[bmwaddictt]

Hi all, hope everyone is keeping safe!

So, I think I was a little rough when cleaning my steering wheel last night with Meguairs Leather Cleaner then with some Conditioner... :
I've scraped the leather off pretty bad so I'm looking at options to upgrade to the F8X wheel. I've confirmed that I can indeed use my existing airbag
, but can I use my existing trim piece and paddles?

I'm literally looking at this piece here:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/124339514522

It's the M Performance wheel. I think it will look fine without the CF trim. I'm even thinking of just getting the F80 base wheel with the tri coloured stitching. Would love if anyone could help me out.

[Cityofangeles323]

Customizable wraps from mewant or east detailing. Looks to be a solid, cheap fix.

[zibbit]

Any of the BMW M-Perf wheels will retrofit to your car, even the ones that came on the F80/82/87 from the factory. So options are almost endless; black stitched, tri-color stitch, alcantara, electronic, etc..

All of the controls and covers will swap over, including paddles, airbag (stg1, 2 or 3), factory steering wheel shaker and wiring harness. Underneath they're all the same except for ONE thing; whether they're heated or not. That's the ONLY go, no-go option that's not easily retrofitted.

Warning the job to swap everything over is a serious PITA. Make sure you take LOTS of pictures so you know how the factory routed the wires.. cause once it's apart there's almost no documentation out there to guide you to put it back together.

[zibbit]

Oh.. one more thing. I NEVER recommend anyone getting an Alcantara covered steering wheel if they care about how their car looks. That material isn't meant to be handled or touched all the time; especially with bare hands.

On a dashboard or a trim panels to remove glare.. OK.

As inserts on seats.. ok-ish if you don't sweat lots. But be prepared to be constantly cleaning.

Oh, and fake black Alcantara turns light purple VERY fast in car interiors.. so word to the wise.. you might be disappointed after a couple months if it's not genuine stuff.

[bmwaddictt]

Originally Posted by zibbit

Any of the BMW M-Perf wheels will retrofit to your car, even the ones that came on the F80/82/87 from the factory. So options are almost endless; black stitched, tri-color stitch, alcantara, electronic, etc..

All of the controls and covers will swap over, including paddles, airbag (stg1, 2 or 3), factory steering wheel shaker and wiring harness. Underneath they're all the same except for [COLOR="Red"]ONE[/COLOR] thing; whether they're [COLOR="red"]heated or not[/COLOR]. That's the ONLY go, no-go option that's not easily retrofitted.

[COLOR="Red"]Warning[/COLOR] the job to swap everything over is a serious PITA. Make sure you take LOTS of pictures so you know how the factory routed the wires.. cause once it's apart there's almost no documentation out there to guide you to put it back together.

Right, now the wheel I want to get, I'm not sure if it is heated or not. Can you confirm? My wheel isn't heated.

[zibbit]

If your car wasn't equipped with a heated wheel, technically you could install either a heated or non-heated wheel without issues. It would just mean there would be an unused connector on the RH center strut.

As a rule, BMW doesn't install steering wheel heaters into any of their Alcantara or Electronic display wheels.

[bmwaddictt]

Originally Posted by zibbit

If your car wasn't equipped with a heated wheel, technically you could install either a heated or non-heated wheel without issues. It would just mean there would be an unused connector on the RH center strut.

As a rule, BMW doesn't install steering wheel heaters into any of their Alcantara or Electronic display wheels.

Hi mate! Thanks for your help. Have upgraded to the M4 V2 M Performance wheel.

[Ennoch]

Could that not have been refinished with leather dye? A bit late if it's already given you an excuse to upgrade, but worthwhile if anyone else is in a similar position. I did my old Impreza one with some filler (climbing calluses wore a groove in the back of it!) and then airbrushed black dye over it - it looked like new. I've had similar success with repairing the pronounced seams on the Opal White individual leather seats in my F31.

[John in VA]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Could that not have been refinished with leather dye?

Probably.

[BimmerRimmer]

I just pulled the trigger on one of those Mewant steering wheel wraps. We'll see how it goes!

[watermannc]

Originally Posted by zibbit

Any of the BMW M-Perf wheels will retrofit to your car, even the ones that came on the F80/82/87 from the factory. So options are almost endless; black stitched, tri-color stitch, alcantara, electronic, etc..

