Soldato
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Just knit thee sen a pair of wooly gloves. Problem solved.
Heated steering wheels - how important in UK?
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Soldato
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I dont know about you, but every steering wheel i have used recently has padding and is covered in leather.
Saying a heated steering wheel makes more sense than heated seats is a bizarre comment
It literally sucks the heats out of hands on a cold day - newer cars are worse with the metal rim rather than older plastic ones. Yet I have clothes on my body.
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It is a great feature, as good as heated seats, have even used it this week as the weather is so crap.- but I wouldn't pay more than £100 a year for it.
A neighbour of my in laws has a heated wheel on his car, he lives in Cyprus!
Never in my years of early starts in freezing conditions be it car or truck have I ever had a yearning for a heated wheel.
Windscreen, yes, Seats ,yes, mirrors ,yes.
Wheel? MTFU!
Never in my years of early starts in freezing conditions be it car or truck have I ever had a yearning for a heated wheel.
Windscreen, yes, Seats ,yes, mirrors ,yes.
Wheel? MTFU!
Probably depends a bit on the temperature. When the car has been outside in -30 all night the wheel takes a long time to heat up, moreso than the air around you. I'll definitely be looking for heated steering in our next car as driving with ski gloves is a bit annoying!
Whether it's worth it in the UK...? Probably not so much!Its the typical one where people that have or had a heated steering wheel love having it and people that dont or never had a heated steering wheel dont see the point. The same discussion happened ages ago about air con, its the I dont have it so theres no point to it syndrome.
Soldato
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Not so much, in my experience. Not unless your wheel is bare metal? Generally I find the wheel insulated enough that the inside of my hands can start sweating before the backs have fully warmed in the heater airflow.
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There's your answer!
Did you miss the part where he lives in Canada and it's minus 30? haha
Soldato
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That did not escape my attention, no... Having ridden an unfaired motorcycle in minus double-digit temperatures (it seemed like a good idea at the time), as well as driven a car in them, I felt reasonably up to the task of answering said remark.
I'll be the exception to the rule; I've never had a heated steering wheel, but I do see the point and would like one.
I'm also with @Jonnycoupe - if I had to make the choice, I think I'd prefer a heated wheel to heated seats (which I do have). A cold seat heats up quite quickly once I'm sat on it, and I'm usually wearing thick jeans anyway. Whereas a cold wheel which has been sitting in the cold for several hours can take an age to warm up and be very uncomfortable to drive with. I can wear gloves, but it's hard to find a pair of gloves which are thick enough to be warm while also being thin enough to retain some dexterity, and which also have enough grip to drive with. And I refuse to buy a dedicated pair of driving gloves, because Alan Partridge
That said, in the UK, neither are absolutely essential, but nice-to-haves, in my view.
My wheels are the typical steering wheel material. That doesnt solve the issue of requiring a significant amount of evergy to heat up and conduction of heat being faster than convection and radiation.
We're talking about steering wheels here that even with ski gloves on you have to alternate hands to keep them warm enough until the wheel heats up. Thats the issue I'm talking about and why I'm not sure it's worth it when it's not that cold.
If you can speed up that process (and then turn the heating off) the more the better!As an aside I hate heated seats, we have them and I never have them on because they make it too warm and I don't see the need, but then they are fabric and lots of air, not a thin material wrapping a metal core.
Edit: and I'm not sure how riding a motorcycle is relevant. In a car warm air is contained, whereas on a bike the air around you will not warm up so the only heat you're getting is from the handle.
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Soldato
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It's also about how quickly your body responds to that heat. My hands are usually very warm, which is why I can end up with palms sweating from the heat while the rest of my hands are still painfully cold.
Personal preferences and tolerances, I'd guess, then. Same for when you get into a baking car and the wheel is too hot to grip. Either way, I wouldn't expect such temperatures to happen often enough in the UK to justify a heated wheel.We're talking about steering wheels here that even with ski gloves on you have to alternate hands to keep them warm enough until the wheel heats up. Thats the issue I'm talking about and why I'm not sure it's worth it when it's not that cold.
See, I prefer them because the seat heats my core, which in turn warms my extremities better than direct heat to my hands. Never found feet heaters of any use, either.
In the case of heated grips on a bike, no matter how hot the grips get (and you can easily burn your hands on them) they never seem to keep the actual cold out, whereas I find the heated gloves warming the back of the hands (in the same way a car heater does) give a far better result. Best of all is a heated waistcoat, again because it heats your core, like the heated seats.
Can't see pic, no idea what that is, but I assume it's hilarious?
IMG
I suggest you go to your freezer and grab an ice pop, then close your hand around it. That's the sort of cold we're talking about here, not just "my fingers are a little chilly".*
A warm core in that instance does nothing. It's the same reason you have an issue with the heated grips on your bike. Flesh is a great insulator so the heat from the grips warms up by conduction that specific area, but nothing else.
I agree with you regarding sweaty, it's one of the reasons I don't like heated seats, and why I'd probably turn the steering wheel off after it's warmed up at the beginning of the trip.
*and that's only -18 and will melt quickly meaning the amount of energy to warm it up is going to be significantly less than a steering wheel.
A warm core in that instance does nothing. It's the same reason you have an issue with the heated grips on your bike. Flesh is a great insulator so the heat from the grips warms up by conduction that specific area, but nothing else.
I agree with you regarding sweaty, it's one of the reasons I don't like heated seats, and why I'd probably turn the steering wheel off after it's warmed up at the beginning of the trip.
*and that's only -18 and will melt quickly meaning the amount of energy to warm it up is going to be significantly less than a steering wheel.
My new car has a metal gearstick knob. Drove it when the weather was cold the other week and it was freezing. #firstworldproblems.
I'd not say no to a heated steering wheel to go with all the other heated things (heated seats are awesome, going to miss them come winter...), but not sure I'd pay a big premium for it...
I'd not say no to a heated steering wheel to go with all the other heated things (heated seats are awesome, going to miss them come winter...), but not sure I'd pay a big premium for it...