Custom steering wheel

[hydrocrust]

Thanks, tried two more times. No response from that vendor. I found someone in the US interested in a sale. FYI, my 2002 has the Mtec wheel, same as older models, but with dual stage bag. US vendor indicated they can provide custom wheel adapted for dual stage: thicker rim, flat bottom, thumb notches, M-color stitching. May go that way. Too mad about the vendor above. Prices and products look good, but no response does not inspire confidence.

[Watch Carefully]

I've contacted the seller the OP linked to, and will let you know if/when I hear back. I'm interested in one of these for my '97 2.8 roadster. EDIT: in the time it took me to post this message, the seller got back to me already!

@nthor71783 , you mentioned it is larger in diameter than stock...is that accurate? I am looking for a smaller wheel diameter, but thicker rim.

[hydrocrust]

Maybe I got no response because of the need for dual stage airbag. The OP vendor has a lot of nice single stage options...

[Watch Carefully]

Maybe I got no response because of the need for dual stage airbag. The OP vendor has a lot of nice single stage options...

What method of communication are you using?
I've now had six or seven helpful replies from the seller, using eBay messages (with one of his item listings as the starting point), some within several minutes of me sending a query. He even steered me away from a wheel I made an offer on--because it was a non-airbag model, which I had not realized.
I ordered a flat-bottom single-stage wheel today.

[nthor71783]

I've contacted the seller the OP linked to, and will let you know if/when I hear back. I'm interested in one of these for my '97 2.8 roadster. EDIT: in the time it took me to post this message, the seller got back to me already!

@nthor71783 , you mentioned it is larger in diameter than stock...is that accurate? I am looking for a smaller wheel diameter, but thicker rim.

I would say that the euro whee,l if stock, would be very similar in size to the stock 4 spoke wheel. Though this wheel is considerably thicker than stock it overall is slightly larger

- - - Updated - - -

What method of communication are you using?
I've now had six or seven helpful replies from the seller, using eBay messages (with one of his item listings as the starting point), some within several minutes of me sending a query. He even steered me away from a wheel I made an offer on--because it was a non-airbag model, which I had not realized.
I ordered a flat-bottom single-stage wheel today.

I'm sure you will love the wheel. The craftsmanship is top noch! Just be patient with the shipping time. It took about 3 weeks to receive the wheel and due to BS with the airbag going through customs it took 2 months unfortunately.

[Watch Carefully]

I'm sure you will love the wheel. The craftsmanship is top noch! Just be patient with the shipping time. It took about 3 weeks to receive the wheel and due to BS with the airbag going through customs it took 2 months unfortunately.

The airbag arrived this week, and I am tracking the wheel via the shipper.
I guess I'm happy that the airbag is already here, so I'm not frustrated by waiting for it when the wheel arrives.
Unfortunately, I am home a grand total of 4 days between now and the end of August (vacation, business trips and taking daughter to college), so it is likely to be September before I install the new wheel.

[KBH22102]

Ordered mine yesterday. Hopefully it will be here before the fall driving season ends.

[raubritter]

But this wheel is the same size (or larger) diameter as the stock wheel, right? Are there any aftermarket options for a smaller diameter wheel that keeps the dual-stage airbag?

[hydrocrust]

Hi, All, found another vendor who answered emails, arranged for a custom wheel to replace the sport wheel in my 2002 Z3 coupe. Below is a photo of the original sport wheel, was modified by the original owner. He did custom leather for the full interior, seats, trim pieces, arm rests, and the triangles on sides of the wheel, all in light gray. Nice quality on the leather and install, but original sport wheel was a bit thin and hard, did not feel great for longer road trips. I went with a thicker wheel with thumb notches, padding, flat bottom, tri-color stitching, all black. Please see second and third photos below. [Hmmm, first photo became rotated on upload, not sure why...]

