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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ryvinson" data-source="post: 364310" data-attributes="member: 16472">Okeee....3 Buds down the hatch worked like a charm...moody blues lifted or is that brain fog? Duh....So here's the low down on my steering wheel choice between the Alcantara and the Nappa skins.Major drawback with the Alcantara is the faux suede that's entirely the kiss of death in our hot, humid climate. Sweaty palms don't help. Most user sources confirmed that Alcantara dematerializes with age in that it'll transform into a  looser, more slippery, gooey like feel and eventually hardening like cholesterol choked arteries and eventual rigor mortis. The skin is perfect (BMW Perf dubs it a "second skin") for colder environments like Europe, North America. Bimmer geeks lusting after the bling LED display routinely re-wrap the steering with Nappa or other skins to have the best of both worlds. Another drawback is the Alcantara paddle shifts  derived from the 335i that lacks the cock-sure feel of the M3 shifters. Final nail in coffin...steering with the intricate electronics appears to be (pardon the French) a bitch to fix. BUT the LED is indeed awe inspiring, a guaranteed conversation piece providing bragging rights ad infinitum. Fans tout it as the Holy Grail of steering wheels....and does look the part. I mean I hardly blinked when I was driving a client's car as I was so taken by the the dancing lights and flashing numbers. To me the steering, as much as it does the job on the tracks and the undeniably bling factor, is first and foremost a novelty that I know will wear off faster for me than the skin's forewarned premature decomposing. Additionally, as much a geek as I'd consider myself to be, the car's already fully laden with electronic gizmos without more from the LED. It's a sad decision. I do love the wheel but my good senses albeit impaired  by lust for fast cars can't ignore the so obvious downsides. So perhaps before I draw the curtains on the Alcantara LED, could someone out there provide another viewpoint on the upsides or even challenge my findings and conclusions?That leaves the M3 DCT as a default option. Never like defaults, always prefer options by design. But life is such. The M3 is the antithesis of the Alcantara LED. Not as contoured or as sexy for sure BUT provides a very, very confident, authoritative CEO  like feel that screams DFWM (Don't F... With Me...in French). But deceptively cozy with the  smooth Nappa skin with the mandatory tri colour stitches. But I like the shifters best - sure,  firm and uncompromizing. No vagueness about them. The shifters' are infact so good Bimmer nut cases swap the Alcantara LED shifters for the M3's. Some users do complain about the thickness or fatness of the rims that interferes with hard, quick turns when cornering or avoiding collissions etc.Well, looks like there's an Utopian ideal option.... rewrap the Alcantara with Nappa and use the M3 shifters...and indeed that's  the solution for some diehards. But for me, I can relate far better to the M3 DCT as it is, and that's my definitive choice. Price for both steering varies considerably at this juncture, and I'm still pursuing the best prices and delivery dates. Both can reuse existing airbags and multi function controls save for 320s. Prices of the Alcantara  with shifters have dropped almost to the level of the M3 DCT depending on resellers. That probably confirms that demand for the Alcantara have largely petered out as the LED novelty wears out thin and fast in all likelihood.Over now to the rest of the world to take the floor.....your comments please. I'm heading home. Wrote this in between mouthfuls of a rare, thick, juicy New York cut washed down with Shiraz....a happy soul again I am. Can't wait for tomorrow!Cheers!</blockquote>

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