S4 & sport steering wheel...

["Frank Amoroso" <famoroso@sprintmail.com>]

Hello all,

I just wanted to post to the lists regarding a recent victory of sorts...

Eureka!!

After considerable research, phone calls & e-mails that all resulted in huge
negative responses...

"You can not put the S6 3 spoke sport steering wheel into a S4." or "It
would cost at least $X,XXX."

Yeah. Blah, blah, frickin' blah.

Well with the help of Carl Jerritts, who talked me into trying the retrofit
and helped with the fitment and Ben Howell who helped source some parts and
part numbers I am happy to say that not only can you retrofit the S6
steering wheel to the S4 but also it isn't too terribly difficult. All you
need to do is source the parts and do a little surgery to the cancel ring
portion of the S6 wheel. E-mail for part numbers.

What you will need:

S6 ('95 or '95.5) three spoke steering wheel with airbag (early A4 sport
steering wheel is actually the same part number, only difference is that the
Audi Sport emblem is blank). I used the A4 wheel.

Airbag igniter reel / cancel ring for the above application. The turn signal
cancel tab needs to be removed and bonded (using a cyanoacrylate based
adhesive) in a slightly different location.

S6 upper and lower steering column trim pieces. This assembly mounts a
little differently in the S4 so you need to source a few various & sundry
hardware pieces (two 6/32" x 3/4" flat head screws, two 6/32" square nuts,
and a 1/4" x 1.5" pin or similar). The tilt control lever is different as
the S6 lower trim piece is shaped differently. Conversely the slide adjuster
lever is the same part.

The horn contact is handled differently between the two systems. S4 utilizes
a contact ring between the column and the wheel, while the S6 (early A4)
takes the horn ring functionality and incorporates it into the airbag
igniter reel. Nevertheless, all you need to do is clip and crimp an
electrical connector (male spade) and you are styling.

Let me know if any of you S4 owners that are seeking the more stylish S6
sport steering wheel are interested in the D's.

Frank--