LoanWolf

I installed a black Boxster/996 three spoke wheel with a leather airbag in my '96 C2. Now, looking at pictures here in this forum, all the wheels look very smooth whereas my wheel is covered with some sort of rough almost "rippled" material...could be leather but I'm not sure

Was there a choice of wheel cover material i.e. leather and non-leather or different kinds of leather? I think my wheel came out of 2001 996 cabriolet.

stace

there is a leather and vinyl version. the vinyl airbag does not have the stitching on the surface perimeter that the leather airbag has. oddly the cost is about the same for either one if purchased new from a dealer

LoanWolf

Yes, I did find a leather airbag and I think it looks good...I was wondering about the wheel itself though...it does not look or feel like leather (doesn't smell like leather either), but I never heard of a non-leather wheel being put in a 996...so I was just wondering whether anybody else can shed some light...

e9stibi

can you post a pic?

Mike J

I wonder if its the same material as the Cup Steering wheel....like a split leather?

Cheers,

Mike

RallyJon

Not the best match. If anyone knows a shop that can do a factory quality recover, I'm all ears.

e9stibi

This looks like the leather steering wheel. It has the stitches at the inside diameter. There is a color mismatch between airbag and steering wheel. I have this mismatch, too. The flashlight might magnify this difference in look.

RallyJon

Yeah. New black vs. old black I guess. The airbag is definitely dark grey. And the leather texture is obviously different.

993polarsilver

That is how my leather wheel looks as well. I have the vinyl airbag and there is a slight color difference between the two, but not as dramatic as yours. You might try posting on the PCA site. The upholstery and interior fellow should be able to give you a reasonable set of options.

LoanWolf

That's exactly what my wheel looks like, too...So I guess that answers my initial question....the leather is kind of rough and not smooth and soft...

Thanks everybody!

RallyJon

FWIW, saturating the airbag cover with Lexol darkened it a bit and made it shinier like the wheel.

But now it'll be a greasy slap in the face if it ever goes off.

Leander

That is so obviously leather.

AOW162435

Jon,
If you would like to know what shop NOT to use, please contact me.

Andreas

RallyJon

I've read a lot of horror stories here and on Pelican. And a steering wheel that feels right is SO important to the driving experience of the car.

I asked Paul Champagne if he could do it, but he said he doesn't have a pattern for the 996 wheel and wouldn't be able to get to it until fall. Not sure if there's anyone else who approaches his quality.

md11plt

Instead of doing a recover, I would contact colorplus.com and get some dye. I think once the color matches up, you might be pretty happy. If you decide to do the recover, I have had a nightmare with Alan Gunn. If you decide to use him, tell him I still hate his guts.

Tom