oooooooooohhhhh....

i saw what you wrote schulzmc but mbcoops' picture seemed to be telling a different story... i'm glad mbcoops explained what happened to him - sucks that they didn't notice the broken steering component until AFTER they installed the fatty...

ok now here's a question for everyone, i'm in Pasadena (CA), anyone out here done the swap (or have a Works car)? I know I would benefit from the swap but I want my wife to grab a hold of one and see how she feels about it because her hands are a lot smaller than mine...

or easier yet, has anyone recently spotted a Works car at a local dealer lot which was never purchased?

Thanks,

-e

 

The only MINI they've ever come stock on where the Competition Edition's that were sold in Canada in place of the GP. They're an accessory on the JCW like any other model. It's not much fatter than a standard wheel, but it feels infinitely better. One of the very best, if not the best mod I've got on my car.

 

Now that I've seen and felt your wheel in person...crap! It feels sweeet! Gotta look into this further...:impatient

 

OK, I've got the wheel......sigh.....and I've blown up (inflated) my cajones.....and I'm going to do the install myself tomorrow morning. I think I can...I think I can...hell I Know I can.
I've got the MINI install PDF printed out. I know I have to disco the battery. So, a couple of questions for you DIY'ers. Anyone know of other install instructions on any other sites? Anyone have any practical tips not in the official instructions. I have the 3 spoke MFSW.
The pdf mentions that a "screw" holds the wheel to the column. What can I expect? A T25 Torx head screw?....a bolt head? Is it difficult to break the "screw"free without causing the wheel to turn.

What can I expect dealing with the voloute spring cassette? Is it something under tension that would unwind once I get it exposed, a "pop goes the weasel" suprise? I know I'm to secure it with tape.
Any other tips? Can you "help a brother out"? Thanks guys and girls

 

MiniMaxx
Your going to feel so good after you do the install. There are no surprizes to the install and it is very straight forward. Look at the new wheel and you will see how the little depressions need to be slit so you can insert a small diameter rod to free the spring arm and release the air bag/horn. The slits do not have to be very large, just enough to insert a 1/8 dia. tool. Do one side at a time and when you feel like your pushing on the spring lift that side of the airbag. Then do the other side. Once off disconnect the wireing clips for the airbag and multifunction controlls. These will only go back one way and are color coded for the airbag. When you reinstall be sure not to pinch any wires. The volute spring cassett should stay in place and on the spline and steering wheel everything is marked with a center location. There is not a screw but a nut that holds it all together and should be torqued to specs. Just be sure to disconnect the battery before install and you'll do fine. Now go do it. Steve

 

The trickiest part is finding and releasing those spring arms to get the air bag off. I used my new wheel as a reference to try to get the angle you need to insert the rod (I used a torx screwdriver) and that seemed to help. When I say "tricky," BTW, I don't mean tricky like you can screw something up rather tricky like it just takes time to get the darn spring to release.

Don't forget that you are also going to have to remove the three inserts from your old wheel and put them on the new wheel. IIRC it's a small torx on each panel. They fit pretty snugly and you have to work them off the old wheel. I don't think the official install PDf even mentions this.

I also didn't bother taping the voloute cassette - didn't see the need for it.

You'll do well. If I can do it anyone can.

 

yes I got one...

 

Thanks guys; I'm going in........

 

If only I had a 3-spoke airbag, then I'd be all over this.

 

Allright!!! Perfect install!!! No air bag lights, no funny electrics and no left over parts!!(there was only one part anyway) Thanks for the tips guys!! It looks great and feels greater. My self confidence went way up when I was done and put the key in and started the car and the air bag didn't blow up! Yeah! Just had to initialize the windows and reset the clock and he was good as new. Man, that was pretty easy if I could do it. Bottom line, Parts: $401 with shipping from Morristown MINI; Labor: $0.00

 

Im looking for someone to trade my 2 spoke for a 3 spoke so I can do this upgrade. I posted an ad in the FS section...

 

Way to go! I never would have had the courage if it wasn't for the folks on NAM. It is a great feeling to do it yourself, isn't it?

 

Must....contain.....droool.....me.....want......JC W Wheel.........

 

Its amazing; such a little thing as a slightly thicker S/W makes you feel so much more competent when carving a few apexes or would that be apexi? Knowing you installed it yourself makes it even more so!

 

OK, I clearly have to have one of these!

Earlier in the thread another poster asked about how easy/difficult it would be to add multi-function capability when changing out the stock for JCW wheel.

I didn't see the answer, so thought I'd ask again if this is possible or problematic. I am very interested in this since I don't have mf capability at the moment. Any info on this?

 

It depends on your electrical prowess. From what I could see inside the wheel, it would be easy enough to install the control components but you would have to run a harness from the controls to the appropriate places, ie. the audio head unit, the cruise control unit. I dont know if this would involve opening up the dash but that goes beyond my comfort level.

 

I dont have the money for this, but I think I'm gonna buy a leather/alcantara wheel anyways.

After driving Shifter Karts every now and then, the feeling of Alcantara on a steering wheel is too hard to pass up.

Its sad that they dont offer a full Alcantara version.

Ive got 2 concerns though.

1. I'm thinking about just taking my stock wheel, going to a car upholsterer and asking them to redo the wheel with a bit of padding and full Alcantara. I dont even care if it ends up being the same price as the JCW one or if it wears faster. Has anyone done this or know what it would cost or if its even a good idea?

2. I drive about 8-10 auto-x's a year. I drive in G-Stock. I get the feeling that this is NOT an allowable mod for this class( normally I wouldnt care, but all the Minis are in G-Stock, not other classes ). Is this something that is allowable in this class, or am I going to be switching my wheels out every other week? For those of you that have done it, would that even be a big deal?

 

It took me over an hour to install but that's because I was verrry deliberate. It would probably take 20 minutes once you're used to the process. A 15 minute wait was suggested "to let the capacitors drain" after disconnecting the battery. Some have said they skipped that wait without problem but being electircally ignorant, I waited, not liking the taste of air bag powder in my mouth.

 

Yes....do it....dooooo ittttttt.....

 

OK thanks MiniMaxx, good to know that it's possible - it's just a question of whether it is possible by me or not...

It's not like I have to reach very far for the controls now, right?

 

... 2007 R56 Mini.

 

Got mine today - the Alcantera version. Went in without any major problems but for some reason now my headlights are on all the time regardless of the switch position. Is that a setting that got messed up? Oh, and the doors no longer automatically lock - which I like.

This wheel just feels amazing. Ordered it from Morristown.

 

Something went wrong. The steering wheel swap should not have affected anything. Do you mean that you now have daytime running lights (dimmed high beams)? That and the automatic locks are programmable options. It sounds like your BC1 computer may have undergone a reset and you might discover other programmable options that changed.

 

Well, it's worse than I thought - it's not dimmed high beams, my Xenon's are on but have aimed themselves REALLY low. Like low enough that it would be difficult to drive at night. Also, all the lights are on (parking, dash, etc...) not just the headlights. I hope I didn't fry something . There was a bit of a spark when I reconnected the negative cable.

 

Heya timmsumm, the electricity arching when re-connecting the battery is normal. Just the nature of electricity. Hopefully a wire wasnt pinched or anything causing funny things to happen but I would bring it to the dealer and see if they can update the computer and see what happens.

Anyways...

I need some info, I am switching from the 2-Spoke MFSW to the 3-Spoke JCW wheel. My question is has anyone gone from the 2-Spoke MFSW controls to the 3-Spoke with MFSW controls? If so what is involved in this part of the swap? I have the CF dash and dropping the MFSW for the CF is also tempting for me... damn I dont know what to do here...