Flat Bottomed Steering Wheel

[hej]

We see in this video, which I take to be an official Kia promo video (based on seeing the content copied around Youtube) claim there will be a "D-Cut available" for the steering wheel. I interpret this to refer to a flat bottomed steering wheel. To my knowledge, we haven't actually seen this anywhere yet. Do we have any indication of what this will look like?

Genuine OEM D-Cut Steering Wheel 3.3 GT Upgrade Kit For 2018 2019 Kia Stinger | eBay

 

[Kia Stinger]

A "d-cut" steering wheel definitely refers to a flat bottom. That's a nice option for sure! I wonder what other surprises we're going to learn about before long. Thanks for sharing this!

 

[app_master]

Nice. I think the GT will get it. Along with other interior niceties (e.g. top shelf audio, leather, bigger screen, dash screen, and a few other extra features, etc).
I like this one on from the pro'ceed, red stitching an all...

 

[Jenny Wang]

Oooh! That's pretty nice! But it sounds like it won't come with my non-GT Stinger. I wonder how much the option will cost. I'm not quite sure why I want it but I do.

 

[hej]

Oooh! That's pretty nice! But it sounds like it won't come with my non-GT Stinger. I wonder how much the option will cost. I'm not quite sure why I want it but I do.

It's possible that it's an option limited to the GT, but I so far that isn't a sure thing. My guess is that getting it won't add all that much to the price of the car. Common sense says getting the D cut wheel doesn't require any other hardware changes, so worst case you could probably have one put on by the dealership if you really really want it.

 

[ballistic]

sign me up for sure! damn, that's a nice steering wheel in the pro'ceed!

 

[Larry Denen]

Looks pretty cool but not necessary for me. I can take it or leave it. But I do see this shape becoming a trend with high end luxury cars that lean toward sportiness. It's a cool look but I'm not sure how functional it is. I'm not sure if the flat bottom serves any purpose other than aesthetics.

 

[BahamaTodd]

Flat bottom wheels are used in race cars to give more room for easier entry and exit. Its just for looks on most street cars. I don't like them. They're fine on racecars because you never touch the bottom of the wheel. On the street it makes any steering input greater than a full wheel rotation less fluid IMO.

 

[hereward]

Substituting a steering wheel is not a simple bolt-off bolt-on exercise. There is much involved with the airbag electronics, etc.

 

[jburns]

Flat bottom wheels are used in race cars to give more room for easier entry and exit. Its just for looks on most street cars..

I never had a flat bottom steering wheel but room for easier entry and exit gets a bit more important as you get older. I'm spoiled now because when I shut down my K900 the seat automatically slides all the way back and the steering wheel goes up and forward. This old man appreciates the extra room. It is one of those features you never missed or needed until you got a car that had it. I've had a lot of those over the years. Hell, I'm so old I remember saying, "Power windows? Who's too lazy to roll a window up and down."

 

[Kia Stinger]

Flat bottom wheels are used in race cars to give more room for easier entry and exit. Its just for looks on most street cars. I don't like them. They're fine on racecars because you never touch the bottom of the wheel. On the street it makes any steering input greater than a full wheel rotation less fluid IMO.

I didn't know that (about race cars) but it makes sense. And it does make less sense on a street car but it does look nice. I wonder how I'd feel about "the feel" of it while spinning the steering wheel while parking or making a u-turn...

I never had a flat bottom steering wheel but room for easier entry and exit gets a bit more important as you get older. I'm spoiled now because when I shut down my K900 the seat automatically slides all the way back and the steering wheel goes up and forward. This old man appreciates the extra room. It is one of those features you never missed or needed until you got a car that had it. I've had a lot of those over the years. Hell, I'm so old I remember saying, "Power windows? Who's too lazy to roll a window up and down."

Haha. I remember when only Lincolns and Cadillacs had power windows. How about that little triangle window cars used to have? Otherwise, I can see how a flat bottomed steering wheel could/would make entry and exit easier in a car without those seats like your K900 has...

