Yahoo Autos This Custom C8 Corvette Z06 Yoke Is a Terrible Idea
If you have a C8-generation Corvette Z06, your car is already pretty close to perfect. That has not stopped the car community from modifying them, of course. One particular modification actually undercuts the usefulness of the car.
That would be a yoke-shaped steering wheel, like the one YouTuber Street Speed 717 chose to put on his car. While the question of whether or not the wheel looks cool is subjective, that is the only real justification for a mod that otherwise makes the car worse.
The recent trend of yoke conversions is inspired by Tesla's move to put the oddly-shaped steering device on the Model S and Model Y. That choice proved to make the car worse for actually driving for only an aesthetic benefit, so Tesla started to offer round steering wheels again in January. In April, the yoke became an optional extra instead. Tesla may have pivoted away, but builds like this show that the trend has not been killed just yet. That comes with a few issues.
While race cars have used yoke-like steering wheels for decades, those wheels are generally hooked up to a steering box designed for a smaller area of input. The grip-only wheel allows for more precise movements in those situations, but a road car with a typical steering box will often need a full steering lock that requires a hand-over-hand maneuver. On the wheel used in this Corvette, catching the yoke during such a maneuver would require some degree of dumb luck.
The choice is made all the more strange on a C8 Corvette, a car that already features an oblong steering wheel. That provides the same theoretical benefit of a yoke, a better grip for fine adjustments in standard movements, while also offering an opportunity to make hand-over-hand maneuvers if necessary. A wheel of any other shape with complete ends still gives a driver something to grab onto in those situations, greatly increasing usefulness. This is even true in race cars, as Colton Herta showcased during last year's Indianapolis Grand Prix; in an emergency situation where Herta needed more steering lock than he could grab with a typical grip, he uses the edge of his racing wheel to catch a slide and moves his hands again to get back into his standard position.
Via the Drive.
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