I received my JCW steering wheel and noticed that the stitching appears fairly pronounced compared to the stock wheel. It's definitely sporty, but I am not sure its for me. I have never owned an aftermarket wheel, but has anyone else noticed that the stitching is different? Its been a while since I owned anything hand made per say and I know leather is subject to its variations. Just curious if others noticed this sort of thing?

 

any pictures?

 

I have the Alcantara JCW steering wheel. I like it but feel it's not at the same level of quality as the leather steering wheel that came on my M3. I paid $468 for mine. The fit and finish on it is OK, but could have been better considering the price. OTOH, the M3 was $25K more expensive and -- IIRC -- the steering wheel is more like $800 to buy/replace.

 

I also have the Alcantara JCW wheel and although its far from perfect I like the feel of the stitching. When I grip the stock wheel I feel like the stitching was finished by a machine and is thin and gives no tactility. The JCW stitching has an old-world feel like a gentleman sheep farmer on the Isle of Man stitched it; less precise and say German as the M3 wheel RaceTripper mentions. I think the stitching gives it better grip and adds to the meaty-ness of the wheel. With use I stopped noticing the stitching, that is until I get into a non-JCW MINI. You'll have to decide if you will adjust or forever not like it

 

I completely agree. I decided that the feel of the Alcantra is probably more what I had in mind. I suspect the stitching will be the same, but the texture will be softer if that makes any sense whatsoever.

 

Stitching should be the same between all leather and leather/Alcantara JCW wheels. Interesting that you posted your all-leather for sale and decided you want Alcantara. I bought my car with the JCW Alcantara although thought I might prefer the all-leather! The grass is always greener on the other side; I almost asked if you wanted to trade!

 

I have heard people complain that that alcantra wears quicker. I am curious how this is the case as that fabric is used on the seats of some pretty high priced cars and I would think seats take a bigger beating than steering wheels. I am also curious what people's definitions of "wear" is. Does it looks broken it (like leather does) or does it go bald like Dr. Phil?

 

On the steering wheel it matters less since the 3 and 9 positions are wrapped with normal leather, which is what you grip most of the time.

 

i noticed on my alcantarra wheel that it starts to pill (ball up the fibers of the fabric) kinda like an old sweater. i use a sweater shaver to clean up this and a towel with warm water to wipe it down from all the oil in our hands transferred to locations other than 9/3.

 

I was told by my sales rep/sales mngr that the alcantara breaks down fairly quickly from the UV rays. Once is goes, it looks like ...

Because of that, I'm going JCW leather/leather.

 

It appears that some don't have an issue with the Alcantra, while others say it breaks down and looks like crap quickly. However, I have only heard from one actual owner of an alcantra wheel who had an issue. Most everything else is conjecture or hearsay.

 

2+ years outdoor parked in the Cali sun, no discoloring, no major wear. over 20k miles with it and after a cleaning and "shaving" still looks new.

 

Good to hear. I must admit, my info is not based on experience only what I was told. Glad to hear from someone that would know.

Cheers,

 

Hey everyone, check this out.

Talking about the JCW steering wheels got the old "upgrade itch" going so off I went to my local dealership to get a price on both.

For the leather/leather ... $990 !!
For the leather/alcantara ... $790 !!

Installation is another $100

How crazy is that. Gotta love our Canadian Dollar.

 

That would make the all leather wheel I have for sale in the classified section a very good deal. Running the conversion on $400 yields a cost of $503.78 USD. That would include a break for my friends up North

 

I got the Alcantara one from Classic MINI for $468 and my dealer installed it in less than 1/2 hour for $52 (although I could have done it myself). That's ridiculous the leather one is $200 higher. They have the same MSRP.