Wants For ME Steering Wheel

[John]

Remember when C5 and for the first year of the C6, then Chief Engineer Dave Hill, one of the nicest people I have ever met, and who was instrumental in bringing us a 3,312 pound C6 Z06 because of his fanatical anti-weight campaign, said that there will be no controls on a steering wheel — for the steering wheel is solely to steer the car. He compromised on allowing cruise controls on the 2006’s, but only those control

Here is the only and the OEM steering wheel for the first year of the C6.


Picture thanks to MidAmerica Motorworks

My have times changes. Here is the latest Corvette wheel, from the 2019 ZR1.
Picture thanks to Motor Trend.



Most of us are predicting, based on the August comments of Zerv02, as recently rendered by FVS exactly following Zerv’s exact statements and Zerv's two month old sketch, that the ME’s wheel will be the opposite of what Dave Hill required.



https://www.midenginecorvetteforum.c...rior-rendering

We know for sure that we are not getting a typical rounded wheel.




What do you want or not want in your 2020+ ME’s steering wheel?

[VH1]

I'm liking the look of the flat top steering wheel, a la Formula style. Although it may take a bit of getting used to in tighter corners, transitioning to the flat part, but I don't see that as really impacting the driving experience much, if at all. It would be nice to have an option for a "sport" wheel without all the buttons, like Porsche offers.

[meyerweb]

Steering wheels, like almost everything else on cars, are as much a function of style and current trends as function. The flat top wheel is in, and "cool" because lots of race cars have it. But race cars (1) rarely require drivers to move their hands from the 9:00 and 3:00 o'clock positions when on the track. On the street, that's pretty common. And the flat top wheel is, in many cases, functional in a race car. In F1 cars, I'm not sure the drivers could see over a round top wheel.

Same with controls on the steering wheel. These started in racing, and the idea was to enable to driver to change settings without taking his or her hands off the wheel. A good thing when you're cornering at the limit with another car 6 inches away from you. Sometimes it's taken to extremes, though:



I think there's a balance to be had. Putting controls that are frequently used while in motion on the wheel makes sense, for the same reasons as in a race car. Not having to take your hands away from the wheel, and your eyes away from the road, enhances control and safety. But putting TOO MANY controls on the wheel defeats the purpose. If you have to look down at the wheel to figure out which button you want, you might as well have them on the dash or console.

Audio controls, cruise control, bluetooth telephone controls (let's face it, people are going to use their phones while driving: might as well make it as safe as possible). make sense. Maybe driving mode adjustments. But most other things probably don't need to be there. And I feel strongly that having too many buttons on the wheel is just distracting and confusing. But since racing cars, and exotic high performance cars have them, we're going to get them, too. It's as much about fashion as function. Here's a current Ferrari wheel:


Note that even the turn signal and wiper switches are buttons on the wheel. But even this one seems a model of simplicity compared to the Ford GT wheel FVS used in his render.

[John]

Not surprised that the Ferrari wheel is more efficient and better looking than the Ford GT’s.

[fvs]

I want this one...