[BluBMW]

Mr Blu here.
Mrs Blu's love for BMW got to me and I picked up a base 535i for what seems like an incredibly good price. But, I hated the steering wheel. It's nowhere near as nice as the one in the Honda I traded in. Here is my experience with an Ebay leather steering wheel wrap, in case anyone else here feels the same way.

I was very disappointed with the steering wheel in the base model 535. I considered replacing it with a sport model, but it was expensive and would negate the good price I purchased the car for. I found a decent looking wrap from a seller called Primabox-8 which appeared to be an exact fit, for about $41 including shipping from China. It arrived in about 9 days and the kit included everything I would need, and the leather appeared to be good quality. I went to Jo-ann's and found some gray thread to match the car's color (the kit included black thread).
Here is the initial test fit of the wrap:


The tools and instructions were easy to follow. I removed the airbag to allow tucking the leather into the space between the airbag and wheel spokes. Also, I used the T20 torx to loosen the buttons on the left and right spokes and tucked the leather in there as well.

Sewing the inside part of the leather wrap was pretty straightforward, and the whole process took about 3 hours. The kit included double sided tape and the instructions said that it was not necessary to use. If I were to repeat this process, I would use the tape much more.

Here is the finished product:



You can see that the leather is slightly loose at the bottom spoke, and both side spokes. Were I to repeat this, I would use the double sided tape between the leather and steering wheel (it is very thin tape) in these locations. In addition, at the very top of the wheel (12 o'clock position), there is some very slight looseness. I would add some tape there as well.

The final trouble area is on the back side of the bottom (6 o'clock position) spoke. There is too much material and it bunches. This requires careful trimming of the leather and then taping it down to be flat.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the quality of the product, especially considering its origin. The fit and finish is very good. If I were to remove the wrap and re-install it (I am considering this but not in any hurry), I believe I could get a near professional level of fit (on my second attempt).

Although the photo shows a slightly loose fit at the spokes, the wrap actually fits quite nicely and it only slightly annoys me (I'm just as much a perfectionist most of you probably are).

I hope this helps somebody!

PS: Also note that I installed a piece of chrome trim that loosely approximates the 'sport' steering wheel look. This was a $9 part on ebay and so far has been acceptable. It's only held on by a layer of sticky tape, so longevity remains to be seen!

Wes (Mr BluBMW)

[Dzbeslic]

Originally Posted by BluBMW

Mr Blu here.
Mrs Blu's love for BMW got to me and I picked up a base 535i for what seems like an incredibly good price. But, I hated the steering wheel. It's nowhere near as nice as the one in the Honda I traded in. Here is my experience with an Ebay leather steering wheel wrap, in case anyone else here feels the same way.

I was very disappointed with the steering wheel in the base model 535. I considered replacing it with a sport model, but it was expensive and would negate the good price I purchased the car for. I found a decent looking wrap from a seller called Primabox-8 which appeared to be an exact fit, for about $41 including shipping from China. It arrived in about 9 days and the kit included everything I would need, and the leather appeared to be good quality. I went to Jo-ann's and found some gray thread to match the car's color (the kit included black thread).
Here is the initial test fit of the wrap:
Attachment 1726512

The tools and instructions were easy to follow. I removed the airbag to allow tucking the leather into the space between the airbag and wheel spokes. Also, I used the T20 torx to loosen the buttons on the left and right spokes and tucked the leather in there as well.

Sewing the inside part of the leather wrap was pretty straightforward, and the whole process took about 3 hours. The kit included double sided tape and the instructions said that it was not necessary to use. If I were to repeat this process, I would use the tape much more.

Here is the finished product:

Attachment 1726514

You can see that the leather is slightly loose at the bottom spoke, and both side spokes. Were I to repeat this, I would use the double sided tape between the leather and steering wheel (it is very thin tape) in these locations. In addition, at the very top of the wheel (12 o'clock position), there is some very slight looseness. I would add some tape there as well.

The final trouble area is on the back side of the bottom (6 o'clock position) spoke. There is too much material and it bunches. This requires careful trimming of the leather and then taping it down to be flat.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the quality of the product, especially considering its origin. The fit and finish is very good. If I were to remove the wrap and re-install it (I am considering this but not in any hurry), I believe I could get a near professional level of fit (on my second attempt).

Although the photo shows a slightly loose fit at the spokes, the wrap actually fits quite nicely and it only slightly annoys me (I'm just as much a perfectionist most of you probably are).

I hope this helps somebody!

PS: Also note that I installed a piece of chrome trim that loosely approximates the 'sport' steering wheel look. This was a $9 part on ebay and so far has been acceptable. It's only held on by a layer of sticky tape, so longevity remains to be seen!

