C63 steering wheel on manual tranny, yay or nay?

[vic viper]

Originally Posted by jog_c300 I would recommend to leave the paddles and use them as your most used function buttons. Your choice, be it the volume, answer/hung up phone, change ipod/radio station, etc... Dont know if I am able to connect the paddle connectors anywhere as I have stick tranny, Also havnt heard about different button assignments, have you any info on this?

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[vic viper]

"Nappa" C63 wheel and airbag orderd, delivery from Hannover so I will recieve the parts friday

[tanktube67]

Originally Posted by vic viper

"Nappa" C63 wheel and airbag orderd, delivery from Hannover so I will recieve the parts friday

I can't wait to see the pictures.

[vic viper]

Have to fabricate two covers for the paddles before I mount the wheel, will probably make them out of aluminum.

[BenTrovato]

This is going to be a nice one vic - can't wait to see your pics and write up!

[Rodz]

Originally Posted by perdikoula888

I dont have detailed pctures however i have both steering wheels in front of me and I can guarantee you that the stock c63 is not a nappa leather, but a grainy leather. only the upgraded c63 performance package is half nappa and half alcantara. the stock c63 leather is still better than the stock three spoke sport leather however the c63 leather is not the smooth nappa leather that we love. I bought both steering wheels and also the appropriate airbag for my c250cgi i ordered since early march. I prefer the stock c63 because after a while it will not get as dirty and worn out easily like the c63 alcantara, but my dilemma is I prefer the smooth feeling of the nappa leather in the top part of the alcantara steering wheel.

My c63 steering wheel is full nappa, not grainy leather. Maybe you got a steering wheel of a c63 with out p2 or leather package.

Originally Posted by justthinking

Is it possible to have the stock sport version steering wheel re-wrapped either w/ nappa leather or alcantara leather?
Anyone know how much that might cost??

I don't see why not. I suggest you find a reputable shop that works on custom interiors. And for future reference, Alcantara is not leather, it's a fabric.

[jog_c300]

Originally Posted by vic viper

Dont know if I am able to connect the paddle connectors anywhere as I have stick tranny,
Also havnt heard about different button assignments, have you any info on this?

No info on different button assignments, just throwing it out there. Haven't open one, but I am assuming that paddles are connected to electrical connector/relay somewhere and you can parallel them with almost any function you want. Or, take them out and plug it up...

Either way, I'm sure you'll come up with a nice solution to this. pics...

[vic viper]

I have been through several wiring diagrams and unfortunately the steering wheel buttons and functions doesnt use the regular chassis CAN bus as I first thought, the wteering wheel operations uses a LIN bus system and is not as easy to change as the CAN bus system.

Will most likely remove the paddles and fabricate some form of cover..

[Derspeed]

Originally Posted by justthinking

Is it possible to have the stock sport version steering wheel re-wrapped either w/ nappa leather or alcantara leather?
Anyone know how much that might cost??

You can buy it. The 4 spoke versions is available.


http://www.performanceproducts4benz....dept%5Fid=6312

[vic viper]

The all leather wheel, amazed me how frickin light it is.


Backside with the paddles removed and my custom fabricated alu covers mounted.


Crappy closeup


Hm, what have I ordered all caged up?! is it alive?


Nah, its just the airbag





BTW, the C63 paddles are for sale, they cost over $200 and are made out of solid metal, much nicer than the stock plastic ones.

[vic viper]

The steering wheel is now mounted, a pleasant surprise is that the C63 wheel is a bit smaller in diameter than the stock sport wheel, almost one inch smaller.
The C63 wheel is also about half the weight of the stock wheel

Guess it will take some time getting used to the flat bottom steering wheel while driving, but it feels really good the short time I have tried it so far, will shoot some pics when the lighting gets better..

[vic viper]

(Cellphone pics)

[Kiran]

The custom alu covers look amazing, good job

The airbag unit costs the equivalent of $715 in the UK , I think I'll pass on this mod for now. Thanks for posting pictures

Edit: The leather steering wheel in the UK costs around £1,050.52 + £433.55 for Airbag = £1,484.07 approx US$2.4k, prices from http://www.mercedes-benz-parts.co.uk/

[Mr Enigma]

The aluminium covers look really great. Nice job. =)

[Azn_C300]

Part Number? Found a source I can get 30% off list which might make this doable.

[jog_c300]

That looks really nice...

[vic viper]

@Azn

Leather: A204 460 19 03 9E84
Alcantara: A204 460 29 03 9C08

Airbag: A204 860 33 02 9116


And again, my alu paddles are still for sale, give my a decent bid.

[Azn_C300]

Originally Posted by vic viper

@Azn

Leather: A204 460 19 03 9E84
Alcantara: A204 460 29 03 9C08

Airbag: A204 860 33 02 9116


And again, my alu paddles are still for sale, give my a decent bid.

Cool thanks

[Derspeed]

Looks great. I like the paddle solution. The first thing I noticed about my C was the huge steering wheel. That's why I initially wanted a C63 wheel.

[Peabody]

Are the paddles functional if this wheel is mounted on a C350 sport?

[vic viper]

Yes.

[jmartinacevedo]

Hi Vic,

This AMG wheel is without a doubt my next--actually first--mod.

Can you tell us how long one should expect an MB dealership technician to take doing the swap? Also, is it true that reprogramming is necessary?

While I'm asking--and this is related to your thread on the HK speaker swap--do I have to remove the door panels to install the tweeters only?

Thanks in advance!

[jmartinacevedo]

Please disregard my signature. It's my old car. My new car is a C300 sport.

[vic viper]

Shouldnt take more than 15 mins to do the swap, its fairly easy.
No programming is needed.

And no, you only need to remove the tweeter covers to replace the tweeters, its very easy, try to find my thread regarding this.

[jmartinacevedo]

Vic,

If you get a chance, can you post a quick and dirty DYI write up of the steps involved in the swap? I've ordered the parts and I'd love to be able to do the install myself as opposed to having to take it to the dealer.

Thank you,
Martin.