I’ll start by saying this upcoming weekend the front sway bar fabrication is a GO. I have 5 feet of 1” chromoly 4130 is headed to the shop, energy suspension end links are on the way, and I’ve already got the universal 1” poly sway bar bushings that appear to be a perfect fit. Stay tuned for that!
Today the Mirage underwent quite possibly my favorite mod yet; the lovely OMP Trecento wheel. Now, as the name implies, this wheel is 300mm in diameter. The OEM wheel was 355mm on the nose, and therefore this is quite a reduction.
I chose to downsize the wheel to increase steering effort needed to turn the car, based on my own ideology that it would make the steering perfect. I hit the nail square on the head I’m proud to announce. Nathan is uploading the video to YouTube on the install, but it seems we’re the first ever to do it. We weren’t even sure if the hub adapter would fit, I took a shot in the dark. Turns out a 1G DSM hub adapter is the correct one!
Pulling the OEM airbag seemed like a pain as we had zero guidance, nobody has covered it. We hit it with some trim tools and did it the WRONG way but broke nothing in doing so. As it turns out there’s some holes in the wheel meant to fish a flat head screwdriver through to compress the tabs. Oh well, we learned.
Once that was loose, we did have to eliminate the OEM clock spring. More on this later. Anyhow, that came out, and the wheel removed easily without the use of the steering wheel puller I’d purchased. Of course it did!
Once that was off, the rest was a breeze. I’d used the NRG short hub, NRG carbon fiber quick release, and of course the OMP wheel. Just take a look.
I’m beyond pleased with the look, and the quality is absolutely stellar. The leather is such a nice surface to have your hands on versus the OEM vinyl and plastic. Also, the smaller diameter makes steering effort just delightful. It’s very similar to the BMW E90 in terms of steering weight, and feedback is much nicer without all the isolation of the stock wheel.
As far what we lost, just take a look at the cluster.
I thought we may lose electric power steering as some systems incorporate this into the clock spring. In this case, that didn’t happen. Instead I lost traction and stability control as the steering angle sensor was integrated instead. No big deal as ABS is getting eliminated to make room for the air to water intercooler; this was a win. Interestingly though, I’d lost one touch down on the windows somehow. Talk about a hilarious turn of events. This wasn’t a big deal either.
The only thing I lost that was a minor inconvenience was the cruise control, but I also made peace with that because once the Haltech is wired up and a new throttle body is installed that was going to be gone anyhow. The steering feel is just impressive, and Nathan was also shocked when he drove it.
As for feedback on the quick release, it is a super good product and everything is rock solid. The smaller wheel blocks none of the cluster and the 300mm diameter seems to be the perfect fit for this car.
Next up?
The sway bar as discussed for the front. Afterwards it’s coilovers, some more lovely tubular pieces to lighten and solidify the car, and those lovely Sabelt GT3 buckets. Also, I’ve decided we’re going to flock the piano black interior pieces in black suede, and the white A/B/C pillar pieces will get flocked too. This build will be functional and beautiful. Stay tuned for next weekend.