New steering wheel

Hi Seb, so there is a 2 stage airbag in that e39 wheel then, despite it looking the same on the outside ? There are plenty for sale on ebay in that shape, but they are split between e36 e46 and e39 models. I just want to be sure I buy the right one

No offence intended to Seb or Tony but personally I don't like that design of steering wheel very much - I don't like the great black Christmas Pud lump in the middle. Currently I have the M Sport 3 spoke (same as Seb removed) fitted and the only gripe I have is that I'd like to have MF buttons. Anyone know what other wheels (with MF) would fit? (without mucking about with slip rings etc)

Cheers,
Jason

With or without the MF controls I'd like to change to the smaller wheel purely because it's much nicer to drive with.
Having owned an old E36 for 8 years I've kinda gotten used to the smaller size wheel and can't see that fitting one into the E31 is going to make the steering noticable heavier.
Even if it does I'll happily live with it as it'll also mean less of a stretch when steering with the palm of your hand, so I'm well up for it.
It looks from this thread like the guys with later E31s are pretty well sorted but can anyone say for certain what E36/E46 year/model steering wheels will fit the earlier (pre Sept' '94) E31 steering column?

Here's a picture of my wheel, Which is wired to my ipod and a alpine iva-d900 to control the volume and fast forward to the next song, I didn't use all the MF's so far, I'm replacing this wheel soon with a Carbon fiber one which looks the same.

Zitat von ///M Turbo

Here's a picture of my wheel, Which is wired to my ipod and a alpine iva-d900 to control the volume and fast forward to the next song, I didn't use all the MF's so far, I'm replacing this wheel soon with a Carbon fiber one which looks the same.

That's exactly the set-up I'd like to get for my car. What wheel is that one anyway? I have the same design wheel but without MF buttons - did you rig the buttons up yourself or is that a transplant from a different car?

Cheers,
Jason

It came out of a E46, You can also find it in some of the Z models.

Marv,

Hey marv

What year is your car thats fitted with this wheel?

I tried to put one on my 1994 car but the splined shaft of the steering columb was a different size to the wheel!

Hi Steve! It's on my 1991 and 92.

Was it a straight swop if so don't no why I had those problems

I had to make my original slip ring fit the wheel, That was it!

I have the 3-spoke sports steering wheel in my 8, and I bought one of the multi-function versions like M Turbo has, with the intention of swapping my single stage airbag onto it. It does physically fit, but the newer wheel doesn't come with a slip ring, it seems that is part of the car on later models. As a result, the area around the splines is different, so while the wheel would physically fit, the old slip ring wouldn't meaning I couldn't hook up my horn and airbag, let alone the MF buttons.

I'd be interested in finding out what work was done to allow the slip ring to be fitted to the MF wheel. Also, how did you hook up the MF buttons, seeing that there are no spare wires in our slip ring? And can the MF buttons be connected directly to a compatible head unit, or is an interface box required?

Cheers.

The newer wheel does come with a slip ring, You will need the plugs from the newer ring or you can make your own, The volume buttons were installed into my alpine IVA-D900 radio from a local stereo shop, Took them 5 minutes once they had my radio opened, Cost was $40.00 US for the wiring, The slip ring is also availabe at the dealer but it pops up on ebay alot also.

Marv,

the wheel ( your smaller diam) looks great . do you know if it will fit my 1998 840csi, and if so , does any one have one for sale..rgds kevan

Are you saying a newer steeringwheel i.e from a e46 would fit an 1990 8 with some minor modifications?

I have the multi function M-steeringwheel in my e46, and I'd love to have the same one in my old 8. but I thought it would'nt fit on old 8's the spline

This is the one I'd like in my 8

Zitat von Seb

Basically only the E36 one will fit straight onto the E31 - they share the same single-stage airbag and the same slip ring. The E38 and E39 multi-function wheels both use multi-stage airbags and both have different slip rings, so they'd require some work in order to get them to fit and operate correctly.
There's no MF steering wheel that will fit straight onto the E31 unfortunately, all will require some modifications in order to fit.

My mod of an E46 steering wheel with multifunction in my 96'er CSi (full functionality, Radio and Cruise Control)

and here's the E39 Multifunction steering wheel in my 91'er 850i

this picture shows the active Cruise Control (green lamp with the left/right symbols)

I develop this cruise control interface. The Interface talk with the MFL Buttons and with the EML of the car. It's possible the connect the old stick to.

many greetings
Martin

Webmaster Int. 8-series community Switzerland
http://www.8er.org

Hello Everybody and HAPPY NEW YEAR

Thank you for the info Martin, that looks very interesting!

By the way, I didn't know about your site; nice to have something about the E31 in Switzerland.

I'll register on it, it will make me practice my German

Regards,

Wow that interface looks really impressive! Could you post more details of what's involved, for those of us who can't read German?

Thanks

Im more back to the basics myself
Have bought this wheel on the bay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors…rksid=p3984.cWAT.m240.lVI

As you can see, he claimed it is just plug and play for all 8's I have on the other hand come to realise that it will need some mods Not the end of the world though, as the wheel comes with the new slip ring

The replacement seem pretty easy according to this site(based on the e36): http://home.earthlink.net/~fra…iy/E36_steeringwheel.html

I have on the other hand never come across anyone mentioning the replacement of the "steering column switch bracket" when it comes to fitting this on the e31. Is this then something that is not needed here or might I as well go ahead and order one straight away?