That said, while Alcantara(R) is a fabric of choice (and definitely in fashion) for many sportscars and supercars, make sure you understand the caveats before buying one, ie.
👉 Ease of installation
👉 Maintenance
👉 Durability
are all valid concerns. Let's look at each of them.
Ease of installation
1️⃣First, Alcantara is much less stretchy than leather, so it is more difficult to align it properly and make it lay smooth on the curves of steering wheel spokes.
2️⃣It is also much thinner than leather, so any imperfections such as wrinkles or bulges are clearly visible and very difficult to remove once they had appeared. For the same reason, your Alcantara steering wheel will also be thinner than it was while it was covered in original leather, so you may need to consider padding to avoid ending up with a thin steering wheel rim.
3️⃣Steering wheel padding will provide for a nice, thicker grip and will also reduce the risk of wrinkling due to its thickness but... it further complicates installation and exacerbates issues with evenness of the final result, which means adding a lot of additional effort to the wrapping process!
Maintenance
⚠️Alcantara means a much more involved cleaning process and much stricter requirements on overall cleanliness. Long story short: don't get grease on an Alcantara steering wheel or it will get stained, perhaps irreparably.
💡While leather can be just wiped off in most instances, you'll have to jump through a lot of hoops (starting with obtaining the correct solution for the particular type of stain) if you get grease from your french fries on an Alcantara steering wheel cover. Learn more about cleaning your steering wheel cover on our blog.
Durability
Alcantara is, in principle, a durable fabric - it is heat- and color-resistant so will not bleach or fade even under constant sunlight through the windscreen. However, its surface is prone to mechanical wear from your hands due to sweat and friction. Coupled with salt and grease (ingredients of human sweat) this can put premature wear on those areas of your steering wheel. It will quickly become shiny and tiny balls of peeling fiber will appear on the surface.
Leather, on the other hand, with minimal maintenance required, will last much longer without visible signs of wear
In summary
We believe Alcantara steering wheels make sense on show cars and such, where it's no problem to make sure your hands are always clean while driving and that you never need to drive and eat at the same time. Cars that don't accrue too many miles, so the wear on the wheel won't be quickly evident.
In all other situations, we wholeheartedly recommend leather for your next steering wheel cover.
To upgrade your steering wheel, protect it and invest in your car's resale value, please visit our mobile-friendly site, select your car, pick the products you want and make sure to use discount code:
HELLO
to SAVE an extra 20% on top of the website prices which, combined with the cart size discount (of up to 30% depending on cart value), totals UP TO 50% OFF!
To get the double whammy of discount and delayed payments, make sure to use Amazon Pay or Paypal during check-out - pay in 4 monthly instalments. No hidden fees!
