Just had the round wheel installed. For some reason drama always finds me.
The tech first disconnected the 12V battery before proceeding. Don't see why that's necessary but sure (more on that a bit). The physical process of removing the yoke and replacing it w/ the round steering only took 5 mins. Initially the blinker buttons on the left side do not light up, but after another 20 mins or so of firmware update by the tech, the blinker display lights are now functional. All done, right? Wrong! As the tech was about to leave, I suddenly realized I couldn't close the frunk!
You see, I have EVOffer powerfrunk installed. It's a great product and I use it all the time, especially for takeouts. But somehow through the 12v unplugging/plugging process, it now has the lock/unlock states reversed. And those aftermarket liftarms are very stiff, very hard to push down - the hood was bending and the arms still won't budge. Great, I can't even drive this thing at all now...
Eventually we decided to plug/unplug the 12v one more time, and as it starts up he helped me hold down and close the frunk. Everything worked after that. //phew
Moral of the story? If you have anything attached to the 12V (powerfrunk, radar, etc.), you might want to consider to ask the tech not to unplug the 12V, just to be on the safe side.
Anyhow, I took a quick trip right after. Here are my first impressions:
1. First of all, I know it feels like there's a little bit of play on the new airbag and hence some speculated the potential for a center horn - but hate to disappoint - it's exactly the same as before. The old airbag always had a little bit of play too just like that.
2. The wheel obscured the display more than I thought it would. I didn't think it would bother me but I suppose I am not used to it yet. Not a biggie.
3. Holding the steering wheel while driving straight actually feels less natural than holding the yoke - maybe it has something to do w/ 2. above?
4. Turning feels soooo much more natural now w/ the round steering. It only took a few turns for me to realize that I made the right decision. Yeah, previously I've always had this fear of the yoke slipping out of my hand as I was turning, and even though that never actually happened, it always bothered me subconsciously. I can put that fear to rest now.
Here's a picture. I also installed a couple of epoxy dots on the headlight/horn buttons, just like how I had it w/ the yoke.