Whats up Fellas,

I recently bought a 2001 Infiniti Q45 Anniversary Edition Woodgrain steering wheel from one of our members(99BlackMaxMS). Overall the wheel was in very good condition. I considered installing it with the original woodgrain color but it would of not matched with the wood trim of my interior. So being the perfectionist I am, I sent it out to have the woodgrain refinished and the leather portion redone. And here are some pics of the before and after product:

http://photobucket.com/Restored_Q45_Steering_Wheel_Swap

The restoration cost me a pretty penny. BUT looking at it now after the install, which is a direct replacement, It was well worth it. And I couldnt be happier with the result . It completely gave my interior life again..

 

Wow! Looks amazing! Job well done!

 

i must say, it does look nice. What shop recovered the wheel with new leather? How much did they charge you.

 

I had it done by a local guy here in South Florida..He works out of his house..I had to pay $120 to have the woodgrain refinished to the match my interior trim color. And then the guy charged me $180 to have the remaining wheel rewrapped. However, today he told me that he's going start rewrapping steering wheels without woodgrain for $150. Go figure. After i paid $180. Oh well. Im happy with the final result. I've seen his work and he is very very good. I'd highly recommend him. He has about 15 years experience. If your interested, just say Rafael from Maxima.org referred you and that $150 was the price I mentioned to you. Because he haggles, and is flexible with his prices.

Here's his info:
Tino
Santoni Steering Wheels
954-297-0204/954-301-1427

 

wow really great work man matches perfectly great job

 

Thanks guys...

 

ummm, here's the problem. w/o my steering wheel in the car, i cant drive it....

 

That looks great bro!! Size difference between this and stock or same?

 

wow I'm jealous!

 

Looks good, I bet it feels good too opposed from the all leather

 

that's disgusting how well the 4th gen airbag cover lines up with the Q steering wheel.

 

Its actually not a prob max ride 41. The guy has spare steering wheels which he'll install for you for the time being. Well I guess this would only apply for the local guys as opposed to if you had yours sent out.

 

The wheel is a direct replacement. Everything is EXACTLY the same. It even has the slot/opening for the cruise control interface and the air bag fits in perfect. The only thing that needs to be swapped out are the wires for the cruise control. And the clips on the wiring, clip in perfect to the bracket in the wheel. The only difference is the thickness of the wheel in the area of where there is woodgrain. The SE wheel is fuller in those areas. I have large hands so the SE filled my grip slightly better. I wouldn't give this wheel up for that one difference. It looks sweet and doesn't feel bad at all.

I don't know if its anymore comfortable. I've had the wheel on for only one day..lol..I would say about the same comfort level though just a different feel. I guess after driving with the same wheel for 13 years there'll be a small period of getting use to it.

Hey with the new leather on the wheel and I guess the glue he used, it even gave my car that "New Car Smell"...lol

 

Looks great

 

looks amazaing man.. where'd you find the wood grain for the a/c control and vents and stuff.. i only have shifter, radio surround and window switches

 

I had my original interior wood trim redone, about a year ago, by a specialist down here in south florida. He works for Nissan and some other dealers in the area. He comes to your house, removes the old and puts in the new for about $200. Its a complete kit which he brings. He also had the trim for the window controls on the doors. But I decided to not have that put on because it would make the controls look too raised. The other areas had a impression where they would sit. So they look flush with the dash.

 

thas legit... there is no such service around these parts haha very clean tho

 

Have you tried to call your local Nissan dealer? That's what I did. I'm sure there is someone they use for their installs or repairs on new models. That's the guy I got my hands on. Nissan told me they dont do those types of repairs but that they would refer me to the guy they use.

 

I see. But what I meant to say was if the diameter of the wheel was the same.

 

Yes, same diameter.

 

steering looks classy. Great Job !

 

^ Very classy indeed.

OP, any chance I can bug you for a side by side comparison pic of oem vs the Q's from the top. Wanna see exactly how much thicker it is (no homo)

 

There is no real noticeable difference, just a tad bit skinnier on the "wooden" parts. The wheel is the same exact design, size and diameter, just has the inserts.

OP, the wheel looks great. Glad it worked for you!

 

Yea it's slightly thinner only in the wooden areas. But I'll see if I can post that pic later today.


Thanks for the sale brotha. Couldn't have done it without you..

 

Hey VQ'rInWLA,

Here are the side by side pics for comparison. And I measured the thickness of both wheels as well. There was only a 1/4" difference between both wheels in the wooden areas. The SE measused 4" there while the Q45 measured at 3 3/4".

Pics:

http://s977.photobucket.com/albums/a...%20Difference/

 

wow, i can only wish lol

 

ok....perhapse this has been covered...and as ive lived in the north before i know how nice it is to have heated seats and steering wheel.

My question is since the newer maxs and infinitis have heated steering wheels as an option, are they able to swap into 4th gens? id love to wire it into the heated seat button so when u hit the switch BAM heated driver seat and wheel.....

 

this looks pretty sick. ive got a burlwood "style ring" on my steering wheel and its "ok." def would look into this though. what exactly did he do to refinish the grain? did he just clear it with a slight darker tint to it or rewrap it?

 

That looks awesome

 

Damn thats a thought but Im not familiar with heated steering wheels. Maybe one of the senior guys can help you out with that one.


Not sure what he did. But my guess would be that he first removed the old leather, then probably sanded the woodgrain down, refinished it with the matching color, added clear coat and finally hand stitched the new leather on.

You can try calling him up. I posted his number on one of my earlier posts. Hes a cool dude and maybe can give you some insight on the process

 

Hey man, I got a free day Fri, I was wondering if you might have some time that I can meet up with you and take a look at it in person. I'm really excited about the possibility of restoring my steering wheel

 

PM ME

 

looks great, good idea!

 

Wow what an upgrade! Maintains stock feel/size and looks really sharp. FTW!

 

Amazing, it looks like it belongs in the Maxi, I vote ALL GLE's should of had it.

 

good job broo

 

i like the setup

 

If the trim was woodgrain to back it up

 

Uau that looks realy nice, you said that he is charging now only $150 for the work, does that include the wood too??

 

No. For $150 i think he'll only do a complete leather restoration. Give him a call. He'll answer any of your questions