Alcantara Wheel Retrim
Discussion
Vesuvius996 said:Alcantara is crap for a steering wheel unless you are wearing gloves. Unlike suede, it doesn't breathe at all.
Hey all.
I would very much like to have my graphite grey steering wheel retrimmed in Alcantara (a la GT3RS I admit it....!)
Does anyone recommend anyone who could do this for a reasonable cost?
Thanks
No matter what car I'm driving or what the circumstances, my hands never perspire (that's not to say the the rest of me wouldn't be sweating profusely, mind you). With an alcantara wheel, however, and with the interior temp 19 or 20, after ten minutes my hands are beginning to get moist, and they stay that way.
Alcantara will look good for five times as long as suede will, but it is uncomfortable to use.
Vesuvius,
No, I wouldn't do that until the rest of the project is finished, which will be in '06. Perhaps a year from now in the next "off-season" I'll do it. As I mentioned on a recent thread, I'm not sure that I shall do it. The expense just seems OTT. If I do something worthwhile between now and then perhaps I'll make myself a gift.
Re the steering wheel stuff, this is another topic on which I have done a bit of obsessive research.
Suede feels the best - no question. The problem is that, even if your hands never perspire, suede absorbs the oil from your skin and gradually becomes compacted and hard to the touch. At that point it has a manky quality that is much worse than plain leather. To avoid this you might be inclined towards alcantara, but as I said it has its own serious drawback.
Most all of the leather that is used in a car is coloured by what in effect is paint. By doing this the manufacturer makes a durable surface that looks good in photos and showrooms and is less susceptible to scratching during production and the trip to the new owner. It keeps its looks well after delivery, but as we all know that painted leather has a remote, industrial feeling that devalues it.
As I say, this is the common way of treating leather, for trimming cars, making shoes, etc. You can recognise this treatment because underneath its painted surface the leather is almost white.
There is an alternative leather treating process; it employs aniline dye. This colours the leather by permeating it all the way through. It's akin to dying a T-shirt, as opposed to printing something atop the cotton surface.
When leather has been dyed it retains its original suppleness. The surface is less durable, but on the steering wheel of your pride and joy you don't need durability, you want suppleness. Leather that has been dyed also has a "tack"; it's less slippery than painted leather. As such, it can be the best compromise steering wheel material.
On Formula One cars they use suede. They also retrim the wheels after every race.
ps: On the GT3RS in addition to the steering wheel the factory put alcantara on the gearknob.
Truly stupid.
>> Edited by flemke on Thursday 8th December 19:06
No, I wouldn't do that until the rest of the project is finished, which will be in '06. Perhaps a year from now in the next "off-season" I'll do it. As I mentioned on a recent thread, I'm not sure that I shall do it. The expense just seems OTT. If I do something worthwhile between now and then perhaps I'll make myself a gift.
Re the steering wheel stuff, this is another topic on which I have done a bit of obsessive research.
Suede feels the best - no question. The problem is that, even if your hands never perspire, suede absorbs the oil from your skin and gradually becomes compacted and hard to the touch. At that point it has a manky quality that is much worse than plain leather. To avoid this you might be inclined towards alcantara, but as I said it has its own serious drawback.
Most all of the leather that is used in a car is coloured by what in effect is paint. By doing this the manufacturer makes a durable surface that looks good in photos and showrooms and is less susceptible to scratching during production and the trip to the new owner. It keeps its looks well after delivery, but as we all know that painted leather has a remote, industrial feeling that devalues it.
As I say, this is the common way of treating leather, for trimming cars, making shoes, etc. You can recognise this treatment because underneath its painted surface the leather is almost white.
There is an alternative leather treating process; it employs aniline dye. This colours the leather by permeating it all the way through. It's akin to dying a T-shirt, as opposed to printing something atop the cotton surface.
When leather has been dyed it retains its original suppleness. The surface is less durable, but on the steering wheel of your pride and joy you don't need durability, you want suppleness. Leather that has been dyed also has a "tack"; it's less slippery than painted leather. As such, it can be the best compromise steering wheel material.
On Formula One cars they use suede. They also retrim the wheels after every race.
ps: On the GT3RS in addition to the steering wheel the factory put alcantara on the gearknob.
Truly stupid. >> Edited by flemke on Thursday 8th December 19:06
Flemke. Thanks for the reply - if you ever need to swap lives let me know.....
Anyway, I think you are right that the GT3RS alcantara wheel looks good in the showroom to gullible guys like me..... I guess I will stick with what I have and keep the cash in my pocket, although RUF tailpipes looked DAMN nice!!
Best wishes
Vesuvius996
Anyway, I think you are right that the GT3RS alcantara wheel looks good in the showroom to gullible guys like me..... I guess I will stick with what I have and keep the cash in my pocket, although RUF tailpipes looked DAMN nice!!
Best wishes
Vesuvius996
I've noticed a similar sweaty hand issue with the Alcantara wheel in the RS - I had put it down to a bit of anxiety on my part! It doesn't seem to cause noticeable grip issues fortunately. I had much more trouble in a previous car with a normal leather wheel which became slippy with perspiring hands, the painted/sealed leather being both smooth & non breathing. That actually required gloves, which I've found no call for with the RS.
Its only really the gator on the gearstick that has the same covering, so not found any issue with that either.
Suede is surely the best option, and apparently can be cleaned, but who's got time?
>> Edited by DanH on Thursday 8th December 20:50
Its only really the gator on the gearstick that has the same covering, so not found any issue with that either.
Suede is surely the best option, and apparently can be cleaned, but who's got time?
>> Edited by DanH on Thursday 8th December 20:50
Excuse me for butting in but Alcantara dosen't breath?!!!?
Alcantara is sythetic suede i.e a woven polyester velour with the surface
brushed to give a suede feel. Because it is woven it is full of holes,it cannot help but breathe. What you can feel is the fact it is a man made fibre and therefore not absorbent.
As regards of cleaning they are generally treated to make them easy to get rid of surface dirt anyway.
I design seating for a living and we have no issues at all using synthetic suedes.
Having said all the above I do agree that real suede does feel nice even if it does matt up after while.
Alcantara is sythetic suede i.e a woven polyester velour with the surface
brushed to give a suede feel. Because it is woven it is full of holes,it cannot help but breathe. What you can feel is the fact it is a man made fibre and therefore not absorbent.
As regards of cleaning they are generally treated to make them easy to get rid of surface dirt anyway.
I design seating for a living and we have no issues at all using synthetic suedes.
Having said all the above I do agree that real suede does feel nice even if it does matt up after while.
I've got a Momo wheel on my Westfield, which I treated when new with a ScotchGuard-type product...can't remember the exact brand, but similar to the stuff you use on shoes, I guess.
I wouldn't say it entirely banishes the compacting issue of the suede, but neither has it gone "manky". A quick fettle over with a suede brush seems to bring it back to life ok....it never comes back as brand-new, but hey, it is 8/9 yrs old now.
I wouldn't say it entirely banishes the compacting issue of the suede, but neither has it gone "manky". A quick fettle over with a suede brush seems to bring it back to life ok....it never comes back as brand-new, but hey, it is 8/9 yrs old now.
studog said:Okay, can we say that the textile into which the fibres are woven does breathe, but the synthetic fibres themselves do not?
Excuse me for butting in but Alcantara dosen't breath?!!!?
Alcantara is sythetic suede i.e a woven polyester velour with the surface
brushed to give a suede feel. Because it is woven it is full of holes,it cannot help but breathe. What you can feel is the fact it is a man made fibre and therefore not absorbent.
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