Modernising the interior of my 11 year old CLS55

[ChrisCLS55]

While I personally feel the interior of my 11 year old CLS55 has aged quite well say in comparison to the E55 and even some of the C63s, I want to make my car look and feel more modern inside as it is still showing its age compared to new Mercs/other cars.

Obvious things are the steering wheel. Mine feels quite tough and classy to be honest, but it looks old and more like a lorry steering wheel. If it was wooden without the buttons it wouldn't look out of place on an 80s Merc. I want something a bit more chunkier and more modern looking.

I have my eye on this Lederlenkrad ALCANTARA Mercedes R230 W209 CLK W211 CLS W219 Tuning AMG TOP | eBay

First question, will I need a new air-bag and how expensive are they and how easy or not are they to fit (the steering wheel that is)? It doesn't come with the paddles, but it looks like that area is missing and therefore maybe I can keep that part of my steering wheel?

Another thing I want to improve on is Command, the sat nav is dated and poor. Are there any after market touch screen type retro-fit Command's out there?

Also, I'd love this for my car AMG Designo Suede Alcantara Interior Headliner Visors Pillars Mercedes CLS W219 | eBay

But... I don't have a sunroof.

I'm tempted and to see if I can get a patch for the sun roof bit or see if I can buy the rest and then get someone to do the roof lining.

Because my car has red calipers, red paddle shifts and now red wheel centre caps, I'd love the stitching to be red, but I'm unsure of the costs. I'm going with that theme, maybe even some red in the engine bay.

To tie in with that perhaps I'll get the silver plastic trim around the dash, Command, gear lever and rear compartment done in red too. Maybe even the seat belts done in red if possible. I like red and black!

Again this is all new to me, any advice, thoughts, help, pointers and sources that can help me will be most appreciated.

Also if anyone has done extensive interior work to their car, it would be good to hear from you guys and get your thoughts.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Suky Sangha]

Go for it Chris. Red does look nice with black imo. Steering wheel looks good too

 

[ChrisCLS55]

Thanks, I've always liked black and red for some reason. Although being a Newcastle United fan (for my sins) I shouldn't like red, but an AMG has historically red in it I believe.

 

[ChrisCLS55]

Regarding the steering wheel, would I need a new airbag or just keep the old one?

 

[Gav78]

Do you not fancy this one. This photo is taken from a 2008 CLS63 so should be plug and play no?

 

[ChrisCLS55]

I don't like it for some reason...

 

[Gav78]

I don't like it for some reason...

Fair enough. Does anyone know where i would go about sourcing this wheel? I am understand they weren't in production for long.

 

[renault12ts]

DAB+ Android 5.1 DVD GPS Sat nav for Mercedes Benz E G CLS Class W211 W219 W463 | eBay

 

[Cyclone1]

Chris, call Royal Steering Wheels and they can retrim your steering wheel to your specification. They can even make it feel thicker by using thicker material. You can do an exchange, send them your wheel or go there and get it done. For circa £150 it's good value.

Jules.

 

[andy27168]

While I personally feel the interior of my 11 year old CLS55 has aged quite well say in comparison to the E55 and even some of the C63s, I want to make my car look and feel more modern inside as it is still showing its age compared to new Mercs/other cars.

Obvious things are the steering wheel. Mine feels quite tough and classy to be honest, but it looks old and more like a lorry steering wheel. If it was wooden without the buttons it wouldn't look out of place on an 80s Merc. I want something a bit more chunkier and more modern looking.

I have my eye on this Lederlenkrad ALCANTARA Mercedes R230 W209 CLK W211 CLS W219 Tuning AMG TOP | eBay

First question, will I need a new air-bag and how expensive are they and how easy or not are they to fit (the steering wheel that is)? It doesn't come with the paddles, but it looks like that area is missing and therefore maybe I can keep that part of my steering wheel?

Another thing I want to improve on is Command, the sat nav is dated and poor. Are there any after market touch screen type retro-fit Command's out there?

Also, I'd love this for my car AMG Designo Suede Alcantara Interior Headliner Visors Pillars Mercedes CLS W219 | eBay

But... I don't have a sunroof.

I'm tempted and to see if I can get a patch for the sun roof bit or see if I can buy the rest and then get someone to do the roof lining.

Because my car has red calipers, red paddle shifts and now red wheel centre caps, I'd love the stitching to be red, but I'm unsure of the costs. I'm going with that theme, maybe even some red in the engine bay.

To tie in with that perhaps I'll get the silver plastic trim around the dash, Command, gear lever and rear compartment done in red too. Maybe even the seat belts done in red if possible. I like red and black!

Again this is all new to me, any advice, thoughts, help, pointers and sources that can help me will be most appreciated.

Also if anyone has done extensive interior work to their car, it would be good to hear from you guys and get your thoughts.

Thanks in advance!

