[catharsis]

Originally Posted by englishguy84

How have I never seen this option??

Funny - that's almost exactly what my salesperson said - in fact he said all his customers will now be getting this option !

w.r.t the VIN Decode

What the suggested website came up with in VIN decode was

0XL3 BMW Individual leather steering wheel
Steering wheel rim completely and body in black leather nappa
(No. 7963182 / Sun Reflective Technology).
Sewing thread in black (no. 1905499), color no. 0020th
Quilting twine in black (no. 1963800), color no. 0020th

[Bleser]

Originally Posted by catharsis

w.r.t the VIN Decode

What the suggested website came up with in VIN decode was

Thanks!

[ajavaid92x]

Anybody in London that's willing to upgrade my F30 steering wheel from Base to M Sport?

[rif75]

Hello Guys

I'm looking for a new 340i, I found a sport line but I definitely want the M sport wheel, can't find any DIY for this upgrade. Some people say that it's a big cost since there is many parts to change beside the sport wheel and airbag. Correct?

Thanks

[BimmerRob]

Originally Posted by rif75

Hello Guys

I'm looking for a new 340i, I found a sport line but I definitely want the M sport wheel, can't find any DIY for this upgrade. Some people say that it's a big cost since there is many parts to change beside the sport wheel and airbag. Correct?

Thanks

Are you in Europe? If your airbag is single staged, its not too bad. I've seen the single stage M-Sport airbags go for $300 on ebay. Then you just need to figure out if you need heating, vibration, and paddles for the wheel and you're pretty much set. Shouldn't run you more than $600-700. For us the US, we have to make sure our airbag is dual staged, and the airbag alone will cost $600-$800. All-in, my upgrade cost me $960 (paddles, heated, dual-stage airbag).

[Bleser]

Originally Posted by Tuan

Just got my new steering wheel in the mail! I figured this would be a nice alternative for those of you who like the nappa leather

Nice! They even said they would custom build to your specifications. Quality still good?

[NotQuickEnough]

Wouldn't BMW save money by just having one wheel the Msport wheel? I can't imagine manufacturing 3 different wheels is cost effective I guess until they get you with the upgrade pricing

[scostu]

Originally Posted by Tuan

Just got my new steering wheel in the mail! I figured this would be a nice alternative for those of you who like the nappa leather covered sport wheel without having to pay an arm and a leg.

I ordered the F20 M-sport wheel from an Ebay Seller in Latvia. This wheel uses the same sport airbag that comes with the F30 Sport wheel, but you can see the wheel is noticeably thicker compared to the sport wheel. It's been re-wrapped in alcantara and genuine nappa leather. Comes with the M-sport trim and the electronic controls all for well under 400 bucks shipped to the US. Fit and finish is top notch.

Updates???
Installed yet and any problems/cons?

[Bleser]

FYI, I contacted getbmwparts.com with the information posted above and they said they could NOT order that piece.

Might be pursuing the re-wrapped eBay option as they can customize to your liking.

Just wish I could get the F20 wheel with heating.

[Y0tsuya]

Originally Posted by scostu

Updates???
Installed yet and any problems/cons?

I'm not Tuan but I just did a swap. After purchasing our F30 without M sport package, I found the steering wheel leather feels a bit lackluster as I've grown to prefer the soft touch on the M sport.

Bought a wheel off a Lithuanian eBay seller (who somehow claim to ship from UK), but needs customization (add LDW vibrator) so we did the transaction through paypal. Total around $950.

The big issue as others have said is the airbag. The seller could sell a US-spec dual-stage airbag for $100 more but I opted for a single-stage as I could always code it. However he was confident his resistor mod would work in a plug-and-play fashion with US ACSM module so I let him have at it.

The airbag arrived from Lithuania and I did the swap that weekend. Most of the time was spent shoving a screwdriver in and out trying to locate the latch. Then I reconnected the battery started the ignition. And airbag warning light went up. Looks like the mod didn't work.

So I grabbed a notebook and installed E-Sys (This is my first coding session). I disabled the 2nd stage airbag and the vent as per online discussion. Tried again, but still no go.

So I called it a night, contacted the seller, and did some more digging. He said he modded the airbag from single stage to 1st stage + fake 2nd stage. He thinks the airbag needs to be modded to present 3 circuits. I finally put 2 and 2 together and realized how the 3 circuits line up with the ECU settings.

airbag_fahrer_stufe1 -> stage 1 (EU-spec only has this one)
airbag_fahrer_stufe2 -> stage 2 (2nd stage, seller modded)
airbag_fahrer_vent -> vent valve (3rd circuit the seller missed)

My solution is to re-enable airbag_fahrer_stufe2, leave airbag_fahrer_vent disabled. Cleared existing errors and pressed the ignition and the error went away. So it works, though took a bit of head scratching. Basically the code setting active/inactive should reflect whether the circuit exists (real or fake mod).

[Bleser]

@Y0tsuya,

Thank you for the detail!

Any photos of your setup post-install?

[Y0tsuya]

Originally Posted by Bleser

Any photos of your setup post-install?

Nothing special or unique. Just what it would've looked like if I had specified M sport package in the first place. But I have THP and don't care for the body kit. The only thing I miss is the steering wheel.

So to those of you who want to do the swap, just go for it. From my experience, things to watch for are:

1) Part # verification. I use realoem for that. Make sure the new wheel matches old wheel features. The seller should be able to work with you on that.

2) The standard steering wheel airbag is a bit tricky to remove. It took me quite some time (about 1/2 to 1 hour) to feel around and figure out where the latches really are. And you have to pull pretty hard on the airbag at the same time or else you'll never know you've moved the latch. Prepare to get sweaty.

3) Airbag compatibility. Even if you opt for US dual-stage, keep E-Sys handy nearby just in case you need to code.

[Bleser]

For those that have a factory heated steering wheel and then swapped to a wheel that doesn't have a heating element, do you know if you need to code the car to tell it that it no longer has heat or if it will show an error on startup or anything?

Thanks in advance.

[DJ Rocc]

Thanks for putting this together!

[Fiiv3s]

Originally Posted by catharsis

Note - I didn't say GOOD pictures

I know many years later but is this wrapped after the fact or is this a wheel from a specific model?

[amancuso]

Some 2020 430i M Sport equipped cars have the Sportline wheel with the lower trim that says ///M on it. I looked at one for sale and got the 2018 with the proper M Sport wheel. The '18 also had the options I was interested vs. the '20