Wrapped my 35i Steering wheel in custom Alcantara Leather. Nicer grip now!

[army_men]

Quite a while ago I posted here complaining about the 35i wheel being a bit on the thin side when compared to the 35IS wheel. I was looking for ways to improve the grip and feel of the wheel without shedding out too much money.

Here's what I did, Carbon fiber vinyl wrapped the silver trims, and had this steering wheel leather custom made from a specialized shop in china. It's done with dual material and a piece of red indicator on top. The installation/ stitching took about 2 hours as I work very slowly to make sure I get a factory OEM level of finish. the red and blue stitching threads were custom requested too. overall I'm 10/10 satisfied with the result. Much meatier grip than before and more slip resistance too.

[BMWZ4RIDER]

Very Nice. That looks like it took great patience to install and complete with excelent results. Did you have to make your own sewing pattern?

[CedarZ4]

Nice!

I noticed that custom speedometer back plating too, lot of minor custom work to make the car yours,
Is a ///M batch logo really necessary, though?

Also, I've never driven a non M-Sport package vehicle, but it looks like yours doesn't have it... I don't know if the steering wheels are different but mine is pretty meaty. Compared to my other cars anyway.

[nicknaz]

I definitely respect the time and patience needed to get the custom part and install it

Bold choice to go with the printed vinyl and M stickers are like Mugen Type R stickers in that they will always attract comments from the peanut gallery

[twelve535i]

Hi, did you get this while in China or did you order via internet/phone? I have a f10 but hate my non m-sport steering wheel and think something like this would help drastically.

[jparnes1]

Originally Posted by CedarZ4

Nice!

I noticed that custom speedometer back plating too, lot of minor custom work to make the car yours,
Is a ///M batch logo really necessary, though?

Also, I've never driven a non M-Sport package vehicle, but it looks like yours doesn't have it... I don't know if the steering wheels are different but mine is pretty meaty. Compared to my other cars anyway.

Non-M sport steering wheels aren't as beefy, hence his efforts to correct it.

[dgkn86]

great work!! congrat!!

[hiltonfa]

Looks good, great job I'm looking at options to have mine done as the non M wheel is on the thin side compared to the M wheel.

[teog60]

Originally Posted by army_men

Quite a while ago I posted here complaining about the 35i wheel being a bit on the thin side when compared to the 35IS wheel. I was looking for ways to improve the grip and feel of the wheel without shedding out too much money.

Here's what I did, Carbon fiber vinyl wrapped the silver trims, and had this steering wheel leather custom made from a specialized shop in china. It's done with dual material and a piece of red indicator on top. The installation/ stitching took about 2 hours as I work very slowly to make sure I get a factory OEM level of finish. the red and blue stitching threads were custom requested too. overall I'm 10/10 satisfied with the result. Much meatier grip than before and more slip resistance too.

Very nice job. Please, could you please share the China' shop link?
Thanks

[HABANEROTE]

Yes we need that link please

[army_men]

http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm..._u=2bb6pph8612

Here's the link. It's from Taobao, which is like a huge ebay/amazon in china. They don't directly ship overseas, so you'd need a third party to act as a purchasing agent to do the service and forwarding for you. I personally used indaigou.com before, at least they are the real deal.

I apologize if all this is mumble jumbo to you, they don't really have a English friendly website.

[CedarZ4]

Am I reading this right... 300 Yuan for it which = <50 USD? Might even jump on this to put over my M-Sport steering wheel if so.

How is the leather material grade?

Group-buy?

[Nkc]

very nice work. Gonna order me one right now. I'm a taobao whore

[army_men]

Originally Posted by Nkc

very nice work. Gonna order me one right now. I'm a taobao whore

Yea man, Mine was custom made so it's not on the list of photos. but you can pretty much make it how ever you want given you can either describe it really well or do a photoshop mashup for them. thats what I did for mine.

Im impressed how accurate it came out to be.

[Nkc]

I just went with this one with deleted stripes on top. For this price, it's nice to give it a try especially when all i want is just the thickness of the "M" steering.

[HABANEROTE]

Originally Posted by Nkc

I just went with this one with deleted stripes on top. For this price, it's nice to give it a try especially when all i want is just the thickness of the "M" steering.

need help ordering this! cant understand anything even with translator...

[Nkc]

do you want exactly this? Where do you need it shipped?

[HABANEROTE]

My Car ls black The interior is RED, the 3 stripes colors i dont think is a good idea, any idea wish one will look good?


Miami FL

[BMWZ4RIDER]

I would consider this, but how is the sewing pattern determined? Pre set holes and follow a Pattern?

[haspi]

I want one...group buy??

[Nkc]

Finally went ahead and installed it...well my wife did cuz I'm not going to compete with her in terms of sewing skills. Thanks again to OP army_men for the great recommendation. Turned out looking amazing and very cost effective. Installation was really straight forward and it took my wife about an hour with me "supervising" lol. What I really regret is forgetting to request not having their damn logo. The logo isn't as obvious as the picture shows but still. For those looking for increased girth and better materials without breaking the bank, this is a great mod.

I'm gonna order another one for my Fx and my friend's GTI.

[HABANEROTE]

YOu should order one for me and l will transfer the money on paypal....