Just take it to an upholstery shop. I think that was the one piece I took in because mine did not fit quite right.

 

Every review of the armrest says it’s a biatch.

 

+1 I’ve considered the wheel and boot because they’re plup and play

Edit: that’s tune money tho so it’s back burner

 

I dropped the pieces off at a local upholtstery shop. Fitment, new padding... $75 cash. Should find out later this afternoon if it was worth the cost & effort.

As we were coming to an arrangement, he says to me, "You know the perforated section isn't straight, right?"



God damn it. He's right, the perforation pattern isn't aligned to the stitching. It's off maybe 10 degrees. I froze for a minute, trying to decide then and there whether I should go forward, or send it back to Redline Goods. Since I was already in the moment, I said go ahead with the job. Hope it looks good enough that this issue doesn't get under my skin (no pun).

 

I'd contact Redline.

My shift boot didn't have the cuts exactly right, and I emailed them to me. They asked me to mail my OEM boot in to update the pattern, which I did, and they sent me a replacement boot.

Thing is, the boot fit good enough, and the mis-aligned cuts are hidden by the shifter ring, so I never took the time to swap them out

Good luck, Rochester. I'd like to do this, but your fitment experience seems to mirror everyone else--poor.

 

Oh I'm sure to let Redline know, with pics. Having the perf pattern misaligned against two parallel stitches... that's bad QC. If someone someday is reading this, then know you need to discuss this alignment issue with Redlinegoods.com when ordering perforated pieces.

That said, the price is right. For context, I spent $40 shipped from Poland for the cover, whereas the upholsterer said he could have made me a custom piece himself for $100. Meh. At the moment I'm in for a penny, in for a pound. More later today after I pick it up. Fingers crossed.

 

Picked up the lid just now. I have to say, this guy did a nice job. Added another 1/8" layer of padding, steamed, stretched, stapled & glued.



Aside from the perforation pattern issue, it all looks very perfect, and very professional.



So now I have to decide what to do about this perf pattern. Clearly it's off by almost 20°, which is nuts the more I stare at it. Thing is, I won't forever be staring at it. The console lid isn't something that gets all-the-time attention, like the shift boot. You just don't really look at it unless you plan on looking at it. Insofar as something that's in the "background" per se, it might be good enough as is.

(sigh) I don't know. At least I know the quality and cost for installation should I do it all over again. In the meantime, I need to let RedlineGoods.com know there's a problem here.

 

Whoa, I'll have to take a look at mine but I definitely see what you're talking about. Redline has been pretty good when it comes to customer service, it might worth an email to Mike.

I also wanted to go with some extra padding but the option provided didn't seem like it would have made a difference, yours, on the other hand, looks OE.

I also noticed your cover isn't perforated on the sides. I kinda wish I had done that, was that intentional?

 

I will definitely be emailing Mike one of these pics and see how he responds. I just test fit the cover back on the car a few minutes ago, and really liked it. Now it just remains to be seen whether I can deal with the perf alignment issue or not.


It feels much better, softer to press, and the leather is very supple, which is nice. The upholsterer initially quoted me $50, or $75 if I wanted some new cushion. Figured I was all in anyway, so I said OK.


Yep, that was entirely intentional. Can't recall who made the recommendation to me, but it was here on the forum not too long ago. Props to that member for good advice.

I always had this mod on the back-burner, but then some time back I read about the idea of going non-perf on the sides, with a perforated matching top, essentially just like the sport seats. The idea got stuck in my head, when RedLine auto-emailed me with a 20% off if I "finished my shopping cart"

Nice bit of promotional programming, IMO.

 

A few emails back & forth today with Mike at RedlineGoods.com. He agreed the perforation pattern could be better aligned on the armrest, and offered me a new cover. Since I've already gone through the process with an upholsterer, I've decided to keep what I've got.

Instead, I've got a p-brake handle boot on order with a generous discount. So all in all, Redline stood behind their product with good customer service, which was cool.



You know, pri.g, your boot looks like a 45° orientation, which is fine because the diagonal pattern is still in alignment with the stitching. Mine, on the other hand... no so much.

 

Cant wait to see it installed. May inspire me to waste some more money lol.

 

See what installed? The armrest or the p-brake? No wait, you don't have a p-brake handle in your car.

Anyway, I think I'm going to wait on in-car pics until I get the p-brake boot. At the moment, looking at the armrest only makes the lesser nature of the vinyl p-brake boot stand out. And that boot doesn't really fit right, because I appropriated that from the shifter when that particular boot went leather a couple years ago.

boot, boot, boot... I keep saying boot. WTF.

 

Haha, I was talking aboot the armrest. Mine is still in great shape, and the AT armrest feels a tiny bit more padded that the 6mt one (at least thats how it felt when I drove my friends 6mt), I may want to update it soon regardless. Once I decide what I'm doing with the steering wheel I'm working on, I'll make the final decision if I want to go boots deep and make the shift boot and armrest to match.

 

Drove around today, first time in over a week, and my first time driving the car with the new leather armrest cover. I don't want to over analyze this, but there's a blind spot for the console lid. It isn't something you notice when driving, or when getting in the car, no matter how nice it is. It doesn't reward you at a glance the way the Carsmo ***** do, or the leather shift boot... things you take in all the time.

Weird. I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, but it's one of those projects that I thought might have more personal impact than it actually does.

OK, I over-analyzed it anyway. Fck it.

 

That new armrest cover turned out great. Although, I'm with you, the angle on the perforated portion would probably drive me nuts... Of course, once your in the car driving will you ever really notice it with you arm sitting there?


Glad you decided to add the extra padding. When I did the same piece in my Porsche the extra padding made all the difference in the world for both looks and comfort.


Out of curiosity, what color leather did you go with? I'm thinking of having a cover made to match my seats and that color you used looks like it might match them well.