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Most definitely should have come with that wheel... Very nice 'mod' regardless!
I think I am the only one who prefers the stock leather wheel. Alcantara just doesn't do anything for me in a place that oily hands touch often. I am definitely keeping mine stock.
I had the dealer switch mine before I picked up my GP3. I only wear driving gloves to prevent the issue with oily hands. Of course I keep the original to switch back to stock later if needed.
I like such a steering wheel, and I use mine as a hand towel as well. The base is an EBAY catch round 100, and a royalty to the upholstery guy. The advantage is free to design at halve of the price.
I think I am the only one who prefers the stock leather wheel. Alcantara just doesn't do anything for me in a place that oily hands touch often. I am definitely keeping mine stock.
You're not the only one . I like the stock wheel, too.
I think they're both great wheels, but to me, a special edition car needs a special steering wheel, especially since the Alcantara wheel option already exists. I know there's some disdain for Alcantara wrapped wheels because it's not as practical as leather... but we're talking about a $46K MINI that has one off tires, options for A/C delete, no rear seat, and polarizing bodywork... The Alcantara wheel seems to fit that 'impractical' framework very nicely, and from a purely passion/design aspect, I can't see why it wasn't included by default.
p.s. @Clutch Wotan did you Rebel Green wrap your dash panels too!?!? I was going to have that done as well!!!
I really love the JCW Suede Wheel, had it on my last R56 but it didn’t hold up well. I decided to try this one in Black Suede w/Red Stitching and 12o’clock Red Stripe. Yes, expensive but I’ve bought from this vendor before and the quality is amazing! Super OEM!
Last edited by jpsjr1970; Oct 18, 2020 at 12:57 PM.
Yes, I’m aware but I wanted alacantra instead of smooth leather. Plus I didn’t want to wait until next year for delivery like my last orders thru you guys. Jose
I thought $150 to swap out the steering wheel was reasonable. Going dealer rate for one hour of work. I watched two MINI dealer techs do the work. It took them about 45 minutes. It was not simple plug and play. Air bag had to be removed from the OEM steering wheel. The flappy paddles and all the steering wheel internal wiring for the paddles, cruise and stereo buttons on the OEM steering wheel had to be disassembled and retrofitted to the Alcantara wheel. And airbag reinstalled.
The paddles might make it a little different as I have a manual but I've got all the buttons on my steering wheel and it was simple plug and play and took me about 30 minutes.
So after getting screwed over by Izzy of NexonMotors on eBay, I decided to buy the same steering wheel from SMPS. Sam really was helpful and was able to rush me this wheel quickly. The price was even better, I paid under $700 and was able to build it to my spec. Here’s a picture....
Older thread so I apologize for the bump but I've been thinking of swapping out the wheel in my 2021 JCW Countryman for the Alcantara version. I've owned a car before with an Alcantara wheel (2018 Audi TT-RS) so I am aware of the pros and cons. Can anyone tell me if the JCW Alcantara wheel is thicker than the stock leather JCW unit? My sales person said it was but also admitted that it had been a while since he had seen one in person. A little thicker is ok but I wouldn't want it to be much thicker than the stock leather unit.
I admit I really love the look of the Alcantara JCW wheel and am seriously considering it.
Older thread so I apologize for the bump but I've been thinking of swapping out the wheel in my 2021 JCW Countryman for the Alcantara version. I've owned a car before with an Alcantara wheel (2018 Audi TT-RS) so I am aware of the pros and cons. Can anyone tell me if the JCW Alcantara wheel is thicker than the stock leather JCW unit? My sales person said it was but also admitted that it had been a while since he had seen one in person. A little thicker is ok but I wouldn't want it to be much thicker than the stock leather unit.
I admit I really love the look of the Alcantara JCW wheel and am seriously considering it.
Great Question!! The Alcantara JCW wheel MINI Part Number 32-30-2-364-770 pictured in the first post of this thread, does feel thicker. Let's measure, shall we....
I dug up my original equipment leather GP3 steering wheel and I measured it at locations 1 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock and 11 o'clock. The diameter (thickness) of the wheel was about 4 and 3/8 inches or 11cm at all points.
Measuring the Alcantara JCW wheel at the the same measuring points, the diameter (thickness) of that wheel was just shy of 4 3/4 inches or 12cm.
So, yes, the Alcantara JCW wheel is thicker by about 3/8 of an inch or 1cm.
Hope this helps
Mark Chiles Hershey, PA 2021 MINI JCW GP #999 (Track Car) 2019 MINI JCW International Orange Edition (Summer Car) 2013 MINI Cooper (Winter Car)
Great Question!! The Alcantara JCW wheel MINI Part Number 32-30-2-364-770 pictured in the first post of this thread, does feel thicker. Let's measure, shall we....
I dug up my original equipment leather GP3 steering wheel and I measured it at locations 1 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock and 11 o'clock. The diameter (thickness) of the wheel was about 4 and 3/8 inches or 11cm at all points.
Measuring the Alcantara JCW wheel at the the same measuring points, the diameter (thickness) of that wheel was just shy of 4 3/4 inches or 12cm.
So, yes, the Alcantara JCW wheel is thicker by about 3/8 of an inch or 1cm.
Hope this helps
Mark Chiles Hershey, PA 2021 MINI JCW GP #999 (Track Car) 2019 MINI JCW International Orange Edition (Summer Car) 2013 MINI Cooper (Winter Car)
Yeah it definitely looks thicker than my JCW wheel and I'm sure I have the same one as the GP3.
The diameter (thickness) of the wheel was about 4 and 3/8 inches or 11cm at all points.
Measuring the Alcantara JCW wheel at the the same measuring points, the diameter (thickness) of that wheel was just shy of 4 3/4 inches or 12cm.
So, yes, the Alcantara JCW wheel is thicker by about 3/8 of an inch or 1cm.
So, that would be the circumference, not the diameter. An additional 1cm of circumference would be about 3mm on the diameter. Not an insignificant amount, when talking about the steering wheel.
So, that would be the circumference, not the diameter. An additional 1cm of circumference would be about 3mm on the diameter. Not an insignificant amount, when talking about the steering wheel.
Thanks for the responses, folks. That is very helpful. Probably going to hold off for now as I'm satisfied with the feel of the stock wheel and I find, in general, that thinner wheels give better steering feel. I do love the look of the JCW Pro Alcantara wheel though and may investigate other similar options (or come back to this one) in the future.
Thanks for the responses, folks. That is very helpful. Probably going to hold off for now as I'm satisfied with the feel of the stock wheel and I find, in general, that thinner wheels give better steering feel. I do love the look of the JCW Pro Alcantara wheel though and may investigate other similar options (or come back to this one) in the future.
Im selling a very lightly used wheel from my clubman S that you can send out to recover in alcantara, or diy. It would be a fraction of the cost of stock. The fabric will add very little to the diameter of the stock wheel so should land you somewhere in the middle for thickness.
. I like the stock wheel, too.
