Leather steering wheel covers

http://www.leatherseats.com/products2.asp?c=3&id=345


has leather steering wheel covers that you can sew on which to me looks like a pretty neat mod if you have the non-sport steering wheel. The company claims that each cover is customized to fit the steering wheel of any particular car. It sounds pretty good...worth the try?

no leather steering wheel cover in Texas

http://www.wheelskins.com/index.php

another site...come to think of it. they all look kind of cheap...

I still have a brand new wheelskin I got with grey and black euro perforated leather, I was going to put it on before I got my M3 paddle shift wheel. On my E36, I had a wheelskin, it was nice, made the wheel feel thicker but was a PITA to get the stitches correct. I say get a new steering wheel. Hell, I got a 2004 sport wheel in perfect condition, it is bare, but could sell it to you cheaper than the cover. Only problem is it would cost to ship it and you would need the other parts....and the air bag....the round ones are not that cheap.

Its definitely the airbag that scares me. As much as I want a new wheel, I can't justify spending all that money for a purely aesthetic upgrade to my car. But you do recommend the sew-on steering wheel covers as a cheaper alternative?(ps I am pretty good at sewing lol)

Originally Posted by Zeekster64

Its definitely the airbag that scares me. As much as I want a new wheel, I can't justify spending all that money for a purely aesthetic upgrade to my car. But you do recommend the sew-on steering wheel covers as a cheaper alternative?(ps I am pretty good at sewing lol)

Well then, from my personal experience, Wheelskinz makes some of the best ones on the market. If you stitch them up well, they look just fine. Hope this helps.

'Wheelskins' look sooo cheesy!

Of ALL the mods you will do, a nice SW is in your hands, and face all the time.
Most mods are done to enhance the car/interior, but this p/s says it all...I have no taste, I'm cheap, live at home in my parents basement, and...have no taste!

Either get a new wheel, or save up, and get it professionally re-skinned.

'Wheelskins' are really popular in third world countries.

How bout one of these beauties?

Originally Posted by Zeekster64

Its definitely the airbag that scares me. As much as I want a new wheel, I can't justify spending all that money for a purely aesthetic upgrade to my car. But you do recommend the sew-on steering wheel covers as a cheaper alternative?(ps I am pretty good at sewing lol)

I realize its about 2 years since someone has bothered vacuuming this thread. Look at all this dust around here. In my opinion if you have hundreds of dollars to fork over for a steering wheel, you have it made (or you have no girlfriend other than your car). While us average Joes are attempting to keep up with the high maintenance costs it takes to upkeep our e46 beauties, we do try and find (not cheap) much more affordable alternatives to keep our worn out steering wheels looking like new again. My sport steering wheel was very worn. I happened to run into some luck and found a nice used one on craigslist for 80. It wasn't in excellent condition but it was better than what mine was. Still, it has miles on it. I have yet to try this, but I will. Like someone else stated, if it looks whack, rip it off. However if you take your time and do the best you can do, it can't be all that bad. I would rather have a steering wheel cover than an old looking beat up wheel.

The reason I say this is because both my ebrake and shift boot were dry, faded, just straight tore up. Instead of purchasing those entire pieces which would've been ridiculously expensive, I opted to rip the old pleather out and buy nice soft Italian leather and redo them myself. They didn't 100% fit like a glove, but had you not own an e46 or a bmw for that matter, you couldn't tell the difference. It looked better than that vinyl stuff, so remember, in the end it's you that will be noticing the details, it'll be you who will be staring at it day in day out. If it looks good keep it. My total cost for redoing my arm rest and shift boot? $30. Well worth it.

I did my own re-wrap using Wheelskins. I ordered from them with the specific dimensions. They came out perfect. Remove the wheel. Took my time to do the sewing using the cross-lace method. I had and still do have a a whole roll of wax strings and I did the double stitching. The wheels are now real thick. Pics were taken right after install. Leather has since tightened after lather with leather conditioner and no more wrinkles.