F355 Steering wheel options

The 328/Monte Carlo style wheel looks nice on Ken’s car. I have that wheel on one of my cars and it has a nice feel to it.

 

What is needed to fit the 348 wheel to your 355? Just the spacer?

 

Yep. The one from Hill Engineering should suffice for all Momo steering wheels.

The 348 steering wheel is the same as an early 355 suede challenge wheel, which I have on my car mated to the Hill adapter.

 

Good enough for a 288 GTO, good enough for me .



“The steering is the BEST of any Ferrari I’ve ever driven.” - DK Engineering

 

Iconic. It doesn’t get better than that. Simply beautiful.

 

It arrived sooner than expected. Couldn't help myself and installed it already. Sorry for low quality pics, I'll get better ones next time the car is in daylight.

Regarding whether it blocks gauges or not, it does not in my case. I'm 5'11, and seat & column is in my usual driving position. Photo taken at eye level.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

I've also overlaid the 350mm on top to show the size difference. 320mm fits within the inner diameter of the handle.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

No chance to drive it today sadly, feedback on how it feels next time.

 

Looking forward. Also a nice reality check where it sounds like 320 is much smaller than 350 when in reality it’s 3cm.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

Nardi made the non-airbag 355 wheel (at least to my knoweldge). I googled for other Nardi 3-spoke wheels and they made one for Audi and another for Subaru that are very, very close to the 355 design. If the splines are the same and there is a way to install a Ferrari horn button these would look awfully close....

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

michaelz check your pm's....

 

They do look similar but actually the factory 3 spoke is made by MOMO. When you take them apart during removal you can see various markings that indicate MOMO. Even the horn button will pop out so it can be used with aftermarket wheels has MOMO on the back of it.

 

Gents have now driven it, I'll try to be as objective as possible with my feedback.

Advantages:
- Feels extremely sporty and precise. If you're in pursuit of the best steering response without going to a Challenge rack, this is the cheapest most simple mod that will improve steering feel.
- Turn in is sharp and crisp and feels better weighted because the wheel is so much smaller, it makes the 350mm wheels feel like a bus. You're no longer making big steering movements to get the same angle of turn in.
- Now I feel I can just turn the steering wheel once and set your line through the turn without small corrections which I found myself doing with a 350mm. Absolutely love this aspect.

Disadvantages:
- The steering effort has now increased significantly from going to a smaller wheel. Not difficult to park since 355s have power steering but wouldn't recommend for a 348.
- This is either a con or a pro depending on how you look at it but since the steering effort has increased, it makes the steering feel too weighted and not over-assisted however this is subjective and will depending on your personal preferences. For anyone who just wants to cruise around with light steering, definitely not suitable.
- Aggressive turning is a no-no, I have noticed since you need to be more precise with your turning action, you can't man handle the steering wheel like you used to and rewards smooth driving only. Doing the big actions like you would with a 350mm may upset the car. Again, this is subjective but I suspect a lot of people might not like it.
- Lastly, as the 320mm is flat, if you are using it without a spacer of some form to bring the wheel closer to you, you won't like it! Not only is it too small, but straight onto a boss kit means it's too far from you, all the steering effort is coming from the forearms. I am using a Works Bell quick release plus a small half inch alloy spacer that brings the steering wheel a full 3" closer to the driver. Was perfect for a 350mm but not quite for a 320mm, I have another 1" alloy spacer on order to bring the smaller wheel a bit further forward so the extra steering effort can be generated more from the shoulders.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

So on paper, there's definitely more cons than pros but if you're not 100% happy with the steering feel of a 350mm, by all means try a 320mm. Maybe a 330 or 340mm would be a good compromise but those are not common sizes. Nardi has a 330mm but I already have one of those in another car plus they're popular in the JDM tuner scene and I just can't bring myself to use Nardi in the 355.

 

Thanks for the detailed write-up Michael! Looks great and the pros really get my attention. I see what you mean about steering positions so will have to see how it feels. I chose the Monte Carlo in 320mm and it has a 40mm dish.

 

@michaelz what brand is that accordion adapter?

Anyone look into adapters/boss’ outside of Hill Engineering? Thinking about selling mine for for one with an accordion boss.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I believe the 348 OE steering wheel is 350mm correct?

 

@ShineKen

It’s a Luisi Italy F355 non airbag boss kit. There’s a different version for airbag equipped cars as well.

Safety wise they’re collapsible and I always preferred full boss kits over adapters.

MOMO also makes one and looks like the same thing but costs a bit more.

 

Did you have to drill the Luisi at all? Someone commented that it needed to be drilled to accommodate three prongs? Went with the Hill Engineering for now as it seems plug and play but agree that the collapsible nature of the Luisi / Momo hub is a nice plus.

 

No drilling, it's only 2 prongs at the back which are the indicator cancellers and I bolted it straight on.

Maybe they are referring to the the airbag version? It doesn't have anything at the back since it's designed to work with the SRS clockspring which has integrated indicator cancellers.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Good to know, thanks. Will see how I like the Hill Engineering and might need to get one of these!

 

I talked to Nardi about a year ago, they did not make the non-airbag wheel for the 355.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login
not really what you guys are looking for but I like it
Custom

 

It says Momo on my non airbag wheel.

 

Mine says, “ NoMo’”

 

Got to play around today with a couple wheels. Ordered a Monte Carlo in 320mm to try out and also took the Prototipo from my 964 since it's 350mm. Looks aside, really wanted to answer the question of size. As Michael shared above, the 320mm is very sporty! Direct, telepathic steering in tight corners, effort significantly increased compared to OEM - as he stated and I would agree - right on the line in terms of steering effort. This is taking into account the typically slightly further seating position in these cars. I actually loved the effort but I could see how it might be over the line for some. Negatives are when not on a windy road, steering didn't feel as intuitive around town and I found myself wanting something slightly larger. Specific to the Monte Carlo, the grip is very, very oval and I tend to like rounder grips. I also like thinner spokes ala the 350mm Monte Carlo but as you can see the spokes get much thicker on the 320mm version.

Hence, the Prototipo coming into the picture. 350mm is indeed a great size. Feels very balanced between OEM and the sportiness of 320mm. In my perfect world, I'd have something 335mm or so but those don't really exist and styling would be limited in choice. Might just leave the Prototipo here for a bit to get some more seat time before deciding on looks. For those that are interested, here are a few pics.

EDIT: Ignore the horn button, the Ferrari one hasn't arrived yet so used the stock one as a placeholder.