The install was pretty easy, following instructions here and on other bimmerforums threads. Some extra info:
- The plug under the air bag was clipped to the back of airbag, easiest to remove it from clips, then separate plug.
- Used 16 mm socket on long ratchet to remove main bolt on wheel, came off with minimal fuss.
- Had to move slip ring assembly from old wheel to new wheel, perfect fit. That required small Torx driver...I think T-5. Put old airbag on new wheel, no problem, slipped right in.

Total time for the swap was about 75 minutes, and I was moving slowly, checking photos on posts, etc.
Thanks for the advice. Andy
SportWheel.jpgNewWheel1-Small.jpgNewWheel2-Small.jpg

[TonyLieske]

New wheel looks great!

[TexaZ3]

I'm keeping the stocker on the MC for now, but for my E36M3 I got an alcantara wrapped wheel from Cobywheel. New wheel changes the character of the car!


I went with black alcantara, tri-color M-stitch, and Dakar (to match the car) 12 O'clock 1/2 inch stripe. Overall, the wheel looks great:





Couple of words about Cobywheel quality of work - the wrap is very nice, if I didn't know it was re-wrapped, I'd say its a factory job. Though, on the closer inspection, couple of things stood out - the red thread is slightly different shade than OEM, and stitch itself is tiny bit bigger than stock. No big deal really, but wanted to mention. Overall, high quality work.











I really do like the look so far. The wheels is tiny bit fatter than the original (the thickness of the alcantara material, I did not add any extra padding), and feels perfect in your hands. Since I kept the original wheel, I can always swap back, I guess. So overall, pretty happy.

[Watch Carefully]

This arrived while I was on vacation.

I'm excited to see it in situ, and take away the bulbous OEM design, putting a less massive item in its place.



Plus, I hope the flat bottom will make it easier to slide in and out of the driver's seat (I like that feature of my Golf R).
Updates soon...

[raubritter]

Maybe I got no response because of the need for dual stage airbag. The OP vendor has a lot of nice single stage options...

I emailed andri-zakus asking if one of his wheels (that looks like my 2002 wheel with the big dual-stage airbag) would be compatible with a dual-stage airbag (he has it listed as for single-stage airbag) and he replied 'it will fit'.

I asked about this one just to see if it's possible (I don't like the alcantara anyway):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E36-Z3-M3-E38-E39-Sport-steering-wheel-MTech-M-technik-single-stage-airbag/113828571349

He has a few others that look like the dual-stage so it might be possible they would work.


Hydrocrust: do you mind providing a link to the place you got yours from? I like the idea of being able to custom-order one...

[s8ilver]

I emailed andri-zakus asking if one of his wheels (that looks like my 2002 wheel with the big dual-stage airbag) would be compatible with a dual-stage airbag (he has it listed as for single-stage airbag) and he replied 'it will fit'.

I asked about this one just to see if it's possible (I don't like the alcantara anyway):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E36-Z3-M3-E38-E39-Sport-steering-wheel-MTech-M-technik-single-stage-airbag/113828571349

He has a few others that look like the dual-stage so it might be possible they would work.


Hydrocrust: do you mind providing a link to the place you got yours from? I like the idea of being able to custom-order one...

I bought mine from the seller you linked. He swapped stitching color (beige) to match my interior, so I'm pretty sure he does custom as well.

[nthor71783]

This arrived while I was on vacation.

I'm excited to see it in situ, and take away the bulbous OEM design, putting a less massive item in its place.



Plus, I hope the flat bottom will make it easier to slide in and out of the driver's seat (I like that feature of my Golf R).
Updates soon...

You're really going to be glad you got this wheel. Brings a whole new driving experience to the car. It does take a little bit of getting use to the new shape but after a few drives you'll absolutely love the feeling.

[Watch Carefully]

You're really going to be glad you got this wheel. Brings a whole new driving experience to the car. It does take a little bit of getting use to the new shape but after a few drives you'll absolutely love the feeling.

Thanks for the initial tip!

[raubritter]

watch carefully: the wheel looks great! But what is under the layer of perforated leather? I like the idea, but what happens if sweat builds up in those holes? Or are they really just dents, not actual holes?

