Performance Steering Wheel arrived

[consolidated]

Originally Posted by swamp2

-Can anyone else with an alcantara steering wheel comment on the longevity/durability of the material?

I have an OEM alcantara wheel and shifter on a Cayman, it's a good balance between too grippy (which won't let the wheel slide when street driving, like dense open cell foam, hyperlon?), and too slippery, like some leathers or carbon.

My stuff is about a year old has 8K miles on it and looks fine still. I've seen others with the same parts and they look pretty rough-- oil, sunscreen or sweat will darken and harden the material over time. Some say is easily cleaned and scrubbed off.

great post ihlyn, I wanted nothing to do with this wheel at first, but the flashy lights and buttons do things to otherwise sane men.

[moog55]

Originally Posted by consolidated

I have an OEM alcantara wheel and shifter on a Cayman, it's a good balance between too grippy (which won't let the wheel slide when street driving, like dense open cell foam, hyperlon?), and too slippery, like some leathers or carbon.

My stuff is about a year old has 8K miles on it and looks fine still. I've seen others with the same parts and they look pretty rough-- oil, sunscreen or sweat will darken and harden the material over time. Some say is easily cleaned and scrubbed off.

great post ihlyn, I wanted nothing to do with this wheel at first, but the flashy lights and buttons do things to otherwise sane men.

so, the alcantara is easy to take care of? to me, it seems like it would look like shit after a while just like suede does on shoes.

i'm really tempted to get the wheel, but it depends on how easy the alcantara is to take care of. i wish it was the same as the stock m3 wheel. my only other mental block is the fact that i'd have to give up the colored ///M stitching. likely i'll get the wheel, but i' like to hear how the alcantara holds up.

[Robert]

Hey, how come the shift light comes on at 4krpm? Is it because the engine is not fully warmed?

[V8 M3]

My Performance wheel arrived today and will be installed tomorrow. After seeing the stitching pattern I dont think it is possible to duplicate that of the factory M3 wheel.
I like this idea of trying to die the stitching, but then again it may be better left alone!

[ihyln]

Originally Posted by bobbo

Hey, how come the shift light comes on at 4krpm? Is it because the engine is not fully warmed?

The shift lights are user configurable from 1000rpm to 9000 rpm

[hankit]

any updates the to pictures of the shifter? I would like to see how the dct paddles attach if possible..

thanks again~

[KINGLEH]

Originally Posted by swamp2

You can! You just can not get there with no downforce. Get up over 100 mph and you will have enough downforce to get well over 1g.

in Acceleration!

not cornering...

[ihyln]

Originally Posted by hankit

any updates the to pictures of the shifter? I would like to see how the dct paddles attach if possible..

thanks again~

I'm on a business trip right now. I'll take a picture of the stock wheel from the back and the paddles on the wheel when I get back tomorrow.

[TYE]

Can the display at the top of the wheel be turned off if you want? Or is it always on.

What are your impressions with all the lights on the steering wheel from a daily driving standpoint, and driving at night.

[V8 M3]

Originally Posted by TYE

Can the display at the top of the wheel be turned off if you want? Or is it always on.

I had my installed yesterday, and so far it appears that after the initial start up you have to turn the wheel on. So you have the option of the wheel either being off or on.

Originally Posted by TYE

What are your impressions with all the lights on the steering wheel from a daily driving standpoint, and driving at night.

I don’t think there as many lights as you might think. You have the center display which you can scroll through, and then you have the lights that you program where you want them to illuminate as shift points. In my case I notice the lights in my peripheral vision as opposed to “looking” at the steering wheel.

[Lewis@MWDesign]

Here is a pic STUDIE JAPAN posted of the performance steering with DCT paddles on the e92 M3.

