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This is not a troll post, but an honest inquiry. Just noticing a lot of people ordering the Dinamica steering wheels and wondered how they're holding up and why you decided to get it? When I spec'd my car build, I intentionally did not choose any Dinamica because of the up-keep involved and some of the nasty wheels I've seen in person in the past. I did some research and know that Dinamica is not exactly the same as Alcantara; it's made by MB and is supposedly more durable than Alcantara. That said, I've heard it's still a nightmare (relatively speaking of course) to up keep and maintain...which is why I decided on leather (w/ piano black. I wish I could have gotten the carbon fiber, but alas it's not an option with leather). Anyway, I know leather is not invincible by any stretch, but at least I am familiar with it and how to keep it maintained and restored...and at the least, I know what it will feel and look like without any up-keep over time.
I think if I was using the car as a weekend or track car only, I would have opted for the Dinamica...or if I was only driving with gloves...but knowing it would be my daily driver, I opted for easier up keep.
What are your thoughts? Just trying to get feedback and understand other perspectives (Also, I'm just bored waiting for my car so starting a new thread for discussion ). In the end, to each his/her own...
I've had both. All leather and all Alcantara. I prefer what I have on my car now. A combo of both. It's nice to have Alcantara in more of the track driving positions, and leather on the top/bottom. I like the feel of leather and I also like the feel of Alcantara or whatever they want to call it. Hence why I like my combo wheel.
Interesting side note: MB doesn't put the 12 o'clock marker (colored) on the designo interior. This drove me nuts. I hated it. My OCD got the best of me and I ordered a new steering wheel that had the Platinum White 12 o'clock marker with the matching stitching. Only way to get it was with the airbag which made it cost even more. This is the exact steering wheel that goes into a C63 S with the white leather (Non-Designo) interior. Typical MB things that don't make any sense. It wasn't cheap... but still worth it. Come to think of it, I'm not sure where the wheel I took out of the car is - lol. I think in a box some where in my office.
I've had both. All leather and all Alcantara. I prefer what I have on my car now. A combo of both. It's nice to have Alcantara in more of the track driving positions, and leather on the top/bottom. I like the feel of leather and I also like the feel of Alcantara or whatever they want to call it. Hence why I like my combo wheel.
Interesting side note: MB doesn't put the 12 o'clock marker (colored) on the designo interior. This drove me nuts. I hated it. My OCD got the best of me and I ordered a new steering wheel that had the Platinum White 12 o'clock marker with the matching stitching. Only way to get it was with the airbag which made it cost even more. This is the exact steering wheel that goes into a C63 S with the white leather (Non-Designo) interior. Typical MB things that don't make any sense. It wasn't cheap... but still worth it. Come to think of it, I'm not sure where the wheel I took out of the car is - lol. I think in a box some where in my office.
benzbell, makes perfect sense to me. I, too, was perplexed how the steering wheel options could not be combined in the way I wanted. I too also wished for the center strip in any version I chose...it would have popped with my red interior...same thing for the seatbelts...I wish I could have gotten the red seatbelts. Just don’t understand the AMG interior design language sometimes. Oh well. I too would love the grip of of alcanrara during track times. Alas, I have a strong feeling my car will never see a track...I’ll use other people’s cars for the track.
I've had both. All leather and all Alcantara. I prefer what I have on my car now. A combo of both. It's nice to have Alcantara in more of the track driving positions, and leather on the top/bottom. I like the feel of leather and I also like the feel of Alcantara or whatever they want to call it. Hence why I like my combo wheel.
Interesting side note: MB doesn't put the 12 o'clock marker (colored) on the designo interior. This drove me nuts. I hated it. My OCD got the best of me and I ordered a new steering wheel that had the Platinum White 12 o'clock marker with the matching stitching. Only way to get it was with the airbag which made it cost even more. This is the exact steering wheel that goes into a C63 S with the white leather (Non-Designo) interior. Typical MB things that don't make any sense. It wasn't cheap... but still worth it. Come to think of it, I'm not sure where the wheel I took out of the car is - lol. I think in a box some where in my office.
Any decent auto upholstery place couldve done it custom on your steering wheel. couldve saved a lot of $$
Given it was my DD for two years.. I've come to dislike the Dinamica material. I drive my Tesla X nowadays, and the all-leather wheel is just easier to keep clean. It's the same steering wheel too. I'm going to swap it one day.
The wheel on my 2015 C63S Edition One was all Alcantara with a red center stripe. I loved the feel of the suede, Alcantara, Dynamica or whatever you want to call it. However, it looked bad with a lot of wear or improper care of the leather. I bought the car used and it already had 42,000 miles on it and suspect the owner didn't properly care for the more delicate suede like material. I looked into buying a new wheel but my Service Manager said they could do a restoration service (basically a re-dye job) on it for $90. Sounded like a good idea to me and I went for it and glad I did. It came back looking and feeling like a brand new steering wheel. I was very happy with it and it held up very well for the rest of the time I had the car.
Basically, when you have exotic materials such as suede, alcantara or dynamic you have to be sure to apply the cleaning and conditioning products that are intended for those specific materials or you can cause more harm than good. Get the finish you like but it's probably best to detail the car yourself so you can do it right or find a detailer that knows what they are doing. I believe more damage is done from improper application of the wrong product than from normal wear and usage.
I wish I had before/after photos but I didn't expect such a dramatic improvement or I would have. And yeah, some of the interior option combinations seem to be way too restrictive. You're the one buying the car and paying the money so you should be able to get the car way YOU want it.
Last edited by Spectre-13; Jul 3, 2019 at 11:51 PM.
