[Merli]

Hi guys,

I'm about to order an RS5 steering wheel off Alex @ Europrice (huge recommendation for great customer service btw) and just realised that the RS5 only comes in TipTronic/DSG.

I have a manual S5, and was wondering if it was at all possible to retrofit this DSG steering wheel onto a manual car.

1. Can I take the paddles off?

2. Will the multi-function electronics still work?

3. Will the plugs be the same and plug straight in, or am I going to have to muck around with my soldering iron?

I realise that people probably wouldn't have done this exact conversion yet, but any help from people doing this on other models would be much appreciated!

:thumbsup:

 

[Alkivar]

1) on the RS5 wheel you cannot take the paddles off, as there appears to be no available cover piece for the spots where the paddles go.

2) multifunction electronics should work assuming plug is the same

3) plugs may be the same, they may not be... have not seen the connector yet.

I'd recommend against the RS5 wheel myself...

what is your reason for wanting the swap?

is it for perforated leather? or a beefier wheel? (if so try consider TTRS wheel its available without paddles)

or is it because it seems like an easier swap? (if so, realize all you have to do is change 2 small connectors... 5 minutes with a soldering iron)

 

[rnlabas]

Having fit an RS4 wheel to my S5 and knowing a few folks here have put the current TT and RS6 wheel (my second choice) - this wheel should be essentially plug n play - you may be able to take the paddles off, but probably don't need to. There may be a plug difference (for them) but it'll hardly be a soldering iron project - more like taking the wires/pins (very carefully) out of one plug and re-inserting them into another - but really, I doubt it.

In my case it's a bit different cuz the wheel functions are a generation apart - at least you'll be current --

Good luck - btw, how much is that wheel - from the pics I've seen, it hardly seem worth it for a little perforated leather (mine has that too, but I really like the flat bottom) - the RS5 emblem is probably extra (and about $50 - ouch, for that little plastic).

 

[Merli]

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

The main reason I'm looking to change the steering wheel is that the normal S5 wheel seems quite thin and anemic, in comparison to the M3 wheel that I'm used to.... So I'm looking for something thicker (larger diameter) and hopefully a little softer (more "give" when I squeeze it).

The reasons why I'm looking at the RS5 wheel are:

1. I'm looking for a straight swap. I don't want to butcher this car (I have other toys for "tinkering" with), so I'm looking for easy changes.

2. The RS5 wheel would use the same airbag as my current steering wheel, so that's a massive plus. I've read some things about dual-stage and single-stage airbags, and don't want to open up that can of worms and potentially compromise safety in my daily driver.

3. Finally, going to a previous generation wheel (e.g. RS4) might introduce some electronics differences in the multi-function buttons that I don't want to be bothered with.

Hopefully that gives you all some insight. I want a fuss-free modification

 

[Merli]

As for price, apparently it retails for US$1091.96, but Europrice can do a better price than that.

Email Alex - [email protected]

 

[rnlabas]

Well, using the same airbag will help costs for sure - and I can attest that thicker is much better, after all, the steering wheel is THE main physical contact between us and the car - and usually the first and last thing we see when getting in or out of the car ...

 

[robstu]

I have driven the new RS5 and must say I didn't notice any difference in thickness or diameter of the steering wheel.

Please notice that there are 2 different airbag modules used in B8 models (option 1 with 2 screws and option2 with 4). I once had a S5 steering wheel with paddles that was of the latter model and my airbag didn't fit.

I wouldn't recommend this steering wheel swap at all because:
-the paddles look funny if you have a manual gb
-if you dismount the paddles you'll end up with 2 holes at the steering wheel
-the multicable doesn't necessarily fit
-the airbag can perhaps not be swapped from your present steering wheel.
-the RS5 steering wheel doesn't look really better than the stock S5 steering wheel (the seams are nices on the S5 steering wheel)

 

[Alkivar]

thats the RS6 wheel mounted in an A5... it is noticeably thicker than the S5 wheel. I still have not had the pleasure of comparing it to the RS5 wheel yet.

 

[Europrice]

Hi guys,

I'm about to order an RS5 steering wheel off Alex @ Europrice (huge recommendation for great customer service btw) and just realised that the RS5 only comes in TipTronic/DSG.

I have a manual S5, and was wondering if it was at all possible to retrofit this DSG steering wheel onto a manual car.

1. Can I take the paddles off?
Like I had mentioned, you can but it leaves a gap at the back of the wheel or you can just ignore their presence.

2. Will the multi-function electronics still work?
100% plug and play, since you are not changing your airbag the harness remains the same and that is what deals with your multi-function controls.