[PrinceSmooth]

indeed, the hard part now is to keep the alcantara clean... i've seen a lot of gallardos with the same positioned alcantara that look pretty worn and torn due to sweat and god knows what other fluids... must be taken with care but definitely worth the risk! I can't imagine how hard it would be to take care of the BMW Performance seats... that's the biggest scare possible... 5k for seats that could look like a Denny's toilet seat if not taken care of properly

[moog55]

Originally Posted by PrinceSmooth

indeed, the hard part now is to keep the alcantara clean... i've seen a lot of gallardos with the same positioned alcantara that look pretty worn and torn due to sweat and god knows what other fluids... must be taken with care but definitely worth the risk! I can't imagine how hard it would be to take care of the BMW Performance seats... that's the biggest scare possible... 5k for seats that could look like a Denny's toilet seat if not taken care of properly

agreed. i was pretty excited about getting this perf wheel, but the alcantara was the dealbreaker for me. it's going to look nasty in a couple of months. i know it'll never happen, but if they came out with an ///M version of the wheel with the tri-color stitching and w/o the alcantara, i'd buy one. for now, i'm going to pass i think.

[KonigsTiger]

Originally Posted by moog55

agreed. i was pretty excited about getting this perf wheel, but the alcantara was the dealbreaker for me. it's going to look nasty in a couple of months. i know it'll never happen, but if they came out with an ///M version of the wheel with the tri-color stitching and w/o the alcantara, i'd buy one. for now, i'm going to pass i think.

These things can’t possibly be that delicate. If it were, do you think cars such as the Lambo Reventón or the F430 Scuderia would be covered with it from head to toe? My understanding is the Alcantara is very, very resistant and easy to clean, the problem is it appears to be susceptible to sweat, but presumably everyone wears pants etc… so that the seats would be absolutely no problem, the steering wheel may be a different story but change the Alcantara on the wheel I think is no big deal at all.

[swamp2]

Originally Posted by KINGLEH

in Acceleration!

not cornering...

Ahhh I see. What the heck do you drive that gets 1G on acceleration?

[ace996]

Suede is tough to care for...alcantara is much easier.

[Ray33]

Finally got to time to get my wheel fitted.

For anyone not sure about the stitching etc the wheel fits the interior very well, in fact it makes the overall interior look more "expensive".

I particularly like the 400m sprint section, well worth the money. And the G metre will no doubt be endless hours of fun

Cost fitted in Ireland (in case anyone over here is considering the part) was €915 plus VAT. That price re-uses the original M trim rather than the alcantara version.

[bher]

Originally Posted by Ray33

That price re-uses the original M trim rather than the alcantara version.

Thanks for the info. Could you be more precise about the re use of the M trim. What remains as before? The ///M also??

[KINGLEH]

Originally Posted by BMW-M-Mexico

do you think cars such as the Lambo Reventón or the F430 Scuderia would be covered with it from head to toe? My understanding is the Alcantara is very, very resistant and easy to clean, the problem is it appears to be susceptible to sweat, but presumably everyone wears pants etc… so that the seats would be absolutely no problem, .

If i had a Reventon..... i could assure you i will defiantly NOT be wearing anything.. but that alcantara seat and the carbon wrapped around it!

[KINGLEH]

Originally Posted by swamp2

Ahhh I see. What the heck do you drive that gets 1G on acceleration?

and older nissan GTR... it pulls 1G all the way through 1st gear.... and gives your that weird nasia feeling after it does it!

[eggz]

Can't wait to get this wheel as well, looks great! I do find one thing a bit confusing. At this website:

http://accessories.bmwusa.com/ItemVi...=0&subItemId=0

It lists two part numbers:

Steering Wheel Rim without Steptronic (PN: 32 30 0 443 170)
Steering Wheel Rim with Steptronic (Does not Apply to M-DCT Models) (PN: 32 30 0 445 258)

And the steptronic one is not for M-DCT cars, but ihyln said his was the steptronic version.

Can someone confirm which is the correct part number for the wheel that works with M-DCT.

thanks!

[wf758]

bump. Anyone have any impressions after living with the Performance Wheel for longer?