Car Steering Wheel Covers
October 25, 2021
For a true car enthusiast, an urge to spend heavily on car accessories can be overwhelming. You can not default someone to accessorize their vehicle for both comfort and make the car look good. Apart from changing the look of your vehicle and making your life easy by playing their part, car accessories have their benefits in real life as well.
Steering wheel cover is also such an accessory that can have a love hate relationship with motorists. For many, the steering wheel cover is something that they can never drive without and for some it is just an excessive piece of accessory that we should never bother about. Here we are going to see if these covers are worth their dime and what are the advantages or disadvantages of the steering wheel covers.
Are wheel covers worth it?
It depends on many variables, what kind of weather you are driving in, what is your tolerance level, how much are you willing to spend, what is your understanding of materials and what sort of personnel taste do you have. For a frequent driver who spend a lot of time in the car and hold on to the steering wheel for longer periods, steering wheel covers can be a blessing as they prevent slipping hands and sweat. Here are some of the advantages of the steering wheel covers.
Comfort
Standard steering wheels come as simple as possible so there is not much comfort in holding a wheel that has minimal comfort. Steering wheel covers provide soft materials that are kinder to your hands and protect you from harsh weather by resisting to be too hot or too cold.
You can get tired holding on to a steering wheel that is not made of soft material and putting on a cover can make it lot more comfortable on long drives.
Protect Wear and Tear
Putting a steering wheel cover on the steering wheel protect it from the damages that are caused by often extreme weather, continuous usage and normal wear.
Interior Aesthetics
If your steering is damaged or discoloured, that can make your interior look unattractive. You can fix this problem by putting on a steering cover that not only hide the damage but would also compliment the theme of your vehicle’s interior.
Enjoy Better Grip
After continues usage, your steering wheel gets slippery and it becomes harder to grip the steering. Steering cover can help with this problem. You can put new materials in the shape of steering wheel and this helps you regain the control of the steering through tight corners.
Are steering wheel covers illegal?
In general, steering wheel covers are an insignificant modification and do not affect the handling functions, so it should be OK. In most of the countries it is deemed legal but it is always a good idea to confirm before you try out the modification. Laws can be different in each country and sometimes in each state as well so confirmation is always a good idea.
Should you use a steering wheel cover?
Generally speaking, steering wheel covers have more benefits for its usage than the problems if any. Steering wheel covers provide better control on handling, add comfort, enhance aesthetics and protect wear and tear. So, to answer the question above, yes, you should use the steering wheel covers as their benefits outweighs the problems.
Are There any Disadvantages of Steering Wheels?
There are always advantages and disadvantages of using the steering wheel covers. There are a few things that you should be concerned when putting the cover on. Not all covers are created equal and some of them are manufactured with materials that are more harmful then beneficial. Those materials can create more problems for the driver intended to hold the steering. Always look for exterior and interior material before you buy one.
A loose-fitting cover can be inconvenient and downright dangerous when turning the wheel. You should buy made to measure steering covers to eliminate this problem.
Some of the steering wheel covers actually make the whole interior look worse as not every steering cover in elegant. You should avoid any of the cover that does not match the interior of your vehicle.
Fitting of Your Steering Wheel Cover
Apart from enhancing the interior of the vehicle, steering wheels serve the purpose of better control over handling of the vehicle. So, it is important that you should get a steering wheel cover that fits best and do not slip when you turn it into a corner.
What do you do if your steering wheel cover is too big?
You might see a lot of remedies to fit a loose or too tight steering wheel cover. That includes warming up the steering or the cover itself or cutting the steering cover and re stitch it and in all honesty, they do make sense to some extent and work as well. In our opinion though, the best and safest practice is to get a cover that is either specifically designed for the model that you drive or get them made according to the measurements of your vehicle’s steering.
This ensures perfect fitting and safe handling and looks good on your steering as well. When you get it custom made, you can also choose the best colour and material that would compliment the interior of your vehicle as well.
Sometimes you may wonder, why those steering wheel covers are so hard to put on? Well simple answer is that to ensure they do not slip when turning into corners they need to be as tight as possible.
To help turning more easier, Brodie Knob or steering wheel spinners cab be a great help but there are issues in their usage as well.
Steering Wheel Spinners, why are they Illegal?
Steering wheel spinners or also known as Brodie knob is a modification knob that attaches to the steering wheel of an automobile to help turn it with more ease. It can rotate on its own and can be helpful in steering the steering wheel with one hand.
Unfortunately, these devices are not legal in most countries and for good reasons as well. It may be very helpful in turning the wheel with one hand but it is never recommended to turn the vehicle with one hand. On higher speed, it becomes most useless and some times dangerous to have this device on the steering wheel. Its also called knuckle buster as letting go after turning into a corner it can hit the user’s knuckles, forearm or elbow. It can also cause damage by being stuck in driver’s long-sleeved shirt.
Our advice is to confirm with your local authorities before you seriously think about adding this accessory to the steering wheel.
Some Tips for Steering Wheel Cover Users
Before you buy the steering wheel cover for your vehicle, you should consider some very important factors that can help you in the future to use the steering with ease.
Material
Material matters when it comes to harsh weathers. It depends which materials respond according to the severity of weather. Leather, synthetic blend or fabric are the different materials that are used in the preparation of the covers and all those materials work differently.
Design
When you buy the steering cover, it matters what kind of design compliments the interior of your vehicle. Either you choose carefully or own more than one cover and switch them accordingly.
Size and Fitting
This is the most important feature to be considered. Make sure you buy a steering wheel cover that is specifically made for your vehicle or get on made specially for you. Measure the diameter of steering wheel from one outer end to other and then buy the steering wheelcover.
Comfort and Durability
You should keep in mind that your hands are going to grip the steering for a long time so comfort should be your top agenda. As long as you install a comfortable steering, you are good for a long drive.
Steering wheel cover should be durable as well as they require lots of effort to be put on and may need to be taken off when you need to clean them up.
Price and Warranty
Price is an important consideration that you should keep in mind. The general rule of thumb is that leather commands more price than others and more complicate and complex the design is, more expensive it would get. So, make sure you buy the one that compliments your vehicle and the price you can afford. Look for a steering wheel cover that comes with warranty that it would not loosen up and would retain its colour and texture for foreseeable time to come.