Hi all, Stupid question since it all comes down to feel but for those of you who have a wheelskins cover installed can you post your comments on it? I'm thinking of getting one, I hate the stock "sandpaper" feel.
I love mine. I have plain black/ perforated black. I used a crochet hook to help pull the cord really tight when I stitched it on. Very easy to do.
I never liked leather but I like the smell. The Wheelskin took me a little while to get used to but I like it a lot. You get a better grip of the wheel and its also a little softer. I have red top and bottom and black perf on the sides. Installation takes a while (at least for me it did) but the end result is well worth the price and time. I highly recommend getting one.
My last car (1990 Ford Probe) had a leather-wrapped steering wheel and I enjoyed having it. When I got the Prius I ordered the Wheelskins and have been very happy with the results.
I may be the only one to experience this, but both wheelskins that I've used have ended up scratched and gouged. The color is only a thin surface coating, and the leather is pretty soft so if you end up scraping the surface with something hard, expect it to get cut/gouged/scratched. I do like the feel better than stock, so I may just consider it an expendable item and replace it once a year.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(narf @ Aug 2 2007, 06:23 PM) [snapback]489615[/snapback]</div> I agree with this. The surface is very thin. I scratched the top of mine but I'm still very happy with it.
I have a gray interior so I ordered a grey smooth top and bottom and black perforated sides. This looks very sharp. As a matter of fact, I showed it to my local Toyota parts manager today and he requested the contact info for Wheelskins. Also, the company is excellent to conduct business with. They will send you out sample color swatches upon request. The one complaint I have is with their stock size for the '04-'07, that is 13 3/4" x 3 3/4". I believe they didn't realize that the Prius steering wheel wasn't perfectly round when they took their original measurement. It measures 13 3/4" diameter top to bottom and 14 1/2" diameter side to side. Therefore their stock diameter is extremely tight to stretch on. In fact I had one come unglued trying to stretch it on. So they made me one to my specification which was 44 1/2" circumference by 3 3/4". This figures out to a 14 1/8" diameter. I think this would be a much better stock size: 14 1/8" x 3 3/4".
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Peter Senich @ Aug 2 2007, 11:28 PM) [snapback]489794[/snapback]</div> Good info thank you Peter. Do you feel the leather is too "soft" or do they make a hard leather wheel cover too? I'm kind of looking for original leather feel on the wheel, not a "cover" feel, if that makes sense.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Aug 3 2007, 11:10 AM) [snapback]489954[/snapback]</div> The grey smooth leather on the top and bottom feels softer than the black perforated on the sides.