3. Will the plugs be the same and plug straight in, or am I going to have to muck around with my soldering iron?
100% plug and play, again since it's the same airbag you are using the same harness. The RS5 uses the same harness as your car now, so plug in and go!

The RS5 unit is perforated leather and thicker than stock as you can see. It is like an RS6/TTRS unit but round and uses the stock airbag. So lesser cost total than converting to a flat-bottom for those who don't want that style, plus perforated leather, can have an S-Line, S5 or no badge fitted and is plug and play. It does only come with paddles though.

As for RS6 or TTRS, no worries on dual stage airbag issues, all you have dual stage already, that is concern for single stage equipped cars. The only modification needed for fitting those steering wheels is to use the factory harness and fit smaller ground push-in spades. I offer plug and play fitment of the RS6, TTRS, TT, S3, R8 V10, etc. flat bottom steering wheels for the A5 and S5 by providing a harness with the proper ground spades.

Cheers,

 

[Alkivar]

The only modification needed for fitting those steering wheels is to use the factory harness and fit smaller ground push-in spades. I offer plug and play fitment of the RS6, TTRS, TT, S3, R8 V10, etc. flat bottom steering wheels for the A5 and S5 by providing a harness with the proper ground spades.

Cheers,

don't forget you also need the larger spade for the horn also :thumbsup:

 

[robstu]

I offer plug and play fitment of the RS6, TTRS, TT, S3, R8 V10, etc. flat bottom steering wheels for the A5 and S5 by providing a harness with the proper ground spades.

Well this should give confidence in ordering the part from there. Where I live there are no tuning companies giving fitment warranty..so this is a good thing!

 

[offshore]

I like that RS6 wheel.

 

[Europrice]

don't forget you also need the larger spade for the horn also :thumbsup:

Yup, both spades that need to be changed are. They are also different sizes as well.

Well this should give confidence in ordering the part from there. Where I live there are no tuning companies giving fitment warranty..so this is a good thing!

Already worked with some of the members here on fitments and thanks to Exhaustnote to be the first one I've got the formula down for installation, not hard at all!

I like that RS6 wheel.

If you don't have a manual the RS6 is a great way to go, so is the new R8 V10 flat-bottom with paddles (full air leather versus partial). Also the new RS5 steering wheel is a great way to go if you don't want the added costs of an airbag.

Cheers,

 

[C99]

As for price, apparently it retails for US$1091.96, but Europrice can do a better price than that.

Email Alex - [email protected]

I vote it for the most stupid mod... same wheel with RS5 badge for 1000 USD... :laughinatabove:

 

[district20001]

I haven't had any luck swapping the RS5 steering wheel for the stock wheel in my 2011 S5 Cab. The airbag is slightly different: MFSW harness is in the wrong place and the stock airbag is too shallow... is this normal?

 

[Sportback]

This gives a thicker rim feel

BN FURRY FUR LEOPARD PRINT CAR STEERING WHEEL COVER | eBay

:laughinatabove:

 

[audi_s5]

R8 V10 Wheel is my vote.. Alex does a nice job of providing everything needed. This is on my list of future mods..

 

[Europrice]

Got some tasty TTRS flat-bottoms with paddles available right now:thumbsup:

 

[necolove]

As for RS6 or TTRS, no worries on dual stage airbag issues, all you have dual stage already, that is concern for single stage equipped cars. The only modification needed for fitting those steering wheels is to use the factory harness and fit smaller ground push-in spades. I offer plug and play fitment of the RS6, TTRS, TT, S3, R8 V10, etc. flat bottom steering wheels for the A5 and S5 by providing a harness with the proper ground spades.

Cheers,

Hi Alex,

This is an old thread, but I`m trying to find some information and you seem to be the wheel "gurú" here.

As far as I know the A5 8T platform uses 2 stage airbags until 2009, and 1 stage adaptive since then (also 2 plugs). Using 2 stage airbags in these cars won`t throw any error, but they won`t deploy properly.

Any experience with this? Is there any way to make a 2 stage airbag work properly on one of these cars? Maybe new airbag unit or programming?

Thank you.

 

[Michel]

Hi Necolove - Just read your thread though its old. Today i tried to upgrade my 3 spoke multifunction A5 steering wheel to a A5 S-line with TipTronic. All cables fitted and i was looking forward to the extra buttons just moving the airbag but the strreing wheel control module coud not pick up the wheel buttons (When coding the new steering wheel with VCDS the car thought it was an automatic with non responding compressor etc.), so i ended up moving the old buttons to the new steering wheel which works.

It would however have been better to not move the buttons as i now have steering wheel without buttons and a loose buttonset for A5 TipTronic hence could harder to sell.

So i wonder if you ever got in contact with any wizards who could solve the coding issue ?