Alcantara vs Leather Steering Wheel/Shifter
#17
Rennlist Member
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I went with leather, which also allowed me to get the brushed aluminum shifter.
#19
Three Wheelin'
#20
Drifting
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I was going to go with the aluminum shifter, but looking at pictures of other 981s, it appears that only a small portion of the shifter is aluminum and the shift pattern is still on a plastic cap of some sort. For the money, I would've expected the shift pattern to be engraved into brushed aluminum. The cap actually makes the shifter look more "busy" to me. And to be honest, even before I discovered that, I questioned the wisdom of specing a shifter that could become very hot to the touch after the car has been left outside in a Texas summer.
#21
Rennlist Member
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I was going to go with the aluminum shifter, but looking at pictures of other 981s, it appears that only a small portion of the shifter is aluminum and the shift pattern is still on a plastic cap of some sort. For the money, I would've expected the shift pattern to be engraved into brushed aluminum.
![Smilie](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
The cap actually makes the shifter look more "busy" to me. And to be honest, even before I discovered that, I questioned the wisdom of specing a shifter that could become very hot to the touch after the car has been left outside in a Texas summer.
In the past, the Al shifters have been a bit heavier than the standard ones. That's something I like with shorter levers. We'll see if that's true for this one.
Last edited by nova996; 03-19-2015 at 12:02 PM.
#22
Pro
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Something I saw in Geneva was that the alcantara steering wheel seems to have the yellow wheel position indicator (which is not visible in the configurator):
Porsche Cayman GT4 interior by Michael Rys, on Flickr
Does anyone know if that will be preserved if you go with the leather option?
PS: I really felt that the middle if the wheel looks and feels cheap though... the single piece I did not like while sitting in the car in Geneva.
![](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7609/16556795110_38efba52e8_z.jpg)
Does anyone know if that will be preserved if you go with the leather option?
PS: I really felt that the middle if the wheel looks and feels cheap though... the single piece I did not like while sitting in the car in Geneva.
#23
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Something I saw in Geneva was that the alcantara steering wheel seems to have the yellow wheel position indicator (which is not visible in the configurator):
Porsche Cayman GT4 interior by Michael Rys, on Flickr
Does anyone know if that will be preserved if you go with the leather option?
PS: I really felt that the middle if the wheel looks and feels cheap though... the single piece I did not like while sitting in the car in Geneva.
![](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7609/16556795110_38efba52e8_z.jpg)
Does anyone know if that will be preserved if you go with the leather option?
PS: I really felt that the middle if the wheel looks and feels cheap though... the single piece I did not like while sitting in the car in Geneva.
![](http://www.iowa-industrial.com/Tristate-Area-/Welding-and-Soldering-/Arc-Welding-/Fluorescent-yellow-duct-tape-2-x-60-yards-image-No.jpg)
#24
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A very old topic but I am not finalizing my config and saw this.
I'm torn between leather and Alcantara. The Alcantara looks more sexy than leather. I also noticed when configuring a regular Cayman S that the upgrade to Alcantara for the steering wheel and shift **** were over $700 for both ($450 for the steering wheel alone). I could only see the leather option for the steering wheel was $250. Seems like Alcantara is a more premium upgrade and you don't see that on a lot of cars. Any updates or thoughts about durability since this was discussed 3 months ago?
I'm torn between leather and Alcantara. The Alcantara looks more sexy than leather. I also noticed when configuring a regular Cayman S that the upgrade to Alcantara for the steering wheel and shift **** were over $700 for both ($450 for the steering wheel alone). I could only see the leather option for the steering wheel was $250. Seems like Alcantara is a more premium upgrade and you don't see that on a lot of cars. Any updates or thoughts about durability since this was discussed 3 months ago?
#26
Drifting
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A very old topic but I am not finalizing my config and saw this.
I'm torn between leather and Alcantara. The Alcantara looks more sexy than leather. I also noticed when configuring a regular Cayman S that the upgrade to Alcantara for the steering wheel and shift **** were over $700 for both ($450 for the steering wheel alone). I could only see the leather option for the steering wheel was $250. Seems like Alcantara is a more premium upgrade and you don't see that on a lot of cars. Any updates or thoughts about durability since this was discussed 3 months ago?
I'm torn between leather and Alcantara. The Alcantara looks more sexy than leather. I also noticed when configuring a regular Cayman S that the upgrade to Alcantara for the steering wheel and shift **** were over $700 for both ($450 for the steering wheel alone). I could only see the leather option for the steering wheel was $250. Seems like Alcantara is a more premium upgrade and you don't see that on a lot of cars. Any updates or thoughts about durability since this was discussed 3 months ago?
I got to try the Alcantara wheel on a GTS and while it definitely felt nice, I didn't fall in love with it, and in fact I'm not even sure that I liked it more than the feel of leather. So I'm going to go with leather because it stays nicer longer, requires less maintenance, and is more of a known quantity, the only downside being that it will be hotter to the touch after the car has been out in a hot climate. I wouldn't mind seeing a picture of it on a GT4 though.
But to help you make your decision, here's a long thread on the subject in the GT3 section: https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3/...ing-wheel.html