I’m doing it! Black Headliner, Cracked Dash Solution and no more Vibrations
 

So I decided I’m tired of driving this fake luxury sports coupe and I’m ready to do what INFINITI should have done from the get go. Below is what I’m planning to do and why, just wanted to share as I’m open to advice or potential issues with my approach.

Note I have an manual trans IPL on coils with 19” Gram Lights.

First I decided im gutting the interior and laying a healthy amount sound deadener throughout the car. This car just has too many rattles and the resonance is so bad I feel like there is a swarm of angry bees in my car. Laying down the Dynamat (or whatever) will fix that right up and have this thing driving like Benz. Our cars are already slow. Another 100 pounds isn’t going to make a big impact.

Next I figured once the center console is out, I could get a nice leather hide and adhere it to the cracked dash. Essentially creating a nice leather dash. I already made a template out of a bedsheet and I don’t see any issues with having this look flawless without even removing dash (steering column is only thing you want to remove and even that isn’t mandatory). Our dash is pretty much flat and drops straight down. Only thing to decide on here is the material, more on that later...

Lastly.. since I’m already covering the dash and removing the entire interior to sound deaden, why not just wrap the tan pillars and headliner while I’m at it. (Note I’m sound deadening the roof too so the headliner is also coming out already). This seems pretty easy tbh. The challenge is the plastic bits but I have a solution (I think).

The Z comes with the exact dome light fixture as our car except it doesn’t have the sun glasses part. So it’s like half the size. I figure just use that and bridge the gap with something before I cover it black material. The Oh Sh*t handles I’m assuming are the same in any modern Nissan so finding a black set should be easy. The only other parts are related to seat belt but I would bet those are interchangeable with almost any modern Nissan as well.

So I think the idea is to use the same material on the dash as the tan parts. Probably a soft black leather (or similar looking faux leather for roof) which matches the arm rests and parts of the door already. The other idea is a textured leather that will blend a little better with doors which have that textured finish like the dash. I’m leaning toward the former.

So there you have it. That’s the plan. Am I crazy? Any suggestions?

I'm 75% done with my dash, I used black silicone in the cracks then shaved the excess with a razor once it dried. Takes a lot of time but I believe perfection can be obtained with patience.

Wrapping it is much faster and better look.

Q50 grab handles fit and come in black.

Check my build thread, I ended up using thick towels that I layed with adhesion spray. I also used some thick enamel paint over the seams of the floor to seal the floor from water/air/sound.

The result was a beautiful one. The only problem is now I realize if I want quietness I need to pull the regulators and insulate the inside of the doors because they're tin cans. Make sure your window molding rubber is not cracked as it'll let wind noise in.

Good luck and patience.

Yea the doors are a big culprit to noise. I’m planning on deadening the inner and outer portions. Saw your build thread. Nice to see shots of the car stripped. Good to know on the handles.

Curtain airbags in a pillar remember that

Completely forgot about air bags. I’ll have look more into that. I assume even covering the dash in leather could cause problems for passenger airbag..?

It is a subject of debate for many across different car forums. Most say the force of the airbag deployment would rip through any covering. Others, like myself, can see that any type of covering- especially one made of quality materials- potentially interfering with the airbag. Too many "what if's" to say for sure.

With a event that only lasts a few fractions of a second, believe me, every fraction counts. I've met a airbag once face-to-face, though I pray I never meet another one, that is one feature I will not monkey with.

Just my 10¢ mind you. To be clear- and to save everyone flaming at me for my opinion- it is your car. Do as you will...

Hey Sobe looks like you're in Miami, I'm in Ft. Lauderdale. Been looking for G37 or infiniti meets in the area check out my page (what_wire)

As far as bags go contrary to popular belief and driving in south Florida traffic I doubt you'll be using your curtain bags.

It's a sensitive subject as it involves safety which leaves the door open to the uncontrollable "What ifs"

Subscribed. Wrapped dash and headliner is on my to do list in the near future.

Appreciate it. Perhaps sanding down and/or scoring the underside of the material where the passenger bag deploys would be enough to alleviate concerns. Sanding it down seems pretty good since you could leave it paper thin around the airbag and it wouldn’t show from the front. Def going to research this more.

Are the rear air bags are on the C pillar? Was trying to find a picture of these deployed but no luck.

Bull - Are you asking me or telling me about meet ups? If your asking, I’m don’t know if any. If your telling me, then I’m interested and let me know. What is what_wire? Website? I googled it and got your IG page I think.

That's my Ig and I'm asking as I see a ton of G37s around but dont hear much about meets online nor FB.

Update:

Got all my materials to sound deaden the car. Got 100 sqft of mass loaded vinyl (not the hardware store crap), 100 sqft of Closed Cell Foam and 36 soft of Noico (dynamat). Also got some Velcro, plastic pry tools and a roller to apply Noico. This is the full list of what you’ll need for the job and cost was about $400. Going to start getting busy stripping the car this weekend.

looking forward to it man, as im thinking about a dashboard solution too, so it will be cool to see how yours comes out with a wrap...

Update:
Car is stripped to the bones. Sound deadening this weekend. I got my hide for the dash in the mail today. It would have perfect except it was narrower than advertised. Seller is working with me to get it right. Fingers crossed.

For roof and pillars I have two options. A gray faux suede or just use same leather as dash. If I go leather route I’ll actually get a matching faux leather for the roof. I ordered a yard of the suede and it’s pretty nice. I think either is going to Turk our AMAZING. My IPL is gray with gunmetal wheels and the suede matches the color pretty well. All black leather is pretty sweet too tho. What would y’all do?

Is your headliner material foam-backed?

I’m leaning towards going with the leather everywhere so I need to get some vinyl that matches the leather for the headliner and I was thinking to just cover the existing padded cloth.