wood steering wheels / ALU spokes ??

[typ901]

all;
as the result of a posting in the For Sale section i am prompted to learn a bit of trivia. i'm interested in knowing more about the wood steering wheel w/ ALU spokes / frame. when / where they were used etc. i have 3 stories;
1) the first X hundred cars got them until the factory realized that they transmitted too much road "noise" into the drivers hands.
2) steel was cheaper
3) they were fitted only to the '67S

any others?

cheers
jerry

[mike curnow]

I believe they started on the 904. They are probably half the weight of the steel version.I don't think they had anything in particular to do with the 67S.

[Flunder]

Hello Jerry,

I recall reading somewhere that the journalist reviewing the early 901 at Auto Motor und Sport wrote that the steering wheel felt improrerly weighted and mis-matched to the chassis dynamics of the car. This approximates your point number 1.

Porsche soon thereafter introduced the heavier steel framed VDM 417mm version to improve feel.

ps: alu framed steering wheels were never factory installed on 67S, as factory use ended long beforehand, somewhere in the midst of MY 1965 production.

[jhora]

Jerry...
I have found the aluminum ones on early 911 and 912....the 911 were 65/66

[911quest]

The aluminum ones also seem to flex more and become damaged. It could have been a running change due to customer complaints.

[66S]

The aluminum wheels flex too easily resulting in cracked wood, please dont ask me how I know this

[mike curnow]

So a 1964,65,66 911 isn't origional without an aluminum/ wood wheel?