Real Carbon Fiber interior and a few other touches done!

[218dhb]

First off let me tell you all my Disliking of silver plastic, i really can't stand it! second off let me tell you all my dislike of to much Aluminum used on the interior of a car, it's over played and the only car to really pull it off perfect was the first Gen Audi TT.

now that you understand how i feel you should understand my personal goal of getting rid of most silver plastic and aluminum from the interior of my Dark Silver 2006 Z4 i bought in November 08.

Now the issue at hand was what would i install in place of my two dislikes. Wood interior is nice but to me it does not mend well with the exterior Silver color and black seats, also Wood is a bit to classy and i wanted the Z4 to lean more towards a sports car look. Piano Black interior is simply to black, and would show every little nick and scratch way to easily. BMW's Carbon Leather (an option on the M model) to me looks Fake and cheap, though its nicely done it just looks like a wannabe of real Carbon Fiber. I could have had the interior pieces wrapped in leather or Vinyl but again it probably would of been to dark or would of clashed with the leather and vinyl already inside the car.

What i wanted to do with the change over was to bring out the aesthetics and architecture of the dash board and cabin of the Z4, so i needed interior trim that would accentuate the lines and curves of the cabin. Real Carbon fiber being made up of a Fabric made of separate carbon threads should of fit my goal nicely if not perfectly.

problem was i could not find any real user pics of the carbon fiber installed on a Z4 anywhere on the Internet so i was riding on a best guess of what it would look like...great!

First off i had to rid the interior of the sliver plastic on the door pulls and the steering wheel. I installed an M steering wheel and fitted it with shifty paddles and then ordered Carbon fiber door pulls. then i had the Gauge surrounds covered in Ultra Suede to hide the silver plastic there. the final interior pieces where wrapped in Carbon fiber and now on to the pics..

I tried to order BMW's oem carbon fiber interior but BMW does not actually make the top two pieces on the dash, at least that's what my dealer told me.

All carbon Fiber pieces where wrapped by Michael at Carbon Factory . i paid full price for everything and i never had any deal with him about posting his work or anything, the only reason why i give him credit is because his work is truly top notch!

I will re-wrap the gauge surrounds and have the lower center seems stitched later on.

Please Note: Carbon Fiber is really hard to photograph! it literally changes look by the color temp in the light (sun light vs street light) and looks different depending on how the light is positioned and where you are. these pics do no justice cause it changes look that much, i could snap 30 more pics at different times and it would look different in pretty much every pic. i am no professional pic taker, in fact i suck at it..live with it.


click the pic to make larger

first pic is what my interior would look like from the outside of the car: notice the reflective laminate of Real Carbon Fiber, you would not see this is the sun was directly hitting it.


second pic shows the M wheel and interior pieces a bit more close.


third pic shows the driver side door pull and ultra suede Gauge surrounds working in conjunction with the rest of the interior nicely.


fourth pic shows a close up of the light switch with the Ultrasuede gauge surrounds.


fifth pic shows a close up of the Carbon fiber located next to the sport button.


sixth pic gives you an idea of the outside weather a bit better, it was gloomy and rainy that day. the rims are my winter wheels and my summer wheels (108's) are being changed over this week.



i would like to Thank Jeff over at BMW or Orland Park helping me install the lower center piece. would like to thank forum user Jra for pointing me towards Michael. and would like to thank forum member bkz4mc for the instructions on how to remove the gauge surrounds.

i can take more pics or help with any questions if anyone would like, thanks for reading and please post your comments..!

[jgorman13]

great job. probably very pricey though

[Crimson92]

i dont see how you get off saying that carbon leather looks cheap when in reality your carbon fiber work looks cheaper .....overlayish

[xg3]

have you seen carbon leather?? that shiet is top notch!!! leather with textured pattern and has stitches on it...

+1 to above post.

[jgorman13]

dont be a douche. i think the real carbon fiber looks better than the carbon leather as well. carbon leather is pretty whack compared to actual CF weave.

[gizmo83]

Real or leather they both look better than the silver IMO

[218dhb]

Originally Posted by Crimson92

i dont see how you get off saying that carbon leather looks cheap when in reality your carbon fiber work looks cheaper .....overlayish

When i say it looks cheap i mean its meant to look like something it is not. like a embossed alligator leather shoe, its leather but not real alligator..cheap. if i was going to buy and pay for a alligator shoe i would buy a real alligator shoe and not an embossed leather. as far as being reality you should really look at the interior before you call it cheaper looking, as i said its hard to get a good pic of it.

Originally Posted by xg3

have you seen carbon leather?? that shiet is top notch!!! leather with textured pattern and has stitches on it...

+1 to above post.

it is nice and yes i have seen plenty of Carbon leather before. if the car came with it i would of stuck with it. but since i was changing things around i went with real carbon Fiber cause its lighter in color then the Carbon leather and more depth in the weave pattern. the stitches and quality of the carbon leather is one of BMW's best though..

