Good day to the board…

So I am about to go junkyard shopping for steering options for my 1994. Hoping to get lucky and come across some sweet carbon fiber or d-shaped aftermarket wheels.

I know that only a couple of years are automatically compatible. But outside of the plug n play options, what adaption considerations need I consider?

Does every aftermarket brand require its own adapter? Or is one aftermarket adapter as good as another?

What if I find an OEM wheel from another vehicle that I really like? How feasible would swapping to something like that be? More so with a GM vehicle of the same era? Is a BMW or Audi model built in 2018 out of the question completely?

How about an adaptation that includes radio controls? This must also involve additional radio adapters, but is it reasonably possible?

I appreciate any help in advance. I’m about to drive down there, and I’ll be stopping to check this thread before I go inside.

 

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Let’s take this a few steps at a time.

First you have to decide if you want to retain the airbag functionality. If you do, your choices are very limited. This is probably the ugliest GM Steering Wheel design ever. But you must remember that this was when airbags, like so many other advances on this car, were in their infancy and GM had to design around what was possible at the time. There are a few companies that make Steering Wheels for C4’s that adapt with our airbags and they are flat-bottomed, carbon fibered, etc. But there is a cost involved: They are $700-$1000.

If you don’t care about your airbags, your choices are much more wide open. There are no “universal hubs” that I am aware of. Manufacturers such as Momo, Fittipaldi, Grant, etc. all use bespoke hubs because of their individual bolt patterns. It's also a safe bet that other GM cars use a different steering column than the C4, so digging around for one that you might be able to retrofit may prove futile and/or very costly.

As far as steering wheel controls: Again, you must choose if you’re going to retain the stock radio or go aftermarket. I don’t know of any possible way to interface with the stock Bose controller. There isn’t any wiring in the steering column to support it and the circuitry in the control unit itself is antiquated. If you’re going with an aftermarket radio, there may be remote control units that you can attach to the steering wheel to give you “pseudo” steering wheel control, but nothing (that I am aware of) built into the wheel. Many aftermarket radios do come with remotes, however.

One more thing: I am aware that one can do most anything given enough time and resources, so someone else may have a more viable solution which is fine. But unless you’re an electrical engineer with circuit design experience, you might be heading up chits creek.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.