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HOW TO - Install a Flat Bottom Steering Wheel !

45K views 43 replies 12 participants last post by  John Z 
#1 ·
Folks,

Installed a S5 Flat Bottomed Steering wheel in the wife's A1 this morning, its a much fatter wheel which makes the car super fun to drive and she is over the moon with it.

A lot of people have been wondering about attempting this mod but there is very little info on the web about this.





The S5 Steering wheel is from a 2014 model Black Edition, but you could use an RS4 or RS5 wheel if you preferred perforated leather. Don't buy a complete S5 / RS4 /RS5 wheel with airbag, as the airbag that comes with these wheels is dual stage - so technically not compatible with the A1. Note: Audi a1 uses a single stage bag - I didn't think it save to bodge a dual stage bag to work with a single stage control unit.

If your buying a wheel off eBay make sure it is the correct type as there are numerous different versions of wheels. The correct part no for a RS4 / RS5 wheel - 8K0419091CNIXC, I will post the part no for the S5 wheel when I can find it.

Before you can install this on an A1 with Manual transmission there are a few things to be noted, you must be aware of / considered :-

** Notes **

(1) The A1 steering Wheel control buttons / switches are likely to be different in function to the S5 wheel, so you must remove the button units from the A1 and install them in the S5 Wheel - Direct swap!

(2) Your existing A1 Airbag will not fit in the S5 steering wheel, so you need to purchase an alternate single stage airbag which will fit the S5 wheel, see my point above about S5 / RS4 /RS5 airbags not being compatible - The correct part no for an airbag that will work with the S5 / RS4 /RS5 wheel on the A1 is: 8V0880201N 6PS / BLACK-SOUL, see picture:

Basically its an Audi A3 8V model airbag, I sourced mine from eBay brand new for £280 delivered - thought it was a good deal. After checking the pin-outs of both airbags - A1 and the replacement A3 bag identical and as such a direct plug and play Replacement.

(3) The S5 Wheel has DSG Flappy Paddles which will be fine if you are installing in an A1 with a DSG gearbox. If like me its going into a manual car then the paddles will look naff so need to be removed. The downside is you are then left with holes on the back of the wheel. I resolved this by removing the paddle units then stripping the units down, pull out the rocker pins first, then wiring and mini circuit boards and just kept the frames. There is a void left in the paddle frames which I filled with silicon sealant (left overnight to dry), then wrapped in black carbon fiber look plastic sheeting. Then refitted to the wheel - this resolves the issue with the holes.

(4) The S5 wheel has a tiny S5 badge on it which looks stupid on an a1, if your a1 is an Sline then you can get an replacement badge from eBay. If however you are like me and have an A1 SE (Cant exactly use a Sline badge) then I decided to remove and wrap the badge with Carbon Fiber Plastic Sheet - looks better than leaving the S5 badge sitting there. ** Tip you need to remove the black switch ring before you can remove the badge as its held on by 2 torque screws from the under side ** see image -


------------------------------ I n s t a l l p r o c e s s -----------------------

It is handy to use a iPhone/ iPad to take photo's as you work makes it easy to refer to later if you forgot where things go.

Allow 1.5 - 2 hours for the mod

Steps

(1) Turn the ignition on in the A1

(2) Pop the bonnet of the car and lift the cover on the negative terminal on the battery and disconnect the battery using a ring spanner, once disconnected put the plastic terminal cover back down to stop the connector falling back down and making a re-connection (This would be disastrous) - take the time to make sure the terminal is properly Isolated.

(3) I used this you tube article: to as a guide to removing the A1 steering wheel, please feel free to follow it, I am in no way related to the poster and do not wish to take any credit away from this guy. Remember to press your foot on the brake before you start disconnecting the airbag, this is just to help dissipate any remaining electrical charge.

(4) Follow the you tube article, ** Remember to touch the metal body work of the car when prompted to disperse any anti-static ** . Take off the airbag connector by 1st pulling the white tab out on the yellow connector, the white tab is the security clip for the airbag (comes about 1cm or so) this will then allow you to release the the yellow airbag connector. Image of the A1 bag removed with the white clip fully out


Once the yellow connector is removed you will need to disconnect the connector for the steering wheel buttons (small thin 4 pin connector), this is done by using a very small flat blade to lift up a cleat and separate the plug and socket. The airbag is now free from the wheel and should be placed to one side. Airbag shown removed, at the bottom of the image is the small switch connector (thin 4 pin connector)


(5) Its time to physically remove the A1 wheel from the car, this is done by using a M12 spline socket. Once removed take a take a good look where the wheel lines up with the steering column. There is a line and a dot. See the image:


You should take some photo's of this as its ultra important. Normally the dot and the line - align perfectly but on my case the line was 1 notch off to the right. This is normal due to slight differences in steering racks. In your case it could be off by 1 to the left. It is worth taking an extra 5mins to be 100% certain of how the wheel sits on the steering column. Once you are happy with the position, pull and remove the A1 wheel.

(6) Exposed center column and clock spring, Do not touch the indicators stalks or the clock spring with the wheel disconnected !! I was told this could damage the clock spring.