[Crimson92]

Originally Posted by jgorman13

dont be a douche. i think the real carbon fiber looks better than the carbon leather as well. carbon leather is pretty whack compared to actual CF weave.

i wasnt throwing names out there...

now if you dont mind please stop being a "douche" and see yourself out

[jgorman13]

Originally Posted by Crimson92

i wasnt throwing names out there...

now if you dont mind please stop being a "douche" and see yourself out

well maybe you shouldnt come into this thread giving an attitude to someone who just spent time and money on something hes clearly passionate about. u must be one of those typical BMW drivers we all love so much. get off your high horse and find somewhere else to post negative comments.

[Crimson92]

Originally Posted by jgorman13

well maybe you shouldnt come into this thread giving an attitude to someone who just spent time and money on something hes clearly passionate about. u must be one of those typical BMW drivers we all love so much. get off your high horse and find somewhere else to post negative comments.

lol...wow buddy , are you his guard dog? now youre saying i cant share my opinion?

you dont know who i am...if you think im a typical bmw guy well sorry you assume such dumb things

and my horse is not nearly as high as yours

[PaulBailey@ltbmw]

Hate that gloss look.

[Z4MHawk]

Carbon leather vs carbon fiber? What does BMW use in their oem trim options (ie dash and center console)?

[218dhb]

Originally Posted by Iwantacookie!

Carbon leather vs carbon fiber? What does BMW use in their oem trim options (ie dash and center console)?

it was an option of Carbon Leather for the M model of the Z4 series. they did list a Carbon Fiber trim in their dealer installed book thingy they have but when i tried to order it they said the top two pieces are not made anymore.

i would not want this thread to turn into a Carbon leather vs carbon fiber only because i think all interior options are nice and have their place, it just depends on personal preference i guess..

since i did not see any pics by users or owners of Carbon fiber installed in a z4 i posted them..then it just turned into a Carbon civil war i guess...

[218dhb]

Originally Posted by xPaulBaiLeyx

Hate that gloss look.

in life depending on the light its very reflective, sometimes its not as much. regardless of reflection amount you can always clearly see the carbon fiber unlike in the pics..again its just hard for me to take pics of it.

[fitchesbass]

I would have done the manual transmission mod first.

Looks alright. Not my thing - especially probably for what it cost.

[jra]

absolutely stunning

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by jra

absolutely stunning

i'm sure i'd like the texture but i don't like the glossly look as well. but props for trying/doing something different. it was such a pain in the arse to swap out my trim pieces, i'm not sure if i really want to go through the effort of taking it out and re-wrapping it in cf. i may stick with the brushed alum.

[VoiD]

wonder if it will look better if you can get a matte cf finish

[SAVAGE]

I think it looks awesome ;-)

[218dhb]

Originally Posted by fitchesbass

I would have done the manual transmission mod first.

Looks alright. Not my thing - especially probably for what it cost.

i would love to have a Manual as my last car was, i do miss it a bit and only drive with the paddles and auto stick. the car was a CPO and had every option i wanted besides Manual and extended leather, still the price was well worth it so i bought her and LOVE her (her name is SharkBait btw..)

i agree 100% that Carbon Fiber has to be a thing your into enough to pay the price and wait the time to get done. like the example i gave earlier with the Alligator shoe, if its your thing and your willing to pay the price for Alligator then you do..some people love them and some cant stand them.

Originally Posted by jra

absolutely stunning

Thank you for your praise as you are the first person on all the boards i seen with Real carbon fiber installed!

Originally Posted by Dubbedown

i'm sure i'd like the texture but i don't like the glossly look as well. but props for trying/doing something different. it was such a pain in the arse to swap out my trim pieces, i'm not sure if i really want to go through the effort of taking it out and re-wrapping it in cf. i may stick with the brushed alum.

the lower center piece was the worst for me, enough for me to go to the dealer and have Jeff do it. i have no patience when working on cars though and i am surprised i even got the two top dash pieces done without messing them up.

Originally Posted by VoiD

wonder if it will look better if you can get a matte cf finish

i pondered the thought before i went full steam in the ordering process, but in life i don't think you need matte that much. like i said in life your eye will clearly see threw the gloss and spot the thread pattern, just my pics don't show this. actually these are the worst pics i have taken of it as far as reflections go.

Originally Posted by SAVAGE

I think it looks awesome ;-)

thanks again!

at least we have pics of Carbon Fiber installed posted online now for any people thinking about going down this road in the future...they don't have to pick their imagination apart thinking how it would look as hard as i did..haha

[crfine88]

The added depth of real carbon fiber is very nice. The carbon leather is luxurious, but real carbon fiber is a real race inspired look. I think the real carbon fiber is right in line with what M cars are all about.

Good Work, I love it.

[3002 tii]

i feel your pain, the lower was a PITA for me as well. i was taking sh*t apart left and right, behind the seat, etc trying to figure out how it was all connected.