airbag steering wheel removal/retrofit

[PRJKTGRMN]

quick question since i seem to get conflicting information...

i'm wanting to swap out the ugly airbag wheel in my adopted '88 635csi that my friend owns. he wants to go with one of the older, 3 spoke setups in other E24s.

since the SRS system is inoperable on the car due to lack of service, there is no purpose in keeping it and there are much better looking options out there.

will the earlier M-tech wheels work on the '88-89 models or is it a different spline? i'm pretty sure i've seen '88-89 cars with the 3 spoke wheels in them on several occasions.

[mauryc]

Yes, however the airbag spline is longer so you will have issues lining up the blinker stalk - at least I did. Ended up mounting the m-tech wheel and did like the looks, however I had to manually turn off the blinker which drove me crazy. I opted to go back to the airbag wheel. I'm sure others here have had success that I couldn't find....
Maury

[M6ermike]

You first need to find a 'fine-spline' wheel -- earlier models have a 'coarse-spline'. I switched mine out for an M-Tech II Evo wheel (3-spoke) which does not have the airbag. Had to use a couple of spacers (big washers) in order to provide clearance for the stalks, but everything works fine including the self-cancelling on the blinker stalk. Note that when you do this, the SRS light on the check unit stays on -- it flashes for a minute or so, then becomes a steady light. Some folks choose to remove the bulb or clip the wiring, but I just ignore it -- after time, you don't notice it anymore.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=495259&d=1394194419

[PRJKTGRMN]

^^ thats actually the wheel he is considering going with.

so i'm glad to hear it could be done, i was pretty sure that it could. i already deactivated the SRS light a few years back since, so that bit is already taken care of.