 

[jburns]

I didn't know that (about race cars) but it makes sense. And it does make less sense on a street car but it does look nice. I wonder how I'd feel about "the feel" of it while spinning the steering wheel while parking or making a u-turn...



Haha. I remember when only Lincolns and Cadillacs had power windows. How about that little triangle window cars used to have? Otherwise, I can see how a flat bottomed steering wheel could/would make entry and exit easier in a car without those seats like your K900 has...

Ah yes, the vent window. Nice to have back in the days when almost everyone smoked. Pop that sucker open at 60 mph and the resulting wind tunnel sucked all the smoke out in about 10 seconds.

We also had manual vents back in the day. You could slide a lever down on the dashboard to open flaps in the firewall. When I was in college I would sometimes have a carload of friends on the way to a ball game. I'd get up to about 90 and throw the levers open and everyone's ears would clog up from the change in air pressure. I learned some new words doing that.

 

[Kia Stinger]

Ah yes, the vent window. Nice to have back in the days when almost everyone smoked. Pop that sucker open at 60 mph and the resulting wind tunnel sucked all the smoke out in about 10 seconds.

We also had manual vents back in the day. You could slide a lever down on the dashboard to open flaps in the firewall. When I was in college I would sometimes have a carload of friends on the way to a ball game. I'd get up to about 90 and throw the levers open and everyone's ears would clog up from the change in air pressure. I learned some new words doing that.

Sounds like the good ole days. Yeah, I remember those vents as well. My first car was a 1970 Chevy Nova. Not ALL that old - but compared to these days...

 

[unintelligible]

The Stinger that was brought to the Geneva show has the flat bottom (D-cut) wheel. Looks great!

 

[Kia Stinger]

The Stinger that was brought to the Geneva show has the flat bottom (D-cut) wheel. Looks great!

It does look pretty cool. And I'm glad to see the cup holders have a cover in these newer photos!

 

[lostnspace]

It's the simple things in life and flat bottom steering wheel and the cover for the cup holder are great additions!!

I wonder if this flat bottom will be in the vein of an Audi or Mercedes. Currently Audi does not offer a heated flat bottom steering wheel, whereas if I am not mistaken, Mercedes does. I'd rather have a heated flat bottom steering wheel, but if its not heated, definitely not a deal breaker.

 

[Brian Keenan]

It's the simple things in life and flat bottom steering wheel and the cover for the cup holder are great additions!!

I wonder if this flat bottom will be in the vein of an Audi or Mercedes. Currently Audi does not offer a heated flat bottom steering wheel, whereas if I am not mistaken, Mercedes does. I'd rather have a heated flat bottom steering wheel, but if its not heated, definitely not a deal breaker.

I'm pretty sure the regular steering wheel is heated. I'd find it strange if they couldn't/wouldn't do the same for the flat bottomed steering wheel. But I wouldn't be all that surprised considering Hyundai introduced the first Genesis sedan with only one cooled seat for the drive. They do weird things like that sometimes.

 

[Bamm1]

It's the simple things in life and flat bottom steering wheel and the cover for the cup holder are great additions!!

I wonder if this flat bottom will be in the vein of an Audi or Mercedes. Currently Audi does not offer a heated flat bottom steering wheel, whereas if I am not mistaken, Mercedes does. I'd rather have a heated flat bottom steering wheel, but if its not heated, definitely not a deal breaker.

The flat bottom steering wheel used in the Kia Optima (ex. SXL trim) is heated. So there is not reason to believe it won't be on the Stinger.

 

[lostnspace]

The flat bottom steering wheel used in the Kia Optima (ex. SXL trim) is heated. So there is not reason to believe it won't be on the Stinger.

Awesome, thanks for pointing that out! I really like the look of the flat bottom steering wheel.

 

[Brian Keenan]

The flat bottom steering wheel used in the Kia Optima (ex. SXL trim) is heated. So there is not reason to believe it won't be on the Stinger.

Thank you! I hate driving with gloves when I'm up north in winter so I'm glad to hear this.