So I now have the wheel installed and am loving it! For me, it's a very nice upgrade to something more modern looking.
Before:
After:
As I have previously posted, my total cost for the wheel, airbag, and new modified Mazda center emblem was under $160, compared to $400 - $800 for new FD wheels. I also have working cruise control which I don't believe is available on the FD wheels.
I want to thank Brent for his write up which was invaluable to the wheel install. We reused all of the old FD connectors to make the job easier. All connections are crimped and Raychem shrink wrapped. It did take us about 2 hours to complete the job. As we wanted to reuse the old FD connectors, this took some time to be careful so we didn't damage them. We then had a bit of an issue fitting in the FD connectors into the back of the Miata airbag. The FD connectors are pretty large and are positioned to the lower left of the FD wheel in a space that is not available on the Miata wheel. With a little cutting of the FD connectors (the parts not used by the Miata wheel) we did finally get it all to fit. I guess it might have been easier to cut the connectors off and just splice the wires together but I think we ended up with a nice OEM quality job.
Pic of Angel, Kilo worker, reading Brent's instructions:
Side-by-side comparison of the FD wheel on the left to the new Miata wheel on the right. The Miata wheel is smaller in diameter to the FD wheel and IMO feels much better when driving:
