ghaffar23

And I am thoroughly satisfied...it makes the old leather steering wheel so 'low-class'. I love the rich feel of the wood grain. Plus, it doesn't get dirty. Installation was simple, once I got the 1/2" to 3/8" driver adapter and T30 torx screwdriver, which I cut and made it 'grabbable' with my dremel. That 10mm bolt is a pain to get off, but it took 10 seconds once my brother came and helped. Here is before and after. I took it with a cell phone, so I apologize. Thanks Jerry! Color-match was VERY close and I am happy. It took about a month to arrive and it was well worth the wait. Now, my wheel feels like my mom's CL600! Yay!

***I will have another picture with a high quality camera Monday! It looks so much better in person...***

ProV1

looks good!!

anghrist

Was the wheel by MP Design?? Mine looks a little bit different, just wondering.

MB>BMW

nice steering wheel btw, i was wondering, how do u get it to display your mph on the digital read out????

Tommy_s4

Btw your low on gas

ghaffar23

Jerry has a supplier from Thailand, so I have no clue really as to who made the steering wheel. The feel and quality is top-notch, so I am not really concerned. The MPH digital display is obtained through scrolling to the odometer and then using the up or down arrow, past the service indicator.

ProV1

for those considering this upgrade, i highly recommend paying a bit more for the AMG ergonomic style wheel. it's smaller in diameter and also has really nice notches where your fingers go. going back & forth between my E420 and E55, it's like going to a truck. lol

elchuang

It sounds like ghaffar23's wheel was made by an upholstery shop in Thailand. In that case you could most likely have them make you a sport wheel that is even more agressive than the AMG wheel. I had one done in factory leather all around for the OEM feel, but there are other combinations such as carbon fiber on Alcantara, Alcantara on Nappa, or whatever that is to your liking. Mine was done in Taiwan and the cost was $300 plus the exchange of my OEM wheel.

Bossman123

The center piece of my steering wheel has a spot on it where I guess the leather or what ever it is, dye has rubbed off. It looks ugly. Any ideas how to get it back to new? Can I buy a new center piece?

ghaffar23

The wheels were actually the same price, however, I felt that it might be a mismatch putting an AMG wheel into a non-AMG car IMHO. I was going to opt for the perforated leather, but in the end, I decided against. I am glad that I did. I am not looking for the sport look, but others may, so to each their own.

elchuang

Good choice, it flows really well with the rest of the interior.

The Godfather

MORE PICS OF THE CF!!! How much was it? Custom made?

elchuang

The cost was about $500 including labor to disassemble, wrap, and reinstall. Since you're in the scene, I take it wouldn't be too difficult for you to find an upholstery/bodyshop locally that can pull this off. Initially I wanted to imitate the Piano Black finish found in Audi's but was afraid it would come out kinda "Hi, I painted my Type-R's interior black!" Then I test wrapped a piece in Alcantara and ran into fitment issues around the radio cutout and the switches. CF was kind of my last resort in pursuit of blacking out my interior. The key with wrapping CF is getting just the right thickness so it wouldn't creak against the leather while driving. Pix are sent via PM as I don't want to highjack this thread any further. Sorry ghaffar23!

ghaffar23

So I put the steering wheel on just fine, and though I thought that I installed the wheel on straight, I noticed right away that it wasn't. So I disassembled everything again, and actually drove without the airbag connected to make sure that I installed it straight. However, due to driving without an airbag, it tripped the 'SRS' light, the one right below the CEL. Good news is that the wheel is straight. Bad news is that I have to get that light reset. Can I have that light turned off without having to go to the dealer?

Bossman123

Autozone will read the code for youi for free. That should clear it.

ghaffar23

So I went to Autozone, and he did not find any codes. He noted that if it was a CEL, then he could reset it. Not the SRS light, so the light remains on...grrr...could a loose connection be at fault? Although I know that I had connected the airbag, I am going to take the airbag off and make sure tomorrow morning. Then, if it's still there, where else can I go? I can try Autozone again, or where? O'Reilly's? Advanced Auto Parts?

Bossman123

Ohh..sorry man. My mistake.

ghaffar23

It's cool BossMan123, apparently, with the SRS light, it has to be reset by the dealer or good indie. That's what I've been reading on the forums. First I will try an independent mechanic that deals with imports, so they should probaby have Star Diagnostics. If not, I can always see the guys at the dealer. I am hoping they will cut me a break and just reset it for free if I end up going to them. (don't know if that's likely...HA HA!)

dan_cobb

Any chance that shop would export their parts directly to consumers here in the US?
Also, do you think they could do anything with the steering wheel multi-function buttons in CF (or wood, etc.)?
+++

elchuang

Sounds like an idea since my multi-function buttons have deteriorated beyond tolerance. A couple of concerns though. First, by laying CF over the top you would lose the symbols/markings on the buttons, and it would no longer illuminate. Second, the thickness added on by the CF along with its clearcoat might cause the buttons to have too little play within the sockets. Although this can be solved by cutting off sharply at the edge instead of rounding into it, but you would end up with raw CF w/o clearcoat at the cut. I still have a couple of interior pieces doing leather work at that particular shop, so I'll ask them about it when I visit later on this week. I'll fill you in when I have the details.

dan_cobb

I'll be on the lookout for some answers/ideas.

BTW, I almost don't car about illumination as compared to the crumbling surface of the buttons.
I would look into silkscreening or etching the symbols onto the covers if need be.
+++

ghaffar23

Here it is...I took it with my Nokia 6280. Granted, it's not a high-quality camera, but it will suffice. Enjoy!

ProV1

my multifunction buttons are scratched up.. is it simple to R&R the little plastic parts? especially the top ones with + & - buttons..

sbarsap

I have the option too, it could be standard on the 00+ W210's.

sbarsap

Here is my Steering wheel which I bought/installed last year. I bought it off ebay.de and it was brand new. cost me like $600 and I love it.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/107706-01-w210-steering-wheel-diy.html

Sorry I tried attaching the pics but it said I have already uploaded the pics previously in the above thread.