Hi,
After looking a bit into it, it appears the steering column splines differ from car to car depending on the year.
mine is a 83’ 520i. I did not take off the wheel yet.
I was looking for a e30 aftermarket sport wheel, since there is much more offer available and I thought it would be e28 compatible, but it seems a bit more complicated than I first thought.
I’m looking for a 3 spokes vintage look wheel (Nardi, or Momo, ...?), preferably with a wooden rim
which hub or complete assembly would you guys suggest me to look for, that might fit my car?
Also, if anyone has one for sale, I might be interested, depending on the design and overall state.
I thank you all for any input!
Greetings from Belgium!
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Steering wheel on a 83’ 520i
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9589
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
Re: Steering wheel on a 83’ 520i
The m535i.org web page has a FAQ and technical section that covers the differences in steering wheels: http://www.m535i.org/officers/ra/frame.html I've cut and pasted the steering wheel information below for convenience, but you should look around over there anyway as there's a lot of useful information.
Edited to add: I see you asked a separate question about suspension upgrades, there's some good information about that on the M535i.org page too. Also, look at the Tech FAQ section of this board, it covers a lot of common issues. You can also search here (see the search function at the upper right part of your screen.)
There's a guy in Belgium who has a YouTube channel that covers the work he's done on his 1986 5 series, do you know him? https://www.youtube.com/c/Memphis_Youtube
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It depends on the year of the E28. The E28 was upgraded to a collapsable steering column in '86. This steering column has a different steering wheel. There are 2 reasons why it is different. The first is that on the old style steering columns the steering lock was in the column, with the collapsable column the lock is actually at the top of the steering column and locks into a hub on the back of the wheel. The second difference is the number of splines in the wheel and on the steering column. If I remember correctly there are more splines on the collapsable steering column wheel than on the non. So even if you could get the wheel to get close to mating, it would not slide on because of the different number of splines, so it all boils down to what year E28 wheel are you talking about.For those looking at a wheel and wondering if it will fit, here is what the collapsable steering wheel looks like.
Here is a small list of what wheels fit which cars. For the '86 and later E28s: no airbag wheels fit, but all E30, E34, E32, '86 and later E24, and '86 and later E23 wheels fit. For '85 and earlier E28s: E9, E3, E12, '85 and ealier E24, and '85 and earlier E23 wheels fit. It is possible to change the column over to the later one, but requires quite a few parts. If you want to attempt to change the column to the later column, I would suggest finding a donor column from a wrecked car as the parts are expensive from BMW.
Written by Rob Anderson '00
Edited to add: I see you asked a separate question about suspension upgrades, there's some good information about that on the M535i.org page too. Also, look at the Tech FAQ section of this board, it covers a lot of common issues. You can also search here (see the search function at the upper right part of your screen.)
There's a guy in Belgium who has a YouTube channel that covers the work he's done on his 1986 5 series, do you know him? https://www.youtube.com/c/Memphis_Youtube
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It depends on the year of the E28. The E28 was upgraded to a collapsable steering column in '86. This steering column has a different steering wheel. There are 2 reasons why it is different. The first is that on the old style steering columns the steering lock was in the column, with the collapsable column the lock is actually at the top of the steering column and locks into a hub on the back of the wheel. The second difference is the number of splines in the wheel and on the steering column. If I remember correctly there are more splines on the collapsable steering column wheel than on the non. So even if you could get the wheel to get close to mating, it would not slide on because of the different number of splines, so it all boils down to what year E28 wheel are you talking about.For those looking at a wheel and wondering if it will fit, here is what the collapsable steering wheel looks like.
Here is a small list of what wheels fit which cars. For the '86 and later E28s: no airbag wheels fit, but all E30, E34, E32, '86 and later E24, and '86 and later E23 wheels fit. For '85 and earlier E28s: E9, E3, E12, '85 and ealier E24, and '85 and earlier E23 wheels fit. It is possible to change the column over to the later one, but requires quite a few parts. If you want to attempt to change the column to the later column, I would suggest finding a donor column from a wrecked car as the parts are expensive from BMW.
Written by Rob Anderson '00
Re: Steering wheel on a 83’ 520i
Rule of thumb is 85 and earlier are coarse spline and will fit your '83. But they're also harder to find and tend to be more expensive. Some E21 and E12 will fit, early E23 will fit, but the depth of the steering wheel is slightly different.
Simplistically speaking, you need a coarse spline wheel.
Simplistically speaking, you need a coarse spline wheel.
Re: Steering wheel on a 83’ 520i
Many thanks for your help guys!
I never came across Memphis’ channel, I’ve got to look into it.
Also thank you for the very helpful links.
I will take my wheel out first, making sure it’s the coarse spline type and then I will try to find à proper wheel hub
I wish you all the best!
I never came across Memphis’ channel, I’ve got to look into it.
Also thank you for the very helpful links.
I will take my wheel out first, making sure it’s the coarse spline type and then I will try to find à proper wheel hub
I wish you all the best!