Steve 96C4S

I found a 3 spoke steering wheel from a 2004 GT3 that someone on Rennlist sold me. Now I need a black leather airbag for that wheel. I've been searching for a while for one, but haven't had any luck. I called LA Dismantlers - nothing for over a month now, a guy named Jaime with a #954 area code from Ebay who deals regularly in 993/996 parts - nothing for over a month now, regular Ebay postings for well over a month now - nothing, Rennlist Racer's forum and 996 forum requests - nothing, and a referral to a Randy Meyers in Canada that sometimes has take off 996 wheels and airbags from guys that are turning their 8k mi 996's into racecars! - nothing for a month now too! There's always this known, reliable resource but it's $544!:


http://www.carnewal-europe.com/main.htm

Just out or curiosity, does the vinyl 996 airbag for the 3 spoke wheel also have stitching like the leather airbag in this pic? Or is it more flat vinyl looking without any stitching at all? I like the look of the stitching! Anyone have one for sale? Did the leather stitched airbag come ONLY on the 996 Turbo? Most of the dismantlers don't know, and have rarely seen the leather one. How much of a big deal is it to get the leather airbag? Any reason to not get it in leather other than price?

So, in addition to this strange saga, I call my Porsche Dealer today (Tischer in Silver Spring, MD) and they tell me that the vinyl airbag is $628.06 and the leather one is $867.88 minus 10% for PCA membership. How is it possible that the dealer's vinyl airbag from Porsche could be less then Carnewal's leather airbag? Is this the same thing?

"Leather Airbag Module for 3-Spoke Steering Wheel
This airbag unit will fit any P96/P86 three spoke steering wheel .
Can be ordered in every P96 interior color.
Available with silver or colored crest (same price).

Price : 410 Euro [Dollar Conversion is $544]" - from Carnewal's website...

The parts guy also said that I need to find out "if it will hook up to my harness as it's not returnable". He said the new airbag could have a different kind of connector, a different resistance, a different amount of ohms. He said it might not work! I told him that I have met many other 993 owners that went to the 996 3-spoke wheel and have never heard of anyone having a problem. I asked him "so, you don't know?" I'm thinking - this guy works in the parts dept - shouldn't he know if it would fit? He said he had no idea. He kept saying - "make sure I don't NEED to change the control module before buying this airbag".

So - this WILL fit my car, right? Is it really best to buy an airbag from a place like Carnewal and not a dismantler for instance, for airbag safety reasons? I've heard that a private owner can't ship an airbag anyway through the mail as it's hazmat. True?

If someone can provide me any answers on any of the above, I'll be most grateful.

Steve R

Martin S.

Steve,

It is hopeless, these 3 spoke 996 air bags are as scarce as hens teeth....but there is hope for you. I will buy your 993 3 spoke wheel, and then finding an airbag will be my problem. Now isn't that a nice gesture on my part? For the right price I will.

On a more serious note, I have been looking for a 996 3 spoke wheel. I called LA Porsche Dismanteling today...they never called me back, not a good sign. If you buy the bag from a Porsche dealer in the US, they charge you about $75 extra to ship it because the air bag is hazerdous. These bags are not cheap.

Or you can blow the whole thing off, sell the 993 3 spoke sans air bag, then buy the AJ USA 3 spoke wheel WITH air bag for $739.00 + shipping. It is TUV approved..I may just go this way..or if I must have genuine Porsche parts (993 3 spoke), I'll just buy it from Gert. With Gert's DHL connection, the wheel and or air bag will be at my doorstep in a matter of days....decisions, decisions. I have decide to go downtown (Paso Robles, CA) and order a big Manhattan with two (2) cherries!

solsrch

Steve, and Martin, I really want to go to a three spoke and participated in the GT3 3 spoke auction for awhile (until after $800+) of course that was with the airbag so it really was good deal. Since I haven't been able to bring the pieces together for a great price, I'll just join you in a drink. Hold the cherries, I ate too much over Thanksgiving.

jrgordonsenior

Head over to Busi's. We used to drink there after pig hunting (poaching) on The Hearst Ranches way back in the 70's/80's....
JRG

Martin S.

The AJ USA TUV approved 3 spoke is a good deal at $739. I could stop by AJ USA and see what kind of price I could get for three (3) wheels. My neighbor has the AJ USA wheel. It feels good and is NOT cheesy. Let me know if you are interested. AJ USA is about 10 miles from my house.

mleds

Make it 4 if you can get a really good price. I would love a new wheel.
Michael

Steve 96C4S

This is so odd. So I bought this 996 3 spoke steering wheel thinking I could "easily" eventually get an airbag to put on it. At worst, I thought I could get Gert's airbag for the $544. I just found out I was WRONG! I emailed Gert to find out why his leather stitched airbag is only $544 when Porsche sells it for $867. He emails me back that he can't even sell me the airbag without the steering wheel as it can't be sent through the mail. Aarghhh! I'm bummed.