(7) Now the wheel is off you need to remove button units from the steering wheel to swap onto the S5 wheel, this is done by removing black ring from the wheel. See step 8 below for tips removing the ring. Once the ring is removed, un-clip both sets of buttons and put them to one side. Image of removing the black ring using a trim wedge -


The black ring starting to come away from the wheel


Back of the black ring with the switches half way from being removed


(8) Lets now work on the S5 wheel prior to fitting it into the A1, 1st off remove the black plastic ring from the wheel, this image shows the ring removed:

Start off in the center using trim tools to pull the black ring away from the wheel, normally I do the center, then the bottom bit where the badge is then do the left button unit, then the right unit - They are very stubborn to come out but with a bit of perseverance they will pop out, just take your time and work slowly.

(9) Once the black S5 switch ring is removed from the wheel, the screws which hold the flappy paddles are exposed, and need to be undone. See note (3) at the top of the article about removing the paddle switches and making the paddle modifications. This step can be done in advance / a head of starting the mod. Image of wheel mounted with paddles removed and frames fitted, siliconed and wrapped


(10) Time now to swap the switches on the switch ring for the ones you have already removed from the A1 wheel, they should clip into place easily just remember to the feed the switches through from the back of the switch ring and click them into place from the front.

(11) Time to deal with the pesky S5 badge at the bottom of the ting, you can either remove it and wrap it / paint it or replace it with an Sline badge if you have one. Once this is complete it's time to re-install the switch ring back in the S5 wheel, easy enough process just push it home and push the cables into the grooves they came out of - Remember to place the small switch connector (thin 4 pin connector) in the space provided.

(12) The S5 wheel is now ready to be fitted onto the A1, place the S5 wheel onto the steering column making sure the dot and the line match up as per step 5, refer to your pictures, just to be doubly sure - As the guy in the youtube video say's get this wrong and it will bug the hell out of you when your driving as the wheel will be offset.

Assuming you are happy with the alignment, re-attach the center nut and tighten to a torque of 50nm (Newton Meters) using a torque wrench. Take a maker pen and draw a line on the side of the nut. This will show Audi technicians in the future; if the wheel is removed that its been off already, this is procedure and should be followed (on the 4th removal of the nut it needs to be replaced, that is how they keep count by adding the marks on each removal). Image, shows nut in place prior to me putting a line on it.


(13) Time now to install the new A3 airbag, first of all connect up the 4 pin connector for the steering wheel switches making sure it connects in properly. Next plug in the yellow connector, once its pushed home - only then push in the white security clip. Make sure no wires are caught.

Now the airbag itself needs to be pushed into place, as each side is pushed home - you will here a click sound as the metal clip catches on each side of the airbag.

(14) You are almost done, time now to reconnect the negative terminal on the battery.

(15) All that's left is to road test the car, before you do - take time to check the airbag light goes out when the ignition is turned on normally stays on for around 5 sec's then goes off. If it stays on then you have messed something up, this can be cleared by using a VCDS cable and looking at the errors thrown up or going the the dealer. (I have followed this procedure a couple times now with no airbag issues). Try the horn, push each side of the airbag to test the connection - this also helps to make sure the airbag is seated properly.

On the Road Test, confirm the wheel is in the correct position i.e. the dot and the line have been put back in the same position as in step 5 and the car is not wanting to veer off left or right when the wheel is straight. If by some misfortune you have mis-aligned the wheel on the stalk you will have to back track and re-align the wheel correctly (Very time consuming).

Hopefully this is an informative article for people. It is a straight forward task which I rate on difficulty of 4 out of 10. If you feel you cannot handle this mod, do not tackle it, and don't blame me if you miss read the article and do things in the wrong order.

Finally, please read through the article a couple of times, print it out and make sure your happy you have all the tools required, socket set, trim tools, torque wrench, small flat bladed (Jewellers) screw drivers, before starting.
 
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#3 ·
Skiman said:
That is amazing fella!!
Great work and looks perfect!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for that still adding little bits to the post, if you have any queries I'll do my best to answer them.
 
#4 ·
Great write up.

Am I missing something? as I can't see your pics?

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the parts cost you?

And finally whilst you were researching this did you find any info to coding the paddles for a DSG box?

Thanks
 
#5 ·
Saha said:
Great write up.

Am I missing something? as I can't see your pics?

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the parts cost you?

And finally whilst you were researching this did you find any info to coding the paddles for a DSG box?

Thanks
Pic's should be fine, maybe try a different web browser - I use firefox myself.

Parts costs - should budget £400 - £450 for a wheel (minus airbag), new airbag I think I mentioned at £280 ish via ebay (came from Hungry), Carbon fiber sheet was £2 - £3 , Sealant I had in the house - so free.

Didn't look into coding paddles for a DSG box, I guess you have DSG paddles on your 185, then simply swap them onto the new wheel. The car wont know any difference (Same as swaping the steering wheel buttons) :D

I'm away to add so more pics this morning!
 
#6 ·
my 185 didn't come with paddles :( so I'm thinking get paddles and flat bottom steering in one go :D

I wonder if it will void my warranty if I replace it with genuine parts?
 
