ian c - u.k

there is a way of driving in air-bag cars ........................

assume the racers stance !!!!!!

at arms length from wheel , slight kink in elbow . keep the face a safe distance .
luckily , i am now used to this way of driving since my golf recaros have the special feature that makes them recline when parked overnight

cobalt

Try the 3 spoke wheel from AJusa or techart, Ruf etc. Far superior wheel and will only set you back about half of what they are quoting you.

JasonAndreas

Don't spend a fortune on a replacement airbag just yet, there is a procedure to follow (Test point 23 in the service manuals) for fault code 55 and if your mechanic doesn't know if the contact unit or the airbag is at fault then they haven't followed it or they don't have the right tool (9516 & 9516/1);

1. Remove driver's airbag unit.
2. Attach special tool 9516 in place of the airbag unit.
3. Erase the fault memory

4. Check whether fault is still present.
a) If fault is no longer present, renew the aigbag unit.
b) If fault is still present, separate connections at contact unit and attach special tool 9516/1.

5. Erase the fault memory.
6. Check whether fault is still present.
a) If the fault is no longer present, renew the contact unit.
b) If the fault is still present, renew the control unit.

jonfkaminsky

Cobalt, are the techart, ruf, AJUSA, etc. steering wheels air bag, or bagless?

Jon

craig001

The AJ-USA three-spoke style steering wheel w/airbag is a shade under $800. It looks nice, but I have some other pressing issues to deal with. Oh well.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but in Adrian's book he states that Porsche recommennds replacing the airbags at 15 years.

cobalt

Jon,

As Craig mentioned the wheels are air bag wheels and in my opinion are a worth while replacement. The three spoke wheel repositions your hands lower and for me it made a great improvement.

I believe the factory states 10 for the 964's and 15 years for the 993 air bags.

You can attempt to replace the wheel yourself. You need to use caution as these things are dangerous. You will need to disconnect the battery and allow the car to sit for a min of a half hour before attempting removal. i would give it as much time as you have. There are no guarantees that the fault code won't come on. i paid my shop an hours labor to change mine. It was worth the $85.00. My fault code came on a week later and they just reset it for me.

Good Luck hope it is nothing major.

JasonAndreas

I think Porsche released a document that extends/permits the life/use of the original airbags in the 964 upto 15 years?

from the factory manuals, "As of software level B01, the waiting time is reduced to 5 minutes."

cobalt

Is it worth taking a risk. It is an explosive device. I have been told by several mechanics to wait the extra time. Sounds sensible to me.

cobalt

I have the AJusa wheel which is superb. Best improvement to the interior and I always get compliments on it. The wheel I believe is made by Atiwe and is the TechLine version. Try www.raid-rdi.com/english/index.html . The raid wheels have the horn button integrated and may be easier to use than the Atiwe wheel.

I was told by many that the factory used these wheels on some turboS models and I have seen the identical wheel sold by TechArt with their logo and special stitching along with Ruf. Might as well save money and upgrade at the same time.

Here are some old photos of my wheel.

cobalt

I don't know the part number off hand. It is the one selling for $739 now. It was $639 last November. They may have a winter sale or Rennlist special. Also make sure to verify that it has the perforated leather. Much better feel and your hands sweat less.

The crest is a heavy urethane coated sticker. I purchased it on Ebay and added it myself. I did not want the metal crest on the wheel. Had visions of the air bag deploying and it embedding in my face. (not that I ever care to find out)

craig001

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered the AJ-USA wheel Friday. I placed my order on the web and shortly after that Scott called from AJ just to verify my info, double-check to make sure that they had the hub adapter for my car in stock and then guesstimated that the kit would arrive in a week or so. Very nice people to do business with.

There is a code for free shipping on the website as well. When I placed the order there was an $18 charge for S&H. You have to enter the promotion code to get the free shipping. I wish I would have gotten the wheel last fall and saved a c-note, but I was driving a 944 Cab back then.

Just to double check, it's a 24mm bolt on the wheel like the 944's?

craig001

There's another Rennlist sponsor who carries a very wide selection of wheels, FVD-USA. I went to their website and ordered a catalog. They called in regards to my questions within hours and FedEx'ed a catalog to me. I was surprised at the number of options they have for Airbag equipped wheels. I assume that you reuse the spiral coil so you would need to find one of those. Maybe eBay by getting the entire steering wheel assembly. You could also try 20th Street Auto Parts in AZ. They got me a fan for $159 delivered a few months ago. Very nice folks.

craig001

Another option is the Rennlist classifieds. There are a couple of wheels with airbags for $150 available. I'm at work and don't have my PET so I don't know about compatibility, but my 1991 C2 wheel looks the same as my 1990 944S2 wheel.

Christer

I don't have any airbags.

craig001

Jon,

There is some sort of hub adapter needed. You might want to PM Anthony aka cobalt. He all ready has a replacement wheel set up which are the pics on page 3. FedEx stopped by yesterday, but I was at work and AJ-USA sent the package with signature required in person so they can't leave the package.