Default E46 M3 SMG steering wheel installed!! first impressions

**Bernanke** · 03-21-2005, 04:46 PM

........

**=BA=** · 03-21-2005, 04:47 PM

This is interesting though, if I would find a way to make the pedals work

**///3oris** · 03-21-2005, 05:24 PM

How much is it for the wheel, paddles, airbag, slipring, etc? See, what would be cooler is if you did the SMG conversion completely and made those paddles useful.

Pics please

Boris

**=BA=** · 03-21-2005, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by SupaBimma

I HATE THAT DAMN smilie, moderators please burn that smiley lol . i knew someone would post that which is why i made the comment about my digital camera so no one would.

I will make the paddles functional but obviously not for shifting the car. I will either have then be speed up and slow down for cruise control, or controlling brightness of the indiglo gauges.

haha you knew you had it coming when you posted that camera comment

Using it for your CC is a nice idea though.

**300ZXNA** · 03-21-2005, 05:34 PM

hm, I too would really like the gritty details on this. I had asked about the E46 m3 wheel last year, but was told it would never work. I was planning on buying a Raid, but I will have to put those plans on hold till I see how you pulled this off . . .

oh yeah, one more thing:

Sorry. It's just so true . . .

**=BA=** · 03-21-2005, 05:51 PM

Yea I hear you, sometimes you just have to try first.... If no one tries it will never happen anyway.

**300ZXNA** · 03-22-2005, 04:01 AM

Supa, once you are able to get a hold of a camera, if you could take a bunch of photos and do a writeup step by step on this, that would be awesome. So you found the wheel for $450, that includes the airbag correct? What other hardware did you need to buy, or were you able to just modify what you received . . . oh yeah, what is the diameter of the wheel? 360mm? 340mm?

**Midnight Shark** · 03-22-2005, 05:14 AM

You should have documented and photographed every step as you installed the steering wheel. It would have proved very useful for us DIY's. Anyway, I know you're tired of this but......

I can't wait to see them man!!

**Yuen** · 03-22-2005, 05:56 AM

Nice job man, I want to see pics too. :p But yeah, get some pics later if you can, please. You should just install a carputer and use the volume buttons etc to control it. I would, if I have that steering wheel.

**Ali** · 03-22-2005, 11:35 AM

nice job! Write up of modification to slip ring?

**Jayhox** · 03-22-2005, 11:43 AM

As a point of reference, I think my RAID wheel looks like it absolutely belongs in a BMW. Nice job on the E46 wheel. I would have done that in a heartbeat if I had any confidence the airbag would be compatible with the single-stage depolyment wiring.

**philude** · 03-22-2005, 02:24 PM

does the E46 M3 wheel have radio controls too?

**3rd One** · 03-22-2005, 03:22 PM

Hurry up with those pics and hopefully a DIY to follow

. I "upgraded" my 4-spoke to the 3-spoke but it is definately lacking the feel that the E46 M3 wheel has. Truthfully thats one of the only reasons I would even want an E46 M3.

**LagunaSecaBlue** · 03-22-2005, 03:54 PM

diy diy diy diy diy diy diy diy!

**enda320** · 03-22-2005, 04:18 PM

the buttons are the same as this,

LHS - volume +/-, tel. mute, R/T(unsure about this one) and an ^/V set, prob for switching stations. these are all simple contact switches compressed into 4 wires which loop to the other side. the RHS set have CC speed +/- an 1/0 (on/off?) and a speed set (?) but the pcb behind this has about 3 microchips and yet again feeds out to 3 wires.
what you could do is take switching directly from each side of the contact pads, but you'd need a lot of wires, unless you manage to get an e46 type iBus system working which would understand these signals. after a lot of trial and error, i found that putting 12v over the black and white wires linking the 2 button sets will get the illumination working, and i've changed the leds to blue ready for the eventual fitting.
(these were a real PITA because i never had a desoldering tool, and the LED legs were folded across the board so wont just pull out when heated, and most leds melted and split in two - yes, i am that rough....)
on the rear side of each spoke, there are also extra buttons added for the switchtronic system, i'm sure this would be able to be wired to the steptronic switch on an e46 to get fingertip control too.
the slipring which came with this wheel has provisions to get 11 wires through, with 2 being seperately designated as lives for the switchtronic buttons which will then use a common earth.
i'm guessing this isn't an alpina specific part, but more likely is the same unit used for paddleshift multifunction wheels. i think you can also use the steering column itself as an earth, but this might not be the best available, as my horn would sound when the extension bar i was using to get the centre bolt out earthed it.

i am going to have a try to wire the downshift button to the kickdown pedal in parallel (5sp autobox) so either the the pedal switch or the d.shift button will activate this.
not sure how it'll take to recieving kickdown signals at less that WOT, so experimentation could be fun. the other upshift button (pah!!, why would anyone want to upshift before the autobox????) could be used to select sports mode as the mode switch is non latching and just requires a pulse to select it.
yet again, this can be trial and error...

