How-To - e89 Cruise Control Retro-fit

[335dan]

Coded my e92 335d using your guide and it works!! Thank you!!!

[AnubisZed]

Coded my e92 335d using your guide and it works!! Thank you!!!

Yeah should work the same for e90, 91, 92 93, 89, 81, 82 and 87.

[AnubisZed]

Morning all,

Anyone awaiting the new How-To video and guide.... sorry they've got delayed as I've now edited in the additional footage for anyone that has a heated steering wheel and I still need to film a road test sequence to finish the video off. I also still haven't managed to get all the new screen grabs for the written guide yet either.
Don't worry though as there is nothing wrong with the original video or guide it's just that the new ones will be more informative

Anyone not wanting to try this themselves, but would still like Cruise, then don't forget I do offer this from my home in Grantham, Lincolnshire. £120 (the parts are over £600 new alone from BMW!!) all in and I've normally got the parts in stock (heated steering wheel panels are quite expensive and rare, but I am trying to keep one in all the time now, heated steering wheel cost is £160 all in) so give me a shout (via PM) if this is what you'd like to do and I'll get you sorted out

[Timmyboybunter]

Just out of interest, how much effort is retro fitting a heated steering wheel? (and how effective are they in real life!)

[AnubisZed]

Just out of interest, how much effort is retro fitting a heated steering wheel? (and how effective are they in real life!)

It's do'able and without too much effort (dependent on you "effort" scoring lol).
You'd need.....

Heated steering wheel (obviously )
Correct slip ring
Lower steering cowl panel
Switch
various connectors and some wiring.

The wheel, slip ring and cowl are not cheap and not always that easy to find.
Apart from the physical fitting and wiring then you'd need to go through the coding stage as well.

And as for how effective they are, well I'd say they are as good for your hands as the heated seat is for you bum!!
I've fitted cruise to four now with heated wheels and I always test that it works once the battery is back on (as well as the new stalks, just in case!!) so I've had the chance to feel them working (as I don't have it on my own car) and can honestly say they are awesome, but you don't need them on for long.

Now comes the problem though, when I say not cheap...… last time I saw a wheel for sale it was £380, the slip ring is about £80+, lower cowl is around £60 - £80, if it doesn't have the switch with it then you could be paying another £40 for that as well, so as you can see is it worth all that outlay for the sake of wearing a pair of gloves??!!

[Timmyboybunter]

Thanks, very useful - definitely is a lot of money but I do have the roof down in any and all temperatures. I have the vents aimed PERFECTLY at my hands in the straight ahead position so generally they do stay nice and warm (not a fan of gloves) but the heated wheel sounds like a nice luxury. It will also stop me snapping at people when they change the air vent angles

[Zed Baron]

Just out of interest, how much effort is retro fitting a heated steering wheel? (and how effective are they in real life!)

It's do'able and without too much effort (dependent on you "effort" scoring lol).
You'd need.....

Heated steering wheel (obviously )
Correct slip ring
Lower steering cowl panel
Switch
various connectors and some wiring.

The wheel, slip ring and cowl are not cheap and not always that easy to find.
Apart from the physical fitting and wiring then you'd need to go through the coding stage as well.

And as for how effective they are, well I'd say they are as good for your hands as the heated seat is for you bum!!
I've fitted cruise to four now with heated wheels and I always test that it works once the battery is back on (as well as the new stalks, just in case!!) so I've had the chance to feel them working (as I don't have it on my own car) and can honestly say they are awesome, but you don't need them on for long.

Now comes the problem though, when I say not cheap...… last time I saw a wheel for sale it was £380, the slip ring is about £80+, lower cowl is around £60 - £80, if it doesn't have the switch with it then you could be paying another £40 for that as well, so as you can see is it worth all that outlay for the sake of wearing a pair of gloves??!!

Hi Dave, would love you to retrofit cruise on mine, just need to plan as its a 280 mile drive to get to you

[AnubisZed]

Hi Dave, would love you to retrofit cruise on mine, just need to plan as its a 280 mile drive to get to you

Yeah no problem, I can forward plan a long way in advance
I've had two guys come down to me from Scotland, one from Edinburgh and one from Glasgow so no problem my end
Just send me a PM when you want to plan it in and we'll sort it out.

[AnubisZed]

Thanks, very useful - definitely is a lot of money but I do have the roof down in any and all temperatures. I have the vents aimed PERFECTLY at my hands in the straight ahead position so generally they do stay nice and warm (not a fan of gloves) but the heated wheel sounds like a nice luxury. It will also stop me snapping at people when they change the air vent angles

I did consider it myself, but once I worked out the price I decided it simply wasn't worth the expense

[Timmyboybunter]

Well, a german seller just accepted an offer of £155 including postage for a set of cruise control stalks including cowl, heated switch and slip ring - so I'll tuck these away in the loft until I get time to do some proper research (quick Google tells me if it's not fitted from standard, the required wiring isn't present in the steering column but that's literally 30 seconds worth of skim reading) and a wheel pops up.

Stick me down as a willing guinea pig if the opportunity ever arises

[AnubisZed]

Well, a german seller just accepted an offer of £155 including postage for a set of cruise control stalks including cowl, heated switch and slip ring - so I'll tuck these away in the loft until I get time to do some proper research (quick Google tells me if it's not fitted from standard, the required wiring isn't present in the steering column but that's literally 30 seconds worth of skim reading) and a wheel pops up.

Stick me down as a willing guinea pig if the opportunity ever arises

Yeah a bit of extra wiring (off the top of my head I think it's 2 canbus wires and pos and neg for power) and a plug that is double the size of the normal one that goes into the slip-ring. The cruise control stalks are the same no matter heated wheel or not, it's the slip ring that's different.
Like I say I did do some research into this so have some info, I'd be happy to give it a shot Just need to work out the coding.

[Timmyboybunter]

Cheers, I'll probably take you up on that - I'll keep an eye out for a suitable wheel, but as I'll want an M-Sport one (I find the standard one a bit skinny) it may take a while. One sold a few months ago on US Ebay for $200 though so there's a glimmer of hope.

[AnubisZed]

Cheers, I'll probably take you up on that - I'll keep an eye out for a suitable wheel, but as I'll want an M-Sport one (I find the standard one a bit skinny) it may take a while. One sold a few months ago on US Ebay for $200 though so there's a glimmer of hope.

Sounds like a plan

[AnubisZed]

There is a BRAND NEW video just been uploaded to the first post.
With more information on buying parts, some minor improvements to the install and programming, and a test run with demo included.
Also brand new .pdf How-To guide has been produced including a new source for the BMW Tools suite

[Tarzan]

More and more professional
Nice job