Go figure, I prefer a good glass of red wine.

 

Looks great.

I've got the Parchment interior, but sometimes I wonder if I should've gotten the ebony. The carpet mod goes a long way toward making the interior darker.

You said it took awhile to do it. Does that mean an hour or two? Or six?

What is involved? Do you need to take out the seats? Any tools needed to un-hook the old carpeting? Can you put back the old-carpet, or does it get damaged when it gets removed?

Thanks for any info.

 

special-ed, I think it looks good with dark colored cars like yours. Don't think it will be the same in my WDP though.

 

Yeah, I think you're right about that but you never know. I guess we'll see once/if kennedy jumps the gun and decides to do it also.

 

If you're working solo, I'd say probably a good 5-6 hours max (at least 3.5-4 hours min) depending on how much of a rush job you do trying to pull off the trim pieces without snapping all of your tabs off. On top of that, you'll need to get under the seats and disconnect some harnesses, unclip a few harnesses around the shifter area. The gas pedal was a bitch to get off for some reason.....oh yeah, I remember the manual said to push the lever toward you when you actually had to press the lever really far down to unlatch the gas pedal.

All of the seats need to be taken out as well as the plastic liners around the door wells and bottom part of driver's side dash and glove box. Also the whole center console and panels as well.

You can put back the old carpet back but once you replace it, I doubt you'll want to spend the time to take everything out again especially since you'll be having to unbolt the front seat belts and front seats so you increase the likelihood of stripping the threads for those mounting points especially if you don't take your time when putting everything back together.

 

Thanks for the info.

It sounds like a bigger job than I might do, thought it still looks worth the time and $$. I also picture myself with the seats pulled out trying to figure out how to get them back, thinking I just ruined a $30K car and I can't even drive it back to the dealer!

One last question -- When you said the manual said to push the lever toward you were you working from a service manual? That probably helps a lot telling where all the connections are. Not that it makes it easier to undo bolts, cotter pins or tabs which break!

 

Yeah, I used the HELMS service manual for reference which makes things much easier. There was definitely a point where I thought I might have jacked up the threads on the driver's side seatbelt and was worried I was going to have to re-thread any possible damaged threads but after getting the bolt perfectly lined up after a few tries, I was able to get the bolt properly tightened and secured. The seat belt bolts are pretty long and thick which is good so once you get them properly torqued and use a squirt of loctite, it's staying there.

The manual definitely helps especially since your dealing with wiring harnesses that deal with the SRS of the driver and passenger seats. Also, you'll need to un-hook 2 main harnesses that run along each side of the shifter assembly so you can properly lift the shifter assembly up without putting any strain on those harnesses and pull out the carpet from underneath. You'll also have to disconnect 1 of the harnesses from the SRS module that lies beneath the console compartment trays and the antenna cable also.

There were a couple of spots where I used a pair of Tin Snips (heavy duty metal cutter) to cut the old carpet in 2 places to make removal of the old carpet alot easier. 1 area by the shifter and the other by the gas pedal so I could properly see, understand the mechanics, and get to that little lever that unlatches the pedal from the floor board.

I'll get these daytime pics posted in a sec.

 

I want to do this...
I'm onlty struggling with the investment, or lack there of.

I'll the mods I've done so far, I can remove and sell on the forums (for a nominal loss), if I return the car to stock to sell/trade.

You'll never be able to sell these parts, they HAVE to go with the car. Al the parts I want to change out (pretty much the intire lower interior changed to black, with tan seats and headliner) is near $800.


I've tried to aquire these parts 2X from junkyards, and all you get is busted crap, so you have to buy new. Just not sure I'm ready to throw $800 away to make me feel better about not holding out for a WDP/Ebony.

Maybe at bonus time in March.

 

sorry, it's not working for me either. After 2 years in the NE my camel carpet is still acceptable. I use the all season mats in the winter and vacuum a lot in the summer.

 

Maybe not for everyone but he did a hell of a job........... rest assured special-ed you now have a one of a kind TL!

Personally I think it looks great.

 

Good or bad, thanks for the comments guys. At least you can see the options now.

For me personally, this car will definitely become the official daily beater in about 1.5-2 years but right now, I need a clean looking interior when I'm taking clients out to lunch, etc (which is frequently) and I don't want to have to spend the extra time that it takes to keep a light colored carpet clean all the time. On top of that, gotta deal with the little shorty who no matter what, always seems to track dirt in the car.


So right now, this fits the bill and I actually really like it especially knowing that the 2-tone TL-S's are setup very similarly which suits my personal style because I like things more on the sportier side.

 

Niiiice.

 

1. How much did the carpet run you?
2. Where did you buy the carpet?
3. Does the carpet come ready to install?

I would love to do this change... Maybe I can get Kennedy on board and we can both get it done...

 

I really like that look... ties in great with the black part of the dash.

I am also interested in how much it ran you, and how easy it was to take the interior out and put it back in, aside from the time it took.

 

Its about $214 IIRC. I looked up the part numbers on a online site after I saw this.

 

That is the same as the contrast with the 07 Taupe interior. I personally like it...but I have the taupe so I guess I am biased. Good job on the install!

 

Yeah he did a great job - this is good to know in case somewhere down the road anyone wants to freshen their carpets

 

Excellent look. Congratulations on having the idea and the nerve to take your car apart.

 

Thanks guys

BTW, went to go check out some of the new Benz's that were being shown for this SAP Tennis Tournament that was out here in San Jose. One of the coupe's (can't remember the model) had the same 2-tone setup which I distinctly remember because it was just under a $100k sticker on the window.

 

Looking back on this thread today - I just took my all season mats out for the summer and replaced them with the charcoal carpet mats. Next thing you know I was envisioning the entire carpet charcoal - I have a quartz interior and the charcoal carpet would look so so so good !!!! The light gray is already dirty in a few spots and it should have been charcoal to begin with......

I wish I had the balls to rip out the interior............

 

If you took the time to rip the interior apart, did you ever consider adding extra soundproofing like dynamat?

 

That looks awesome, I plan on doing that to my car, except I have a grey interior.

 

Don't, just dye the carpet to the color you want.

 

By the way my Dad's A8 has the same concept that you're TL has. Black floor board carpet, and tan seats and interior.

 

so sick !

 

I was looking at the 2012 (2013?) models in the Acura showroom. I think I saw a TSX with a two-tone parchment seats with rich dark brown carpets. Really nice combo. What do ya'll think? Was I seeing things. They weren't black or greyish black. I'm sure they were dark brown. Really sharp looking.

However, the upper dash of my 06 has a black/charcoal hue and would tie in with black carpet.

Decisions decisions.

 

I know this is an old thread, but last time I checked on the prices they were doubled in price.