Steering Wheel

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
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Zedbedee
Joined: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 20:04
Posts: 157

  Z3 roadster 2.0
Location: Yeovil

Steering Wheel

Post by Zedbedee »

After owning my 2.0 litre Z3 for nearly 6 years I went to look at a couple of Z4's today. Not sure about the Z4 but what did strike me was how much nicer the steering wheel is than the Z3's. I remember Southernboy did a post some time ago about fitting a Z4 steering wheel to a Z3 and I was wondering how it had been, were there any problems, has anyone else done the change? Of course you will only know if the airbag swap was successful when you hit something but if I resist changing the car I would like to change the wheel.
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Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by Jonttt »

Unfortunately it's not as simple as just swapping. Without going into too much technical detail as its all been posted before the 2 main issues are:

Getting the slipring to fit

Fitting a 2 stage airbag to a single stage system ie pre 04/99 production Z3, although possible to physically fit could, well, kill you :wink:
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
deni2s
Joined: Mon 25 Mar, 2013 22:02
Posts: 761

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by deni2s »

Getting the slipring to fit: http://www.mcoupe.com/profiles/blog/sho ... Post%3A157
There aren't two separate airbags. It's a single airbag that can deploy at different intensities based on the signal received from the airbag controller. Officially as per BMW, if your car was built before 09/1999, you need to retrofit a dual stage controller and have the car recoded for the dual stage driver airbag. If it was built between 09/1999 and 04/2000 (iirc) you have the proper controller, but it needs to be recoded to work with dual stage airbags. If it was built 04/2000 or later, you already have a dual stage airbag, and no coding needs to be performed.

The harnesses themselves are the same, which is why everything fits together fine. The unknown is whether or not the airbag will deploy at the proper intensity (or at all) without coding. The airbag controllers are only a couple hundred bucks new, even less used - IMO considering the potential consequences, there's absolutely no reason not to retrofit the proper controller if you don't already have it.
Zedbedee
Joined: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 20:04
Posts: 157

  Z3 roadster 2.0
Location: Yeovil

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by Zedbedee »

That's an interesting article, thanks for posting it. For a safety related item I would be reluctant to try the change but doesn't that wheel look good!
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Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by Jonttt »

There are better "safer" options if you have a single stage system ie raid (goes by other names)
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by Southernboy »

Why not fit the M Tech wheel with the single stage airbag if you have a single stage system? If you have a dual stage system then it wouldn't be a problem to retro fit a Z4 wheel. The MTech wheels with single stage bags were available on 3 and 5 series, although the 5 series are larger, so they are not as desirable. Kinda gives the feeling of being a truck driver.
I fitted a single stage airbag into the Z4 wheel to circumvent that issue when I did my retro fit....

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BladeRunner919
Joined: Fri 17 Feb, 2012 20:18
Posts: 2225

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by BladeRunner919 »

You could look at a retrim of your wheel with thicker padding, if you just wanted a nicer feel to the wheel. Lots of people have used Royal Steering Wheels - it's certainly high on my wish list. http://royalsteeringwheels.com/
siwilson
Joined: Fri 19 Jun, 2009 09:54
Posts: 790

  M roadster S54
Location: Horley

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by siwilson »

BladeRunner919 wrote:You could look at a retrim of your wheel with thicker padding, if you just wanted a nicer feel to the wheel. Lots of people have used Royal Steering Wheels - it's certainly high on my wish list. http://royalsteeringwheels.com/
+1

I recently had my wheel re-trimmed by Jack at Royal. I went for new OEM look with extra padding to give the same feel as my old E39. Awesome job and awesome service by Jack.
2001 M roadster S54 Laguna Seca Blue
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BladeRunner919
Joined: Fri 17 Feb, 2012 20:18
Posts: 2225

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by BladeRunner919 »

siwilson wrote:
I recently had my wheel re-trimmed by Jack at Royal. I went for new OEM look with extra padding to give the same feel as my old E39. Awesome job and awesome service by Jack.
Do you have a pic of it? I'd probably go for the OEM look too, but most pics seem to have perforated leather, so would be good to see how yours looks in-situ.
Zedbedee
Joined: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 20:04
Posts: 157

  Z3 roadster 2.0
Location: Yeovil

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by Zedbedee »

To be honest I was amazed by the difference. The combination of the smaller diameter, the thicker rim and the profile of the rim made for a much more pleasant drive.
siwilson
Joined: Fri 19 Jun, 2009 09:54
Posts: 790

  M roadster S54
Location: Horley

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by siwilson »

BladeRunner919 wrote:
siwilson wrote:
I recently had my wheel re-trimmed by Jack at Royal. I went for new OEM look with extra padding to give the same feel as my old E39. Awesome job and awesome service by Jack.
Do you have a pic of it? I'd probably go for the OEM look too, but most pics seem to have perforated leather, so would be good to see how yours looks in-situ.
I'll be back home Friday and will take a few pics then.
2001 M roadster S54 Laguna Seca Blue
siwilson
Joined: Fri 19 Jun, 2009 09:54
Posts: 790

  M roadster S54
Location: Horley

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by siwilson »

Sorry for the delay. Here are some pics of the re-finished wheel form Jack at Royal. This is stock M style with extra padding to give the same feel as an E39. Still VERY happy wit the result.

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2001 M roadster S54 Laguna Seca Blue
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BladeRunner919
Joined: Fri 17 Feb, 2012 20:18
Posts: 2225

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Steering Wheel

Post by BladeRunner919 »

That looks great. Thanks for the pics.
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