rr_gts

Quoting myself. I asked William earlier this month about the airbags (and leather).

IraceRN

Wolfgang Ketterle
The airbags have part number 33809220602, which is for BMW. Porsche part numbers start with 981 or 991 for the model. The airbag is probably made in China, but then again, so is my Apple Watch, phone and laptop. They could be made in a knockoff/counterfeit factory with zero quality control standards, or they could be knockoffs that are better. Pictured below are two genuine JSS used airbags from a BMW and Porsche. Both have the tamper style sticker on the right side of the sticker that breaks up if someone tries to tear it off, which looks different than the PorschMaster airbags, so I'm pretty sure they are counterfeit. At the same time, they could be counterfeit products that are made in the same factories that make genuine products, or they could be recalled/defective airbags bought for cheap with stickers that are counterfeit. Only William and his resources know for sure, and I'm sure you won't get a straight answer. If you bought it through the eBay store then you probably could get a refund, as eBay only allows genuine, non-recalled airbags to be sold that have been verified, and only select sellers are allowed to list airbags. I couldn't list my 981 OEM steering wheel with airbag because I was not verified/approved. I don't know if William gets around this by saying "airbagg", so it doesn't trigger the AI bots to take it down, and he only shows a generic installed picture and an empty steering wheel. Other Chinese dealers of these steering wheels show the full airbag with wheel, so I don't know how that happens on eBay.

As an ortho/trauma nurse who use to work in the ED as a tech for over a decade, I've seen many injuries from airbags, and I've seen plenty of times airbags should have deployed based on what the car looked like provided by EMS, and they didn't, so nothing is guaranteed. Obvious Takata airbags had a huge recall, and even though they are a Japanese company, they make airbags out of Mexico and other places, so where they are made isn't correlated to the company. Being made in China is not really the issue. Being counterfeit feels like it is probably sketch like inside the airbag is baking soda and a resistor, and it won't work. The only way to know is to test it, but testing it also means needing to buy a new one, but then will that one be good? Some people have Momo, Sparco and Nardi wheels with no airbags. If you frequent the track, a good helmet, six point harness, roll cage and a solid/fixed seat would be better investment than an airbag, as professional cars don't have them. I'm more risk prone, so it is not a big deal to me, as I've had classic cars and aftermarket steering wheels.

IraceRN

Historically, the factory wheel is either genuine leather, or it is of the synthetic material Alcantara. Race-tex is the first vegan alternative to leather interiors, and it was offered on the Taycan first, if I remember correctly. I believe it is an Alcantara alternative plus cloth materials and maybe vegan leather.

These PorscheMaster steering wheels are definitely vegan, and they stock 981/991.1 and newer 982/991.2 steering wheel are 100% leather. If you look closely at the stitching, I'm sure you will see a seam where the material is raised enough that you can tell it is a cloth padded material with a plastic, simulated leather top.

There is nothing wrong with vegan leather. It just doesn't have the same buttery smooth feel, and it will likely age poorly and start peeling, especially if you have lotions on your sweaty hands and leave the car in the sun, but this will likely take a decade or something. You can get the wheel wrapped in genuine leather by any competent local upholstery shop if it bothers you or fades someday.

monkispanku

I have this wheel in my 981 Boxster S PDK. It is very nice, I've gone ahead and ordered another to install in my 958 Cayenne S Diesel.

In the Boxster I am getting an error - I think that's because my original wheel had the illuminations for Sports Chrono whereas the new wheel does not.

The airbag supplied is an original - i.e. not aftermarket - the one I got appeared to be a used one. The front (that you see) is like new, but there was some wear on the back where the connectors plug in. No airbag warning lights.

I don't think the leather is vegan, it feels like the brand new Sport Design wheel I bought when I had my 997.2. Pretty sure I got that from Suncoast.

skiddmcmarx

Short time lurker, first time poster.

Just purchased a 2015 Boxster S and I've been trying to get the answer to this question above about the neutral shift on paddles. The car currently has PDK with a multifunction wheel and I was about to place an order from porschemaster for a wheel including paddles. Is the best route to find an OEM wheel or to purchase the aftermarket wheel for this feature and hope for the best?

Thanks all!

IraceRN

What error?

What was the part number on the airbag?

It is vegan/faux for sure because William said it is, and because it is. You can verify it yourself by removing the airbag and plastics and looking at the seam. You can look in a puckered section too and see the material is plastic on cloth. If that wasn't enough, you could burn a discrete piece inside the plastics, and it will melt and not sear like leather.

IraceRN

Pretty sure the wiring is identical. It probably won't matter which one you get. Look at GPSadapter's products and installation guides for clues on what you will need to complete the install with the features you want.

monkispanku

The error code is 802420, an error relating to the multifunction steering wheel control unit. I am 99.9% sure it is that my car is Sport Chrono and had the MF wheel with the illuminated Sports and Launch Control displays. If I ever end up with a PIWIS I will code that feature off. All functions of the new wheel are correct,

If I have the time, sometime I may swap the wheel in my Cayenne and check whether it returns a code - don't think it will as that vehicle doesn't have those illuminations on the wheel.

