Put the new multifunction CF wheel on today, it looks sweet! I will post pics later. For now, I wanted to capture the knowledge here for those who may want to do this. Thanks to the other forum members who shared their experience with me, made the job a snap!

1. park car with wheels straight and steering wheel straight.
2. remove key from ignition
3. disconnect battery neg. terminal, let sit for 10 mins.
4. Remove airbag: take a long 1/4" alan wrench or other similar sized thin object with a flat tip, and insert into the hole on the bottom rear of the steering wheel. use something almost the same size as the hole. You will push up firmly to remove the airbag. What you are doing is pushing up on an internal wire retainer clip, once you push on it hard enough put your fingernails under the top edge of the airbag and pull forward, it should start to pop out. Now pull forward on bottom edge. It should all pull straight out.
5. once the airbag is out, reach in and unplug the orange connector, it pulls straight forward. Now lay the airbag somewhere safe.
6. Remove steering wheel center bolt *special tool needed*. You will need a 12mm multi-point tool. It looks like a large Torx bit with about 12 or 13 smaller ridges (A torx has 5 larger ridges). This tool is used for a few different things on Audi / VW cars as well. I do not know the exact name of this tool, I borrowed it from my friend. Slap the bit onto a 1/2" long ratchet wrench and turn bolt counter clockwise to loosen / remove. If you lock the wheel in the process do not worry, it is ok.
7. Now that the bolt is off, use a thin marking pen to mark a few points on the steering wheel next to the shaft that you unscrewed the bolt from. This is just in case you need to put the old wheel back on or need a point of reference when putting on the new wheel.
8. Gently slide the old wheel forward and off. do not twist or rock, you do not want to disturb the clock spring that sits behind the wheel.
9. Sport wheel replacement is easy, just put new sport wheel on with same alignment- tighten bolt - plug in airbag and push in to lock it in place.
10. Now, reconnect battery. you will get a PSM failure light. No biggie, it goes away after driving off.

Note for multifunction wheel:
There has been HUGE speculation on whether the multifunction wheel is "plug n play" on 997 cars. Answer is, it depends!!

If your car did not originally come with a multifunction wheel, then your car does NOT have the required control module or wiring harness. Period.
Now, if you buy a used multifunction wheel from a forum member, more than likely the wheel has the control module and wiring harness installed with it (it sits inside the steering wheel under the airbag). In this cars, YES it is "plug n play". Just attach your standard wheel airbag to the harness on the multifunction wheel and put it back on as in step 9 above, and go to the dealer for programming (BH Porsche charges about $80).

If you bought the wheel new from Porsche, it DOES NOT have the control module or wire harness included, you must buy these separately!! You need part number 997-612-673-00 (wire loom) and part number 997-613-445-00 (control unit). Both of thse parts can be ordered in a week from a dealer. Sunset Porsche charges $62 for the loom and $118 for the control unit. both of these pieces mount inside the steering wheel, just ask them to email you the schematic from PET (illustration 403-05). Put this all on (it's very easy) and take to dealer for programming.

NOTE: PET calls for a different airbag part nuber for the multifunction wheel than the standard wheel. This is BS! My standard wheel airbag fit just fine. If there is a diff I cannot find it!

 

Thanks for the write up. will come in handy when i switch to the RS wheel.

 

here's a few picture of the 12point serrated socket used in step #6

 

Awesome post. Great detail

 

Here's some pics from Sunset Porsche:
1. PET schematic
2. Parts prices

 

I discovered the torque spec for the steering wheel center bolt *special tool needed* referenced in Point #s 6 & 9 is 37ftlbs.

 

Does anyone have one of these 997 steering wheel main bolt tools for sale or loan? I am located in Vancouver, BC.

 

You should be able to buy one, or a set, at local Sears, Canadian Tire or Lordco. I bought a set of different sizes of Torx drivers with 3/8" drive for about $20 or $30 at either Sears or Pep Boys here.

 

Ken- It's not a Torx, it is a 12pt tool. Kind of odd.

 

You're right, but I read here somewhere earlier this year that a 6 point Torx will work, and it did for me very nicely. Can't remember but I think it is a T-47 that works.

 

Great Ken, thanks for sharing that tip

 

I just checked my notes. The driver I used was a 6-point T-55. Don't forget to apply lock-tite on the bolt when you re-install.

Despite your detailed explanation at the top of this post, I'm still not clear on MF compatibility for cars that weren't ordered with it. Are you saying the wiring and connector that comes up the center of the steering column is the same for all cars, and that the module etc in the wheel is the only difference?

 

Ken- Yes the column wiring is the same for all cars. The only differences are inside the steering wheel itself.

The wiring harness is contained inside the steering wheel (behind airbag) and is different for each wheel. If you look at the PET schematic, there are three different harnesses shown. My standard wheel had the basic harness in it, a tiptronic has an extra plug shown, and the MF wheel has yet a couple more plugs.

Also, the MF wheel is the only wheel that uses a control module, which is also stuffed inside the wheel behind airbag.

Conclusion: If you buy a MF wheel used from another member, it will probably already have the control module and extended wiring harness inside the wheel. It should definitely be asked of the seller if these items are present. This makes the wheel "plug n play".

If you buy the MF wheel brand new from Porsche, you will only get the wheel. You'll need to order the proper wiring harness and control module. The wheel does not come with these items pre-installed. Does this help?

 

Thanks. I never would have thunk it, given Porsche's propensity to wire cars for the specific options ordered from the factory.

I found I seldom used the MF features on my cab, other than the volume control. I didn't find the setup to be terribly useful, intuitive, or practical compared to other cars, like my C55. My Targa didn't come with it, and I love my XPA padded sport steering wheel so much I doubt that I will ever want to make the change to a MF padded wheel unless a good deal presented itself.

Thanks for the education.

 

no prob- this is everything I learned over the past few weeks in doing this upgrade, and a lot of credit goes to Loren at Renntech. I agree, the controls are kind of lame- But I definitely enjoy the volume **** and the 3 CF pieces look pretty nice (wheel / shifter / ebrake).
Actually, I don't see why you could not mod something on to a sport wheel. Maybe use the guts from the MF wheel and the plastic pieces that hold the controls. I need a pic of your wheel to assess..