Adjusting the steering wheel height

[ElGrande]

Hello Customizers,

did anybody lower the steering wheel to get a more modern position of it?
If yes, how did you do it?

http://www.fiat124spiderservice.de/asse ... _KOPIE.wmv

Best regards

ElGrane

[chrisg]

on a 124 Coupe I once owned (for some reason Coupes seem to have the Italian driving position more profoundly located), I installed longer bolts & spacers on the column and lowered the wheel location about 1/4-1/2". I had a smaller steering wheel on the car so it made sense to me at the time. That was a pretty simple thing to do & I would expect you could go much lower if desired.

[ElGrande]

Hi chrisg,

Is it that simple, I will try it

Best regards

ElGrande

[DieselSpider]

How much room do you have between your legs and the bottom of the wheel? Some folks barely slide under the stock steering wheel and would have to install a smaller one in order to do this.

I am a Sicilian with a 37" sleeve length so the 124 factory steering wheel position for me is one of the few cars that have got it right.

[chrisg]

Yes, it’s that simple. Later steering columns have tabs instead of only bolts (or is is screws from the factory?), but I think that would not be too mentally/physically taxing to work with. For testing/fit purposes (ie, fit under the wheel as referenced above), I’d think you could use only the bolts closest to the steering wheel. Hope it works for you!

[ElGrande]

Ciao,

@Dieselspider: Yes, I have to try this, but I think I already have a smaller steering wheel than stock... so could be working for me

@chrisg: Ok, I hope it will work with my 80's CS0 Spider

Best regards

ElGrande

[SteinOnkel]

I thought about doing this, too. But then decided against it.

Check out the opening of The Italian Job (great movie by the way, very funny):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgJuVOrXv68

See how he keeps shuffling his hands? This is how these cars are meant to be driven, not 10 and 2. I started doing this last week and suddenly everything makes sense. You can actually reach the levers and switches and it's very comfortable. Give it a shot before you start changing the characteristics of the car, maybe?

Also, don't forget the cigarette dangling out the corner of your mouth. It's mandatory

[ElGrande]

Hey SteinOnkel,

Great movie, nice cars and nice roads (I loved to drive in the alps with my motorbike, especially the small "border"-roads between Italy and Slovenia, hope to do it with my spider too)

A friend told me how they've learned driving for a bigger car company: With 2 Hands on the steering wheel the whole time and just slip one hand over the steering wheel after another to the new position and the same way back to the old 10/2 position...

I'm with you, the handling must be perfect all the time, so I have to try it in a few steps...

Best Regards

ElGrande

[chrisg]

Good points on the Italian position. I think I have adapted to that (even tilt the wheel up in the family van), but even a little lower is still high by Camaro standards

[SteinOnkel]

Good points on the Italian position. I think I have adapted to that (even tilt the wheel up in the family van), but even a little lower is still high by Camaro standards

Last Friday I spent all day driving the Spider and then hopped into my '14 Focus for a longer trip. I was immediately bothered by the steering wheel position. Changed it to a more spider-like feel, couldn't read the gauges anymore

[chrisg]

It’s funny how we adapt, isn’t it? That said, If you have the time and spirit of adventure it’s worth trying it out to see if you find an adjustment you like