William's 330Ci ZHP Maintenance and Project Thread

[Sockethead]

IDK, you may be correct that the DSSR might be wrong. It has a bend in it so it's impossible to put it in upside down because it would rub on the transmission but yea, it might be the wrong length...It sucks that the shifter is so hard to get to... makes taking a simple measurement really hard. It still concerns me that you had to put it in "backwards" to get it to sit right
My shifter knob was off by maybe 3 degrees and it didn't take much effort to get it to line up strait...

The shifter is near perfection as far as fit and feel. By far my favorite mod and I've done a lot to my car.
The gates/orientation isn't any different than the stock shifter.... just shorter and much tighter. I can have my arm on the armrest and basically flick it from gear to gear. If it's not like that, something may still be wrong...

If I can help with any additional pictures or measurements (at least from the top) let me know.

[BMWCurves]

I appreciate it all the help! Yeah, I think the DSSR might be wrong, but I really don't know if it's worth my time taking it back to the mechanic just to have that measured and so on. We'll see how I feel in a few days.

[quikryptonite]

I'm having trouble getting my PASoft scanner to work properly, but I'm working with Tony to troubleshoot my issues.

In other news, I received my new leather/perforated leather steering wheel from DCT Motorsports today (thanks for the suggestion, John!). Their store can be found here: http://www.dctms.com/. I emailed them about 3-4 weeks ago with photos and a very specific description of what I wanted. They quoted me $350 + shipping + $200 core deposit which I will recoup once I send back my old steering wheel core to DCT. To swap out the wheel I used two different guides to supplement each other. The guides were:

1. Coby Wheel's guide: http://cobywheel.com/bmw-steering-wheel-removal.html
2. BMW 330Ci's guide: http://www.bmw330ci.net/projects/m3wheel.php

Both were helpful and the process was very straightforward. I took my time and it required around 45 minutes start to finish. It would definitely be quicker a second time around. I should mention that all the screws in the steering wheel apart from the 16mm socket were torx screws (T10, T20, and T30 if I remember correctly). Just have a set of various torx bits on hand when you do it.

As for the feel of it? It feels great! It's definitely meatier than the OEM wheel, which I like. At the 12 o'clock position, my OEM alcantara wheel measures 4 1/8" while the new leather wheel measures 4 3/4". I'll put up pictures tomorrow when there is better light.

One thing I think I should mention is that I assumed the wheel was made by DCT Motorsports themselves down in California, but the package I received came from Taiwan. The invoice wasn't from DCT Motorsports either; it was from a "John Leather Co., Ltd" in Taiwan for $100. The listed website is http://www.johnleather.com/default.php?language=en. So it is possible that DCT Motorsports is farming out the labor and materials to a Taiwanese company and pocketing the $250 difference. Doesn't make the wheel worth less to me, just something to consider for any future buyers.

EDIT: wsmeyer pointed out that the invoice may be for customs purposes, discussed here

Pics:

During the swap
Attachment 19485
How it looks
Attachment 19478
Attachment 19482
Attachment 19483
Attachment 19484
Attachment 19481

That looks fantastic. So tempting!

[Alikessu]

that looks like a great job on the wheel, let us know how it holds up. good luck


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[BMWCurves]

That looks fantastic. So tempting!

Thanks! It's a great wheel. I love it. It has an appreciably larger diameter than the stock ZHP wheel, but I've gotten used to it and now prefer it to smaller steering wheels that I handle frequently (540i, '00 Jetta, '94 Miata, '07 S40). I frequently get compliments on the wheel. The perforations aren't as tactile as you would think, especially compared to my father's '06 ZHP with the stock perforated wheel, but I don't mind.

It has held up wonderfully in the six-ish months I've had it. $350 is a bit steep, but I'm glad I took the plunge.

[Alikessu]

congrats, one could probably order direct from John Leather but you would have to ship to Taiwan and back so probably at least a$100 back and forth


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[330i Lover]

Dude, that's one of the best steering wheels I've ever seen. I'm so jelly. My alcantara is in dire need of restoration but the headlights are a higher priority than the steering wheel. I just landed a fantastic mechanic that charges about half of what the big shops charge so I'm thrilled about that. Thanks for uploading the pics.

[Vas]

Dude, that's one of the best steering wheels I've ever seen. I'm so jelly. My alcantara is in dire need of restoration but the headlights are a higher priority than the steering wheel. I just landed a fantastic mechanic that charges about half of what the big shops charge so I'm thrilled about that. Thanks for uploading the pics.

You want leather or Alcantara? Or a combo?

[johnrando]

The wheel looks great! Glad that worked out for you.

[330i Lover]

You want leather or Alcantara? Or a combo?

I was leaning towards the alcantara but after seeing those pics I will definitely be going back and forth. Thanks again for the pics Curves, love the wheel!