Steering wheel upgrades

[davintosh]

Nice upgrade, RB! Did you have the sport wheel to begin with and transfer your switches, airbag, et al to the new one?

I've been thinking about doing something with the wheel in the X5; some of the stitching is loose. I probably should do something with that before it gets any worse (funny thing is that two of my other cars with leather wrapped wheels have loose stitching in the same area, lower-left. Weird.)

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by davintosh

Nice upgrade, RB! Did you have the sport wheel to begin with and transfer your switches, airbag, et al to the new one?

I've been thinking about doing something with the wheel in the X5; some of the stitching is loose. I probably should do something with that before it gets any worse (funny thing is that two of my other cars with leather wrapped wheels have loose stitching in the same area, lower-left. Weird.)

Yes Dave, my X has sport package so my wheel was the same, the new wheel came without trim pieces, multifunction buttons, and the airbag "cage", but all is very easily swapped over to the new wheel. There are 3 screws for the airbag holder, two screws on the bottom trim piece and 2 screws on the inside that hold the multifunction buttons down. Very easy swap!

Do you have the sport wheel? You literally can have my old wheel if you do, and just swap your buttons/trim and airbag to it if you want to refresh, its in the basement just pay me for shipping, its in good shape with no stitching loose, I only have 69k miles so its probably less worn than yours.

[Joshdub]

Necro bump.

It look like the seller that RB got his wheel from is no longer selling things. His ebay store is empty and there are no items listed.

What are your guy's thoughts on this? My wheel is pretty worn at 12 o clock due to the gangster PO, and something a litter sportier than my sport wheel would be nice.

BMW E46 E39 E53 x5 M3 M Tech M Sport Steering Wheel Preformance Indywidual | eBay

[525iT_Feen]

Originally Posted by Joshdub

Necro bump.

It look like the seller that RB got his wheel from is no longer selling things. His ebay store is empty and there are no items listed.

What are your guy's thoughts on this? My wheel is pretty worn at 12 o clock due to the gangster PO, and something a litter sportier than my sport wheel would be nice.

BMW E46 E39 E53 x5 M3 M Tech M Sport Steering Wheel Preformance Indywidual | eBay

That looks pretty solid minus the wood. If I'm not mistaken my coworker bought a wheel from him for an Audi S6 and was satisfied.

- Olek

[Joshdub]

That's good to hear. I'd swap the wood for my black plastic.

I asked the seller if this is a new wrap and what kind of leather was used. All I got back was "high grade top notch leather".

It makes me hesitant but you don't need to speak English to sew. I glad your coworker had a good experience.

[Ricky Bobby]

Hey Josh, try my seller again, I just went on German Ebay and found his listing, search keywords are "e53 lenkrad"

Lederlenkrad Lenkrad passend für BMW E39 , E46 , X5 Leder incl.Daumenauflagen | eBay

I didn't want the tri-stitch as I wanted black stitch to blend into the interior. Wheel still looks like the day I bought it and I love it, was an awesome find for the price, and now that the Euro is even lower, its even better. You just have to swap your Multifunction buttons and lower trim piece onto the new wheel before fitting to the car and re-fitting your stock airbag.

[4.8isguy]

I have the same steering wheel. I sent it out to a guy in Latvia that had it wrapped in Nappa with tricolor stitching. I get compliments all the time on it. Feels just like the f10 m steering wheel which is the thickness i requested. I think I paid around 200-250 to get it done including shipping and everything. If there is some interest I can take a pic and get the guys info.

[Joshdub]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

Hey Josh, try my seller again, I just went on German Ebay and found his listing, search keywords are "e53 lenkrad"

Lederlenkrad Lenkrad passend für BMW E39 , E46 , X5 Leder incl.Daumenauflagen | eBay

I didn't want the tri-stitch as I wanted black stitch to blend into the interior. Wheel still looks like the day I bought it and I love it, was an awesome find for the price, and now that the Euro is even lower, its even better. You just have to swap your Multifunction buttons and lower trim piece onto the new wheel before fitting to the car and re-fitting your stock airbag.

Thank you. I much prefer that wheel. I'll send them a PM and see what the process is.

[Ricky Bobby]

^Just mention to him in email that you'll want to pay the extra $40 euro or whatever it is to keep your own wheel, unless you want to send a core back to Germany.

[525iT_Feen]

Originally Posted by Joshdub

That's good to hear. I'd swap the wood for my black plastic.

I asked the seller if this is a new wrap and what kind of leather was used. All I got back was "high grade top notch leather".

It makes me hesitant but you don't need to speak English to sew. I glad your coworker had a good experience.

What do you want to ask him? I'm Polish and speak it fluently/read it well. Not the greatest at writing but I can convey a message.

The guy he bought it from spoke English so it may not be the same guy
PM me and i'll take care of it for you.
- Olek