^I don't have any info for you, but those are kinda neat. I think the dash covering in the last pic is much more interesting though, very Aston Martin-ish! I want that, only with less obnoxious stitching...

 

Agreed. That dash is pretty sweet, but I doubt I'd be able to find a local shop for that kind of work and shipping a dash around is probably quite cost prohibitive.

 

You probably need a vacuum infusion machine thing that is commonly used to make carbon fiber parts. If you have that setup you just lay CF over your mold piece and infuse it with resin. Look up videos on youtube on how cf stuff is made. Definitely not diy. I tried making cf trim for my car and it took hours and a few hundred dollars just to figure out how to properly make things out of CF

Good Luck

 

I do know the carbon fiber process, but I'm not interested in putting any CF in my car. I really don't like the look. I'm more interested in whatever process is being used to shape the wheel into that more "ergonomic" custom shape, which is underneath the CF and leather.

 

The leather on my wheel is completely off, I'm down to the rubber which underneath. I bought some microfiber foam **** from Wal-Mart and as disgustingly cheap and rice as it may sound it is heaven for my hands while driving. If it weren't for the horrible stitch on the edges it would look permanent to the wheel.

Mine is black. Well it was, but after a year or more of sunshine it has faded to a darkish grey. :eeps:


Not that it helps you at all, I just like it.


But if you do figure out the mechanics of a custom steering fabrication let me know. I may want something a bit more fancy if you do get it all figured out.

 

The leather on my wheel is completely off, I'm down to the rubber which underneath. I bought some microfiber foam **** from Wal-Mart and as disgustingly cheap and rice as it may sound it is heaven for my hands while driving. If it weren't for the horrible stitch on the edges it would look permanent to the wheel.

Mine is black. Well it was, but after a year or more of sunshine it has faded to a darkish grey. :eeps:


Not that it helps you at all, I just like it.


But if you do figure out the mechanics of a custom steering fabrication let me know. I may want something a bit more fancy if you do get it all figured out.

Will do.

 

Might check with these guys, not sure they can do what you want, but they can do some interesting things??

http://www.dallassteeringwheel.com/about.htm

http://www.craftcustoms.com/

 

Thanks! I fired them both an email so I'll post the responses when I hear back.

 

Dallas Custom Steering Wheel (http://www.dallassteeringwheel.com) does not modify the shape of steering wheels, unfortunately.

 

Craft Customs (http://www.craftcustoms.com) cannot do the modification either. Bummer.

 

May be liability concerns that keep shops from playing too much other than with padding and covering.

Google search and see what you find.

 

A quick search didn't turn up anything. I think it's probably much more likely that most shops don't offer it because they aren't capable of doing the work; they don't have the knowledge, skill, or tools. A re-wrap with new leather would be a significantly easier process than sculpting/molding a new ergonomic shape would be. Which is also probably why the rare ones you can find to buy are so damn expensive too. It is likely a complex process, which is why I can't find any DIY examples on the web.

I really don't think liability issues would play any part in the customization of a steering wheel that simply improves the appearance and ergonomic look and feel while keeping the airbag and electronic controls intact.

 

http://www.bimmian.com/STW/

 

Yup, that's the first image I posted above. Definitely one of my favorite wheels and the best price I could find too: $800 on sale right now. Unfortunately it only comes with a carbon fiber finish, which I don't like and won't be installing in my car for any mods. Thanks though.

 

Steering wheels are made of a die cast aluminum frame. It is a fairly complex shape. It is then set into a mold, and polyurethane foam is molded around the frame. Then the leather is stitched on.
Making one yourself could get quite expensive. It would cost a fortune to try to replicate the frame by machining a billet of aluminum to the shape of the e46 frame. Certain elements of the frame would need to closely match the current design, in order to mount correctly, and still house the airbags, electronics, and control buttons. I imagine that some of the custom wheels are using a generic frame, and adding adapters to make them fit various vehicles. But I would bet that they are still die casting the frame.
The polyurethane foam is actually the easier part. You could make a mold out of wood, and pour in the polyurethane foam mixture yourself. Of course, making a two part mold out of wood is not that simple. It would be a lot easier if you had access to a CNC machine to carve the two halves out of MDF. That is the way a lot of places that make polyurethane foam make a prototype part.
Not to discourage you, but to make it look good, you either need access to a CNC or decent woodcarving skills to make the polyurethane mold. As far as the frame goes, you could possibly get an old e46 wheel, and cut it and weld it to the final outer shape you want, and then mold the foam around it.
Of course, you still need someone to stitch the leather on to it. I had the steering wheel in my Miata recovered by a local woman who made saddles. It was easy work for her. I went to a local shop that sold leather working supplies, and got her name from them. The trouble with that now is that most of these people get their supplies online, and the local supply shops are gone. But, I am sure you can turn one up by searching around. If there are horses, there is usually someone local making or repairing stuff for them. It may come back with "BMW" in old west script though.

