Another leather steering wheel cover option.

that's a great idea, but why $116 for a leather cover?

 

I have purchased Wheelskins previously and have been very happy with their product. The one for a 2010 Prius shows as $49.95. The key to a good install is to take time. Methinks that the $116 is an unfortunate artifact of the dollar's strength (or lack thereof) against the Yen. When I ordered my aspherical rearview mirror from a Toyota dealership in England, it was about $120 because the £ is so strong against the $.

 

How about an alternative suggestion?

 

I installed my Wheelskins yesterday. Once installed, it
looks great and feels luxurious. It is definitely a "labor
of love" to install...took me about two hours, and left
me with sore hands.

In addition to Chris' suggestion to take your time, I
also recommend:

1. If it is sunny, lay it out on your dashboard for 30
minutes, so that the leather will warm up. Then, it
will stretch more easily.

2. Wear thin rubber gloves to enable you to grip and
tension the sewing thread. This will help you maintain
the required tautness without bruising or blistering
your hands. [I got two blisters before I figured this
out!]

3. You will need to center the material to your steering
wheel, for example, the bottom panel aligns to the
bottom of the steering wheel. When you do this
initially, you'll be doing a best guess because the
leather band is sort of "flopping around" and it will
also stretch a little as you stitch it in. Do a final
centering adjustment after you have stitched an
inch or so. Once you get past a few inches, the
tension won't allow you to slide the band along
the steering wheel anymore, so the alignment will
be set permanently at that point. [I ended up being
off center by about a 1/4 inch, but had put in too
many stitches to re-center.]

--

One last thing...it's definitely doable to install by
yourself, but on occasion, having a helper to provide
a third hand is valuable - especially at the very start
and at the very end.

 

I forgot about that! Updated my link!

 

This cover from Japan appears to install without stitching. That's interesting, if true. I've stitched up covers on two previous cars, and it's no fun at all.

 

The one the op posted still requires stitching. There is some tape where the spokes are on the wheel to tuck them under and stick. I like this leather steering wheel cover since it looks the OEM. The wheelskins does the job, but I don't like how the cover just goes over the spokes and you can see the stitch holes which is an eyesore to me and not the OEM look I would want to go for.

 

Waiting. I waited and recently got the vent shades shipped for $48, instead of the $120 set from Japan.

I'm cheap, therefore I wait.

 

On your first point, I believe you are correct, as I
cannot see any other way to install leather with
the correct amount of tension (TIGHT!).

On your second point, I am not sure I an interpreting
you correctly, but if you mean that there are open
stitch holes along the spokes, that is taken care of
by doing "dummy stitches" as the instructions suggest.
The steering wheel spoke areas do remain a problem,
though, as there is nothing holding the material taut
to the spokes, as the stitches do around the other
parts of the steering wheel.

 

This made me smile. Thank you!

 

I installed the Wheelskins leather cover on my car. It did take some time to lace but the results were worth the effort. I used a mirror to assist with locating the rear holes (went much faster then).

At first I didn't like the loose fit around the spokes but after a month it seems the have shrunk and now fits fine.

I'm very pleased with the results.

 

wheelskins 100%!
Wheelskins Custom Leather Steering Wheel Cover

 

There is a third option for after-market leather steering wheel.

When I had my leather seat covers installed by Classic Soft Trim, I asked if they would do the steering wheels as well. It turned out that they do.

The catch is that they need the steering wheel for 10 days, and cost around $350. They will send the wheel to the leather factory where it will be wrapped & stitched. I was told that it is a rather labor intensive operation.

 

holy cow!!!! i dont think i could go so long without my steering wheel ... lol. i opted for a wheelskins since i did not need to remove my steering wheel, it was inexpensive ($49.95 exactly...), and only took about 20-30 mins for me to stitch it on... ive actually purchased probably a dozen wheelskins so far as gifts for family members and friends from shopsar (see link 2 posts up). its always a great 'last minute' gift too b/c shopsar has them delivered to me within 2-3 days tops... im seriously a complete fanatic over these things everyone thinks i am insane.. b/w a wheelskins and katzkin interior - my prius has done a complete 360 the past few months - wouldnt recognize 'her' (as i call my prius LOL!!!)

 

That good huh? I looked at the pictures of wheelskins from other posts, and found the area over the spokes less than appealing...

 

Maybe a good time to post your pics - from what I have seen, I haven't been overly impressed - but maybe someone did a good install - I know I'm looking for one (leather) - but have not seen a real option yet....

 

I was just thinking about this today. What if we removed the silver plastic pieces during the installation of, for example, a wheelskin cover. That way the plastic part would be over the leather and look more factory rather than if you had laced on the cover over the plastic.

 

had anyone done it? if so please upload photos!! :welcome: