Wrapping your steering wheel with leather

[Proudfoot]

Has anyone tried this product from Wheelskins?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mazda-3-Whee...062b11&vxp=mtr

I was thinking of looking for a used, leather steering wheel but this might be worth a try.

Thanks,

Proudfoot

[tomato.novaa]

yes i was going to do this but it was going to add too much bulk to my wheel so i decided not to..also there is a site too you can order this off off too http://www.wheelskins.com/ I got them to send me samples of each leather style aswell if your unsure of the feel! hope this helps!

[coriolis]

I have it, and its not bad. Definitely adds girth to the steering wheel, but I don't mind it. The included thread is not very good though, it started fraying at some parts(I purchased it over 2 years ago though). It's not a bad fit, fairly tight and hasn't loosened up. My biggest rant on it would be that the 'crease', where the single piece of leather connects to make a circle, is a bit on the thick side. Other then that and the better thread, patience as well. It took me over an hour with a lot of re-do's to finish, and the end product was not perfect(I skipped a few holes and the thread patterns change often lol).

[Proudfoot]

I appreciate the feedback. I remember seeing some wheels available on our site for $80 last year. I really don't like the feel of the plastic wheel.

[kat3501]

I also don't like the feel of the plastic steering wheel.

The price on ebay for the Wheelskins is lower than the one directly from the Wheelskins website and shipping is free. Their video makes it look pretty simple to do.
If the included thread frays, I have used a synthetic sinew thread from Tandy Leather for other leatherwork and I wonder if it would work with the Wheelskins. It might not come in the right colour though.

I would just be concerned about the airbag with a used wheel for my $0.02...

[Proudfoot]

This VW guy wrapped his wheel in a Wheelskin cover and then did a baseball stitch and used two items of thread. The Wheelskin guy told me he would give me an extra thread, if I asked for it. Here is an image of the VW wheel. IMO, it looks really good.

[Proudfoot]

Here is the link: http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1471...41005726LWkdAH for the image. I don't think I can save the image from the website.

[gabbygenier]

if someone has a spare steering wheel you can send it to redline goods and they will do it for you. not sure on the price but they will do stuff that they havent made yet. also i think if youre the first customer they will give you a discount to get the "template" made

[sudz]

heh. Almost makes me wonder if tennis racquet re-grip stuff would work.

[Proudfoot]

The item is in the mail. I will give it a shot and then post some pictures.

[blindemboss]

I also don't like the feel of the plastic steering wheel.

Same here. I've googled around and haven't found many good replacements or leather wraps.
Does Mazda Canada sell the oem leather wrapped steering wheel found in the SkyActiv and GT models? And if so, are they easily swappable with the plastic steering wheel of my new 2012 GX Sport?

[sube]

Same here. I've googled around and haven't found many good replacements or leather wraps.
Does Mazda Canada sell the oem leather wrapped steering wheel found in the SkyActiv and GT models? And if so, are they easily swappable with the plastic steering wheel of my new 2012 GX Sport?

It is probably available at the dealer, but I think it would be wildly expensive.

Pat.

[mazdaagain]

Canadian Tire used sell something exactly like this a while back. I've used it on 2 different cars and I really liked it as it fit really well and didn't add all that much bulk to the wheel. Much better feel than platic and rubber. Unfortunately they don't sell it any more and I haven't found anywhere else that sells it.

[theo575]

I'm talking with a company is Europe right now that is going to make a custom one for my wheel, they will be then using that as a template for others they will sell in the future.

I'll be shipping my wheel out in the next week and should hear back within 2-3 weeks. Hopefully I'll remember to post in here regarding their prices and how it turned out, or I'll just make a new thread lol.

