session. I packed up between the second and third sessions, and was able to leave the track around 4:15. I tried to buy a track t-shirt, but they were out of my size and I was promptly on my way. The drive home was uneventful despite running into more people unable to drive the speed limit, but passing people with a car & trailer can be fun if done safely.

Overall

I learned a ton and had a great time. I enjoyed spending time on track with Stephen and having VK instruct another Intermediate student as it was two more sets of eyes and experiences that I could use toward becoming a better driver. I found myself wanting to stay out there as long as I could with the exception of one session where I was starting to get some gear noise (see #6 below). I did get a few chances to pass off-line coming into a turn, which was great practice considering it’s done all the time in higher run groups. In fact, I may try to work on more of this at the next event.
The car continues to perform as expected with no major issues. I didn’t get any leaking transmission fluid this time, which black-flagged me twice at VIR last October, and think I have that problem licked. That being said, there’s still room for mechanical improvement:

1. Oil temp is at 230-250°F with 90°F off-track ambient temps. The only thing I lack is the lines to hook everything up, and getting it all on the car. I will be working toward this before my next event, as it will be even hotter in August.

2. Brakes, brakes, brakes. I think I’ll finish out the season with what I have (assuming it looks OK), but definitely need some work here next season. I’m thinking 30mm aluminum 300ZX, the rears to complete the set, and 17/16 master cylinder. Right now I’m leaning toward a relatively tame pad since I don’t have r-comps, but will probably go ahead and add brake ducting to be safe.

3. Figure out a way to remove the excessive toe-in in the rear. The Firestone people were unable to get it out, and I think this is one of the main reasons the car is pushing (at least as far as I understand vehicle dynamics).

4. The rollbar issue, if I can find the part in the 2008 GCR. If the main hoop has to be redone, I may try getting the harness bar moved backward to give me a little more room in that direction. For now it seems I am OK, but I need to gather a little more input before deciding whether or not I need to call Zuffenhaus.

5. Seating position / steering wheel placement. I am currently sitting fairly close to the pedals and wheel, the latter of which can be adjusted with a low-profile hub adapter, non-dished wheel, or both. Despite sitting closer than I might like, it helps me crank on it harder, which is particularly nice since I eliminated power steering. While it’s slightly painful to the side of my foot, I have no trouble heel-toeing.

6. Gear noise when the car is smokin hot. I had this for both events last year and this one. Coming off track, I get a lot of gear noise until I’m able to drive the car around a little and cool it off. I think it may be the transmission fluid thinning out and the transmission making more noise, but I’m not sure. It could also be coming from the differential.

7. R-comps, maybe. Depending on tire wear with the Hankooks after this weekend, I may start hunting around for some used ones. I’m concerned that I’m not skilled enough to warrant them, but could be swayed. As a data point, I didn’t feel like the lack of grip hindered me either time last year at VIR-F nearly as much as it did this past weekend at CMP.

8. More power. This has been at the bottom of my list for longer than I can remember, as I have a TON of things to work out first. That being said, it would be nice to have more power for passing, or to catch the types of cars that are leaving me in the straights after being tailed through the curves while I wait for a passing zone.

The “cheaper is better” method didn’t work for me in this case. I purchased a used Momo MOD 75 wheel, suede, 330mm, on eBay for $69 plus $13 for shipping. In hindsight, this was a huge mistake. I was looking at new wheels from Momo, Sparco, Nardi, Personal, OMP, et al., and was discouraged by the high price. This is particularly the case since I was worrying about paying for a rollbar, seats, harnesses, and a quick release.

What I should have done at the time, and finally did last week, was to purchase a much lower cost wheel from the NRG line. I bought the ST-006S-Y, roughly 1/4 of the way down the page. The “-Y” at the end is for the yellow leather centering stripe in case you’re curious. I didn’t need this necessarily, but it was the one in stock and I think it will be a nice feature. I also think it finishes off the appearance nicely. Contrary to the picture linked above, I will not be running the cosmetic ring or horn button as they simply aren’t necessary.

I vacillated on this wheel for some time now, even when I was about to pull the trigger on the eBay one. My main point of contention is that NRG is not known for their steering wheels, but more for their quick release products. This is not to say the wheel isn’t quality, but it IS a good bit less expensive than the aforementioned alternatives. My stance is this however: if I can get two of the NRG wheels for one Momo/Sparco, it only has to last me half as long to make financial sense. If you consider the wear on suede, it may make even more sense to swap them out twice as often (if you HAVE to).