WTF? Classic MINI is showing everything listed as at MSRP. Weird.

 

you have to call and them you're with NAM

 

Thanks for letting me know. Coming soon to a loading dock near me: "JCW Wheel"!!!

 

Had my "fattie" (don't go there) for over 2 years. Every day, when I get in, I remember the original wheel and smile. Without doubt, the most consistently pleasing mod I've done. (except for the Whalen of course)

 

I replaced the stock wheel in my `05 S with an `05 leather JCW.

They are EXACTLY the same size and shape and firmness, with the only difference being the stitching pattern and leather vs. pleather.

You folks have overactive imaginations if you think that there is any functional difference between an S wheel and a JCW.

 

I had Dan from grassroots put my JCW steering wheel in MY GP last night I have driven the car about 150 miles and I really do think it is an excellent modification. This is the steering wheel that the GP should have came with.

 

You either do not have a genuine JCW steering wheel or you have some tactile deficeit. There is a remarkable difference. BTW, its one thing to state an opinion regarding factual matters. Its quite another to belittle others opinions by dismissing them as the product of "overactive imaginations".

 

Yup - it was the little brown clip - it's all good now.

 

why would you bother doing the swap to begin with if you didnt feel a difference? i'll gladly purchase your jcw wheel since you aren't satisfied...you'll apparently never notice a difference by going back to stock.

 

same size, yes and no. it's slightly thicker but the wheel itself is the same size.
same shape, yes. it's a wheel.
same firmness, i beg to differ. it is more padded than the OEM wheel.
no difference functionally, it's still a wheel. but it certainly DOES feel different.

 

MINI claims that the standard 3-spoke steering wheel is genuine leather.

 

Maybe so. But my old wheel feels more like aged plastic-vinyl to me. I noticed right away that even the leather portion of the JCW wheel (mine is part alcantara and part leather ) is so soft in comparison to the stocker. Almost as soft as the alcantara itself. A huge difference in feel ! I am more than eager to show anyone with clean hands at the next NJ meet

 

Meanwhile, back here in Reality, the outside circumference of of the `05-06 JCW leather wheel, and the thickness of the wheel, is IDENTICAL to the pleather standard S wheel.

Sorry, but that's how it measures here on the planet Earth, where MINI's are built. Yeah, it looks different, and I like where the stitching is vs. the standard S wheel, but they are otherwise identical.

I replaced the stock S wheel because I liked the look and feel of the leather, and because a used one was inexpensive, but you are self-deluded if you think that there is any difference in size.

Try measuring the two - I did - there is NO difference. Yeah, fake suede feels nice if your hands never sweat, but it's pretty horrible after a few months unless you wear driving gloves all the time.

Sorry `bout that - reality can be a bummer.

 

I've got a leather JCW wheel, and really like it.

 

Why would you pay more for a JCW wheel if it is identical to the OEM S wheel?

I thought you were the master of reality? Wouldn't someone so in-touch with reality be able to see they are identical before spending hundreds more on a wheel that feels no different?

 

oem vs jcw

oem overall circumference

jcw overall circumference

jcw grip circumference

oem grip circumference


oem overall diameter: 36.75cm
jcw overall diameter: 36.4cm

oem grip diameter: 3.4cm
jcw grip diameter: 3.6cm

it's not a lot, but the jcw IS smaller in overall diameter than the oem while its grip diameter IS thicker than the oem.

 

OldRick's assertions did not seem right to me either. I was sure that my fingers wrapped further around the rim of the standard wheel than the JCW.

So I dug out my original steering wheel which had been in a box for the past couple of years. Placing the original against the JCW, the outer diameter looks the same. However, the JCW clearly has a smaller inner diameter, even to the casual eye. In side profile, the JCW is very obviously thicker (I don't have calipers for proper measurement). The circumference at the top of the rim measured at 104 mm for the standard wheel, 112 mm for the JCW. This means at the top of the steering wheel, my JCW has about 1/4" larger circumference in grip, which is fairly substantial.

 

OldRick is just too "Old" to tell the difference I guess. Or maybe his aged eyes are going on him. That is the real reality I guess. LOL...J/K

Thanks for posting the measurement comparisons Glnr13. That pretty much sums up the reality of the 2 wheels

 

You are measuring the alacantara version, which is indeed thicker than the leather one.

 

I have access to the leather one too, I'll ask for measurements on that... will report back shortly.

edit: my friends jcw all leather wheel is INDEED exactly the same dimensions as my jcw alcantara wheel.

 

I have the all leather JCW and my comments 3 posts earlier were in reference to the leather version. If I can find my digital camera, I'll take a picture tonight of a side profile comparison view. The thickness difference is very obvious. I can't speak for yours, but my JCW wheel is definitely thicker than my standard wheel.

 

I just measured my `05 JCW leather wheel.

circumference = 45", calculated O.D = 36.4cm
wheel thickness = 3-3/8"-3-1/2", i.e. 3.54-3.64cm, depending on whether in a finger groove, or on the high point between them

So we are nit-picking about a grand total difference of a 1/8" smaller diameter wheel that is 2mm thicker.

Close enough to identical for me, and certainly not enough to make any functional difference, such as a racing wheel would provide. It is a largely cosmetic "upgrade" for several hundred dollars.

 

functionally 1° of camber can make a huge difference in cornering and sometimes toe out or in can be referred to in sixteenths of an inch. my point is a millimeter is a millimeter and if some feel it makes the experience more enjoyable then so be it. no need to rain on others' parades because you're a curmudgeon.

 

Uh... that's what curmudgeons do, isn't it?

 

aye, tis true