120 isnt that bad.

 

Let us know how the install goes, maybe you make a DIY

 

Heck yea Nelson, hope you do the DIY cause if it goes well for you I'mma do it myself. :goodjob:

 

I just finished. I picked one of the warmest days of the week to work on the car :happysad: Took me roughly 5-6 hours. Tried to do a DIY, but most of it is pretty straight forward so it'd be kind of generic. I can't feel my hands right now so I'll try to write up some tips tomorrow.
:sleep:

 

why did it take so long to install the carpet? doesn't it just consist of removing the seats, center console, and plastics where the doors are?

 

Yes Spoon, if this were a perfect world, it'd take me about 15min to do it.
Being that it isn't, I had to carefully measure and trim the new carpet to OE speca along with mounting holes which weren't existent in the new carpet.

 

Ok, here's a 'brief' "DIY" about the carpet install.

Well, it being a pretty straightforward procedure, I'm just going to give some general tips that I came across during my install.

This is the box it came in:


The carpet was rolled up into that box- which itself wasn't that big. Shipping took about 7 business days.

After I removed the carpet from the box, it looked like this:


Note the wrinkles. This is from when the carpet was forced into the box. It's a good idea to unroll it and leave it in the sun for a few hours so that it will flex back into the molded shape.

As you can see, it does follow the general mold of the OEM carpet- even has a little 'rubber' mat built in.



However, there shape is very different, as alot has to be trimmed. The carpet itself was alot thicker, along with padding in the front section.

Continued...

 

Forgot to mention that you'll need the usual ratchet & sockets along with a good sharp pair of heavy duty scissors and a phillips and flathead screwdriver.

First you have to remove ALL your interior parts. It was pretty straight forward for me, because I've done it quite a few times. It generally should be the same for most Honda's as the setup are very similar.

Unbolt the front seats (usually held down by 4 bolts)


While they are out, you can easily remove the center console (shifter area, under the radio, and the armrest)

Then remove the rear seats, again, depending on what seats you have, it may requre a slew of different tools. This is also a great time to clean the seats if you haven't done so.



Along with the rear seats, you'll need to remove the side panels that hold the carpet down, under the door sills. Remove those- which are stapled and hooked onto the carpet with metal discs. At this point, you may or may not want to retain the plastic pieces that attach to the carpet from the door sills. I opted not to reuse them as they were pretty beat up already. I think it is better to keep them and remount the carpet to them for a more secure fit.

This is what you should clear out the interior to:


You also may have to remove the trunk/gas release cover which is held by one small screw under a plastic cover. (Forgot to mention that a Helms manual is handy).

After you remove the OEM carpet, which is held down mainly by the door sills and under the rear seat area, you should try to get rid of most of the garbage/particles and then lay it over the new carpet. Also vaccuum the inside of the car so you get a clean surface.



As you can tell, there's a lot of trimming and cutting to be done because the new carpet is totally uncut. Lay it on top and use chalk to mark the general area of where you will be cutting. You'll need to cut holes for: Air vents, seat mounts, seat belt mounts, as well as the shifter. I think its a better idea to cut the holes AFTER you line up the carpet INSIDE the car. Also, it's smart to hang onto the pieces you cut off - more on that later.

*As you can see near the right rear passenger side carpet, there was some 'burn' marks from when I first bought the car, it's been bothering me since! 14 year old carpet!!

For holes, I found it better to use a sharp box cutter to punch a slit, rather than cut a perfect hole- it's neater and heck of a lot easier.



Trimming, you'll need to cut about 2-3" on the sides in order to get the carpet tucked under the door sills. BE CAREFULL not to cut more than you have to, because there is NO turning back. Take your time, this is the part where you don't want to rush things. I spent alot of time getting the holes perfect. I only goofed a little near the center under the armrest, but the extra carpet under and it isn't noticeable.

I also found it to be a GOOD time to redo my wiring for my amps. Instead of routing all the wires along the door sills, I went straight down the middle from the radio to the trunk under the carpet. This is so much neater and creates less clutter on the edges.

Continued...

 

You're going to have to be careful with the front of the carpet because it goes up under the dash. They gave you alot more than you need, so getting it to fit up there without bunching up might be tricky.

I found it difficult to work with because the carpet was thick and wasn't as flexible as the OEM.

These are some of the holes you'd definitely want to cut out:


Seat mounting, the AC vents for the rear, and don't forget the seat belt buckle reminder. Be sure to note what you disconnected!!

You'll also have to remove the bottom mount of the front seat belts in order to mount the carpet:


The off color you see through the hole is the bottom padding of the front of the carpet.

Once you have that hole for the seat belt, be sure to TIGHTEN it back down. Other than the things I briefly mentioned, it should be pretty easy.. just take your time when cutting. This is the rear area with black floor mat I installed to show the contrast:





I ordered a dark charcoal.

This is the front:



I also got the chance to install a dead pedal (which I didn't have before).

I opted not to reuse the plastic mounting because the carpet pretty much stays in place and doesn't shift. The plastic door sills do a fine job holding down the carpet. Again, don't cut it too short at the edges- but don't leave too much or it will bunch up.

I really don't think it requires a full write up, as this is something pretty basic. This is all I can remember, if you need more tips, just ask!

Impression:
The carpet quality was pretty good. Much thicker than OEM, I chose the 'cut pile' option which seems more fluffy.

The mold itself wasn't perfect, but close to OEM.

On a scale of 1-10 on the difficulty, I'd give this a 5, due to mostly tearing down the interior and then carefully measuring the holes to cut.

 

I see butt-prints. :naughty:


Good write up :thumbup: