The flat and greasy appearance is not permanent at all. On my AMG GT S, the steering wheel had become matted and greasy after 25k km of use, but I was able to restore it to like new condition by just scrubbing it with a microfibre towel dipped in warm water mixed with dish soap. Only took a couple minutes. Really easy to clean and restore.

I prefer Alcantara steering wheels to leather because when my hands are warm and sweaty, they don’t stick to Alcantara unlike leather. Also, the fuzziness feels nice in hand.

 

I believe it is limited to certain leather colors and is a fabric matching that color.

 

For those using driving gloves, any problems using buttons, touchscreens, phones, etc while you have them on? I use race gloves in my race cars -- never used gloves in a street car.

 

I picked up a pair of these . I’m still waiting on my Spyder, but have used them a few times in my 2005 Boxster S with no issues (no touchscreen in 2005 Boxster, and I don’t use my phone while driving) to break them in a bit.

 

Replacing or keeping the 05 Box S? My plan is to keep the 05 Box S until I get the Spyder or GTS 4.0 next spring/summer then decide which one to keep. Not a slam dunk that the new gear will be better -- not without at least a test drive.

 

I used to have a 987.1 base Boxster, and currently have a 718 Spyder. The Spyder is definitely better than my old 987.1 Boxster (sharper handling, more powerful, nicer interior, more exotic appearance, and auto-blip is nice). However, the (new) Spyder also cost me 6x as much as my (used) 987.1 Boxster did, and it's definitely not 6x better. Maybe 2x better, but definitely not 6x. The 987.1 is unbeatable for fun per dollar.

 

I’m definitely keeping my Boxster S. It is my daily, and will keep that duty. I also bought it used for about 1/6 of what my Spyder will cost, and it has a tiptronic so my wife will use it if the need arises. I also have an 84 944 for track use which I will be keeping. The Spyder will be a weekend canyon carver, cars and coffee, fun car that will probably see a track day or autocross on occasion. For those thinking “too many toys” I will be losing a Harley and a old Ford F-100 in the deal with my wife.

 

This method genuinely works. I use it on my 16-year-old 111k mile BMW beater and while the wheel doesn't look factory new, it's still in good shape and definitely doesn't look unusually worn or matted (at least for a couple months after cleaning).

 

If you are wearing gloves at the track it's too grippy on the steering wheel.
Also, hand oils and sweat make the steering wheel and gear shift **** look nasty fairly fast.

 

I’ve raced with grippy racing gloves (rubber dots inside) on alcantara wheels and didn’t find them too grippy. The more grippy the surface the less hand grip/force is required to hold the wheel which helps to keep the whole body (and mind) more relaxed.