DIY - Suede/Alcantara steering wheel wrap

[tomrdy]

Hey guys,

Ordered a steering wheel wrap a while back and it arrived yesterday so I spent an evening doing a thing!

The one I got is suede, and from the looks of it, it's an actual leather hide. Pleasantly surprised at the result though I would've liked it to be a bit more fuzzy.

Installation was surprisingly ... painful. My fingers feel like they're on fire from pulling the thread (you gotta pull it TIGHT). And also having to contort my body around to try and reach the stitching on the back really drained me.

I'm sure that if you took your steering wheel + trim off, it would be infinitely easier and take 1/4 of the time I spent. If I had to do it again, wheel is definitely being removed.

With the trim pieces though (if you were to do it in situ like me), I ended up undoing all the torx screws on the back and popping them up (not OFF) to slip the material behind. Definitely do this BEFORE you start. The rear side ones do come out but you have to be quite careful as there are little nub guide things that can break - though they dont seem to do anything besides guide.

I'd suggest you do this in day time as well because LIGHT is your friend especially when trying to thread needles between stitches


Close-up of the material. Bit too smooth for what I exactly wanted but feels pretty nice regardless


Original steering wheel's condition:


"I should be about to knock this out in an hour" - said me before the 4 hour session.






Pic from this morning after first drive.

 

[bz4kev]

 

[AveZ4coop]

Good work!

 

[Monaco84]

impressive skills!!!

 

[kis]

Where did you buy this from out of interest?

 

[Dave 2 dogs]

Nice work , as kis said where did you get it ? I’d like one of those

 

[Zoomer]

Can’t fault you it looks fabulous

 

[tomrdy]

Thanks guys Driving the car feels really different... in a good way though! Now I need to sort out the hobo gear knob....

Nice work , as kis said where did you get it ? I’d like one of those

Hey Dave, I ordered it from Aliexpress. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bla...286f-4c96-be22-d8aaa953cbff&priceBeautifyAB=0

My first time buying anything from there but seems alright (like a chinese eBay). Took a while to arrive though (nearly a month).

 

[Dave 2 dogs]

Thanks tomrdy
I’ll check it out ... great job
On the lighter side .... when I tell my missus I’ve been chatting to Tomrdy she’s gonna be well happy

 

[Marlon]

Looks like a right old faff to do - but worth all the effort, looks great

 

[tomrdy]

Thanks tomrdy
I’ll check it out ... great job
On the lighter side .... when I tell my missus I’ve been chatting to Tomrdy she’s gonna be well happy

Hahaha i never thought about it like that

 

[Anonymous]

Nice work.

There's a whole thread about these kits someone around here. My advice to anyone thinking about buying one if to take the steering wheel off the car and do it in the comfort of your living room. I did it both ways and this was infinitely easier

 

[Anonymous]

Found it: https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=101464&hilit=mewant

 

[tomrdy]

My advice to anyone thinking about buying one if to take the steering wheel off the car and do it in the comfort of your living room. I did it both ways and this was infinitely easier

I couldn't agree more!

 

[Dave 2 dogs]

Tom , did you disconnect the battery ? Or was it ok undoing those torx screws with the battery still on ???

 

[DMC63]

Tidy job

 

[davros]

Tom , did you disconnect the battery ? Or was it ok undoing those torx screws with the battery still on ???

Hi Dave, If youre removing the steering wheel you will definitely need to disconnect the battery and wait at least 20 minutes.
I’d also recommend disconnecting the battery if your just going to remove the steering wheel trim because it sits slightly under the air bag / horn cover, so that would need to be removed ideally. Please note, the plastic trim is very fragile and brittle and the clips are easily broken

 

[davros]

BTW - great job on the steering wheel tomrdy

 

[kis]

Please note, the plastic trim is very fragile and brittle and the clips are easily broken

All the more reason IMO to remove the steering wheel, it was quite fiddley as it was and having the wheel off certainly made it easier removing the trims. Not to mention the safety aspect. Prodding around the airbag isn't ideal so your mind is much more at ease without one!

 

[tomrdy]

Tom , did you disconnect the battery ? Or was it ok undoing those torx screws with the battery still on ???

I personally didn't (but more because it didn't cross my mind until AFTER i took the trim/bolts off...). Honestly though I don't think wriggling the trim around will set off the bag - if it did then you might have some issues when you're tapping the steering wheel to the beat of your favourite song at a red light lol

As other's have mentioned though, it can't hurt to disconnect it. It's so little effort and if you feel iffy about it, best to take the safer route. I on the other hand... apparently am a super badassss and like to live dangerously :evil: :roll: