For those of you who, like me, were a bit unhappy with the thickness/feel of the steering wheel, I found a nice leather cover from Wheelskins.com. It took about an hour to put on as you have to lace it all the way around yourself. The steering wheel feels much nicer than it did before. It fit almost perfectly to start but had some small areas where it sort of wrinkled. Those have disappeared over the last few weeks; I think the summer heat shrunk the leather slightly. I am very pleased, and the new cover matches the black interior very well. Hope somebody finds this useful.

 

check out mine...

 

H'mm......can't see why you would want that on your leather steering wheel. Or what it adds to the car. But if you are happy go for it.

I had one of those lace up covers on my '69 Dodge Dart GT. I didn't know they made them anymore.

 

It makes it feel thicker, and much more comfortable. In person it looks very nice, as well. My last car was a 2004 M3, which had a nice, fat steering wheel. I have not been able to get used to a "normal sized" steering wheel since.

 

is that the stock IS-F? can we really get that steering wheel? I love those gauges . . .

 

I think the original looks much better, but if you can't stand the feel, I could understand, comfort and ergonormics is first.

 

the ultimate would be alcantara steering wheel cover that you lace yourself. i have seen leather steering wheels after about 3 years of use and it scares me.

 

I might have to do this myself soon, because my car is only 1 year old and I don't know how it happened, but the leather on the wheel is already scratched up in places, and I can feel it with my fingers every day when I drive, it actually bothers me quite a bit to not have it perfectly smooth. Does anyone know how hard it would be to remove the original leather skin and replace it?

 

i want the is-f steering wheel since i got the perf. seats.. do you think we could get it when the is-f comes out? it would probably be very expensive right?

 

I would never put a cover over my steering wheel! There is NOTHING out there that will look even remotely good compared to the stock one!

 

Haha I know exactly what you mean. Whenever I drive IS - gf's car, that's the first thing comes to my mind. Who put this wheel thru a diet?

p.s. What happened to M3?

 

if you dont like the thickness y would you add more thickness to the steering wheel.....only reason i would get a cover is to prevent wear/dirt

 

i believe the OP feels that the stock steering wheel is to THIN.

 

I feel your pain BMW makes (IMO, hands down) the best steering wheel in the biz, but I'm undecided on whether adding a cover will allieviate the issue. The IS wheel has good leather, the problem is the thickness...to no avail, you've found a worthwhile solution to your woes...me, I'd go as far as changing the entire wheel if I could keep my controls and all.

Maybe this is something that TRD and the rest of the aftermarket can address. Nonetheless, good job in finding a temp solution!

 

Thanks. I am happy with the solution. The thick leather does add some thickness and cushion to the thin stock steeering wheel.

To answer ngogsr, I felt the wheel was too THIN, not too thick.

To answer kt22cliff, the M3 was traded in on the IS. It was a great car but rough around the edges; I needed a more quiet/comfortable ride.

And for ben_r_, it does look good; the color is a very good match for the dash and the perforations match the seat very well.