Adding Another 6 Spd to the Stable
 

A few months back i Sold my Toledo Blue (Sport Pkg, Grey Interior) 6 Speed with 200K Miles... Had this Stratus Grey to hold me over... You've seen it on here before, couple photos below... the interior now has the darker wood trim like the Imola one has; not the silver. The shot of it in my pops garage is after i put the rear toe and camber arms on it. (Actually sits a little lower now... I should prob take some recent pictures.)

so now I got my hands on a Imola Red 6 Speed... saw it and jumped at the opportunity to buy it. 130K Miles, It has the Truffle brown interior which I wanted so bad on my toledo blue X but i'm not crazy about it on the red compared to having imola red with black alcantara.

I will be selling the Stratus X once i get the Imola one sorted... (As long as i don't find an Estoril Blue 6 Speed.)

Should i swap the interior over? Stratus and Truffle are a good combo. I was't planning on it but the Imola / Truffle isn't working for like i thought it would. (that seems to be a consensus from what i searched)

Side note: that yellow bit is my fathers ice cream getter, a 91 C4 Convertible Vette.

Adding Another 6 Spd to the Stable
 

Make the switch.. you are the about the combo.. the black interior is much better suited for the red exterior.. and the brown will fit the grey just fine.. but the red on brown .. isn’t very nice IMO
Don’t forget to swap the steering wheel while at it..

Dr. Moustafa Kassab
Bmw e70 2012

Definitely swap the interiors. It's a day of work but will make a world of difference in the end. Love the cloth checker inserts. Second the wheel as well. You swapping the 4.8 body kit as well?

I do love these in stratus though... ;) Why are you "upgrading" to imola? And this is someone with an imola asking.

I need to get a heated steering wheel in there...
I will not be swapping the body kit over but will be buying a new set since i love the 4.8 bumpers.

This Stratus is pretty awesome but saw the Red and my eyes lit up... also, the Stratus one is almost full Powerflex bushings, and KW coilovers... my doing but a little to harsh for my liking. but man it's absolutely planted and cruises on the highway with ease. I figure the right buyer will welcome the suspension overhaul.

I always believed Imola was exclusive to the iS models but seen couple non-iS around now...

There was an imola 4.4i for sale in Austin for a long time but they were asking something like $11k for it. Looked like it was pretty well maintained though. But at $11k... you are close to well-maintained 4.8is territory.

Imola should have been an exclusive color....haha just being an iS snob lol

It must be an individual order?


I have seen imola on a pre-facelift E53 twice before, both were 4.4i.



Never seen imola on a facelifted, let alone on a 6 speed... 6 speed are in themselves rare, add in imola and 6 speed... :O

Estoril MT? Did not know that existed?

I am going to be opposite here and say don't swap! The cloth looks great in the Stratus

it does look amazing... such a sexy car.


Estoril MT's are out there. I wish there was more MT's out there or at least an easy way to convert one... So much more fun to drive. (but those days are becoming numbered)

Same here!

Overall, I like it better...:thumbup:

It's not that it doesn't look good in the stratus... It's that he's keeping theimola and not the stratus. The truffle will look better in the stratus upon selling and the black/cloth is a million times nicer in the imola. And that's factual... I heard Trump say it during the state of the union. ;)

oh my Lord... I have been doing research on dropping the headliner and panoramic roof cassette... I don't think i want to mess with removing the dang glass. i did not think the pano cover would be mounted the way it is. i may have to just leave the black headliner in the Stratus.

Wow what a find....:wow: I’ve seen a few 4.4 in Imola and obviously most commonly 4.8is, but never on 3.0 and it’s a MANUAL. It’s a win win!!! Congrats

Another vote towards seats swap. Truffle looks better in stratus! That checkered interior would look nuts in Imola plus throw IS bodykit on it and some wheels. Any plans for suspension?

I think i'm leaning towards the swap, def IS kit on it. but want to get it a bit lower first. was gonna go with BC Racing Coil Overs, hear they are a bit more forgiving than the KW v3's which i have on the stratus.

^Are you looking for adjustability? I've always found the best ride to handling ratio for me was accomplished with H&R springs (sport not race) paired with a set of Bilstein sport struts/shocks. That's on BMW cars though, not sure if they have a setup like that for the X5 though I'd be surprised if they didn't.

they do, but i'd be afraid that I couldn't dial it in how i wanted it. I'll want to add rear toe and camber arms. at the same time.

How do you like V3s?

On the highway they are absolutely amazing! Good on back roads too... But when trying to go get groceries they can be a bit annoying. (Just stiffer than one might want) This could be the way I have them dialed in too, there a few adjustments that can be made. Anyhow overall very good... They go for 2500$ which is a bit steep. Im gonna pull them off before I sell the stratus. (List em for sale too)