https://www.engelmuller.com/product/j-s-68/?gender=male

not as good as my Jim Clark driving gloves but a close 2nd!

 

I know by your comments that you are anti- Alcantara, but come on, "patina" which is essentially worn, scratched and cut leather is considered to be better than new... your house must be full of antiques!

My last Porsche, after 4 years of use and the Alcantara steering wheel looked factory fresh, no wait, you are right it did have some patina on it, yep, better than new!

 

 

Patina is not "essentially worn, scratched, and cut" leather. It's more like smooth shading like on a used saddle. Works and looks much better on brown leather. There are leather armchairs and sofas that have this effect added for a richer and more supple look.

 

FWIW I banished all Race-Tex From my CGTS build. I wanted the GTS look on the outside, but a more sophisticated environment where I’ll live. Plus, it’s my DD and will see ~11,000MPY and I just didn’t see the Race-Tex holding up to my liking.

 

I regularly put 15k a year on my "toys" (and another 20-25k on my DD). Lots of pleasure drives, road trips, far-away events, etc. Granted in a post-COVID world my cars see much less mileage but I still plan to drive it a LOT. Hence my concern... will it actually hold up or look like crap in 2 years when the car has 30-40k on it (which, 30-40k, is likely a lot more than the average GT car owner has put on their car in 10+ years)

 

FWIW, my CPO'd GT4 had 30k on the clock and now has almost 41k. The original owner removed stock steering wheel and replaced with OEM leather, but left the Alcantara shift ****. At delivery, the dealer re-installed the original wheel, and is in like-new condition, but the shift **** had a "leather appearance", due to the amount of grease/oil in the pile. After cleaning, piles looks the same on both.

 

I bought my 2016 GTS almost two years ago, with 15k miles. The shift **** and wheel were matted, but generally clean. I’ve used Sonax twice in the past 10k miles and both now look great...maybe not new, but great. I personally don’t like the feel of alcantara on the wheel, but think it holds up just fine. I love how it doesn’t get HOT like black leather in a convertible. I’ve also really fallen in love with alcantara on the seats and other interior trim...not hot and easy to maintain.

 

You guys are definitely swaying me the other way, back to alcantara and away from the leather.

 

Its all a personal preference, but for me the Alcantara wheel and shifter provide better grip and feel, leather gets uncomfortable at either end of the temperature range, too hot in the sun and too cold in the winter, Alcantara never feels that way, for me a must in the Spyder!

 

It looks good and I love the soft feel. Really, I'm a huge fan. But my experience with 2 Momo suede wheels left me thinking they are a bad idea.

The Sonax arrived today. Gave both wheels a bit of a scrub between conference calls.

One wheel actually cleaned up OK. The other (the worse of the two) might just be too far gone. That said, it gives me a little hope that perhaps it'll be possible to keep the OE wheel clean and fluffy like new.

 

From experience I would say that if you start with a new wheel with a quality Alcantara covering and not only take care with it but take care of it you will get many years of service life.

 

We are talking about 400 grit paper here. Very fine. This was recommended to me for my previous 981 CGTS with alcantara wheel. I did this about once a year. Rubbed the wheel first with a damp microfiber cloth then gently ran the 400 grit paper over the circumference wheel a few times. Kept the alcantara looking quite fresh. You are not "sanding" the wheel. You are using the fine paper to pull up the matted fibers.

 

I do this twice a year and keeps the alcantara wheel looking new with my previous car. If anyone wears suede shoes, similar technique but using a suede brush to gently remove dirt and pull the fibres so they don't look matte

 

I guess this could work in a similar way that a suede brush does. I have a momo wire brush which can help fluff it up a little bit once you're done cleaning, so fair enough as long as you're super gentle.