Before I start: If you're going to say crap about my car being "converted" with emblems then just keep it to yourself. To each their own. I've already heard it all, but it really boils down to who owns the car and what the hell they want to do with it. "Only Honda guys do that!" Well, I came from a swapped 97 Civic hatchback and a '91 S13, so I guess I still have that Honda crap inside in me.

With that said, I am picking up my friend's Nissan 350GT steering wheel. Currently, I have the exterior rebadged, even the center caps, and am working on the interior. And no, I'm a college student, so I don't have the funds or patience to do EVERYTHING all at once. As far as I know, the only parts that I have to swap over are the seats (which I'll temporarily fix with leather-like seat covers soon), the clock, door sills, engine cover, and of course the steering wheel. I've probably forgotten a thing or two, but those are the only noticeable ones that come to mind at the moment.

ANYWAYS, onto my main question: how hard is it to swap steering wheels? As far as I know, I'd have to take everything apart even if all I wanted to do was swap the cover -- at least that's what two different tuner shops have told me. I'd like to do this myself with a pair or two of helping hands if possible.

One thing that just came to mind (and I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner) is to just get an aftermarket steering wheel. However, I've already planned on getting this one since I friend had it lying around after he starting building his car for track use. So how hard would it be?

 

On the side of the steering wheel there are 2 dime sized covers.. take a small flat head and pop the covers off.. take a star bit and loosen the screws and the airbag should loosen up.. make sure u disconnect your battery before u do anything..

 

You'll need a Torx T-30 Security bit to remove the screws on either side of the steering column. Also need to swap airbags as the JDM and USDM connectors are different.

 

Okay thanks guys. I'll look into it once I pick up the steering wheel on Monday. The airbag should already be swapped because my friend had it on his car before he got a racing one.

 

I thought you were able to just swap the Airbag cover.

 

I'm honestly not too sure. I'm just going off of what I heard the two main tuner shops told me here in Portland. They said that I'd have to take the whole thing apart to do either. I'll ask my friend when I pick it up since he has had it on his car. The airbag should already be swapped to a US one.

 

That is correct, thats all you need

 

The cover is all that ends up getting swapped. You still need to separate the cover from the module. They are fastened together by a bunch of plastic tabs.

 

So it sounds like something that I should be able to do at home with fairly minimal mechanic experience. I'm just afraid of it possibly going off on me lol. If that's not likely to happen then I'll gather some buddies and give it a shot one night.

 

It's an easy job. You can definitely handle it by yourself. Be sure to disconnect the negative battery terminal first. Need to get a Torx T-30 Security bit (not a regular Torx bit). A few flat head screwdrivers are handy to keep the tabs apart while you try and separate the cover from the module. You'll know what I mean when you see it. Also, be careful disconnecting the plugs so that you don't break them.

 

womp womp womp




lol JK man!! ive always like the nissan badging. after all nissan does own infiniti. we just payed more to have back seats, weigh more, and look classier then a 350z. lol throw us some pics once you get
everything done



BTW check out the hotness of that nismo cluster too!!! they are like 500 bucks tho i think id only pay that if it had the exact mileage of my car, or if i hit the lotto

 

Yeah I noticed those white gauge faces. Pretty sick!

When you change the cluster doesn't the gauge read out the mileage that's on your car or does it read out what's on the new cluster that's installed?

Good luck with the swap op hope its an easy job

 

The only thing that I'm afraid of is the airbag going off in my face during the process lol. It should be okay. I won't pick it up till Monday and idk when I'd get it installed.

 

how easy was that swap boss??

 

Sorry I had completely forgotten about this thread until now lol. I basically just had to do what Frankieg35 and k67p67 said. Disconnecting the battery and waiting a certain period of time was very important since there may still be electricity circulating through the system even after the battery is disconnected. And to Hotdawwgman, yeah I was just able to swap out the airbag/cover (since it's the same section).

Here is a picture of the steering wheel installed:


I love it just because I know our G35 is the same thing as the versions overseas and appreciate that. I could've swapped on the whole steering wheel but I don't know how difficult that might have been, however I didn't like the look and feel of the older years switches.

Since taking this picture I have taken my car to Car Toys where my friend works and he wiped it with something that helped darken it quite a bit so that it matched better with the rest of my steering wheel.

In all honesty I kinda regret doing any of the rebadging since it's pretty pricey just to get rid of everything that says "INFINITI" on it. I have my door sills, clock, BOSE deck, floor mats, and the stitching on my seats to deal with now. Of those only the seats bug me the most, and I'd want to replace the deck just because every now and then my BOSE deck will act up (hasn't in months, but still). I've considered getting Z cloth seats to deal with my seats but who knows if I'll be able to go without my heated seats here in the cold and rainy northwest.

Well, that's about about it. Sorry for the long post lol. I probably won't be getting around to getting the other parts "converted" since I'm a full-time college student.