Need advice,interior seems dated.

M

Manny735

Member
Location
Vancouver,BC
Hey guys,

Just picked up a 03 Fx45 today,and the interior seems dated,especially the aluminum plate for the gear shifter,I dont want to carbon fiber...has anyone redone it another material?

Also what else have you done to make the interior look more modern?

Manny
 
I agree, the shifter plate does seem out of place. You can upgrade it to the 06+ shifter panel with the chrome plate and leather boot. The difference is night and day!

///354
 
Manny735 said:
Hey guys,

Just picked up a 03 Fx45 today,and the interior seems dated,especially the aluminum plate for the gear shifter,I dont want to carbon fiber...has anyone redone it another material?

Also what else have you done to make the interior look more modern?

Manny
Click to expand...


http://www.burtmanindustries.com/

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fx_silver_silver_left.jpg
 

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AeroBFA said:
The Zebrano wood trim in the first few pics look pretty good, similar to the FX45 console. But those kits in general....:err:
Click to expand...

I kind of like them, except for the center console, the rest looks OEM since it covers pretty much 100% of it.

If you are bored, at least you have an option to change it up=)
 
I really like the first setup, with the satin finish. I guess the main reason why I don't like them is because you can still see the silver below it and around the switches, etc. Its too bad its not flush, say like wrapping the console with carbon fiber. The window switch gear looks pretty good, but the radio one is pretty lousy looking, lol.
 
Couple guys hating on the dash kits - not sure why? For 200-300 bucks, they give you trim pieces that go "everywhere". There's no way you'd want to use them all but picking only the ones you think look good makes it even more personalized, IMO.

Here are two different brands

http://www.autoanything.com/dash-kits/75A4150A0A0.aspx

http://www.autoanything.com/dash-kits/75A4134A0A0.aspx

There are a lot of color options so picking one that goes with the rest of your interior is probably important. The photos do not show the first generation so it is difficult to visualize what it will look like in your car. Here's a link to a dash kit that I tried out. I am still using it but plan to make some changes. Since it is all adhesive based, you can remove them any time. If I do try a second kit, I might try a CF or maybe a gloss black.

///10379
 
Dash kits really need to flow with the interior and exterior colors. Upgrading the lighting to brighter LED's can give a more modern look and feeling too.
 
They can look good, but often look very "tacked on", sort of like stuck on hood scoops or fender vents. I actually used to be a manufacturer of dash kits in real aluminum (we'd waterjet cut sheets of aluminum vs. the laser cut plastic more common). This was during the late 90's, early '00s. Back then, most dashes were recessed so when you overlayed the kit on top, you couldn't see the edges and it looked "natural". Then cars became more 3D in the dash design with more protrusions and bulges. This lead to a lot of uncovered edges and having to use 2, 3, 4 pieces to cover a center console which leads to lots of seams and gaps. If you look at one of those wood pics, you can see how on the drivers side, there is a small strip of wood used to cover the edge where they couldn't get the main piece to wrap. In a picture it can be covered up using artistic photography and angles, but in real life it is very noticable. It makes everything look cheap. Also, the pieces have a thickness to them so you can see the edge on most areas. There's the resin on top but below that you can usually see the black plastic of the actual piece plus the tape. If the dash is recessed, no big deal, but if it's not, it detracts from the look.

Sherwood is a good manufacturer and we actually bought CF kits from them back in the day for our customers who didn't want real aluminum. Their fitment is pretty on point. Having said that, most kits do not fit very well at all. It may only be 1mm gap here and there, but once you have say 5 pieces that are all 1mm off, you are off by 1/4" in some areas and it's horrible looking. The 3M Di-Noc stuff looks much more professional if done correctly because it can be actually wrapped over the part and the edges are tucked in. Or painting a piece is a good option.

Dash kits have just fallen out of favor like a lot of other mods that have been around for a while. It seems that people these days are into more OEM looking stuff and dash kits just don't flow that well. I see lots of interior mods on cars, but it's more swapping OEM CF pieces for wood or painting. Even back in '06 when I sold my company, sales were starting to stagnate and it's been downhill ever since. It's more something you would have seen at HIN back in '01 on a Civic as opposed to now. Just like big body kits and spoilers aren't that popular anymore and subtle lip kits are in.

jumbosrule said:
Couple guys hating on the dash kits - not sure why? For 200-300 bucks, they give you trim pieces that go "everywhere". There's no way you'd want to use them all but picking only the ones you think look good makes it even more personalized, IMO.

Here are two different brands

http://www.autoanything.com/dash-kits/75A4150A0A0.aspx

http://www.autoanything.com/dash-kits/75A4134A0A0.aspx

There are a lot of color options so picking one that goes with the rest of your interior is probably important. The photos do not show the first generation so it is difficult to visualize what it will look like in your car. Here's a link to a dash kit that I tried out. I am still using it but plan to make some changes. Since it is all adhesive based, you can remove them any time. If I do try a second kit, I might try a CF or maybe a gloss black.

///10379
Click to expand...
 
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