M-Tech II Wheel .. Advice needed.

[GS535i]

In bringing my 535i out of hibernation now that the salt & snow is gone, I've installed a nice M-Tech II wheel: Problem - the dish of the new wheel is 25mm less than the oem 'bus' wheel .... and that is ~1/2 of the previous distance between the back of the rim and the front of the three stalk controls Finger room is tight!
Options please .. but first, here are the facts. The M-Tech II is p/n 2 226 086 ( non-airbag - which is legal here), which is the correct spline type for the M14x1.5 (22mm) nut retainer. This wheel is 370mm od vs 395mm of the original. The depth of the splined hub is 20mm, 10mm less than the original ( for that , I've made up a 10mm washer stack to sit on top which allows the nylok nut to torque up correctly). Also, the turn signal cancellation extension dimensions are identical on the two wheels from the contact face of the hub to the original spacer: the original spacer remains under the wheel around the 18mm splined shaft.

The problen is to get usable finger room between the wheel and controls - which says that the wheel must be spaced up further ... or the control lever tips must be moved back.

OK - so, I can add to the spacer behind the wheel. Another 1/2"/13mm would be about right and still leave adequate spline engagement; however, if any spacer is added here, I will lose the ability to auto-cancel the turn signals. While life could be worse, is there any way to easily extend the auto cancel tip??
Also, too much spacer, and the retractable contact for the horn ring will not reach - leaving no horn: that would be unacceptable. I have not yet measured the max allowed for that.
Alternatively, one could bend/reshape the three stalk controls. ie - take ~20mm or 3/4" out of their offset that brings them forward to the OEM wheel. Has anyone ever bent these things intentionally ?? I'm quite prepared to attempt this .. if I had a spare set of the column controls to play with. That leads to the thirs query - If you know of a good set of stalk controls available, PM me: they will go to leather padded jaws in my vise ...

Other than toss the wheel, I'm open to ideas ... or any experience in solving this PITA. Thanks - & excuse the long post.

[Rustam]

In bringing my 535i out of hibernation now that the salt & snow is gone, I've installed a nice M-Tech II wheel: Problem - the dish of the new wheel is 25mm less than the oem 'bus' wheel .... and that is ~1/2 of the previous distance between the back of the rim and the front of the three stalk controls Finger room is tight!
Options please .. but first, here are the facts. The M-Tech II is p/n 2 226 086 ( non-airbag - which is legal here), which is the correct spline type for the M14x1.5 (22mm) nut retainer. This wheel is 370mm od vs 395mm of the original. The depth of the splined hub is 20mm, 10mm less than the original ( for that , I've made up a 10mm washer stack to sit on top which allows the nylok nut to torque up correctly). Also, the turn signal cancellation extension dimensions are identical on the two wheels from the contact face of the hub to the original spacer: the original spacer remains under the wheel around the 18mm splined shaft.

The problen is to get usable finger room between the wheel and controls - which says that the wheel must be spaced up further ... or the control lever tips must be moved back.

OK - so, I can add to the spacer behind the wheel. Another 1/2"/13mm would be about right and still leave adequate spline engagement; however, if any spacer is added here, I will lose the ability to auto-cancel the turn signals. While life could be worse, is there any way to easily extend the auto cancel tip??
Also, too much spacer, and the retractable contact for the horn ring will not reach - leaving no horn: that would be unacceptable. I have not yet measured the max allowed for that.
Alternatively, one could bend/reshape the three stalk controls. ie - take ~20mm or 3/4" out of their offset that brings them forward to the OEM wheel. Has anyone ever bent these things intentionally ?? I'm quite prepared to attempt this .. if I had a spare set of the column controls to play with. That leads to the thirs query - If you know of a good set of stalk controls available, PM me: they will go to leather padded jaws in my vise ...

Other than toss the wheel, I'm open to ideas ... or any experience in solving this PITA. Thanks - & excuse the long post.

toss that wheel over to me - my turn controls do not "auto cancel" anyway...

[Alan_525i]

I thought the exact same thing when I first installed my M-Tech. I drove it for a week and got totally used to the positions of the stalks. Even better, the stalks are pushable when your hands rest on the spokes of the T by just extending a couple fingers. I wouldn't worry about the initial feeling that they are too close, you'll get used to it.


Congrats on getting a GREAT mod!!!