Hi,
You will be able to you use your existing Airbag for this wheel, but it doesn't have anywhere for the flappy paddles, so you would need to modify it and transfer your paddles, switches, and control unit in the wheel.

 

[001]

The leder wheel on eBay is naff

 

[C43AMG]

I am going to have the CL headlining done in Alcantara. I had it done on the old CL by d:class. First class job. Give David a phone, he will be to give you an idea on cost. 014830722923

 

[b1g1an]

This is the wheel I've got...

It's a 63 Performance Pack wheel, the standard one comes with leather rather than Alcantara inserts, they come with the ultra sexy factory cold metal paddles, anyone who's got them knows what I mean. The feel of it alone, thicker rim, no knobbles etc, did I mention the paddles , makes the car feel ten years newer straight away. You can get both from ebay but they're not particularly cheap, the included paddles obviously offsets that a lot though. It's literally a straight swap and uses your current bag.

Other instant refresh job is the finish on the wood, dependant on what you have already. I covered all mine, front and back in 3M Dinoc graphite carbon and everyone who sees it is impressed. It's lighter than black, darker than silver and has a slightly metallic look about it, almost like it's fine wires rather than carbon, and catches the light. As it's a decent quality industrial grade film and therefore quite thick it also has a really nice texture when you touch it. You can also cut it to the edges of the trim so it has that sharp factory look around switched and the like rather than the obviously covered wrapped around look most have. It's sturdy enough that you can cover the slatted covers in one piece and then just scalpel between each slat. Obviously the final result depends on preparation and how careful you are applying it but I think the final result looks more like you'd hope current MB factory finishes were than the cheap looking obviously man made finishes they actually are, not unlike the cheap thin film many use. Like most fibre finishes it doesn't photograph very well but this image from the web is about as close as I've seen to reality...

Just my opinion obviously

 

[ChrisCLS55]

DAB+ Android 5.1 DVD GPS Sat nav for Mercedes Benz E G CLS Class W211 W219 W463 | eBay

Thanks for the link, it seems to do what I want or claims to, has anyone ever fitted this to their car and how does it stand up in terms of quality etc.?

 

[ChrisCLS55]

Chris, call Royal Steering Wheels and they can retrim your steering wheel to your specification. They can even make it feel thicker by using thicker material. You can do an exchange, send them your wheel or go there and get it done. For circa £150 it's good value.

Jules.

Thanks Jules, do you have a photo of yours?

 

[ChrisCLS55]

This is the wheel I've got...

It's a 63 Performance Pack wheel, the standard one comes with leather rather than Alcantara inserts, they come with the ultra sexy factory cold metal paddles, anyone who's got them knows what I mean. The feel of it alone, thicker rim, no knobbles etc, did I mention the paddles , makes the car feel ten years newer straight away. You can get both from ebay but they're not particularly cheap, the included paddles obviously offsets that a lot though. It's literally a straight swap and uses your current bag.

Other instant refresh job is the finish on the wood, dependant on what you have already. I covered all mine, front and back in 3M Dinoc graphite carbon and everyone who sees it is impressed. It's lighter than black, darker than silver and has a slightly metallic look about it, almost like it's fine wires rather than carbon, and catches the light. As it's a decent quality industrial grade film and therefore quite thick it also has a really nice texture when you touch it. You can also cut it to the edges of the trim so it has that sharp factory look around switched and the like rather than the obviously covered wrapped around look most have. It's sturdy enough that you can cover the slatted covers in one piece and then just scalpel between each slat. Obviously the final result depends on preparation and how careful you are applying it but I think the final result looks more like you'd hope current MB factory finishes were than the cheap looking obviously man made finishes they actually are, not unlike the cheap thin film many use. Like most fibre finishes it doesn't photograph very well but this image from the web is about as close as I've seen to reality...

Just my opinion obviously

That's the kind of wheel I'd like in terms of looks, although with Alcantara. How much did that cost and where from? PM me if you don't feel easy talking figures in the open.

I like what you have done with your interior, that looks really nice. I have the silver metallic type material and was thinking of getting it all done in red, but it might be too much red.

I believe an updated steering wheel, just like with alloys, can enhance and modernise a car so it's definitely something I want to do with mine.

Thanks for all the replies guys!

 

[ChrisCLS55]

Just realised the photo is a BMW, still looks rally nice though!

 

[Grovsie31]

I can echo royal steering wheels. Did mine. Very happy with job.

Just wrap the interior with a 3m carbon look.

 

[renault12ts]

Thanks for the link, it seems to do what I want or claims to, has anyone ever fitted this to their car and how does it stand up in terms of quality etc.?

Yes, I put one in my car...with an amp in the rear which really improves upon the internal amp.

 

[Cyclone1]

Thanks Jules, do you have a photo of yours?

No pics Chris unfortunately but have seen their work from my Audi and BMW days and was very impressed