#7 ·
Saha,

Yes, get flat bottom and paddles in one go (the paddles alone are nearly £200 if separate), so makes a lot of sense. I'm sure with a bit of googling you could get the vcds coding (I'll have a look see next couple of days), the other option is just pay the dealer to code it - That way if you ever get the software upgraded on the car the dealer will make sure the paddle coding is included - Otherwise you could have to get them re-coded again (pain in the a*se).

Just had a quick look on the old inter-web, you might need to change the steering wheel control module if it isn't designed to handle paddles that said, check out this article from Ross-Tech: http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/inde...lues_.28Steering_Wheel_Paddle_Installation.29

Hopefully this will be of help.
 
#8 ·
#12 ·
Brilliant write up - plenty of pics and info. Well done ;)

It's a pity about the airbag not suiting the new wheel though. This is a mod I would strongly consider, but the cost is a high one.
 
#13 ·
Spike,

Don't forget you can always get some money back on the old bag, and wheel. :)
 
#14 ·
mjsaville said:
Spike,

Don't forget you can always get some money back on the old bag, and wheel. :)
Looking again at your first post, would you say that if I got a flat bottom S-Line wheel from an A3, would my current airbag fit into this wheel?

Would you have the part number of the A1 airbag?

My mind is going, and if the airbag fits directly into an A3 wheel, then I will be doing this as well :D
 
#15 ·
SPIKE said:
mjsaville said:
Spike,

Don't forget you can always get some money back on the old bag, and wheel. :)
Looking again at your first post, would you say that if I got a flat bottom S-Line wheel from an A3, would my current airbag fit into this wheel?

Would you have the part number of the A1 airbag?

My mind is going, and if the airbag fits directly into an A3 wheel, then I will be doing this as well :D
Spike,

Your queries:

Q - "Looking again at your first post, would you say that if I got a flat bottom S-Line wheel from an A3, would my current airbag fit into this wheel?"

Answer - Don't think so - The A1 Airbag has a spike connector, the wheel I used required a Squared off Spring Connector. If you have a picture of the s/Line wheel you intent to purchase I could confirm or not.

The part numer of the A1 airbag, checked on Ebay is 8X0880201B 6PS , but to re-iterate again I do not think the A1 airbag will inside the sline flat bottom steering wheel.
 
#16 ·

This is what the centre of the wheel that I am considering looks like. Do you know what airbag I need? Thanks
 
#17 ·
SPIKE said:

This is what the centre of the wheel that I am considering looks like. Do you know what airbag I need? Thanks
Mr Spike,

The piccy is very small !

Any chance you could put up a link to imageshack or somewhere with a bigger size and more detail including the wheel switches, bottom of the wheel also, cheers.
 
#18 ·
mjsaville said:
Mr Spike,

The piccy is very small !

Any chance you could put up a link to imageshack or somewhere with a bigger size and more detail including the wheel switches, bottom of the wheel also, cheers.
I hope this works....first time using this type of thing!! http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/SPIKE ... ml?filters[user]=139022097&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0
 
#19 ·
#20 ·
@ Spike,

Tried both links from work, the 2nd link is certainly better than the 1st but still can't see image - page takes a long time to build. Did set the image for sharing?

Tried again, sounds like our office web filter is blocking it will try from home tonight.

cheers

MJ
 
#21 ·
@ Mr Spike,

Steering wheel on the image is spot on, this wheel will fit an A1 (just slightly different for the one I used). This Sline wheel is slightly thinner than the S5 wheel.

You will need to change your airbag to this one (this is what I purchased) and from this seller (They are being sold as brand new and to be fair quality is excellent),
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A3-8...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item46199612e3, part no: 8V0880201N 6PS

It's worth mentioning I am in know way affiliated with this ebay seller.

Any more queries, feel free to ask :)

MJ
 
#22 ·
Cheers mate. Appreciate the help.

I have gone away and purchased the wheel, so I will keep you posted in the next few weeks!
 
#24 ·
Mattwilkins92 said:
SPIKE said:
Cheers mate. Appreciate the help.

I have gone away and purchased the wheel, so I will keep you posted in the next few weeks!
Spike is that wheel off an A3? I need one with the flappy paddles!
It is indeed. I wanted to keep the S-Line theme along with perforated sections, and have the flat bottom as well!

This came up from a year old new shape A3.

I also like the fact that the S-Line badge area is all Piano Black, and doesn't have a chrome surround like the A1 wheel does.
 
#25 ·
SPIKE said:
Mattwilkins92 said:
SPIKE said:
Cheers mate. Appreciate the help.

I have gone away and purchased the wheel, so I will keep you posted in the next few weeks!
Spike is that wheel off an A3? I need one with the flappy paddles!
It is indeed. I wanted to keep the S-Line theme along with perforated sections, and have the flat bottom as well!

This came up from a year old new shape A3.

I also like the fact that the S-Line badge area is all Piano Black, and doesn't have a chrome surround like the A1 wheel does.
Thanks! Must resist arghhhh!
 
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