Congrats on the sale brother. I know it was tough to watch her leave. Such a rare combo. My old one still rides around Atlanta, so I get to see it with some regularity.

OMG im so sad i missed this. i am about to purchase sight unseen 2006 X5 4.8IS with black leather comfort seats and 109k but for 12k... would loved to have picked this up with the alcantra interior didnt mind the 126k miles and M62 instead.. arghh.......



congrats on the sale finally, was a very beautiful example.


any ideas on where the alcantara sport interior can be sourced?

I know this thing is sold but did this have shift paddles??
 

I know this thing is sold but did this have shift paddles on the steering wheel.



If so is there a link or instruction for the modification.

I just finished my install the other day.... not too hard all considered. I didn't bother making the "reverseable" harness. Just soldered right into the existing harness. This thread was the most useful for me:
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...ions-pics.html

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

The "shift paddle mod" is pretty straightforward. You need a steering wheel from an E46 M3 with the SMG transmission. On the particular wheel I had, a previous owner had swapped out the standard plastic shift paddles for ones made from carbon fiber. They had no effect on function - they're purely cosmetic. If you're modding a pre-facelift 4.6is or another X5 with the Sport package, the E46 M3 steering wheel uses the same airbag. So that's a direct swap. The only other part you may need is the slip ring, or "clock spring" assembly. This is the interface that connects the various buttons on the steering wheel to the car's electrical system. I say you may need to replace it because yours may or may not have the electrical connections for the paddle shifters. My X5 did not have the connectors so I had to buy a new part. I waited until I caught one on sale and got it for around $130.

Once you have the parts, the only thing you have to do is run wires from the back of the slip ring down to the center console and tap into the wires for the Steptronic shifter. IIRC, there are 4 wires on the connector and the two in the center are the ones to tap into.

The finished result looks like a factory install. Many people claimed that this mod eliminated or reduced the slight lag when using the console shifter to manually shift. I didn't notice any difference, but it is a lot cooler to use the paddles!

Quick question...

Did the cars that came with the alcantara interior have special versions depending on the paint color??

Like did imola cars have seats that had reddish toned material behind the perforated sections while another car had a different color?

I noticed that your seats have reddish tones but other seats I've seen in other cars that weren't imola had normal looking seats.

I just bought a complete set of eBay but I noticed the seats dont have any red tones at all and look more neutral in the middle behind the black perforation sections.

The only other colors I've seen besides red for the alcantara inserts are blue in Estoril Blue X5s.

so i bought these but i take it i got the wrong ones then. these dont look like imola or estoril inserts they look cream colored.

i was trying to get the right parts to make the car have OEM period correct pieces. the seats are nice but look like they may have been from a non imola/estoril car then.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E53-X5-...72.m2749.l2649


bummer.

hopefully i can unload my black comfort leather interior to recoupe some money for them.