Cipher Auto Enhanced Leather Steering Wheel for ND Miata & Fiat 124
2016-2024
PART NUMBER: 61-2774
DESCRIPTION
NEW 2024 Version: Now with slightly increased thickness, more contoured areas around the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions, and a flatter bottom for even better ergonomics... AND now available in popular options like carbon fiber, hydro dipped "carbon look", and red stitching with red stripe!
Fits 2016-2024 Mazda Miata/MX5 ND and 2017-2020 Fiat 124.
YES works with automatic transmission paddle shifters!
Finally, a steering wheel upgrade with great feel that does not require removal of the airbag! Upscale Euro-Hand Stitched. Cipher Auto steering wheels are designed with the best comfort, quality and styling in mind. Premium leather.
Enhancements:
Flat bottom
Real premium leather
Slightly thicker than stock ND wheel for better grip
Enhanced ergonomics
In Cipher Auto's words:
"Besides offering extraordinary sensation through the ergonomic technology, individual will also enjoy the superior comfort, holding power and visual satisfaction in every driving experience. Definitely, it will surpass what the OEM can offer in many folds."
Thickness Note: The previous 1st version of this Cipher wheel was slightly thicker than stock ND wheel, but the Fiat 124 comes with a steering wheel with slightly larger diameter than the ND, so the Cipher wheel was actually the same thickness as the Fiat's stock wheel. Many considered this to be not quite thick enough, so the new Version 2 adds more thickness for a more substantial improvement over both ND and Fiat 124 factory steering wheels.
INSTALLATION NOTES:
- We recommend applying a little grease to the splines of the new steering wheel before installing it on to the splines of the steering column. WD-40 works well.
- The splines on the aftermarket steering wheel will be tight going on to the splines. It does NOT just slide on easily by hand. Start by placing the wheel in position by hand and slowly rotating the wheel while putting light pressure on the wheel against the splines. You can feel when the splines line up and the steering wheel presses on a small amount, but the wheel will feel tight and will not push down onto the column very far. With the splines aligned, then install the nut that holds the wheel onto the column. Use a longer handled ratchet to tighten the nut (an extension may be needed to avoid contact with the outer portion of the wheel). As you tighten the nut, the wheel will move down onto the splines. It may feel stiff at the beginning, but after a few turns of the nut you can look at the back side of the wheel to confirm visually that it has moved down the splines.
- After installing a new steering wheel, you will likely need an alignment to bring the steering wheel back to perfectly center. This is because Mazda the spline position relative to the top/center of the wheel is not consistent from one wheel to another, so any time you change to a different steering wheel - even if you just got another factory steering wheel - the new wheel will probably have slightly different alignment than the last.
FIAT 124 INSTALLATION NOTE:
This wheel was first and foremost made for the ND MX5. Installation of this wheel in a Fiat 124 is all the same as on the ND, except that two of the plastic locating pins on the backside of the plastic airbag trim piece are placed differently than on the ND. For that reason, those two pins need to be removed for the Fiat's trim piece before the trim piece will install on the Cipher wheel. The trim piece is still held securely by the larger bottom pin and the two pins at the top, so removal of these two pins does not affect the fit or function of the trim piece once installed. The pins that must be removed are circled in red below:
WHEN REMOVING THE STEERING WHEEL:
If you need to remove the Cipher steering wheel for any reason after it has been installed, first try simply wiggling it as you pull - this is usually enough, especially if you greased the splines prior to install. If it's too tight, you may need to use a steering wheel puller tool (you can rent these from most auto parts stores). However, if you use a steering wheel puller, DO NOT place any of the hooks on the bottom spoke that is only connected to the center of the wheel by a thin section of metal as you risk breaking that spoke. Only place the puller's hooks on the upper area of the steering wheel's center hub where there is a solid and strong connection with the surrounding metal. Never use excessive force to try to remove the steering wheel.
These same notes apply as well to removing the factory steering wheel, but less critical because if you break the factory wheel you may not mind since you're replacing the wheel anyways - but you certainly do not want to damage your new Cipher steering wheel!
