Hey, guys.
Joe from AmericanTrucks and today I'm going to be reviewing and installing the Ford Performance
Raptor Leather Steering Wheel Kit with the Red Sightline fitting all '15 and up F-150s.
Now, this is going to be great to make a huge upgrade to your interior with one of the OEM
Raptor pieces.
The steering wheel is a hugely underrated part of the interior of your truck and is
often overlooked by vehicle manufacturers but it's really the only thing you touch every
day.
So, upgrading your steering wheel can go a long way in terms of the driving experience
of your truck.
And this is going to be a huge improvement not only in the looks department but how it
feels in your hands as well.
We're ditching that rubber steering wheel with a plastic trim for some real leather
gray stitching in the insides and the red sightline up top as well some upgraded trim
in between the buttons here.
Another thing I really like about this wheel is it also comes pre-installed with the paddle
shifters and heated steering wheel options.
So, if your truck is equipped with those from the factory, you'll be able to plug those
right in and have functionality right off the bat.
Now, if your truck doesn't have those from the factory, there are ways to get it to work.
It's not going to be plug and play but for the wiring savvy, there are some diagrams
out there to allow you to custom wire those and get them to work just like factory.
Pricing for the steering wheel is going to be around 450 bucks.
Now while that does sound like a lot, again, for something that straight off the Raptor
and something you're going to touch and use every time you get in the truck it's definitely
well worth the money.
I'm gonna give it a one out of three wrenches on our difficulty meter and it should only
take you half an hour to get it installed.
Now just a heads up, this kit doesn't come with an airbag so we are going to be removing
and reusing the factory one.
So, with that being said, let me show you how to get this installed.
For this install you will need an impact, ratchet, small extension, 15/16 socket, 10-millimeter
socket, 3-millimeter Allen key, small flat head screwdriver, and a torque wrench.
So first thing's first, we have to cut power to the airbags so we can work on our truck
safely.
In order to do that, I'm gonna remove the negative terminal with a 10-millimeter socket.
And we're gonna let the truck sit for 10 to 15 minutes, let the power bleed out of it
and we should be able to work on it safely.
So, with all the power drained out of our truck, we can now start working on airbag
removal.
You're going to need a 3-millimeter Allen key and you're gonna go into this hole right
here behind the steering wheel about where the paddle shifters would be.
And you're looking for a spring clip in there to release the left side of the airbag.
And you can see it'll only pop out just a little bit, but you'll know when that side
is out.
And then you could do the same thing for the other side.
And we're loose.
So, with that released, that allows you access to the wiring harnesses in the back.
Now, these two right here are what connect your airbag, and in order to release those,
get a small flat head screwdriver, pry up on that orange clip and that will really fit
from the airbag.
And same thing for this clip over here as well.
And there's one more clip that's holding our airbag on, it's this red one right here.
And it's only on a little post in there, so to allow easier access, you can pull it right
off and that allows you to unclip that as well.
Before we put our airbag aside, I just wanted to show you guys exactly where that Allen
key was pressing on.
And as you can see, it's got a little channel on either side right here to press on this
spring clip.
And there's one more harness that needs disconnecting and it's this big gray one at the top.
In order to remove that you depress the tab and give it a wiggle and it should pop right
out.
So, with that out of the way, we can now take a 15/16 socket and a little extension and
remove the center nut holding on our steering wheel.
And with that off, the steering wheel should fall right off as well.
So, with our factory wheel off the truck, I just wanted to take a second to put it next
to our new Raptor wheel and point out some of the huge improvements.
Our old wheel was made out of rubber, you got some black plastic trim in between the
buttons here, we're ditching all of that.
And on our new Raptor wheel, we got some leather, we got some gray stitching on the inside and
a red slightline right up top.
We also ditch that black plastic trim for a gray trim that also has an improved texture
on it.
The thumb rest are also an improvement as well.
And the wheel feels a lot chunkier right around here.
That's something that's hard to convey over video, but it feels awesome in your hands,
a huge improvement over the stock one.
That leather is also perforated to keep your hands cool as well.
The paddle shifters give you a nice thud and the feedback feels good, you definitely know
when they're being pressed, all of which contribute to a sporty feel with the new Raptor wheel
and overall a giant improvement over factory.
So, without any further ado, let me show you how to get this on your truck.
And install is just going to be the reverse of the uninstall.
So, we're gonna start by feeding our airbag wires through, then we can sit this on our
clock spring.
And if you had heated steering wheel and paddle shifters, this plug would have a harness right
there to plug into.
So, with that out of the way, we secure it with the new nut, and this nut is included
brand new in the kit from Ford.
And that nut right in the middle gets torqued to 41 foot-pounds.
Next we could put our factory airbag back where it was, starting with the red clip on
the side.
And make sure that makes it back to the post.
And lastly, we could plug back in our airbag wires, making sure to go blue to blue and
yellow to yellow.
If everything's situated, making sure you're not pinching any wires, you can push your
airbag in, hear the spring click back into place.
And the last thing we have to do is attach our negative battery terminal and that is
gonna be it.
And that is gonna do it for my review and install of the for Ford Performance Raptor
Leather Steering Wheel Kit with the Red Sightline fitting all '15 and up F-150s.
Thank you for watching.
I'm Joe.
And for all things F-150, keep it right here at americantrucks.com.