Wes (Mr BluBMW)

Originally Posted by BluBMW

Mr Blu here.
Mrs Blu's love for BMW got to me and I picked up a base 535i for what seems like an incredibly good price. But, I hated the steering wheel. It's nowhere near as nice as the one in the Honda I traded in. Here is my experience with an Ebay leather steering wheel wrap, in case anyone else here feels the same way.

I was very disappointed with the steering wheel in the base model 535. I considered replacing it with a sport model, but it was expensive and would negate the good price I purchased the car for. I found a decent looking wrap from a seller called Primabox-8 which appeared to be an exact fit, for about $41 including shipping from China. It arrived in about 9 days and the kit included everything I would need, and the leather appeared to be good quality. I went to Jo-ann's and found some gray thread to match the car's color (the kit included black thread).
Here is the initial test fit of the wrap:
Attachment 1726512

The tools and instructions were easy to follow. I removed the airbag to allow tucking the leather into the space between the airbag and wheel spokes. Also, I used the T20 torx to loosen the buttons on the left and right spokes and tucked the leather in there as well.

Sewing the inside part of the leather wrap was pretty straightforward, and the whole process took about 3 hours. The kit included double sided tape and the instructions said that it was not necessary to use. If I were to repeat this process, I would use the tape much more.

Here is the finished product:

Attachment 1726514

You can see that the leather is slightly loose at the bottom spoke, and both side spokes. Were I to repeat this, I would use the double sided tape between the leather and steering wheel (it is very thin tape) in these locations. In addition, at the very top of the wheel (12 o'clock position), there is some very slight looseness. I would add some tape there as well.

The final trouble area is on the back side of the bottom (6 o'clock position) spoke. There is too much material and it bunches. This requires careful trimming of the leather and then taping it down to be flat.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the quality of the product, especially considering its origin. The fit and finish is very good. If I were to remove the wrap and re-install it (I am considering this but not in any hurry), I believe I could get a near professional level of fit (on my second attempt).

Although the photo shows a slightly loose fit at the spokes, the wrap actually fits quite nicely and it only slightly annoys me (I'm just as much a perfectionist most of you probably are).

I hope this helps somebody!

PS: Also note that I installed a piece of chrome trim that loosely approximates the 'sport' steering wheel look. This was a $9 part on ebay and so far has been acceptable. It's only held on by a layer of sticky tape, so longevity remains to be seen!

Wes (Mr BluBMW)

Nicely done.. it does look much better.
I had the same dilemma, do I upgrade to Sport wheel or go with some wrap?
So, I did wrap first. However, it didn't look "OEM" so I found a place on Ebay from Belarus that made custom steering wheels. For $350. I went for it. It wasn't as expensive. I still haven't received even though it has been 15 days. I will post some pics aftrr install.

[lsturbointeg]

looks great if you don't want to replace your steering wheel especially for $41 i was in the same boat as you with my base 535i and i ended up going through Ledermanz who is referred across all makes and models across the forum whether it's BMW, Mercedez, Porsch, ect... because the steering wheels they use are OEM that was a no brainer. you can choose and pick the style, materials and color choices. i probably sent 4 different ideas to them and all of them they can do but i did create a thread awhile back to get some input from member's on what i should do. here's how mine came out just in case down the road you decide to upgrade later

[Dzbeslic]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

looks great if you don't want to replace your steering wheel especially for $41 i was in the same boat as you with my base 535i and i ended up going through Ledermanz who is referred across all makes and models across the forum whether it's BMW, Mercedez, Porsch, ect... because the steering wheels they use are OEM that was a no brainer. you can choose and pick the style, materials and color choices. i probably sent 4 different ideas to them and all of them they can do but i did create a thread awhile back to get some input from member's on what i should do. here's how mine came out just in case down the road you decide to upgrade later

Istudbointeg, where did you get Mcover for your steering wheel? I looked everywhere and couldn't find it! I found the ones for Sport steering wheel only!
Thanks

[Dzbeslic]

Originally Posted by Dzbeslic

Istudbointeg, where did you get Mcover for your steering wheel? I looked everywhere and couldn't find it! I found the ones for Sport steering wheel only!
Thanks

Isturbointeg*, sorry for misspelling your name.

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by Dzbeslic

Istudbointeg, where did you get Mcover for your steering wheel? I looked everywhere and couldn't find it! I found the ones for Sport steering wheel only!
Thanks

Ledermanz put it on when they made the wheel. i'm sure you can find these on Ebay

[Dzbeslic]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Ledermanz put it on when they made the wheel. i'm sure you can find these on Ebay

Thanks but I haven't been successful in finding one that fits our steering wheel

[BluBMW]

Wow, that steering wheel looks super nice! What does a wheel like that cost?

[Dzbeslic]

Originally Posted by BluBMW

Wow, that steering wheel looks super nice! What does a wheel like that cost?

Here is mine after installed.