best aftermarket steering wheel

[Kstoff125]

Was curious if anyone had an opinion on who makes a really good aftermarket steering wheel for the F80. Did a quick search but couldn’t find much. Thanks for the insight.

[Jakester]

I don't own it, but like the idea of the JQ Werks/MadTrace "wheel" as you can use a few different wheel choices on their hub design.

[hC1001]

Originally Posted by Kstoff125

Was curious if anyone had an opinion on who makes a really good aftermarket steering wheel for the F80. Did a quick search but couldn’t find much. Thanks for the insight.

What type of wheel are you looking for? A weird shaped one with a mix of carbon/alcantara and leather? or oem recovered?

I personally like the BMW electronic performance wheel and BMW V2 alcantara/leather wheel with stripe and flat bottom.

[Kstoff125]

I was looking more for an aftermarket, combination carbon/alcantara. I will take a look at the V2 you mentioned as well. Thanks!!!

[Nyc911]

I swapped out my CS wheel for the JQ works wheel nad I couldn’t be happier with it.

I swap between my Protipo for daily driving and a alcantara sparco for track days

[Kstoff125]

That is pretty damn cool! 😎

[WhiteFox]

M perfomace with shift lights is my favourite

[NSX2M4]

The IND oem V2. Tri stitch, leather and alcantara, and a red stripe. The cost though...
https://ind-distribution.com/product...steering-wheel

[Bimmer.Plug]

You can check out the collection here.

Here are some of the options:









Let me know if you have any questions!

[headstart101]

Originally Posted by Bimmer.Plug

You can check out the collection here.

Here are some of the options:









Let me know if you have any questions!

Hasn’t anyone caught on to this middle man?

[NSX2M4]

Please keep vendors posts to the vendors side of the forums!!!

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by Bimmer.Plug

You can checkh out the collection here.

Here are some of the options:

By far the most horridly looking steering wheel I have ever seen. Forged carbon is just plain ugly and why anyone would like this is beyond me. The CF steering wheel versions aren’t much better. Tacky looking at best. Why?


Do people really believe this is a true flat-bottomed steering wheel? Let’s see, it’s made from an oem steering wheel frame which is circular in shape…hum

[NSX2M4]

^ It looks like a gynecologists chair...

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by NSX2M4

^ It looks like a gynecologists chair...

that’s exactly what I want to picture when I look down at my steering wheel

[b_w.]

I am perfectly happy with my oem leather steering wheel. Only thing that would be better is Alcantara.

[Danlnyc88]

Personally I think Dinmanns wheels look the best. He adds in those side pieces on the 4 and 7 o clock areas that is a nice touch.

[Colinv6]

Carbon fibre of any form on a steering wheel is nasty in my eyes.

Leather or alcantara or a subtle mix of the 2 are the best options.

You can’t beat an OEM CS steering wheel they are lovely to hold.

[Taylorsherk]

^^ Ditto
i went with the OEM GTS wheel and i absolutely love it.

[MineralWhiteF80]

there are a ton of steering wheels to choose from, and most seem to fall within three different categories of wheels. But first, you need to identify your car's overall 'theme,' how you actually drive your car, and then pick something that doesn't clash with your theme.

For example, you shouldn't put a 330mm race car wheel with cheap buttons and a yellow stripe in a stock F80 grocery getter, but the factory CS or GTS alcantara wheel with carbon fiber trim would both look awesome and feel awesome.

Categories:
1. OEM+
These are M3 CS and M4 GTS alcantara wheels. These pair well with almost every F8x chassis, look awesome, feel awesome and diameter and thickness pair perfectly with the chassis size. They dont look cheap and the quality is better than anything else out there. Price wise, they are quite palatable (if not cheapest) compared to crazy aftermarket wheels and race wheels. There is no trade-off with these wheels. They are a quality BMW product with no real downsides as long as you know how to use an alcantara wheel correctly.

2. Crazy looking aftermarket steering wheels.
Most of these wheels are built off the OEM steering wheel internals and come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, materials. Most of them look like they should belong on the Batmobile and not a BMW. IMO, they are perfectly fine for a basic street car, but having such a clunky wheel with lots of weird angles molded into the outer rim of the wheel is not pleasurable to use. These are not good wheels for autocross, drift, or taking really tight turns that require more than 90° of wheel rotation (like in parking lots). Check out https://azaautowheel.com/product-category/bmw/ for arguably some of the best wheels in this category. Personally, I hate these types of wheels but most people choose the "aggressive sporty look" over the true motorsports functionality or daily drivability of a steering wheel.

3. Race wheels
These are the function-over-form kings. They do look really cool in a race car, but out of place on a stock street car unless you've got the supporting mods to make the wheel blend in properly (race seats/cage/etc.). The smaller wheels like the <330mm diameters are also a little annoying on the street because they do feel very small and thin and are harder to use. The steering wheel materials of the suede variants (Sparco/OMP/MOMO, etc.) are not as good and wear 10x faster than OEM BMW alcantara. The exposed carbon control plates with cheap clicky generic buttons and magnetic paddle shifters are loud and get old very fast in a nice, classy street car. These are great steering wheels on a race track, but aren't as much fun on the street long term as one might think they would be. There are some new 'nicer' race wheel configurations like the MadTrace wheel or Ridgeline Motorsport's GT3 Cup Car wheel, but they are still 'race wheels.'

on my F82 M4, I have the OEM CS wheel with M Performance Carbon trim that perfectly matches the rest of my interior with all of the other M Performance carbon trim etc.

on my E92 M3 track car, I have the Ridgeline Motorsports V2 control plate and a 330mm RaceTech suede steering wheel that matches perfectly with my RaceTech race seats and StudioRSR roll cage.

[hC1001]

I guess ill post pics of the wheels i have since they havent been posted yet. Each wheel has its own benefits. If it was quick to install/remove, i would run the thicker alcantara during winter for heated function. V2 at the track/canyon carving and electronic wheel for daily driving during spring/summer/fall seasons. A downside to these wheels is that i use gloves to drive cause i dont want the alcantara to get crusty.

V2 feels the best to me in the hands. Electronic is just eye candy and makes the interior looks good when driving.

M performance electronic:



Video:

V2 wheel:



Aftermarket thicker OEM recovered alcantara tri stitch heated wheel:

[peter de la mare]

KMP. Made in Germany.

[GuyLedouche]

This is what I had before I converted to a track focused wheel.

Oem v2 wheel, oem dry carbon trim custom painted accent in guards red, and red m buttons in matte finish.