I've removed all remnants of the air bag system in my 1991 so no "issues" regarding the air bag system (other than not having the protection from it... and of course at the moment the original Miata steering wheel is still there)

There are so many hubs out there so if anyone knows of a good quality hub to go with I would appreciate it. It may be the $10 ebay hub but...

As far as quick release goes, I probably don't even need it but what the heck. A nice not too expensive QR could be cool.

Steering wheels - there are a bunch and easy to swap out if I don't like what I get.

 

Well being I do all things on a budget my hub is a $5 ebay special that I waited a month to get from China. It's worked just fine and it's pretty hard to mess up a hunk of aluminum so I have been happy with it.

Keep in mind most hubs are designed for a quick release and if you don't use one you may end up with the wheel farther away from you than you want it especially if you use a flat wheel. Now this is almost even too road kill for me but it turns out a 2x6 cut round with a hole in it makes a fine spacer. Humm it just dawned on me how embarrassing it's going to be to park my disaster in the same row as the builds you guys have done! This might not be such a good idea after all...

 

I'm in the same boat, but need my airbag electronics in place. Our inspectors look for that airbag light to be lit at start up then go off so I need the hub kit that includes the resistor or perform one of the various DIY fixes. The Daikei hub is what was suggested to me. Curious to see what is suggest here. As for QR I'm waiting to see where the reach for my wheel is with the hub alone prior to going down that road.

 

It's about a 15 minute operation to pull the bulb out of the cluster...

 

They need it to light at startup then go out like normal operation. Kind of ridiculous being the airbag itself will be absent....

 

Here you go guys (yes, shameless self promotion)

[NA] Quick release steering wheel and hub assembly - MX-5 Miata Forum

Bill S.

 

LOL sorry wrong forum every time I go over there I get yelled at.

 

Yes, I was able to get the bulb out of the cluster, no prob....

...but then I had an alarm going off! I was a small, blue box above the steering column, and I tried taking it out as well but it was wired through the ignition so then the car wouldn't start. Grrr.

So, the blue box went back in, and the bulb back in the cluster but it now has to wear a Hood of Shame made of black electrical tape so I don't have to look at the damn flashing any more.

Jim, I figure you'd approve of the cost of this mod though!

 

LOL that will work! You must have an NB with an alarm then? Mine didn't have any of that stuff.

 

Actually, no, mine is an early NA (1990) though a US model car (Auto Check says made in Dec 1989 and sold originally in Westport CT).

When I first tried to stop the flashing, I thought I'd get away with the "clip the right wire in the bundle under the steering column" trick that usually works on early airbag cars - but no, it didn't. So then I took the time to learn how to read the codes that the wee light was blinking out at me (really? I thought it was just constant flashing, but hey there's a message in there!).

It turned out the light was upset that the airbag was absent (true) but also that it wasn't getting signal from the front crash sensors (see pic I found on the web). These, of course, were removed during the conversion and you need ALL THREE wired back in to get the light to go off. Uh no, thuck fat. So black electrical tape it was!

One note on regs: as Michael noted a couple comments ago on this thread, I understand most US (and Canadian) jurisdictions require proper air bag light functioning to pass a safety or as a condition to proceed to emissions testing, i.e. the light has to come on with the ignition and then go out. So my black tape Hood of Shame solution won't work here. I got through only because Canadian federal regs for 1990 cars didn't mandate airbags - they were basically optional for manufacturers to install until a couple years later. So my non-airbag steering wheel and flashing air bag light weren't grounds for a fail - but I did have to bring the regs with me and a call was made to confirm with the Licensing Office. Something to think about in picking a donor car for conversion depending on where you live.

 

Seems like there is a resistor to fake the air bag is still there (sold with some of the none airbag steering wheel hubs) and most likely there are resistor options for the sensors too. Good that you do not need it though!