**JM3** · 03-22-2005, 04:37 PM

seriously dude, haha your mods are the most unconventional ive ever seen. props for not following the rest of the bfc herd with the typical intake, exhaust, crank pulley crowd.

**M3Jokster** · 03-22-2005, 05:07 PM

damn....that really makes me wanna keep my E46 M3 Steering wheel...

hmmm

**CrayzeeM3** · 03-22-2005, 07:12 PM

Im gonna kill you if you dont get pix up!!!

P.S. Airbag functional as dual stage or did you bypass the first stage?

**Tom Powered** · 03-24-2005, 12:41 AM

It's been 24 hours, where's the update?

I'm really interested in doing this. Are you still in the Tucson area?

**332 RustBucket** · 03-24-2005, 02:48 AM

Originally Posted by SupaBimma

Well guys, its finally done and official. The E46 M3 steering wheel can fit our E36's (granted some modification is required). heres the basic info..

Originally Posted by SupaBimma

ya i don't really listen to what people say on this forum anymore when they say "it can't be done" , i just try and prove them wrong

Wow that is GROUND BEAKING NEWS!!!!

I have been running with an e46 M3 wheel for 8+ months now.. Oh ya, then there was the e46 wheel for 1+ years before that...

NOW GET AN E46 SLIP RING IN THERE

Oh an for those of you who don't know, there isn't a DIY to put the wheel on. Simply take your old one off, remove the little silver ring at the end of the old base of your e36 wheel put the e46 wheel on and BAM the wheel is on

Now, if you want to get everything working.... GOOD LUCK!

You can use an e36 slip ring but there aren't enough connectors to put all the stuff on. If you choose to try an e46 slip ring it is TOO THICK and can't be modified to safely work on the e36 (ask me how I know

, there was $80 down the drain) Oh ya, an M5 slip ring won't work also.... (again, ask me how I know....

) Now I had a custom ring up and working for 8 months before it let go. I didn't plan on getting the bag working so didn't care too much about the workmanship...

CrayzeeM3 - No he doesn't have the aibag working.

**x2nervisx** · 03-24-2005, 03:27 AM

Originally Posted by 332 TMS car

Wow that is GROUND BEAKING NEWS!!!!

I have been running with an e46 M3 wheel for 8+ months now.. Oh ya, then there was the e46 wheel for 1+ years before that...

NOW GET AN E46 SLIP RING IN THERE

Oh an for those of you who don't know, there isn't a DIY to put the wheel on. Simply take your old one off, remove the little silver ring at the end of the old base of your e36 wheel put the e46 wheel on and BAM the wheel is on

Now, if you want to get everything working.... GOOD LUCK!

You can use an e36 slip ring but there aren't enough connectors to put all the stuff on. If you choose to try an e46 slip ring it is TOO THICK and can't be modified to safely work on the e36 (ask me how I know

, there was $80 down the drain) Oh ya, an M5 slip ring won't work also.... (again, ask me how I know....

) Now I had a custom ring up and working for 8 months before it let go. I didn't plan on getting the bag working so didn't care too much about the workmanship...

CrayzeeM3 - No he doesn't have the aibag working.

you got any pics??

**332 RustBucket** · 03-24-2005, 03:32 AM

Originally Posted by x2nervisx

you got any pics??

don't think that I have any uploaded to my server and am in NYC and the car is 1 hours north of here. Will check and post if I find any on my server.

**12:03** · 03-24-2005, 06:30 AM

all this thread and still no pics of E46 wheel

**nightkrawler** · 03-24-2005, 06:55 AM

the easiest way to get an e46 wheel is buy an e46 m3, lol, j/k, yeah when i win the lottery, lol. at least my first job at work today is detailing a black e46 m3 6spd vert, i will certainly enjoy driving that back to the service department.

am very interested in seeing the pics of the install though. i hate my 4 spoke bus wheel and want to replace it with something else. aftermarket or otherwise, what is the easiest wheel to install on the e36 that looks good?, closest thing to plug and play and i dont care about keeping the airbag or having it function.

**shim** · 03-24-2005, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by nightkrawler

the easiest way to get an e46 wheel is buy an e46 m3, lol, j/k, yeah when i win the lottery, lol. at least my first job at work today is detailing a black e46 m3 6spd vert, i will certainly enjoy driving that back to the service department.

am very interested in seeing the pics of the install though. i hate my 4 spoke bus wheel and want to replace it with something else. aftermarket or otherwise, what is the easiest wheel to install on the e36 that looks good?, closest thing to plug and play and i dont care about keeping the airbag or having it function.

um, perhaps the euro m-technic II wheel?? (to anyone whos wondering, no airbag)

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