Anybody have first hand experience of alcantara steering wheels? Preferably ones from JPM as I would only order mine from Alex... Want one really badly but I have heard that it wears out quick and is a nightmare to take care of.
suede is hell and wears out quick. Alcantara should last a good bit longer with proper car. Really, it comes down to you and your natural skin oils. But alcantara is far more resilient than suede.
Alcantara does not wear out quickly, and really is almost easier than any other fabric to take care of. There is a reason you can order a factory BMW with an alcantara steering wheel...
Mine is from JPM and I did the alcantara on the top and bottom and the leather on the sides and its amazing. The wheel looks great and the leather provides an extra durability where my hands are the most. +1 for JPM
I have the Prova wheel and it wears well. I just wipe it down every 6 months with a damp rag to get the fuzz to come back up. The only thing I don't like about it is it can get slick, usually when it's raining. If I had to do it again I would get the leather version.
i`m in love with alcantara wheels so much I think I`m just going to leave a pair of gloves for "emergency" situations
Alcantara will wear out much faster than leather. Yes, BMWs have come with them as an option but have you seen one at 80k with the original wheel? It's usually trashed or all of the fuzz is worn off so it feels terrible in your hands. My dad has a 2012 BMW 3 Series performance edition with the factory BMW performance flatbottom steering wheel in Alcantara. His car only has about 20k on it and the wheel is already showing wear in the areas where his hands usually sit. He washes the vehicle weekly and cleans the wheel every time. Like Matt said it will ultimately depend on your skin and how much oil from your skin soaks into the wheel. Clean it more frequently and it will stay nice for much longer. More practical for your weekend warrior than your daily driver. With all this being said, I would still buy the alcantara wheel because I like it that much better than the leather wheels....just don't expect it to last forever like leather. You can always buy driving gloves :naughty:
Whoever you heard that from is wrong and has never owned one. Keep it clean with Sonax Alcantara cleaner or diluted rubbing alcohol with a microfiber cloth and it will look new for thousands of miles of driving. It doesn't "lose its fuzz". If you don't clean them they get matted down. Alcantara is a man made synthetic. Extremely durable. The ones that fall apart are not genuine Alcantara.
pretty much what Robb said. I am debating picking up an extra wheel and having Alex and Co. wrap it, but not sure how it will turn out yet, so I will be dropping by their shop this week.
obviously different from touching it everyday, but my seats with alcantara inserts look brand new with 50k miles on. I`ve even spilled sprite on it by accident but all of the liquid was literally standing on top of the alcantara!