DON'T want slicky....

OpenRoad

OpenRoad

New member
May sound absurd, but I don't want to be shiny & slippery... for allll of my car.

The new car came with a fancy-dancy "microfiber-covered" steering wheel as part of an existing package upgrade already on the Caddy CTS-V.

I am happy with the other upgrades & extras I had to pay for, but the steering wheel is a little "slicky". Comfy grip, but the somewhat-slippery aspect is not an asset when navigating high speeds & "quick corners".

Is there any way, to produce more "tackiness", without removing the sewn-on cover? And,.. not,..collect dirt?

I have not put any products on the wheel "hide" myself.

This is a dismal steering wheel.
 
I believe it is more of an alcantara/nubuck material than microfiber, so any alcantara/nubuck cleaner would help.

I recently bought a bottle of Leather Master Nubuck cleaner for my '09 Grand Cherokee Limited that has that material as inserts inside the leather seats. I have not had an opportunity to try it out yet, but I have had great success with all Leather Master products, and assume this one will also be just as great.

I remember perhaps 9-10 years ago, BMW used this material on the sport wheels of several models, one for sure I sat in was the 3 Series with the ZHP option. It felt weird to me then because I was always used to Leather steering wheels.

Good luck with this !
Dan F
 
OpenRoad said:
May sound absurd, but I don't want to be shiny & slippery... for allll of my car.

The new car came with a fancy-dancy "microfiber-covered" steering wheel as part of an existing package upgrade already on the Caddy CTS-V.

I am happy with the other upgrades & extras I had to pay for, but the steering wheel is a little "slicky". Comfy grip, but the somewhat-slippery aspect is not an asset when navigating high speeds & "quick corners".

Is there any way, to produce more "tackiness", without removing the sewn-on cover? And,.. not,..collect dirt?

I have not put any products on the wheel "hide" myself.

This is a dismal steering wheel.
Click to expand...

There is a difference between microfiber suede and alacantara. It shouldn't feel slick at all, usually it is very grippy which is why a lot of sports car manufacturers use it. The best way to clean it is to use a stiff bristled attachment on your vacuum cleaner to prevent it from laying down. Wipe it with water (damp) occasionally to remove body oils, but don't get it soaking wet.
 
Todd H & Dan F. ... I have been told, and read on Caddy forums, that my wheel cover is a microfiber synthetic suede. My "suede" is supposedly made in the US. BMW's Alcantara is made in Japan, or the UK (?).

I was hoping that my wheel cover WOULD be grippy,...but it is certainly not. I am the only driver of this car, and never have lotion on my hands, etc. The wheel should be very clean. Todd, I will try a brush, and warm distilled water to raise the "nap". Hope, it works, as I don't like driving gloves.

I wondered if I could use a product like Saddle-Tite, or Sekur-Grip, which I have used successfully on slick saddles (when jumping horses, or speeding horseback across very rough terrain). But, I am concerned that I might not be able remove the product, once applied. I could end up with a worse nightmare (pun?) than I already have?

Sports car enthusiasts don't ever use some sort of "grippy product"? My rally days are well behind me, but I knew no one at the time who used anything like this in the Pacific Northwest.

Miss my leather steering covers.

Thanks,...for the comments.
 
The wheel on the CTS-V is in fact a faux Alcantara. GM calls this "Sueded fabric" and is what is used on the CTS-V & Camaro.

There is a big difference between this and Alcantara. Alcantara is a very grippy surface used in race cars (Think LeMans, Japan Super GT etc) and cars meant as weekend warriors like the Porsche GT3 /2, Lamborghini Superleggera and Ferrari F430 Scuderia.

The sueded fabric is meant to give a Alcantara look, but unfortunately it is no where near as grippy .

Unfortunately, this is how the fabric is, and there really is not a way to make it less so much. You can try raising the nap as Todd suggested and is really the only method I would suggest.

Since the product is not a leather product, but synthetic, you will want to stay away from any type of product made for leather saddles as it will not absorb the product, but just sit in top and make things worse for you in the end.

I would just clean it very gently using a product that cleans Alcantara (Leather masters, Swissvax, SONAX make these cleaners) and then brush it with a very soft brush as Todd suggested.

This may remove any production residue that could be left and give it a bit more grip.
 
i owned a ctsv and found out i was hanging on for dear life when i accelerated. never noticed the grip. ha ha. ken wilson sold me an alcantrara cleaner but it just cleaned slippery remained. good luck. where in the northwest are you?
 
Thanks, Thomas, for your input, although I am beginning to feel a little discouraged, by now. I think that you are very right, that the US-made "suede" may well be inferior to the Real Deal,...Alcantara.

Haven't had a chance to try cleaning the wheel yet. It will be interesting to see how the suggestions kindly offered here may help with grip.

Daveinsweethome...You are not too encouraging either. Thanks, though, for the additional info. And,...yes....if you put Yo Pedal-to-the-Metal in this car, you are taking a Mach 8 rocket sled ride. But...I still gotta make the corners!

Haven't been in the NW for 15 years now, having moved on to coastal GA, before retiring in Arid NM. My plate should just read DUSTY.
 
Reality33 said:
The wheel on the CTS-V is in fact a faux Alcantara. GM calls this "Sueded fabric" and is what is used on the CTS-V & Camaro.

There is a big difference between this and Alcantara. Alcantara is a very grippy surface used in race cars (Think LeMans, Japan Super GT etc) and cars meant as weekend warriors like the Porsche GT3 /2, Lamborghini Superleggera and Ferrari F430 Scuderia.

The sueded fabric is meant to give a Alcantara look, but unfortunately it is no where near as grippy .

Unfortunately, this is how the fabric is, and there really is not a way to make it less so much. You can try raising the nap as Todd suggested and is really the only method I would suggest.

Since the product is not a leather product, but synthetic, you will want to stay away from any type of product made for leather saddles as it will not absorb the product, but just sit in top and make things worse for you in the end.

I would just clean it very gently using a product that cleans Alcantara (Leather masters, Swissvax, SONAX make these cleaners) and then brush it with a very soft brush as Todd suggested.

This may remove any production residue that could be left and give it a bit more grip.
Click to expand...

Reason 945.43 why I love AF. Thanks for the info!!! :yourrock:yourrock:yourrock
 
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