DIY Paddle shift steering wheel conversion for Tiptronic 997, Cayman,

[SpawnyWhippet]

DIY Paddle shift steering wheel conversion for Tiptronic 997, Cayman,

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I am writing this guide to help people to modify their 2005-2011 Porsche 911, Cayman or Boxster from a Tiptronic to a paddle shift steering wheel. They are far better to use on a track, autocross or spirited canyon drive than the standard clunky tiptronic buttons as they prevent accidental shifts and encourage correct wheel handling. I wanted to be able to return the car to completely stock if necessary, so this mod only changes a secondhand used steering wheel bought for this purpose, nothing

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• Author
  SpawnyWhippet
• Category
  Carrera (997-1) - Mods
• Submitted
  03/10/2016 09:51 PM
• Updated
  03/28/2016 03:38 PM

 

[pfbz]

Thank for helping to document the process so thoroughly!

 

Couple of additional notes:

• This mod works equally well on 'sport' (round airbag) and regular (triangular airbag) wheels.... But the airbags themselves are quite expensive.  So unless you can source a wheel with the correct airbag at a decent price, make sure your spare wheel uses the same airbag as your current car.  You can of course just modify your existing wheel without buying the spare wheel, I just liked modifying the spare wheel to as I had never done it before. Also, Mk II (997.2, 987.2) steering wheels will fit and bolt up, but they use different airbags than either 9x7.1 steering wheels, so again this would only work if you source an airbag as well. The wiring harness connector is likely different as well.

• You shouldn't need a durametric to reset codes after this mod. It is pretty common to get a variety of errors (psm, pasm, etc) after disconnecting the battery. A short drive cycle usually gets everything back to normal.

• Airbags can be dangerous...  Be extra sure to disconnect the battery and any other power source before working with them. DO NOT keep the car hooked up to a battery maintainer during the work!  It doesn't hurt to turn on the headlights or honk the horn after you disconnect the battery just to ensure there is no residual charge in the system.

• I tapped the paddle switches and used metric bolts, but I think self-tapping screws designed for plastic are what the paddles are actually designed for. Either one should work.

How it looks on a 'Sport' wheel:

Edited March 11, 2016 by pfbz

[Weiming Lim]

can we fit in a pdk round steering wheel and fit onto the triangle steering without much programming? paddle shift is not important for me, it's the sportier look of later round air bag steering

[SpawnyWhippet]

On ‎5‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 5:38 AM, Weiming Lim said:

can we fit in a pdk round steering wheel and fit onto the triangle steering without much programming? paddle shift is not important for me, it's the sportier look of later round air bag steering

 

I don't know. I have not tried to install a PDK wheel to a non-PDK car.