matthewlfd

Finally got my interior mostly done and figured it's about time to share my progress. I went with the OEM plus look with stock style black leather seat skins with red stitching. I also installed new seat foams and heating pads for those cool summer nights. My interior has that new car smell back!



Also did the Redline Goods center console, shift boot, E-Brake handle, and E-brake boot in the same black leather with red stitching as above. Very supple leather and has a great scent!





Definately needed navigation to update the interior, so I picked up a Pioneer double din unit and sent my bezel off to Dennis for the modifications. Looks like it came from the factory this way.



Now onto the wheel. I've always hated the C5 steering wheel, and mine was looking pretty aged. I tossed around the idea of re-covering it with new leather with a red stitch and add the 'bumps' at 10 & 2, but also really missed having steering wheel controls for the radio like my DD has. Looked around and found a lot of people saying it wouldn't work, don't waste your time, etc. but it's not rocket science; I was confident I could figure it out. In pops the 2012 Centennial Edition wheel that came in...you guessed it...black leather with red stitching.

I was sold, so I put in the order for the new wheel, new airbag, and new clock spring. To make it work with the stereo, I had to hook up the clock spring to a PAC SWI-PS interface to translate the signal to the head unit. Just like C6 guys would do if they installed an aftermarket head unit. Quick program of all the buttons, hooked up a few other wires, and everything works great! I love the feel of this steering wheel vs the stock one. Definately a worthwhile upgrade.

I have the bluetooth buttons programmed to answer and end call just like the factory C6, the volume and track buttons work for just that, and I programmed the '1-6 button' to mute the stereo. Might switch this up to change the input source down the line, we'll see.



Here is a quick video showing the working functions. I didn't show the bluetooth controls since I was using the phone to record the video, but you get the idea. So here is proof that it can be done and could be a fun option for some.

ronssito

wow WOW

ive always said the c5 wheel is the interiors weakest styling feature

huge improvement !!!

torchredmadness

You did a really nice job. I like the way you kept the upgrades subtle. It looks classy instead of "Hey look at me!" Again, very nice job.

srs244

great mods. I went with the pioneer and dennis' modded bezel over a year ago and love it. I also added another Sirius unit to it and my already existing subscription. great stuff and working with dennis was fantastic. I really like the c6 wheel changeout. it would be great if you could create a "how to" for the less talented members like me. if I felt I could follow some instructions, I would certainly consider making the same change. great work.

SR-71

Thats awesome work. I'd love to have that wheel in my car with working buttons. I'd REALLY like to see a write-up.

Vetteman Jack

Hopefully you can post up pics/details on exactly what you had to do to make that wheel work.

CAP94

A write would be great, I want to do the same.

CAP94

Hey I just noticed you're in Holland. I'm over by Grand Rapids, we're only about 30 minutes apart. I'd love to see your mods in person.

Would you be open to meeting sometime. Lots of vette guys/gals over here too.

matthewlfd

Thanks guys. I like doing the very subtle upgrades that you wouldn't notice right off the bat.


I installed the Sirius add on too; put both the GPS and Sirius antenna next to the HUD unit under the dashboard.

Love to! Grand Rapids isn't a bad drive at all from here. I don't really have any serious mods to check out, but I'd love to meet up with local car guys! I'd also like to check out different exhaust systems people are running too; hearing them on the computer is never the same as listening to them in person.

As far as the writeup goes, it's pretty simple. Here is what you need:

- '08+ C6 steering wheel (same as Cobalt, HHR, G6, etc) but the Centennial Corvette ones come with different stitching color, bumps at 10&2, and have the option for alcantara.

- '06+ C6 airbag (same as above, but the Corvette ones have the flag emblem)

- Either have APSIS modify your wheel splines to fit, or cut the spines off of your old wheel or any similar vintage GM car to weld into the center of the new wheel. I also looked into just replacing the upper part of the steering shaft, but never got too far with it.

- '08+ C6 clock spring P/N 19153907

- Aftermarket head unit

- PAC SWI-PS2 to convert the button signal to the head unit

There was a good write up on clock spring R&R on here that I glanced at, but removing the wheel/airbag should be simple enough for most people. The clock spring is held in with a simple C clip and just needs the airbag plug removed. If this is not enough info, refer to the existing how to on that since it is pretty detailed.

Some people mentioned the old wheel was hard to get off with the Autozone/Advance Auto tools they rent. I used a pulley removal tool like this and it worked perfect:




Now the wiring is the fun part, and I searched for a long time to find out what each wire in the C6 column did and couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I just poked and prodded until I figured out what each pin did. Also the wire colors from the wheel and the clock spring didn't match up either. Oh well...

The wheel I used had 5 pins, and the clock spring had 7. I suspect the clock spring had the extra 2 for the flappy paddle shifter option on the autos.

Clock spring connector:





Where the clock spring hooks up to the wheel:



C6 clock spring installed:



C6 airbag installed. This just pushes in and is retained by clips in the wheel itself:



Here is the wires that you will need to hook up

Wire color on wheel - Matching Wire color on Clock spring - Function

Brown - Gray - Horn signal

Black - Blue - Ground

Yellow - Purple - Button Illumination

Purple w/White - Brown - 12v+

Blue - Red - Steering wheel control signal

Wire hook ups are pretty self explanatory. The horn signal wire goes to the C5 horn wire at the top of the steering column. It's black, there are 2 of them up there, and I guessed the right one the first time. Hopefully you will do the same. The steering wheel control signal goes to the PAC SWI switch that you will have to program.

Corvette specific instructions can be found at this link:

http://www.pac-audio.com/SWI/SWIAppG...iOptions=Radio

Only open issue for me is the 2ohm 5watt resistor I am waiting for to get rid of the airbag light. The C6 uses a dual stage airbag system (4 wires) whereas the C5 is a single stage (2 wires). For now the resistor works until I figure out how to hook up the airbag.

Hope that was enough to help someone.

peter pan

Awesome transformation

mosimann

Noooooooooooo!!!!! Please no more ideas!!!!!!!!!

Looks amazing! So the only problem so far is the airbag not being functional?

jornahow

In this thread Apsis says you need the C6 airbag, but they seem to think it's plug and play on the C5, which seems unlikely.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...on-c5-pix.html

routeman007

"I certainly agree! Nicely done."

blackmachdown

That makes a huge difference! Interior looks great, I really like the c6 steering wheel, I just don't like that it's a shade lighter than our interior, I think if i go with the alcantara I can minimize the difference.

Brit dex

take my hat of to you for this steering wheel, absolutely awesome...... well done

would love to do this, but lacking the skill!

matthewlfd

Yup, that is the only non-functional part of this. I will have to research how to make it functional. But a resistor works in shutting off the airbag light. Testing will be hard as I don't want to blow a brand new airbag just to make sure it works.

They told me the same. Not sure where they got that info, the plugs are completely different. Definately not plug and play.

I was very worried about that as well, but I think a lot of that is just lighting in the picture. In person, I can't tell enough of a difference to bother me and I consider myself a very picky person.

Really wasn't that bad once the wiring was figured out.

jrose7004

Really nice improvements!

Qwik01

Very nice, I love that steering wheel!

0Andrew6@TheDoubleAA

looks good, I wonder how the air bag will function

matthewlfd

Can't say for sure. I managed to get the wiring diagram for the dual stage airbag, so if I can dig one up on the C5 I can at least get the low speed deployment hooked up.