What would you guys do here? Just get the AJ USA steering wheel

and resell the 996 wheel (without the airbag) or hold out for an airbag, accepting a vinyl airbag instead as the leather ones are so expensive and hard to find? And, is the AJ USA wheel a leather or vinyl airbag? It doesn't say on their website and I can't tell from the pic. Also, if I get the AJ USA wheel, and I know this has been visited about a million times before, but is the general consensus that it's basically safe to put that cloisonne crest on the wheel as their website suggests (I know some have said it would suck having a metal crest embedded in your head if the airbag went off, but really, would it do that?) I've seen the plastic label crests, but they look cheap.

AJ USA's gold metal crest:

"Cloisonne Crest - Factory cloisonne` crest is a very popular item to dress up your vehicle. This piece is smaller than the hood crests, being 1 5/8 inches high instead of 2 3/4, and has a single stud on the back for mounting. One of our customers' favorite uses is to put it on the center of the horn pad on our 930S steering wheel. " ... so, does it come already ON the 911 GT Sport wheel pictured above, and if it does, why isn't it already in the center of the wheel, rather than off to the side of this picture?

Lastly, IF I get the AJ USA wheel, why don't they have a silver crest available instead? I don't have silver crests on my wheels, but may change to the simple C4S wheel center cap at some point anyway. I've heard people prefer the silver crest to the gold one... I've never seen one up close in person to compare.

Lastly, assuming I CAN buy the Porsche vinyl airbag for $566 (w/ the PCA discount) like my local Porsche dealership said, is it better to just do that? I didn't pay a whole lot for the 2004 GT3 3 spoke wheel I got, so my total investment would still be less than the AJ USA wheel.

I know - lots of questions. You don't have to answer them all!

Steve

Martin S.

The AJ USA wheel is approved for safety by the German organization TUV. Adding the Porsche crest is optional I believe. That is why it is off to the side. When Porsche starts paying me to advertise, that's when I'll put their crest on my wheel. It is made of hand sewn black leather. I have had my hands around it...nice feel.

I am going into AJ USA and see what I can do about a group buy, one for me, one for Michael, one for whomever. I'll get a price on 3, 4, and 5. Chime in if you want one.

Best regards,

Martin

seege

I may be interested Martin

Martin S.

I see what I can do at 3,4,5,6,7...etc. I should be able to get by there tomorrow, worst case Wednesday.

I'll let you all know.

fetus

I installed the Boxster 3 spoke tiptronic in my car.
I bought the leather air bag with color porsche crest from the dealer for $550.
I got the wheel off of ebay.
It was a brand new wheel for $175.00
The TIP buttons are so much better with the 3 spoke.
I can shift up and down without taking my hands off the wheel.

Steve

Martin S.

20% is...whoops, wrong topic. The Tip wheel was good for you. Unfortunately, lots of us have 6 speeds and the Tip wheel wouldn't work. Los Angeles Auto Dismantlers seems to have lots of 3 spoke Tip wheels...but not wheels for us shifter types.

Nice looking garage their Steve!

chris walrod

Martin, just wire the tip switches to a manual lap timer or NOS

solsrch

Martin, I just bought my tires and wheels 4 days ago and sent a check to Rod Birch less than a week ago. My intention was to lay low on the mods for awhile. Having said that, a killer deal and I'll probably just cry Uncle and jump in on it. In any event, thanks in advance for checking into this for everyone!!

Steve 96C4S

Here here - thanks Martin. I guess you better start a new thread about the group wheel buy possibility if they can offer us a great group discount (which I doubt, but you never know). Then more people can see the actual deal in your "Title" part of the thread, alerting them to the situation at hand. I may be interested too if the price is appealing enough to jump .

So - my new questio now is if you could get a 2004 GT3 basically brand new 3 spoke 996 wheel AND new airbag for $616, would you do that even if it means you only get that vinyl airbag (and not the leather one) ... or would you spend about $100 more for the AJ USA wheel with still, a vinyl airbag? I'm assuming the airbag on the AJ wheel is vinyl too, right? I know you said the wheel is hand stitched German leather, but that doesn't include the airbag, does it?

I talked to some people at our local Rennlist Meet and Drive about the AJ wheel and some said they liked it and others said they preferred the total smoothness of design of the 996 wheel.

I wish I had them side by side again to really check them out.

Steve