Put a wheelskin on my steering wheel.

[Racerhoze]

For those of us with the early e34s, we find ourselves with very few options for replacement steering wheels. So I decided this would be an inexpensive way to improve my existing steering wheel. The existing leather was deteriorating in my hand when I was driving. It took a while to sew on, but I think it looks pretty good. Oh and I also got door handle gaskets too, those were more of a PITA than I expected as well.

[Racerhoze]

The picture of the pieces is what was left of my old door handle gasket, here is the new one...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Racerhoze/IMG_2841Small.jpg

[wastedincome]

How bad is it to do the gaskets?? I know I should do mine too

[r1101r]

my car had the wheelskin but i removed it... you dont feel the car with it

[Racerhoze]

How bad is it to do the gaskets?? I know I should do mine too

It is just difficult fitting the gasket to the handle, then using a hairdryer to heat them up so you can slide the clip to reattach them to the car. These are the ebay ones, not the ones from the dealer.


my car had the wheelskin but i removed it... you dont feel the car with it

How is that? It is a part of the steering wheel. It isn't like one of those autozone wheel covers that slides around. I don't know how much you can really feel the car with recirculating ball steering anyway. :dunno

[moroza]

Looks surprisingly good. But...E30 wheels fit early E34's, why didn't you just get an Mtech 1 if you're on a budget, or the overpriced but awesome E30 370mm (the smaller one) MTech 2 wheel?

[Racerhoze]

Looks surprisingly good. But...E30 wheels fit early E34's, why didn't you just get an Mtech 1 if you're on a budget, or the overpriced but awesome E30 370mm (the smaller one) MTech 2 wheel?

Meh, I don't really like the looks of the mtech 1 or the mtech 2. (OMGZ the world is going to implode) And I got this as a gift, so why not? Plus, in the distant future, I would love to swap in a rack to this car, so that would probably come with getting a new steering wheel anyway.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

my car had the wheelskin but i removed it... you dont feel the car with it

Must be the "Condom Theory":D

I have a Wheelskin on my 525, and I like the added thinkness to the wheel, it's fits my big hands better for a more natural grip.

[shogun]

How bad is it to do the gaskets?? I know I should do mine too

here are the instructions
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1055252&highlight=outer+door+handle+gaskets
you can buy them from me. I buy them in bulk, same like the Ebay ones.

[Sixdown]

They're pretty easy to put on as long as you make sure to put the edges perfectly around the door handle. A hairdryer will allow some expansion so they fit perfectly.

[ross1]

I've used them on several cars, and while they are a bloody(literally) pain to get stitched up tight they are great.
Can't feel the car?? I've found them to improve the feel on thin steering wheels.

[cdnalpina]

My 2 cents on the door gaskets - buy OEM ones.

I have replaced 3 sets on my various cars and the Ebay ones are a biatch to install as they just do not seem to fit quite right. One of my door handle surrounds actually popped off and got driven over (grr) so I had to order a new one from my dealer - came with the gasket and the install was a breeze.

Maybe I just had some bad batches of them or something but go forward it is not worth the aggrivation for me to buy the cheaper ones...

[robisconfusedd]

Must be the "Condom Theory":D

I have a Wheelskin on my 525, and I like the added thinkness to the wheel, it's fits my big hands better for a more natural grip.

Yeah I agree, wheelskin = ftw. Feels better in the hands with it being thicker, I don't think it changed the feel at all for me....

and looks nice dude!!!!!