Nissan Boss Kit Buying Guide: Matching a Hub to Your Model

Nissan's steering column design has changed a lot across three decades of Silvias, Skylines, and Z cars, so the boss kit that suits your mate's R33 is not always the one that suits yours. This guide walks through what to check on your specific model before you buy, which hub range fits it, and what the law actually says about running one.

If you have already picked a hub and want the full install walkthrough, splines, PCD, torque specs, and the step by step fit, see our Boss Kit fitment guide.

Featured in this guide

NRG Short Hub, Nissan Silvia S14/S15 and Skyline R33/R34

Standard hub or short hub

Before you look at any specific model, decide what you are building for.

Standard hub: bolts a 6 bolt wheel straight to your column. Keeps horn and indicator function in most cases. This is the right choice for a street car or a track car that still needs working indicators.

Short hub with quick release: removes bulk and weight, and is built to pair with an NRG Quick Release. Several short hubs in the Nissan range drop the horn and indicator wiring entirely, so check the individual product notes below. These are motorsport and off road use only, not for a car you plan to indicate on the way to the track, and not legal to run in place of your factory airbag setup on the street.

Model by model: which hub fits your Nissan

The HICAS warning, do not skip this

If your Skyline or 300ZX has HICAS (rear wheel steering), the RACE SHORT quick release hub (SRK-RL140H) will not work. This is a hard compatibility limit, not a fitment inconvenience, so confirm whether your car has HICAS before you order. If you are not sure, check your rear subframe for the HICAS actuator, or contact us before purchase.

Is it legal to run a boss kit in Australia?

Fitting a boss kit is fine. Using one to remove or bypass safety equipment your car was built with, most importantly the airbag and its wiring, is not. That distinction is the whole issue, and it is why you will see us describe certain hubs, like the RACE SHORT quick release below, as motorsport and off road use only rather than road legal. Doing it anyway risks fines, and can leave your insurer refusing to pay out if something goes wrong.

The reason sits in the Australian Design Rules, the national standards your car was certified against when it was built. ADR 10 covers the steering column specifically, and exists to reduce the risk of crushing or penetrating injury to the driver in a frontal impact. Once your car is on the road, state and territory law generally expects it to keep meeting the ADRs it was built to, or something later. 

None of this means a boss kit is off limits for a road car, quite the opposite. A hub that is correctly rated for your model and keeps the airbag system intact is a completely normal, legal fitment. The line is drawn at removing or bypassing what came from the factory. If you are not sure whether your Nissan's airbag steering wheel stays intact with a particular hub, ask us before you buy rather than guessing.

Horn and indicators: what you keep, what you lose

This trips people up more than any other part of the Nissan range, and it ties directly back to the legality point above. The standard boss kits (Bluebird, Pulsar Exa once resolved) keep your factory horn and indicator function, same as any bolt in hub. The RACE SHORT hub removes the 6 bolt pattern along with the horn and signal wiring altogether, built purely for a race steering wheel and quick release on a car that is not driven on public roads. The mid range short hubs (SRK-145H, SRK-140H, SRK-141H) sit in between: they retain horn and indicator function in most applications, with resistors included where your car needs them.

If you daily drive the car or take it on the street at all, a hub that removes indicators and horn function is the wrong choice, regardless of how much lighter it is, and regardless of whether it is legal to physically fit.

Quick reference: what you need before you order

• Confirm your chassis code, not just the model name (R32 vs R33 vs R34 changes which hub fits)
• Check for HICAS if you have a Skyline or 300ZX
• Decide standard bolt on versus quick release before you compare price
• Confirm whether you need working horn and indicators for road use
• Confirm the hub you are looking at is road legal if the car is driven on public roads

Nissan Boss Kit FAQs

Can I use a quick release hub on a road registered Nissan? 

The quick release only hubs in this range are built for motorsport and off road use, and several of them remove horn, indicator, and airbag related wiring entirely. Running one on a road registered car in place of factory safety equipment is not legal. Check the specific product notes for your model before fitting one to a road car.

Is it legal to remove my airbag to fit a boss kit? 

No. Removing or bypassing factory safety equipment, including airbags, is against the rules for any vehicle used on Australian roads and can void your insurance. A correctly rated boss kit that keeps your airbag and safety systems intact is a normal, legal fitment.

Why does my Skyline need a different hub to my mate's Skyline? 

Nissan changed column architecture across the R32, R33, and R34 generations, and HICAS equipped cars have an added compatibility limit. Always match by chassis code, not just the model name.

What if my model is not listed here?

Contact us with your model and year and we will confirm the correct hub before you buy.