[Nick.pas6]

Hey guys, I own a 2012 F30 335i and am looking to get some advice on upgrading my steering wheel currently I have the base steering wheel and want to upgrade to the m sport one

I was looking at getting an aftermarket Carbon fibre one, but would have to find an airbag, paddle shifters, buttons and all internals. Or am I better (is it cheaper/easier) to buy an oem steering wheel off a wrecked car which has all buttons and internals (I would still need to get an airbag). and where would i be able to find the parts needed. Thanks in advance

[cfm56d7b]

I decided to install M Sport steering wheel in my previous car - 2013 BMW 335i sedan - and had to go through the same set of considerations.

Air bags are difficult to ship due to hazardous cargo regulations, especially in the US.

Eventually, I bought a fully functional M Sport steering wheel without an air bag and my local shop installed both the wheel and BMW supplied brand new air bag (not an inexpensive proposition).

The only expensive part of this project is an air bag. All other parts - vibration motor (lane departure warning), buttons, trim pieces - are reasonably priced.

[A'PEXi]

Have the steering wheel available, can also help source the paddles, controls as well. Does your car have heated steering? Once you have all the parts it's bolt on.

[shiftdnb]

The most important thing is that you purchase the right airbag. Everything else is dependent on what options you have and what options the wheel has like vibration, heat and paddles. It's all pretty easy to retrofit.

I scored an M3 one off ebay for cheap locally with the airbag, paddles and all the buttons. It had a little damage on the rim, so I ended up purchasing one of those covers you can stitch on your wheel. Since it was already damaged I went all out and shaved some of the old rim so the seams on the new wrap would be flush.

Took it all apart found out it had heating but no vibration. I wanted to keep that option and decided to retrofit the heated steering into mine so I purchased the needed parts for retrofitting both. If you have vibration and swapping from sport or regular steering wheel you'll need to purchase the correct module and the part that vibrates the wheel. Check RealOem there are multiple modules for the different options. If your retrofitting anything new you'll have to code through esys. Information is widely available.

Installed mine last weekend, coded it and everything works. It's amazing how much more dashboard I can see without that huge airbag in the way.