I decided that the steering wheel on my Platinum 2002 X-type 2.5 (98,500 miles) was looking quite worn (see pic #1). I bought one of those tan leather steering wheel covers on eBay to fix it up a bit (cost only $15 I think, and I measured the steering wheel, which was an MA cover, 37m-38mm outer diameter, 10 cm circumference). (see pic #2/#3)

After stretching it a bit to fit around the steering wheel (pic #4), I began to use the included needle and thread to sew it together at the seams. The first several seams took quite a while to get right, and it wasn't until about an hour later that I was about half done and got into my rhythm. Lucky I had a CD playing to pass the time.

Another 15 minutes is all it took to finish the other half. Since the stiching only goes around the parts of the steering wheel that are not connected by the "spokes", in these areas the leather tends to bulge out. To help even the front surface out, I gradually worked the cover so that the stitching was facing toward the back of the wheel. This helped the leather to sit flush over the spokes. (see pic #5 for the final product)

Overall, the cover looks "pretty good". If I could do it again, it would go much faster and I would be able to get some areas a little tighter. At any rate, I'll see how I like it over the next few weeks.

 

Well done. Looks great.

 

Nice job, looks great.

I did the same thing when i first bought my X, I ordered a 2 color Wheel Skins cover that accented the interior color of the car. My only fault was impatiently installing it in cold weather. Still turned out great but would have been much easier if it wasn't 20 degrees.

 

Thanks for the compliments guys. I also installed it on a cold night, which made it pretty hard to stretch at times and difficult to get a tight fit. If this one lasts, I'll just leave it but since they aren't very expensive I may find an excuse to install another one next summer.

 

Other than E-bay do you know of a website to get the same steering wheel cover?

 

Good job, incredibly than dull previous state

 

Great job. You've got a lot more patience than me.

Graham

 

Thanks guys, it still looks great to this day.

Haven't seen it anywhere else but I'd always give Amazon a try.

 

I think it could be better!


I completely re-wrapped the steering wheel a couple of weeks ago.

Posted these pics in another thread





One day of work but looks and feel as good as a brand new one.

P.S. the pics of two different type of steering wheels. But my look as bad as the one on the first pic