Porsche don't make steering wheels. The "930S" wheel is made by Aitwe - and you can buy it direct from them, or through Porsche for twice the price (which makes the embossed horn pad - which used to be the only difference - a pretty darned expensive option)....
Does that make the Aitwe - an aftermarket wheel Porsche "enhanced" slightly by adding their trademarked crest - a "repro" because it's half the price and doesn't come in a Porsche box? If you could actually order a 968 CS horn pad (PET has a part # for that, but not for the 930S) they'd be indistinguishable - because, like, same wheel.
The so-called "930S" wheel is not actually usually found in 930S cars. The 1988 factory brochure covering those cars apparently shows all 3 of the wheel types normally fitted to those cars instead, and not the Aitwe wheel at all... As 1989 was the last year for the 930, if they were standard fitment, it could only have been for one year...
The Aitwe wheel was factory fitment on the 968 Club Sport, however.
The wheels sold by Porsche through Techquipment are Aitwe Typ 32 / KBA 70111 wheels in 36cm. The only difference for years between the Techquipment wheels and the aftermarket ones (where it's also known as the Indianapolis or Formel wheel, and there's also a 32cm version for hot hatches, as well as a Typ 39 39cm version) is the embossed Porsche (trademarked) crest. The current Porsche offering - the Sport Classic - adds embossed "PORSCHE" lettering around the edge of the wheel to the horn pad. Make sure you're sitting down before you check the price...
The wheel in the original post doesn't appear to be marked Aitwe. although it seems to use the 3 screw fixings the Aitwe does, and a similar horn ring system (which actually looks like it might be entirely missing in the photo - does the horn work? I've got several Aitwe repair horn repair kits spare if needed).
i don't recognise the logo on the spoke. The Aitwe wheels don't put a logo there - the manufacturers markings are all on the back side of the spoke (including, usually, "Made In Italy", despite Aitwe being a German company, based in Germany). However, Aitwe is part of a group of companies with about 12 different "tuner" brands; possible it's one of those.
In 2005, in response to a thread discussing the leather color/finish/grain and construction differences (grey-ish, bumpy, matt, with seam vs black, smooth and semi-matt, no seam) Wayne explained that:
Quote:
Just want to jump in to clear up a few things.
- This '930S wheel" is a standard Aitwe that Porsche chose to use on the 930S cars, with a custom embossed crest in the center. This wheel is available with many different hub adapters, and is simply a standard aftermarket wheel (like the MOMO wheels) from the 1980s. I have installed one on my BMW 3-Series previously.
- The "original" Porsche one and the "later" ones are made by the same company, and are the same wheel, with a few minor changes / improvements that have been made over the years (very few parts are manufactured the same way today as they were many years ago). It's the same with the Prototipos that are available for new today - they are very, very similar to the older ones, but not 100% exactly like the older ones. I would hesitate to call these "repro" wheels, as they are manufactured by the OEM manufacturer. If you follow that logic, you'd have to call the new MOMO Prototipo wheels "repros" then.
- As for quality, the newer wheels are still very well made, although with everything these days, modern manufacturing methods often sacrifice fit and trim for production costs (there are some exceptions, of course). Very few people have been unhappy with the wheels that we have sold.
Finally, that seam down the center of the wheel reminds me of the fellow who came in to unclog my toilet! I'm sure that the more modern version of the wheel has been redesigned with that "feature" removed in order to improve the asthetics.
Hope this info helps!
-Wayne
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in this post
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/2116594-post25.html
In actual fact, google "968 Club Sport interior" and it appears that 968 Club Sport cars were supplied with both types of wheel - with/without the seam. I had always thought the "seamless" version was older (as all the ones since 2005 or so have come with the seam) - but apparently not.
I much prefer my wheel matching my black interior without the fugly seam anyway...
