1992 525i US version

the leather is worn out, cracked on my steering wheel
and was wondering if there's any remedy to this?

i found some M steering wheels on ebay (no airbags)
that are supposed to mount right onto E34s...

but, what about CHECK ENGINE/CODES???
will something show up when the airbag is disconnected?
and is there a remedy for it?
should i even bother with the "new" steering wheel?
or should i try to stitch a new leather one? any input?