Speed Cloth M3s in SoCal

[Big Windy]

Hey Guys,

Well, after some considerable research today (main credit goes to an unnamed CA at a local dealer) I found the location of all M3s with speed cloth interiors in SoCal. There are currently 4 of them.

McKenna BMW (Norwalk) has a Sparkling Graphite Sedan
Monrovia has an AW sedan
Torrance has an AW coupe
Alhambra has a MR coupe

According to the database, there are only 13 M3s with Speed Cloth on the entire West Coast. New Century BMW in LA is going to be getting a Jet Black one sometime at the end of this month.

Anyway, I just wanted to post this information for anybody who might be looking to see Speed IRL just like I am. It is very time consuming to call each dealer one at a time (because they all want your contact info and to call you back), so hopefully this will help somebody out. I am going to Norwalk tomorrow and will take as many pics as possible.

The CA advised that Speed will really hurt the resale value of the car, but 1) I don't care and 2) I can't believe how rare it really is. I guess that Premium Package has forced a lot of potential Speed customers into leather. Oh well.

[sayemthree]

resale - who cares- I never did and my used cars ALWAYS sold for top dollar - the last one an e46 M3 with no MR- just what the buyer wanted and rare. same with my 528it 5MT - sold for top dollar - MT wagons are rare here.

[///kory]

I absolutely love the looks of speed cloth, the one I have ordered has it. Good to hear its rare, might help the resale value. Especially with how good it looks in person.

[ismelllikepoop]

i doubt cloth would ever help resale. i think it's rare b/c leather is only 950 to upgrade. the C63 leather option is 3k, plus the two-tone sahara and black cloth looks awesome anyways. Im just curious to see how the cloth feels, whenever i think of cloth i keep getting visions of a toyota corolla though i know the quality levels are different.

[Big Windy]

Originally Posted by ismelllikepoop

i doubt cloth would ever help resale. i think it's rare b/c leather is only 950 to upgrade. the C63 leather option is 3k, plus the two-tone sahara and black cloth looks awesome anyways. Im just curious to see how the cloth feels, whenever i think of cloth i keep getting visions of a toyota corolla though i know the quality levels are different.

yeah me too...i'll let you know tomorrow after i check it out in person.

[Big Windy]

Well, I spent about an hour at McKenna BMW in Norwalk today checking out their Spark G sedan with speed cloth interior. I am not a sedan customer, but I wanted to see how the speed cloth looked in person and, more importantly, how it felt.

Here is my opinion (I will be as objective as possible): The speed cloth seats are outstanding. The cloth is high quality, feels exceptionally comfortable, looks very sporty, and appears to be very durable. I am going to do some further research about the actual fabric that is used to determine the comment on durability. I sat in an m3 with leather seats both before and after I sat in the speed cloth and this confirmed that speed cloth will be my choice. Not because the leather isn't great (because it is), but because the speed cloth fits my personal preferences a lot better. I was very surprised at how cushiony yet sturdy the speed cloth seats were. To me, the leather felt a bit less supportive.

There is a downside to speed cloth, though. I was definitely NOT impressed with the cloth sections in the door. BMW should have put Novillo leather there. Btw, the leather on the bolsters of the speed seats is definitely Novillo...so if you had doubts about that you can rest assured. I must have felt them both 10 times. Anyway, the cloth in the doors isn't necessarily ugly, but it is not my favorite. Leather would have been a better option. Still, I am more concerned with the seats and, to me, the cloth in the doors isn't enough to sway me away from speed.

Another semi-related observation was that the speed interior does NOT smell as good as the leather. When I went from the speed interior to the leather, I was overwhelmed with how good the Novillo smelled. While the speed smells good, the smell is definitely not as good or as prominent as the full leather...this is obviously understandable though.

I have attached a few pics (which I will also post in the speed cloth thread). I tried to represent the color as best as I could, but these pictures are very "whited out." IRL, the speed cloth looks very black and the pictures do not show this very well. In the pics the cloth looks very gray because of the flash on the camera. This is not the case. It is much darker in person. It blends with the Novillo leather much better than it looks like in the pictures.

Well, enough typing...hope you enjoy.

[ismelllikepoop]

Dunno if its just the pics and reflections, but the cloth around the doorhandle trim doesn't look well fitted. Does the cloth have kind of a neoprene kind of feel? From everything i've read in reviews and ppl's experiences, it's high quality but on the east coast i haven't seen too many m3's. Gonna be in ca in july and i guess i can check it out then. How is mckenna's discounting? I've always liked that dealership, salesguys seem pretty cool actually. thanks for the writeup and pics

[Big Windy]

Originally Posted by ismelllikepoop

Dunno if its just the pics and reflections, but the cloth around the doorhandle trim doesn't look well fitted. Does the cloth have kind of a neoprene kind of feel? From everything i've read in reviews and ppl's experiences, it's high quality but on the east coast i haven't seen too many m3's. Gonna be in ca in july and i guess i can check it out then. How is mckenna's discounting? I've always liked that dealership, salesguys seem pretty cool actually. thanks for the writeup and pics

I noticed that too...I think that it has to do with the way that the cloth is stretched and mounted. Like I said, I think that they should have gone with leather on the doors. Anyway, it doesn't really have a neoprene feel to it. Definitely more of a cloth feel. The closest thing that I can compare it to is a Subaru WRX sport interior. That cloth feels similar...still, you should probably feel it for yourself if possible.

[HK_M3]

I thought it was Alcantara on the side not the Novillo...

-Nate

[Big Windy]

Originally Posted by HK_M3

I thought it was Alcantara on the side not the Novillo...

-Nate

no, novillo leather on the sides, alcantara colored cloth on the insides.