M3 steering wheel from the 'bay

I just bought this from the 'bay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...#ht_819wt_1541

I plan to swap the multifunction buttons from my sport wheel and retrofit/connect the shift paddles to my step tranny. I just hope the alcantara is in pretty good shape. According to the seller it is, but it's hard to tell from the pics. I thought the price was pretty good. Well, good or bad, I'll have it one day next week. Anyone with an alcantara wheel care to speculate on the condition based on the pics?

That's a good price. My friend just got one for 300 and did the paddle shifter mod. He loves it

Pics look ok. Hard to tell sometimes from pics though. The guys says the wheel is in good condition yet the pics look better than what he's describing....and he's selling it rather cheap too. But hey..... its worth a try. It looks like it will be fine. My wheel has had 3 years of use now....and still looks new. I've never had a problem with it. Guess it might depend on the person driving......sweaty hands and all that.

Solidjake......... there's a paddle shifter mod for steps???

Originally Posted by ZHPEE

Solidjake......... there's a paddle shifter mod for steps???

Check it out:
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=193451

Originally Posted by ZHPEE

Solidjake......... there's a paddle shifter mod for steps???

You need the SMG wheel Here's a pic of my friends car.

Originally Posted by ZHPEE

Pics look ok. Hard to tell sometimes from pics though. The guys says the wheel is in good condition yet the pics look better than what he's describing....and he's selling it rather cheap too. But hey..... its worth a try. It looks like it will be fine. My wheel has had 3 years of use now....and still looks new. I've never had a problem with it. Guess it might depend on the person driving......sweaty hands and all that.

I hear ya. Well, I figure the worst case scenario is the alcantara is shot and the shift paddles don't work (unlikely). If that's the case, then I just recover the wheel with one of those leather covers from BavAuto and forget the retrofit (or buy new paddles). If that happens, I'll have spent too much for the wheel, but what the hell, you only live once. The price was too good not to take a chance.

nice wheel

crap.....just great. Now I'm researching this.......... Should I get the ssg or the smg paddles? It's not that much of a difference in price really. That company in california can either send you the wheel with the kit or you can buy your own smg wheel and get the kit alone.....or send your wheel in and have them add the paddles. Now which would you do? Oh and.....I got the alcantara wheel , and it's still A1 condition. If I was to buy a smg wheel, how much would i get for my alcantara.......or should I keep the alcantara and just send it in to get the paddles added? It says it would take a novice an hour to do the DIY kit.......is that right? K, enough with the questions.....I need answers now lol

Originally Posted by ZHPEE

crap.....just great. Now I'm researching this.......... Should I get the ssg or the smg paddles? It's not that much of a difference in price really. That company in california can either send you the wheel with the kit or you can buy your own smg wheel and get the kit alone.....or send your wheel in and have them add the paddles. Now which would you do? Oh and.....I got the alcantara wheel , and it's still A1 condition. If I was to buy a smg wheel, how much would i get for my alcantara.......or should I keep the alcantara and just send it in to get the paddles added? It says it would take a novice an hour to do the DIY kit.......is that right? K, enough with the questions.....I need answers now lol

Search for paddle shift retrofit and you'll find a bunch of info. Basically, you need a wheel with the paddle shifters, a new steering column switch (part no. 61318379091 - you can get this from Tischer for $105.), and the wires to connect the new switch to the tranny shifter.

Originally Posted by ZHPEE

crap.....just great. Now I'm researching this.......... Should I get the ssg or the smg paddles? It's not that much of a difference in price really. That company in california can either send you the wheel with the kit or you can buy your own smg wheel and get the kit alone.....or send your wheel in and have them add the paddles. Now which would you do? Oh and.....I got the alcantara wheel , and it's still A1 condition. If I was to buy a smg wheel, how much would i get for my alcantara.......or should I keep the alcantara and just send it in to get the paddles added? It says it would take a novice an hour to do the DIY kit.......is that right? K, enough with the questions.....I need answers now lol

The wheel you bought from eBay is the SMG wheel and that is what I would get. Now you need to get the steering column switch as stated in the post above. After that it is just wiring the paddles to the gear lever which is not difficult at all.

You already got it right in your 1st post.