Picture of installed wheel below are of the previous 1st version steering wheel with grey stitching in our Fiat 124:
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TEAM RECOMMENDATIONS
Customer Reviews
Cipher Auto Enhanced Leather Steering Wheel for ND Miata & Fiat 124
Steering wheel is very high quality. I got the V2 which it is WAY BIGGER then stock. Took some getting use to, but overall a much needed improvement. Sliding the new wheel onto the shaft is a decent pain, but with a lot of effort it goes on. Take your time swapping everything over. 1-1.5 hr job
Whoa Nelly, this wheel is much thicker than it looks (and that's a good thing)! The wheel rim is oval shaped in profile: it appears narrow when facing it, but look at it from the side, and it is wiiiiide. This helps produce a more natural grip on the hands, greatly reducing fatigue on long drives. I was worried about all of the crazy sculpting and wild looking grip positions when buying this. It is one of those wheels, when looking at in pictures, you think "looks mean and rad, but it must play havoc on long drives." In reality, I've found it to be the opposite, pleasantly enough. It is one of the most comfortable wheels I've hung my meathooks upon in a long time.
This ranks high among the best improvements I've made to a car. Yes, its fun to bolt on go-fast parts, just as its fun to adhere looks-good parts. But this one, being the thing that connects your hands to the machine, dramatically changes how you interface with it. Its a strong recommend from me.
Ordered a new Cipher wheel for my Spider on a Monday. Tuesday it left Goodwin and by Friday it was in my hands. Crazy fast International shipping for $25. Got the wheel installed in about 1 hour start to finish being VERY careful removing the airbag and plastic switches. It's not difficult, just be patient and checkout the many youtube videos. Glad that Goodwin included the note to cut off a couple of tabs when installing on a Fiat. On the 124 the tabs for the bottom trim are in a slightly different location. ( off by a couple of mm from the mazda install). Nonetheless, everything mounted perfectly and is held snugly.
The feel and quality of the wheel is better than oem. It frames the gauges perfectly, and feels oh so good in my hands. 110% recommend this upgrade to everyone. Only downside is I feel like a bit of an idiot going out to my garage and sitting with my hands on the wheel while I wait for spring to arrive.
Excellent feel, but, I was a tad disappointed with the color at first - seemed a bit grayer than the rest of the black interior on my GT. Red stitching was pretty bright.
That all went away with about three coats of leather conditioner. The wheel has darkened nicely and the stitching has mellowed. Its a perfect match now.
Highly recommend!
Great fit, easy install, sharp looking upgrade. Priced right to consider an interior functional change.
I absolutely love the feel and look of the steering wheel. It has a nice grip for autocross or tracking, and feels more like a sports car steering wheel than the OEM.
Great wheel, glad I bought it. The increased thickness makes it much easier for me to grasp than the OEM wheel, plus the material feels better and looks nicer. I wish I had made this upgrade sooner!
Installation was fairly straightforward. Of the various videos available on YouTube, I found the Cipher one to be the best. Removal of the old wheel took a lot of wiggling and tugging, but just when I thought I was going to have to rent a puller it started to move. From there it was just a matter of following the video and taking my time transferring the trim pieces and switches and installing the new wheel.
Best of all, I lucked out as the wheel went on straight with no tie rod adjustments required to center it!
Extremely well designed and made wheel. Controls from o.e. wheel fit perfectly into place. For the price it cant be beat. Great upgrade over the o.e. wheel in feel and comfort.
The quality of the leather and carbon fiber were excellent - ¦the best I have seen in an aftermarket wheel. Quite often they don't fit well where the trim pieces attach but these looked like an OEM fit! The instructions were spot on and yes the wheel is very difficult to get tightened down in the splines, it took me several attempts to get the nut completely tight as I needed to ensure myself that I didn't have it seated incorrectly and also as stated Mazda does not use a keyed insert in the steering wheel so the splines are not in the same location thus the steering wheel was not straight. However it only took 1/2 turn in the tie rod ends to correct so no big issue. Not to mention the price point was about 1/2 of some of the other same type of wheels! All in all I am quite pleased with the steering wheel! Thanks Brian for another great product!!!
