Carbon + LED Wheel

And, what (if any) re-programing of the Car was required, or was it "plug and play?"

 

That is the only opton that regret not speccing on my '15 Cali T in Tdf blue/Couio. I would also be interested in remedying that oversight if it were not too complicated. Have almost 12k troublefree miles btw!

 

Miller quoted me $11k for the wheel last year. They also said there would be an update that would need to be done to the car's software which could range from $1000-$1500. then of course the normal labor rate per hour. Definitely not cheap. Try MA Carbon he seems to have a good relationship with a supplier but as far as installation that would be on you to decipher who to use. I would suggest a dealer of course as it seems a software update is needed along with the install.

 

I'm curious how many Ferrari lovers prefer the LED wheel. I opted against it thinking it would drive me crazy. I love my tach and didn't think I needed a light up wheel to tell me when to shift even though it's super cool. Maybe I'm missing the benefits. I've wrestled with this question so I'd love to hear others' responses on this.

 

Yeah the carbon part of the steering wheel (and other interior components) look ok but to me not really that big of a deal, and the light would drive me insane. SO not really that big of a deal to me. Only options that make a whoop to me are the shields, and the electric seats. Cruise would be nice as well as magna ride or the HS. other then that i really dont care. But I know several people the carbon steering wheel and leds are a big deal to to it really is to each their own.

 

Lights on the steering wheel only come on when you are close to the redline.

They are not very bright and are unbelievably cool.

If you change gears near redline, they help visualize how close you are to fuel-cutoff without really looking at the tachometer. At fifth red light, it cuts off-fuel.

 

still dont know that id miss it since i rarely if ever will be approaching readline. But after your explanation i can see why it could be useful. To me it is just extra dollars for something id rarely if ever use.

 

Its also about feel. The CF steering feels sporty in hands vs the regular one. Tome, there was a difference and I felt it when I was test driving. Maybe the visual affects made my brain think otherwise.

May not be appropriate example but in Porsche world, its the round-center sports steering vs mill-of-the-run triangular one. I personally prefer the round one.

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I wouldn't drive a performance car without being able to take it to the redline on a regular basis. This engine doesn't rev as quickly as my 991tts did but it's pretty quick and the lights are a good feature since you don't have to take your eyes off the road to use them. I think it's a great idea and not a gimmick and so when I started shopping for my Cali T I was only looking at cars which have it. Any replacement Ferrari I get will have it as well.

 

My wife has a car (Jeep Cherokee) with heated steering wheel----it is leather wrapped except for the top 1/3rd which is solid (plastic?). When I drive her car, my wedding ring constantly taps on the hard surface and drives me nuts. I suppose I could get used to it over time...but not sure. Prior to discovering this annoyance, I would have been all over the cool LED steering wheel....now not so sure....? If you wear a ring(s) I would suggest driving one to be sure you like it. Or maybe I am just OCD

 

Hands should be at 3-9 on the wheel.

 

See if you can have it leather-wrapped.

When I was spec'ing my car I didn't like the CF on the LED and my salesman told me I couldn't have it in leather to match the interior. Unfortunately, he was wrong as the Taylor-Made program actually offered that but that program was not marketed properly and neither my salesman nor I knew of it. The interior CF clashed so much with the classic interior in my car that I passed on the LED.

I have actually seen a Cali interior photo showing an LED wrapped in matching leather and it looked super. Not sure if it was from the Taylor-Made program or done aftermarket.

 

There are exactly 2 for sale on ebay at $4500. Honestly, I believe no programming will be needed, just a plug-n-play but then again, that is my guess.

 

Somehow, as much as I would like this to be true, I suspect the unique ID of a replacement steering wheel needs to be registered on the CAN bus of the car before the car will interface with it. Modern cars are highly software-controlled.

My understanding is that the factory also maintains tight control over these matters. Aside from needing to use the correct ECU service tools, I recall that with my car, Ferrari factory technicians actually connected remotely from Italy when they accessed devices on the CAN bus of my car. So if that is the case with steering wheels, the dealer would need to be involved. I also seem to recall it was an ignition module in my steering wheel that the factory was remotely diagnosing on one occasion.

 

I agree with this, don't miss the lights, but lots of F-chatters seem to love it, and so if resale was an issue, I'd get them. Ditto shields. Cruise interface is one of the few things on the Cali that I dislike. Trying to figure it out while driving is a nuisance; the interface is unlike any other car I've driven. Electric seats are great. If a newer Cali, I'd opt for ventilated too, if you live in a hot clime. As far as HS, I don't think I've seen a review here that hasn't been positive...T

 

just to add my 2 cents, I looked at one of those mentioned Carbon Fibre wheels, even my dealer couldn't confirm whether it would be straight swap.
I decided not pursue, as the LED wheel is from a totalled car...

 

My dealer has told me they are willing to do it. However, as for using a steering wheel from a salvaged car, I imagine it can get sticky should the swap not go smoothly and the dealer blames the part, the salvage yard blames the dealer.

 

very true, not mention salvage car parts and the energy from that lol

 

I have read the cruise is a PITA but I think it could be handy for me and my driving situation. Having driven the cali, cali 30 and the cali T I have likes and dislikes of all three versions and hope that in a year or so a cali 30 is in my budget range Id be satisfied with a regular NA Cali assuming it has sheilds and the electric seats, and ive also added another couple of things on what im looking at no red interior and if an interior color other then black has to have the top half of the dash black. Of course I dont plan on selling the car, but would like to know its optioned decent enough that i will be able to sell it down the road so shields and electric seats are a must even though i already wanted them. Back to the subject of the carbon steering wheel its not a deal breaker if it has it but I could care less. IM not going to be banging thru the gears with my hair on fire, though there may be some aggressive merging and spirited back road driving. However I will concede that I can see where the LEDs can be handy, especially in the 488 after reading comments about them.

I have perforated seats in my Longhorn Laramie and dont know how i lived with leather seats in the summers with out it. Its nice to get into my truck and switch on the ventilated seats and they cool off magically so if its an option on anything im buying it would tend to be higher on the list then lower. The HS and magnaride options are worth having but again not worth busting a deal if a car doesnt have it but I thought i noticed a difference in a car that had magnaride over one that didnt have it, however a car without it for my driving purposes is fine too. Having said all that everyone looks for different options and will have different driving styles but the great thing is great forums like this to help a person learn about the different options to make informed decisions.