I don't suppose that anyone would want to trade me...
 

For some reason the original owner ordered a Silver 4.8is with Blue Accent Trim. I think the trim is nice, but not on a Silver X.

My question is this - Would anyone, that has the wood trim, be interested in trading me straight up?

The trim is about as perfect as it gets. No scratches and looks good.

I don't suppose that I would get this lucky, but if there is a local AZ member that wants to swap I would love it.

Worst case, I would be willing to purchase a wood kit from someone and just get it wrapped in Carbon Fiber. So, if you have a complete wood kit (That includes the shifter) that would work then PM me a price. Local is king, IMO.

why wouldnt you just wrap this trim in CF?

Reasonable question. In fact, it was the same question I asked.

They have to bake the CF onto the trim and with these plastic pieces it would melt (I am 99% sure they are, and don't want to find out the hard way). The wood trim won't melt because of the wood and metal backing.

But the wood is also covered in a layer of clear "something'' I dont imagine its safe to bake the wood either.

Also I have never heard of this baking process when dealing with CF wraps.

I have always seen it done cold, perhaps with the use of a heat gun in troublesome spots.

mrbmwx5 did his own CF wrap: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/x5-e53-forum/69259-my-new-interior-mod.html

Its covered in clear coat, which would be sanded down before the weave is put down.

I'm talking about real Carbon Fiber, not vinyl tape.

oCarbon - carbon fiber products

Geeze, that will be a first around here

Get the paint code color matched and take the trim to an airbrush guy and have him spray it. Couldnt cost that much and be bout the same. The finish on mine, 4.8IS with graphite inside isnt anything really special. That is if you would like the graphite better than carbon fiber. I like the graphite, matches the whole metallic look of the car, mine is also titanium.

sorry - I like the wood on mine...

should look pretty good with that CF you showed,

cant wait to see final product.

PS, sorry, blue just wouldnt look good with my white exterior

Have you actually found someone who'll do a real CF wrap that responds on the forum? I've searched for a vendor who does the work, found two who proudly displayed customer product, but neither has responded to PM or email sent via the forum. In return, cheap full interior trim kit on ebay I found, considering for full swap:
BMW X5 SAMANA BEIGE / GOLD INTERIOR TRIM KIT E53: eBay Motors (item 230528417519 end time Oct-19-10 19:56:52 PDT)

By the way, sent an email. Let me know if you got it or not.

Thanks
E

May just swap with you if you're interested...I'm liking that blue for some reason. I'll let you know by tomorrow.

Thanks guys. Should be caught up responding to everyone that sent me correspondence.

Yes, I believe that if you're going to do it, you may as well over-do it :)

I happen to know the guy behind the link I posted. He is a great guy, and I have known him for about 6 years. He started that company from scratch and has turned out some impressive products on some equally impressive vehicles. My X is going to be the first one he has done (X5, not his first kit, haha).

Once he gets the specifics down he will gauge interest and start group buys. His work is just breathtaking in person.

I made the mistake of baking the wood trim in my 740iL while painting the trim silver, and the clear coat will crack, so be warned. I did it at something like 200* for only a few minutes and it practically destroyed the clearcoat and made is splinter, so the metal backing isn't going to be your saving grace when it comes to baking.

I'm absolutely fine with the wrap idea, so if you want to do a trade in exchange for the real wood, we'd have to figure out shipping costs and if you'd be willing to pay for shipping back and forth since I'd just be covering it eventually anyways, but you need something that isn't a solid plastic. I'm close to you being in Boise, so other than finding someone who's actually in AZ, I might be your best bet at this point.

BTW - S1000RR on order :thumbup:

Correct, baking old and cured clear at too high of a temp can cause cracking. The baking is used to actually cure the clear he lays over the carbon. Believe me when I tell you that he knows what he is doing.

Let me explore ideas that may arise a bit closer. If needed, I have some friends that live in Boise that will be heading down in the next month or two, so that may be a possibility for transport (at least one way).

I'm not too worried, because I can always shoot my trim temporarily until I run across something local.

Nothing to add, but i felt compelled to say that blue trim is atrocious.

Thanks for your .02 CT.

I think it would actually work if you had the blue exterior, otherwise looks out of place.

My sentiments exactly. With Blue exterior and Blue inserts inside it would be perfect. However, that's not the case and as such must go. Post haste!

Sorry, for some reason I missed that part... OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH YEAAAAAAAAAAAAA:woohoo:

Sent an email, did you ever get it? Toledo Blue X5 here, blue inserts would look pretty nice, but I'm even more interested in a full interior swap. Let me know one way or the other :)

Thanks
E

Yes, I got it and responded to your PM. Zero interest, Sorry.

I know you said your looking for wood but would you be interested in the silver/gray inserts?

EAS can wrap this in real carbon fiber. Ive seen it done before (they wrapped my wood trim).

What wheel/tire setup do you have on your X? The image is so small that it almost makes it look like you have white lettering on your tires.

There 22'' Asanti's