[Watch Carefully]

watch carefully: the wheel looks great! But what is under the layer of perforated leather? I like the idea, but what happens if sweat builds up in those holes? Or are they really just dents, not actual holes?

Good questions. I would ask @nthor71783 to provide his experiences with it. He has already installed a very similar wheel.
I'm not at home now, but my impression is that it is perforated.

[nthor71783]

watch carefully: the wheel looks great! But what is under the layer of perforated leather? I like the idea, but what happens if sweat builds up in those holes? Or are they really just dents, not actual holes?

If your hands are sweating so bad you that is it saturates your steering wheel you may want to see a doctor. Under the leather I'm sure is just the rubber mold for the wheel. I don't know for a 100% but the leather looks like its actually perforated not just a dent. I've driven about 2000 miles with this wheel and have never had hands so sweaty that it is noticeable.

[Watch Carefully]

Thanks @nthor71783

I've looked over my Chilton manual and a couple YouTube videos (of varying degrees of quality and usefulness) and it seems this is a straightforward installation. I swapped non-airbag wheels a couple times on my old Benz, so am familiar with the practice in a lower-tech context.
Is it truly this simple?:

Disconnect negative terminal
Unscrew airbag from behind via 2 Torx bolts
Disconnect horn/airbag wires via clips
Remove old wheel via central nut

Installation is the reverse of removal.

Sounds like a 15-minute job, if I have the right tools and can get them into position without removing something else.

[s8ilver]

Thanks @nthor71783

I've looked over my Chilton manual and a couple YouTube videos (of varying degrees of quality and usefulness) and it seems this is a straightforward installation. I swapped non-airbag wheels a couple times on my old Benz, so am familiar with the practice in a lower-tech context.
Is it truly this simple?:

Disconnect negative terminal
Unscrew airbag from behind via 2 Torx bolts
Disconnect horn/airbag wires via clips
Remove old wheel via central nut

Installation is the reverse of removal.

Sounds like a 15-minute job, if I have the right tools and can get them into position without removing something else.

Yep, exactly that simple. I just mark the wheel center and steering column with a sharpie or a punch. Longest part of the job is transferring over the clock spring, which eats about 5 of your 10-15 minute job. If you're swapping an M style wheel, I have noticed that the original steering wheel tabs do get quite brittle (important if say you have an Imola interior and want to keep the Imola tabs on your new wheel).

[Watch Carefully]

... Longest part of the job is transferring over the clock spring, which eats about 5 of your 10-15 minute job...

I'm removing a bulbous 4-spoke non-M wheel and installing a euro-spec 3-spoke wheel with a smaller center (and single-stage airbag), so tabs aren't part of the equation.
However, I am unaware of a clock spring in my set-up. Nthor71783, was this part of your swap?

[s8ilver]

Done the 4 spoke to 3 spoke single stage too on the Z3 Coupe... There's a clock Spring to swap over with 2 or 3 screws. It'll bolt right up to your new wheel.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tec...eplacement.htm

1.5 hours if you take a long lunch break.


Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[nthor71783]

I'm removing a bulbous 4-spoke non-M wheel and installing a euro-spec 3-spoke wheel with a smaller center (and single-stage airbag), so tabs aren't part of the equation.
However, I am unaware of a clock spring in my set-up. Nthor71783, was this part of your swap?

Yes you will need to swap the clock spring over, it's no big deal. A few screws on the back of the wheel and 1 or 2 screws for connecting wires under the airbag. The link with the write-up that S8ilver posted is pretty thorough on what needs done.

[Watch Carefully]

Yes you will need to swap the clock spring over, it's no big deal. A few screws on the back of the wheel and 1 or 2 screws for connecting wires under the airbag. The link with the write-up that S8ilver posted is pretty thorough on what needs done.

Thanks to you both, gents. I'll review and refer to that Pelican article when the time comes to make the switch.
Brad