Edit: I found a video of the die cast armature being made, so you can get an idea of the shape:
http://science.discovery.com/videos/how-its-made-steering-wheel.html

 

Thanks for the detailed reply! It sounds to me like you are describing the process used initially to create a brand new steering wheel, rather than customizing an existing one. However, with that information I can better understand how the wheel is constructed and what methods might be used to modify it. From the images of wheels I posted above, I doubt the aluminum frame would need to be modified. They all look like they would still fit around the stock aluminum circular frame, as illustrated in my quick crappy mock-up image below.

It seems like the method that is probably used to create these wheels then is to remove the stock polyurethane foam, sculpt a new shape onto the aluminum frame with some type of clay or a CNC machine, then with that new shape create a double-sided mold for the new polyurethane foam, and finish it with new leather and/or carbon fiber accents.

So at the very least I would need an extra wheel to strip bare and use as the prototype for the mold, then I could strip bare the second wheel to put in the mold for the polyurethane. The sculpting and mold process I can do, but the leather I would prefer to have done by a professional. Unfortunately you are right that it is very likely to get quite expensive to do this, and thus would most likely be a better option to just buy one.

I just need to find a non-carbon fiber wheel to buy...

 

I emailed Dallas Wheel about this very question. Dallas Wheel strips off everything to the bare metal and refabricates the wheel from scratch. They do this to guarantee that it is the same OEM thickness, and also allows them to make thicker wheels at the customer's request.

 

Interesting. Maybe they can change the thickness, but won't change the shape. Here's the reply I got from them yesterday:

Hi,

I can't see your attached photos, but normally we don't make modification to a steering wheel. If you just want the wheel cover in any combine of materials, we can help.
Thanks,

Don Le
469-449-7973
http://www.dallascustomsteeringwheel.com/

Arthur,

Yes, I've got photos of your steering wheels. Sorry, we don't change the shape of a steering wheel.
Thanks for your interest anyway.

Don Le
469-449-7973
http://www.dallascustomsteeringwheel.com/

 

Oh well. Bimmian does it somehow, the wheel they sell comes from an OEM base. Give them a shout, maybe they can answer how they did it (or who did it)

 

Their wheel is by http://www.autocarbon.de/

The site is in German and it looks like they only do carbon fiber stuff. I suppose I could email Bimmian and see if they can wrap it differently. Doesn't hurt to ask.

 

Found a couple places that look promising: http://www.dctms.com/
and an eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/autoparts63

I fired off some emails and will update when they respond.

 

www.DCTMS.com can do custom steering wheels without using carbon fiber. They quoted me $1150 for this wheel wrapped in leather and alcantara with core exchange (which is listed for $1350 with carbon fiber): http://www.dctms.com/productsubpage_002_BMWE46SMGcarbonsteeringwheel.html

I asked if they could do a different shape as well, because I like the look of the flat bottom wheels, and they can for an extra $30.

$1200 for a totally custom wheel isn't too bad. Some wheels I found for purchase go for as much as $2k or more.

I also finally heard back from www.0-60motorsports.com, the guys who were commissioned to create the wheel which is the last picture attached to the original post. They are checking the availability of materials and are going to send me samples first?, then give me a quote if I approve. I'll update with a quote when I hear back.

 

I asked DCTMS what process they used to modify the wheels and all I could get out of him was that they use a fiberglass compound. When I tried to get him to elaborate more, he just didn't reply to those emails. Top-secret I suppose...

They do have a few pictures on their website though that show a bit of behind the scenes. These images look very much like what I suspected, the stock wheels are likely placed into injection molds to add material to them which alters the shape, a fiberglass compound in this case, and then re-wrapped with new leather/carbon fiber. A fairly complex process overall, but it doesn't look like they remove all or any of the stock polyurethane material from the aluminum frame in many cases.

 

one nicer than the other:clap: