S2000 Interiors Stock or totally custom, if it's inside the cabin talk about it here.

D-Shaped Steering Wheel by Gaurdian Designs

Thread Tools
 
Old 04-10-2016 | 04:49 PM
  #1  
bluedc4's Avatar
Thread Starter
Registered User
 
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Default D-Shaped Steering Wheel by Gaurdian Designs

First off I actually received the wheel a couple months ago but since the car was in storage I didn't get around to installing the wheel until this weekend.
I contacted Angelos from Gaurdian Designs back in December, 2015 to get a custom S2000 steering wheel made. Angelos is based locally in Ontario Communication was done strictly via emails while the wheel is sourced, customized and delivered from Central Europe. Angelos was extremely helpful in tweaking and fine tuning my initial design ideas and I have to say that I'm 100% happy with the end result. I believe this was one of the first D-shaped wheels Angelos' team has made at the time. Compared to the original flat-bottom design, the D-shaped design provides a bit more leg room (see pics below).

Here are the specs:[*] new D-shaped design[*] M3 rim thickness with thumb rests[*] black perforated nappa @ sides + black alcantara @ top/bottom[*] F-zero blue motorsports stitching[*] F-zero blue sport noon stripe

Once the design was finalized, the wheel was made and delivered from Europe to my door in Canada in under a month. Angelos kept me updated throughout the whole process and I never felt like I was left in the dark on the current status of the wheel.

My initial impressions are that I'm loving how it looks and feels in my hand. Personally, I love the bigger rim thickness and it makes it very easy to grab onto the wheel. The perforated leather around the thick thumb rests feels very comfortable yet confidence inspiring when resting my hands at the 9 and 3 o'clock positions. And as expected, the alcantara at the top/bottom feels very premium and gives the wheel a distinctive, contrasting look against the leather sides. Installation was fairly simple and was a plug and play. The center airbag hub/horn module is simply moved over from your current wheel to the new GuardianDesigns steering wheel so the wheel retains all function of the factory wheel - one of the main reasons why I opted for a GaurdianDesigns wheel was to retain airbags and cruise control functionality.

I'll post a review of my driving impressions with the wheel once the snow completely clears here in Ontario but for now here are some unboxing and side-by-side pictures with the factory wheel.

Front view (sorry the wheel was leaning toward its right side but I didn't notice until I saw the pictures)
Name:  IMG_4184_zpsjyqfigb6.jpg
Views: 1150
Size:  188.7 KB

Side-by-side with the factory wheel
Name:  IMG_4180_zpsmysqenp0.jpg
Views: 1184
Size:  186.1 KB

Looking down at the alcantara top with blue noon stripe
Name:  IMG_4181_zpsjl5waaat.jpg
Views: 1174
Size:  124.4 KB

Looking down at the perforated nappa leather sides
Name:  IMG_4182_zps4om1qjjn.jpg
Views: 1170
Size:  123.0 KB

Bigger perforarated nappa thumb rests
Name:  IMG_4183_zpsbxtqatgt.jpg
Views: 1187
Size:  144.9 KB

D-shaped bottom
Name:  IMG_4188_zpssynjg0af.jpg
Views: 1151
Size:  150.3 KB

Center module transfered over
Name:  LingTang-PREVIEW_zpseopupnny.jpg
Views: 1235
Size:  166.0 KB

Quick teaser of the wheel installed (sorry about the flash)
Name:  IMG_20160410_180054_zpsw6uwrcex.jpg
Views: 1171
Size:  194.5 KB

EDIT: updated with my driving impressions here
Old 04-10-2016 | 05:03 PM
  #2  
zeroptzero's Avatar
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 26,005
Likes: 3,826
From: Ontario Canada
Default

That is pretty cool looking, nice design. Is the noon stripe alacantara or is it made of stitching/thread ?.

They didn't offer the D-shape wheel when I ordered mine, so I got the flat bottom. Looks great , I bet it feels amazing.
Old 04-10-2016 | 07:49 PM
  #3  
bluedc4's Avatar
Thread Starter
Registered User
 
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Default

The noon stripe is alcantara. I'll double check when I bring get her out of storage (hopefully) next week. And yes, the wheel does feel amazing. I decided to go with GaurdianDesigns based on your recommendation so thanks again zeroptzero!



Originally Posted by zeroptzero
That is pretty cool looking, nice design. Is the noon stripe alacantara or is it made of stitching/thread ?.

They didn't offer the D-shape wheel when I ordered mine, so I got the flat bottom. Looks great , I bet it feels amazing.
Old 04-11-2016 | 12:38 AM
  #4  
Iilac's Avatar
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 274
Likes: 18
Default

That's a great looking wheel. I think Guardian design got better with their craft as Angelos stated the steering wheel with the flat bottom was their D shaped wheel and the wheel I was contemplating, flat bottom and flat top was called zero shaped.
Old 04-11-2016 | 09:58 AM
  #5  
zeroptzero's Avatar
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 26,005
Likes: 3,826
From: Ontario Canada
Default

Originally Posted by bluedc4
The noon stripe is alcantara. I'll double check when I bring get her out of storage (hopefully) next week. And yes, the wheel does feel amazing. I decided to go with GaurdianDesigns based on your recommendation so thanks again zeroptzero!



Originally Posted by zeroptzero' timestamp='1460336621' post='23934100
That is pretty cool looking, nice design. Is the noon stripe alacantara or is it made of stitching/thread ?.

They didn't offer the D-shape wheel when I ordered mine, so I got the flat bottom. Looks great , I bet it feels amazing.
No problem. Looks like we got our order just in time, as their pricing has just gone up.
Old 04-11-2016 | 08:24 PM
  #6  
bluedc4's Avatar
Thread Starter
Registered User
 
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Default

Zero shaped sounds interesting. It wasn't offered when I was ordering. I'm not sure how practical the flat top may be but given how sensitive the s2000 steering rack is it might just work.

Originally Posted by Iilac
That's a great looking wheel. I think Guardian design got better with their craft as Angelos stated the steering wheel with the flat bottom was their D shaped wheel and the wheel I was contemplating, flat bottom and flat top was called zero shaped.
Old 04-11-2016 | 08:25 PM
  #7  
bluedc4's Avatar
Thread Starter
Registered User
 
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Default

I noticed that too It's one of the very few purchases I made over the winter for the car that I didn't lose on because of the rebound of the CAD dollar.

Originally Posted by zeroptzero
Originally Posted by bluedc4' timestamp='1460346541' post='23934172
The noon stripe is alcantara. I'll double check when I bring get her out of storage (hopefully) next week. And yes, the wheel does feel amazing. I decided to go with GaurdianDesigns based on your recommendation so thanks again zeroptzero!



[quote name='zeroptzero' timestamp='1460336621' post='23934100']
That is pretty cool looking, nice design. Is the noon stripe alacantara or is it made of stitching/thread ?.

They didn't offer the D-shape wheel when I ordered mine, so I got the flat bottom. Looks great , I bet it feels amazing.
No problem. Looks like we got our order just in time, as their pricing has just gone up.
[/quote]
Old 04-19-2016 | 07:16 PM
  #8  
bluedc4's Avatar
Thread Starter
Registered User
 
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Default

The car came out of hibernation this weekend and after getting an oil change and letting some air out of the over-inflated tires I took the new wheel out for a test drive.
Name:  IMG_20160416_183804_zpsqkuetuwk.jpg
Views: 1265
Size:  209.9 KB
The first thing I immediately noticed backing out of the driveway was that the thicker, heavier wheel made turning require a little more effort. Once I got out onto the open rural roads the wheel felt fantastic cruising with the top down. I'm really loving the blue noon marker at the top of the wheel with the sun shining down on it. I usually drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter at all times but with this wheel I was inclined to leave both hands on the wheel when not engaging the shifter. I just couldn't let go of how great the upgraded materials felt. This new wheel changed my driving experience. The thicker rim and the nappa leather/alcantara construction made driving the S2000 feel like a GT car. With that said, if you're tracking the car depending on the track the stock wheel would probably perform better. But, for a casual spirited sunday drive or road trips I'd highly recommend this upgrade. I've already gotten a few compliments on it and for those that are wondering where you can get your hands on one you can contact Angelos from GaurdianDesigns at info.motoropolis@gmail.com or through their website www.motor-o-polis.com.
Old 04-20-2016 | 12:08 PM
  #9  
zeroptzero's Avatar
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 26,005
Likes: 3,826
From: Ontario Canada
Default

Originally Posted by bluedc4
The car came out of hibernation this weekend and after getting an oil change and letting some air out of the over-inflated tires I took the new wheel out for a test drive.

The first thing I immediately noticed backing out of the driveway was that the thicker, heavier wheel made turning require a little more effort. Once I got out onto the open rural roads the wheel felt fantastic cruising with the top down. I'm really loving the blue noon marker at the top of the wheel with the sun shining down on it. I usually drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter at all times but with this wheel I was inclined to leave both hands on the wheel when not engaging the shifter. I just couldn't let go of how great the upgraded materials felt. This new wheel changed my driving experience. The thicker rim and the nappa leather/alcantara construction made driving the S2000 feel like a GT car. With that said, if you're tracking the car depending on the track the stock wheel would probably perform better. But, for a casual spirited sunday drive or road trips I'd highly recommend this upgrade. I've already gotten a few compliments on it and for those that are wondering where you can get your hands on one you can contact Angelos from GaurdianDesigns at info.motoropolis@gmail.com or through their website www.motor-o-polis.com.
That's super-fantastic for sure , nice review
Old 04-25-2016 | 03:29 AM
  #10  
mph2k's Avatar
Gold Member (Premium)
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,066
Likes: 23
Default

Awesome wheel, how long did it take for you to receive your wheel once you ordered it? I just placed and order and was hoping to get it in a month.


Quick Reply: D-Shaped Steering Wheel by Gaurdian Designs



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:15 PM.