Regarding the material, none of my airbags have been leather - that includes 997.2 958.1 and the 981.

My comment was specifically about the wheel, and the material feels exactly the same as the Sport Design wheel did when I purchased it new for my last car.

--
Current:
958 Cayenne S Diesel Carrara White
981 Boxster S PDK Agate Grey
Previous:
997.2 Carrera S PDK Schwartz Black (Why the hell did I sell you!?!)
996.2 Carrera 4S Manual Seal Grey

IraceRN

GPSadapter installation guide shows the Sport Chrono Multifunction PDK wheel to newer style wheel as the example, so I'm surprised they are advertising a product for a conversion if it is not needed and everything works, except for an error message. Seems odd, especially if the error message can be fixed by a PIWIS. https://gpsadapter.us/blogs/installa...allation-guide

You said the airbag was original/authentic, so it must have stickers on the side of it with Porsche part numbers. What was the part number on the side of the airbag? Do you have a picture of the sticker? Is it a tamper sticker that breaks into pieces or a solid sticker? The airbag I received had a BMW part number sticker, and it appeared to be "new" on the front with a leatherette wrapped front and protective sticker over the emblem, but it was slightly aged/rust/oxidized on the back, which could be related to shipping/storage, as there was no obvious wear to it.

I had the Sport Design steering wheel in my 981, bought the PorscheMaster aftermarket wheel, sold it, and I have an authentic/used 991.2 steering wheel. We had a 16' Q5 with 3.0T well equipped, and now we have a 18' SQ5 Prestige. All vehicles have leather steering wheels that feel identical. The PorscheMaster wheel has a different texture, different weight/thickness to the material. The corner of the puckered material on the seam was raised enough of the PorscheMaster wheel to tell it is faux/vegan leatherette. Yes, they can make them feel very similar, but I'm not sure how you couldn't tell the obvious difference. The leatherette used on the airbag was significantly softer/finer than the heavier grain and stickier texture of the PorscheMaster steering wheel, yet it is obvious the airbag is still wrapped in a leatherette and not authentic leather as any of our OEM steering wheels. Again, from William, from his lips, these are all made of leatherette.

monkispanku

I'm just telling you as it is from my perspective. Your experience may be different from mine. Such is life.

I'm happy with what I received, to the extent I ordered a second one to go into my Cayenne S Diesel. Personally, if a part is stamped with the BMW part number, I'm not fussed. They are manufactured by the same companies, they all integrate with electronics produced by the same manufactures. I've not got any airbag errors.

In the US you have options. In Australia options are limited. As I mentioned before, I had to order my last wheel from US.

To reiterate, I have not had a leather covered airbag in any of my cars. Maybe mine were all insufficiently spec'd, but I don't really care too much.

Just on the point about the GPSadapter. Pretty sure that the wheel being shipped by William are just pre-modified. You tell him what vehicle it is going in to when ordering. That adapter is likely not doing very much that can't be done to the wheel directly.

IraceRN

I'm not too worried about the airbag either. It would put a business in a high degree of liability for selling something as new that was old and bad and dysfunctional, so it is unlikely, but it could happen. I don't really have a problem with the steering wheel. It wasn't for me, but for the price, it is a good replacement and most will be happy. People should just understand what it is and what it is not, which isn't entirely clear from the ads/website. William is transparent enough if you ask him directly, which is why he has said that the steering wheels are OEM cores with aftermarket wiring, plastics and leatherette/vegan/faux leather. They aren't wired differently. There is no place or request to specify someone's car specs on William's eBay ads or on his website how to order these. He never asked me, nor would I wager has anyone else specified the specs of their car before purchase. I think some cars won't need an adapter like those with basic multifunction or manual to manual, but most will who are switching to multifunction from non-MF wheels.

quantim0

I’m looking to order a wheel from Porschemaster to replace my stock sport design wheel.

My car has sport chrono and I’d be moving to the black/black wheel with pdk paddles.

this should be a straight swap with no errors due to losing the lighting on the steering wheel for sport and sport+ right?

Sajan

Is the part number for the "GT" steering wheel?


https://content3.eu.porsche.com/prod...257F07004B5033

v187

i bought and installed one on my 2015 boxster and love it. even have the magnetic shifters. but because the airbag is from BMW, it does raise some alarms..
https://www.bmwusa.com/safety-and-em...ta-airbag.html
BMW Takata airbags were recalled

Takata is also has European headquarters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takata_Corporation

im not too worried about the airbags not deploying, more worried about it exploding shrapnel

v187

the airbag from porschemaster, takata made in germany. serial seems to be aligned that it came from BMW. The taping seems that they used the airbag core from BMW and put the Porsche badging and airbag cover on top.


ocd driving me nuts, trying to figure out if the airbag is installed incorrectly as in the 2 cables connecting it are not aligned/in the cavity slot and messing with the alignment of the air bag. the horn works fine. i know my phone camera is angled anyway because the actual camera is on the side and not the middle.

shot of when i first installed it