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Flat Bottom Steering Wheel Swap – Audi TT / R8 Wheel in a B7 Audi S4

Audi TT Flat Bottom Steering Wheel in B7 Audi S4

I recently purchased a very special flat bottom steering wheel from Europrice – it’s an Audi Exclusive TT S-line wheel in Platinum Silver by Quattro GmbH that is a perfect match for my interior. I’ve never seen one like it, and after months of deliberation I decided to splurge and go for the upgrade. It’s a perfect match with my platinum silver interior, and Europrice made it super easy to install with a custom wiring harness that made it plug and play and retained all steering wheel controls as well. If you’re wanting to install a flat bottomed steering wheel in your Audi, I highly recommend Europrice for their selection and plug-and-play offerings – even if you don’t buy the wheel from them, the wiring harness is quite a nice item and very affordable, too.

Audi TT Flat Bottom Steering Wheel in B7 Audi S4

Installation was pretty easy – I followed this guide on AudiWorld with the only difference being changing out the airbag harness from the factory one to the one that Europrice provided.  I took a few pics that I’ll share here just to further contribute to the guides already out there and show just how easy it is.

1) Remove stock airbag by turning the wheel 90 degrees, removing the plastic cover and unscrewing the torx bit on each side:

Removing the airbag

2) Once both sides have been unscrewed, you should be able to pull the airbag loose off the wheel. Before removing it, turn the car on one last time and turn the wheel completely straight so that’s easier to line up the new wheel. At this point you’ll then want to disconnect the battery as a safety procaution (the negative terminal uses a 10mm wrench to remove).

3) Remove the old airbag, and then unscrew the center bolt using a T-55 bit (pictured in center, below). Mark the top of the bolt with a permanent marker just for reference.

Steering Wheel Removal

4) Put the new wheel on and line it up so that it’s going straight as well. Torque down the bolt hard, and use some blue loctite on the bolt (optional but recommended).

5) Replace the wiring harness on the TT/R8 airbag for the A4/S4 compatible one provided by Europrice, then connect the Europrice harness to the car

Airbag harness connection

6) Put the airbag on the wheel completely, then reconnect the battery. Check to make sure there is no airbag light (if there is, you might not have connected the wires completely – check everything and then clear your codes via VAG-COM and try again). Then turn the wheel 90 degrees and tighten the bottom airbag bolt and repeat for the other side until the airbag is held snugly on.

7) All set, enjoy!

Flat Bottom Audi TT Steering Wheel

If you’re shopping for a flat bottom wheel, there are a lot of options. Europrice has a cool Facebook Album with the various options in stock, ranging from color (most are black), to material (air leather, smooth leather, alcantara, etc), to shape (some have thicker grip areas). The most common choice for B7 Audi A4 or S4s are wheels coming from an Audi TT or R8 – these wheels allow you to retain the use of the radio buttons on your steering wheel (commonly referred to as Multi-Function Steering Wheel or MFSW controls). There is also a Euro RS4 wheel that looks very cool and can go on an A4 or S4, but you will lose the use of those buttons – they can be a little cheaper (primarily because the airbag for that wheel is a lot cheaper) but to me the loss of the buttons was kind of critical. Some of the newer Audis are also coming with flat bottom wheels like the RS5 and new B8.5 S4 which can be retrofitted on various older Audis…

Silver Audi TT Steering Wheel

Once again, a big thanks to Europrice. Even after only a few days with it installed, it’s already one of my most favorite mods. It looks fantastic and has a cool feel to it – while it may not make my car any faster, from a purely aesthetic standpoint it’s simply amazing.

Audi Flat Bottom Wheel

And a few pics to show how well it matches the seats. The seats are the same leather color (called “Platinum Silver” by Audi) and definitely tie it all together nicely.

Platinum Silver Seats + Steering Wheel

Platinum Silver Seats + Steering Wheel

 

Nick Roshon

Nick has been an Audi owner and fanatic for the last 10 years, and started Nick's Car Blog in 2009 to share DIYs and pictures of his A4. Currently he drives a 2012 Audi TT-RS, and has previously owned a B7 S4, B7 A4, and an 82 Audi Coupe (GT) LeMons race car. In his day job, Nick is a digital marketer and lives in San Diego, CA, USA.

5 Comments

  1. Hey Nick, Love the blog and all the info you post. Great S4 and your mods are tasteful, esp the Lambo wheels!!
    On the steering wheel swap, did you use your existing airbag or did you have to purchase a new one?
    Also, do you know if Europrice sells just the wiring harness?
    Thanks- Mike

  2. Hi Mike – Thank you! I purchased a new steering wheel, I grabbed it off eBay but Europrice sells the whole package for simplicity purposes. I believe Europrice will also sell harness only, but I’d double check with them first just to be sure. Alex is very quick to reply to emails…

  3. I’m trying to get in touch with them as I’m doing the same mod in the UK. I’ve had no reply yet though 🙁

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