Had a Porsche with extensive Alcantara, and found that the best way to care for it was to brush it frequently with a stiff brush (not a metal suede brush), ocassionaly wipe it down with a white or grey towel moistened with distilled water, followed by a brushing. The Alcantara looked brand new after 4 years and 24000 miles.
I have the dynamica carbon fiber wheel.. it’s been awesome!!! Dynamica still looks brand new and is holding up a lot better than the alcantara on my bmw for the first 1300 miles.. time will tell but I love it. I drive in manual mode so my hands are Touching it frequently. I know it’s only 1300 miles but it still looks brand new. I remember when I had the alcantara the first 1200-1500 miles I had to clean it. The dynamica definitely is holding up better in the small mileage sample.
I like it. I wish my whole wheel was made with it but it’s nice. I use Dr. Beasley’s to keep it clean and protected. I clean it every couple of months, but I also make sure to wash my hands, I don’t eat in the car and I keep hand wipes in my center console just in case.... #OCDisms
Prefer the feel of the Dinamica, try to keep my hands in that area more often. Leather is a bit dry, but gives a classic look. Prefer the feel of Milano leather.
I like it a lot. I have the full Dinamica wheel. Decided to change it up. I have perforated leather on my RS5, which I think was a good middle ground, but still slippery at times. Alcantara/Dynamica is just much grippier. I'm not really concerned about cleaning it. I've never really had issues with wear of Alcantara etc. I think the concerns are overblown. I got dining chairs 10 years ago with ultrasuede, specifically because a little bit of soap and water gets pretty much anything out. The material doesn't really wear contrary to popular beliefs, unless you have crappy quality. It just soils if you get dirt on it or have very oily hands. I'm pretty obsessed with regularly cleaning my hands and I don't really have sweaty hands, so regular cleaning with soap water and a tooth brush to get the fibers to stand back up is all it should take. Key is not to soak the material, just a damp microfiber towel and wiping it down and then dry it with a dry towel. I have Alcantara seats in my RS5 and I mostly drive by myself. You can't see any difference in terms of wear between the constantly used driver seat and the other seats. This stuff really holds up well.
Sonus makes an excellent alcantara / dinamica cleaner and protector...
Was just about to post this. Sonax Alcantara Cleaner and a soft-bristled toothbrush is all that's needed to make the steering look brand new.
I have 49K miles on my car, and my hands are on the Dinamica probably 99% of the time. Brushing it with Sonax every few months has kept it looking almost brand new.
I like it. I wish my whole wheel was made with it but it’s nice. I use Dr. Beasley’s to keep it clean and protected. I clean it every couple of months, but I also make sure to wash my hands, I don’t eat in the car and I keep hand wipes in my center console just in case.... #OCDisms
i'm OCD about clean hands too! Kids ALWAYS have to wash hands before getting in my car...LOL
Prefer the feel of the Dinamica, try to keep my hands in that area more often. Leather is a bit dry, but gives a classic look. Prefer the feel of Milano leather.
Basically, when you have exotic materials such as suede, alcantara or dynamic you have to be sure to apply the cleaning and conditioning products that are intended for those specific materials or you can cause more harm than good.
I think this is bollocks mate. Maybe not for suede but for alcantara we are talking about an industrial artificial material made out of plastic. Get a hot, wet towel on there with a tiny bit of dish soap in the water, then give it a scrub. Keep going until the cloth comes back clean. All you're doing is extracting the filth from your hands out of the plastic cloth.
Honestly wish I had a full leather wheel, but alcantara was standard on the S. I’ve cleaned it and kept it nice, but it just starts to look and feel gross over time. I prefer the feeling of full leather on my hands - alcantara has its place with decorative trim pieces, headliners, etc. but not on high usage parts like a steering wheel.
I get it’s for grip, but we’re not driving a track car with racing gloves. Leather feels and wears much better to me.
Honestly wish I had a full leather wheel, but alcantara was standard on the S. I’ve cleaned it and kept it nice, but it just starts to look and feel gross over time. I prefer the feeling of full leather on my hands - alcantara has its place with decorative trim pieces, headliners, etc. but not on high usage parts like a steering wheel.
I get it’s for grip, but we’re not driving a track car with racing gloves. Leather feels and wears much better to me.
yeah, i've seen some of those gross alcantara wheels...feels nasty to touch them. that's what i wanted to avoid since over the years i'm sure i'd get lazy keeping them clean.
also, what do you mean by alcantara being standard on the S? I custom picked my steering wheel in the build process and chose the leather/piano on purpose...?
yeah, i've seen some of those gross alcantara wheels...feels nasty to touch them. that's what i wanted to avoid since over the years i'm sure i'd get lazy keeping them clean.
also, what do you mean by alcantara being standard on the S? I custom picked my steering wheel in the build process and chose the leather/piano on purpose...?
The leather/Dinamica wheel was standard on the pre-facelift C63S. The C63 had an all leather wheel. The Edition 1 cars had a full Dinamica wheel. And there was no option to change them like there is now.
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How you all liking your Dinamica steering wheels?
). In the end, to each his/her own...
benzbell, makes perfect sense to me. I, too, was perplexed how the steering wheel options could not be combined in the way I wanted. I too also wished for the center strip in any version I chose...it would have popped with my red interior...same thing for the seatbelts...I wish I could have gotten the red seatbelts. Just don’t understand the AMG interior design language sometimes. Oh well. I too would love the grip of of alcanrara during track times. Alas, I have a strong feeling my car will never see a track...I’ll use other people’s cars for the track.