I think the best two ways to replace a cracking steering wheel (mine kinda just rubbed off into nothing lol) is either get a newish one off ebay or another member, or spend the money and get a nice one that covers the spokes and looks oem. Those other ones that only cover the wheel itself just look kinda crappy

[Proudfoot]

My Dad recently had his steering wheel done some place in Detroit for $200 and it looks great. My homemade job using the Wheelskins product feels great but doesn't look awesome. I will have to post some images. The wheel feels more comfortable than the leather one on our family Mazda 5. If it was more form fitting around the spokes, I am sure it would look better but it is much more comfortable than the plastic feel I had before.

Happy Mother's Day.

[Proudfoot]

Some people really don't like how the Wheelskins product looks. It feels way better than the plastic wheel which I found to be very slippery. A member asked me to post some photos. Here is the link to see some photos of how it turned out. I would advise you to wear gloves when you do this because I got blisters!!

http://s1147.photobucket.com/albums/o559/proudfoot4/

[leungalv]

if someone has a spare steering wheel you can send it to redline goods and they will do it for you. not sure on the price but they will do stuff that they havent made yet. also i think if youre the first customer they will give you a discount to get the "template" made

You might be able to get it done for free ...

http://www.redlinegoods.com/SteeringWheelCover.php

At the bottom of the page:

Your car not listed above? This means you are only one step away from getting a free one!

We are looking for people who will send us their stock parts for prototyping and then make an installation manual. Those who are willing to help, will get their wrap for free! Click the image below for detailed conditions.

[Wes08M3]

Redline products seem to be of pretty good quality. I recently ordered a leather shift boot from them and am very happy with the product.

[theo575]

Mine's in the mail all ready

Sorry... I'll let you guys know how the customer service and the work is. I'm getting an alcantara wrap plus alcantara boot

[theo575]

Hey Guys,

So Redlinegoods.com will be offering a wrap for our 3's 2004-2009 (MS3's too).
It will cover the spokes as well as the outer wheel surface, will look just like oem, if you want to check out their site they have a few samples of other cars they've done in the past.
The cost is roughly $100 for Leather, $160 for Alcantara.

I'll be posting pictures of my wheel when it's back, they have it right now (they are based in Poland), so it'll probably take a month before I get it.
FYI - It cost me $60 to ship my wheel to them, they charge $100 to put the wrap on

Pictures and info will be on their website in about 12 days, you can email them and order today if you really want to

[DarkKilla]

A friend got this for me, so unfortunately I don't know who the manufacturer/distributor is but it is made by a company in the UK. Its 100% full italian leather and because its just the leather it doesn't add much girth to the steering wheel. Basically you put it over and stitch it similar to the wheelskins, but I find that this has a more oem looking stitch pattern. It fits very tight and even though it doesn't fully cover the spokes, I think it still looks quite nice. Best of all, its was somewhere around $30 dollars.

[ProfessorLee]

I just installed the Autoexe leather wrap from Streetunit, or rather my wife did, since she stitched it. It took about two hours for her. Full install and details are on my Mazda 3 Blog.

Two problems we had were

1) the color is not a deep, rich black like the leather seats. So, I am buying Doc Bailey's leather black and will apply that. Just waiting on delivery to try it.
2) the area that sticks on to the spokes created problems with the on-wheel controls. They need to be cut. Unfortunately, just cutting them back looks weird, so I kept cutting to fit around the trim of the controls, and now it looks jagged because the leather is hard to cut smoothly on the wheel. However, not much to do about it now except buy another one and do it over unless you guys have ideas on fixing it. I'm hoping that when it is dyed black, the jaggedness will be less visible.

The wheel definitely feels more substantial and comfortable. My wrists and hands feel better after a long drive as well.

[TheMAN]

did you remove the controls first before applying the leather or were you trying to shove the leather under the control panels?

[ProfessorLee]

I didn't remove the control panel and just cut around the controls, which I regret now. I should have pried off the control panel and tucked under to hide the cuts.

[TheMAN]

as you found out, that's what you should've done... it's not hard to get them off once you take the airbag off!!
hell, it's much easier to work on the steering wheel out of the car... if you didn't take off the steering wheel, you should've done so! That autoexe kit is too nice to cut corners on installation