All of the controls and covers will swap over, including paddles, airbag (stg1, 2 or 3), factory steering wheel shaker and wiring harness. Underneath they're all the same except for [COLOR="Red"]ONE[/COLOR] thing; whether they're [COLOR="red"]heated or not[/COLOR]. That's the ONLY go, no-go option that's not easily retrofitted.

[COLOR="Red"]Warning[/COLOR] the job to swap everything over is a serious PITA. Make sure you take LOTS of pictures so you know how the factory routed the wires.. cause once it's apart there's almost no documentation out there to guide you to put it back together.

What is a steering wheel shaker?

[BimmerRimmer]

Originally Posted by watermannc

What is a steering wheel shaker?

I think they were referring to the vibrator () that buzzes the steering wheel for lane departure warning

[BimmerRimmer]

Originally Posted by BimmerRimmer

I just pulled the trigger on one of those Mewant steering wheel wraps. We'll see how it goes!

I'll be installing the steering wheel cover tomorrow. I know you don't need to remove the wheel, but I fully intend on doing it. They give you a pry tool to tuck the excess leather under the trim pieces without having to take it off, but my OCD will NOT allow that. I wanna make sure the leather is tucked in nice and tight!

Hopefully all goes well!

[cnguyen004]

Originally Posted by bmwaddictt

Hi all, hope everyone is keeping safe!

So, I think I was a little rough when cleaning my steering wheel last night with Meguairs Leather Cleaner then with some Conditioner... :
I've scraped the leather off pretty bad so I'm looking at options to upgrade to the F8X wheel. I've confirmed that I can indeed use my existing airbag
, but can I use my existing trim piece and paddles?

I'm literally looking at this piece here:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/124339514522

It's the M Performance wheel. I think it will look fine without the CF trim. I'm even thinking of just getting the F80 base wheel with the tri coloured stitching. Would love if anyone could help me out.

Buy this one and stitch it yourself, I did it in 2 hours.

https://www.amazon.com/MEWANT-Genuin...s%2C181&sr=8-5

Instruction is here

Photos attached are mine after finished. There are a lot of instructions on Youtube.

[Ace320]

Originally Posted by cnguyen004

Buy this one and stitch it yourself, I did it in 2 hours.

https://www.amazon.com/MEWANT-Genuin...s%2C181&sr=8-5

Instruction is here

Photos attached are mine after finished. There are a lot of instructions on Youtube.

My eyes hurts after seeing that steering wheel... TBH, stock M Sport steering wheel looks 10x better.

[IAmATeaf]

I did something similar to my steering wheel. The wheel felt sticky so I attacked it with leather cleaner and like the OP it took the colour off.

Haven’t done anything yet but if anybody can provide info on recolouring it, say a link to a kit that works I’d appreciate it.

[theshawnz]

Helps to keep the wheel clean from the start. Oils and dirt from hands will break down the leather relatively quickly. I clean my wheel with an appropriate leather cleaner every 2-3rd car wash.

Nexzett makes a leather cleaner that has carnauba in it; gives a nice matte finish.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by IAmATeaf

Haven’t done anything yet but if anybody can provide info on recolouring it, say a link to a kit that works I’d appreciate it.

Clean the wheel with acetone to remove any existing sealer, dye it with this or the equivalent:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HHM20M...ing=UTF8&psc=1

Reseal it with this or the equivalent:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[zibbit]

Originally Posted by theshawnz

Helps to keep the wheel clean from the start. Oils and dirt from hands will break down the leather relatively quickly. I clean my wheel with an appropriate leather cleaner every 2-3rd car wash.

Nexzett makes a leather cleaner that has carnauba in it; gives a nice matte finish.

With everyone over-sanitizing their hands and possibly moisturizing continuously due to Covid, I bet this type of problem will become more frequent.

[theshawnz]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Clean the wheel with acetone to remove any existing sealer, dye it with this or the equivalent:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HHM20M...ing=UTF8&psc=1

Reseal it with this or the equivalent:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've used both of these to restore leather in cars; the sealer did not leave a matte finish similar to what was there before nor was it very durable.

[IAmATeaf]

All my previous cars have had leather steering wheels and this is the only car where the wheel feels sticky and cleaning it took off the top layer/colour.

[cdwalls]

Late to this thread, but take a look at this kit: https://leatherworldtech.com/deluxe-leather-repair-kit/
Our wheel is Color Code: 917

Here is my before and after.