I bought the Cipher V2 w/ Red Stripe. It looks great. It feels great and it was easy to install. Be careful removing those switches they will break.
Thank you for instructions right down to getting the steering wheel re-centered.
Love this wheel! I first tried the leather stitching route. The stitching of cover on did not work out as expected and way too much trouble. I am so glad I was able to purchase this wheel and it was in stock. I did have to buy a cheap steering wheel puller for like $20 because I was one of those that couldn't just pull it off with my hands. It was easy as ever to do too. First day on track was a huge improvement feel and grip over the OEM steering wheel. It is like those thumb guides were purposely made to put my fingers in the exact location for the shifting flippers. Looks great too!
Installation is pretty simple, there are a few videos on youtube that I used as a guide. Most important thing is to take your time when removing the back plate, chrome, and buttons from the stock wheel. If you rush it, you risk snapping one of the plastic hooks. The back plate, chrome, and buttons are basically attached by plastic hooks being squeezed into the steering wheel's various rubber holes. Take your time, apply equal pressure and shimmy the plastic off carefully. Transferring those pieces and installing the new steering wheel is easy. This wheel looks and feels nice.
Awesome gorgeous well made and designed and engineered steering wheel. Installation went well. Wonderful to look at, have my hands on the wheel, drive the car with it. A dramatic improvement in every aspect!!
So much better than OEM. Very well made and looks great. Nice design and much improved feel for different driving positions.
Pretty straight forward installation with several good, instructional videos on YouTube. I do recommend using a size 4/4.5 Allen Key instead of a screwdriver when popping off the airbag housing (a little more surface area to get a bite on the spring levers). Take your time and follow the instructions and you will be very pleased. Well worth the money.
Nice looking wheel with better grip than the OEM wheel. Haven't installed it yet but it seems fairly straightforward. Excellent ordering process and shipping from Goodwin.
After attempting to fit the Cipher wheel for close to an hour, and using enough force to risk breaking other expensive parts, I was getting nowhere. I managed to push the wheel on enough that I could start to thread the 21mm steering wheel nut, about 2.5 turns. No further. Trying to tighten the nut to pull the wheel onto the splines resulted in stripping the nut. I got a new nut from Mazda and cleaned the threads on the shaft with a file.
I went for the dremel tool, with a sandpaper tip and began to slowly and delicately scrape the entrance of the Cipher wheel's splines. VERY DELICATELY and with enormous precision, like your dentist. Iâm talking about a MINUSCULE AMOUNT. Dust or single hair territory. As soon as I saw a shiny surface, I backed off. I knew removing too much material could ruin the wheel, so I was extremely careful here. I focused mainly on the initial 2mm of the wheel, and left the rest of the splines untouched to squeeze and grip. Wiped everything clean, added a drop of WD-40, and went in for the moment of truth.
Pushing the wheel on was still very difficult, but I kept gently pushing and lightly rotating the Cypher wheel -and it was working. Eventually the wheel âsettledâ, and the spindle was centered. Holy smokes! Another win!
Next, I rotated the 21mm nut until it was firmly against the Cypher wheel. Nut locked in about 4 turns. While 4 turns was better itâs still too risky for a repeat of above. So, back to pushing for another few minutes got me to six turns (or just shy). Finally! Game on!
Ok so, now Iâm seeing the possibility! The wheel is on -and firmly. Although slightly off alignment, Iâm NOT considering taking it off and realigning. Not a chance of that at this point. Iâll wait for a track alignment.
Moving on to the ratchet set, (21mm with extension) to finally complete the install. I slowly squeezed the wheel in by âpushingâ it into position by the very 21mm nut I was torquing. Plenty of bite this time. Gentle pressure! I didnât want a setback after all that messing around. Patience got it done, and the install completed.
And there you have it. A detailed breakdown of steps, cautions, mistakes, and experience of installing a Cipher wheel in a Mazda Miata ND3, when the fit is too tight to initially fit. I hope this is able to help others who admire Cipher wheels, and own an ND3 platform.
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