[fortythirtyfive]

My driverside door card's arm rest had completely worn through.. the leather was peeling and looked nasty.

Looking around on eBay seems to show that it's a common issue especially with coral red as black hides it.

So instead of buying a replacement I opted for a little more alcantara and some DIY





Super simple to remove panels from the door cards, you just need to drill out the plastic weld centres and refill them with a plastic filler such as jbweld.

The arm rest trim also needed the seam/stitching canals removing with some filler. Especially as panel alcantara shows EVERYTHING behind them so you need a super smooth surface.

Going to live with it for a few weeks and decide whether I like it or whether I'm ordering in some coral red leather to replicate the old design.

[eff32fl]

Very nice looks great.

I've thought about ordering some M4 door cards and getting some custom leather colors (blue) to match my exterior paint color. Looks like the arm rest isn't terribly difficult to customize but the leather on the door card itself would have to be stitched so would probably have to pay a shop to do it.

I saw an awesome F82 with custom yellow leather on the door cards which gave me the idea (stole the idea lol). Apparently the guy does his own upholstery. He even changed the top stitching color on the leather on the top of the "full leather" door card. Check post #27 by x.shell in the thread below maybe it can give you some ideas. Check his other posts as well in the same thread he's done a lot to his interior.

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1941804&page=2

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by eff32fl

Very nice looks great.

I've thought about ordering some M4 door cards and getting some custom leather colors (blue) to match my exterior paint color. Looks like the arm rest isn't terribly difficult to customize but the leather on the door card itself would have to be stitched so would probably have to pay a shop to do it.

I saw an awesome F82 with custom yellow leather on the door cards which gave me the idea (stole the idea lol). Apparently the guy does his own upholstery. He even changed the top stitching color on the leather on the top of the "full leather" door card. Check post #27 by x.shell in the thread below maybe it can give you some ideas. Check his other posts as well in the same thread he's done a lot to his interior.

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1941804&page=2

Yeah they're super easy as it all splits apart real easy.

Yeah I know the guy! Emre.

I can't remember how we got talking but we've both been doing bits and sharing advice/tips, he liked my rear parcel shelf job so I made him one to build too. He's got a lot more balls (and money) to go full scale like that.

[toxik]

what are those side buttons on your steering wheel?

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by toxik

what are those side buttons on your steering wheel?

The two red buttons? If so they control my exhaust.. I have a two pipe system after the downpipe that lets me bypass the resonator and muffler, however it's a bit much to constantly have going so I fitted an aftermarket valve to mute it a bit (that's what they control)

[toxik]

Originally Posted by fortythirtyfive

The two red buttons? If so they control my exhaust.. I have a two pipe system after the downpipe that lets me bypass the resonator and muffler, however it's a bit much to constantly have going so I fitted an aftermarket valve to mute it a bit (that's what they control)

is that like an aftermarket kit for steering wheels? i know some car manufacturers have buttons like that OEM

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by toxik

is that like an aftermarket kit for steering wheels? i know some car manufacturers have buttons like that OEM

Nah nobody makes anything for our cars so I drew something up.

I created a 2 button holder that bolts onto the side of your steering wheel backing trim, then I had two backlit push buttons laser etched with an exhaust open / close graphic.

The buttons are wired up to my wireless fob which is stuck down inside of the steering wheel trim as there was no spare access to the clock spring loom

[toxik]

Originally Posted by fortythirtyfive

Nah nobody makes anything for our cars so I drew something up.

I created a 2 button holder that bolts onto the side of your steering wheel backing trim, then I had two backlit push buttons laser etched with an exhaust open / close graphic.

The buttons are wired up to my wireless fob which is stuck down inside of the steering wheel trim as there was no spare access to the clock spring loom

nice good work!

[eff32fl]

Originally Posted by fortythirtyfive

Nah nobody makes anything for our cars so I drew something up.

I created a 2 button holder that bolts onto the side of your steering wheel backing trim, then I had two backlit push buttons laser etched with an exhaust open / close graphic.

The buttons are wired up to my wireless fob which is stuck down inside of the steering wheel trim as there was no spare access to the clock spring loom

Very nice. That's a lot cooler than programming your mirror buttons to open and close the valves.