Arm Rest Comparisons

[CelicaJoe]

I’ve really only had two complaints with this car since I got it: lack of compartments inside (Previously used to a celica that had storage above the radio, a tiny bit below, and a deep compartment between the seats), and not being able to put the seats down from inside the car (probably going to just tie little straps to the existing ones and close the seats with them sticking up a bit above and see if that works). Addressing the first, I don’t want to void out the cup holders with an armrest as everyone’s stated before, and it seems like the best fit for me is the OEM one that opens, as that can turn it into an additional compartment not affected by wind with the windows down, and I’m looking at relocating the cup holders. I know there’s more than enough threads on this but I wasn’t able to find any talking about FR86SPEED’s remake of the armrest linked here:
http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/oem-...l#.XSkmAyUpDDs
And the original linked here:
http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/toyo...l#.XSknZCUpDDs

Anyone notice any quality differences? Also I was really hoping to find a work around of having it open to the side as I think it would be annoying as a passenger having that open if I decided to keep the cup holders in there (although I’m not sure so any input on the inconvenience would be appreciated). And I wondered if anyone rigged theirs to open from front to back instead of side to side. I saw someone made their own armrest that allowed it to be moved like this but that’s above my skill level and I wasn’t looking for a huge project. Mostly interested in the comparison in quality of the two armrests. Sorry if the information is elsewhere and I couldn’t find it

[new2subaru]

I have the OEM “style” one and it works fine. I did have to replace the wonky little rubber things that are supposed to hold screws. They loosen over time. I took the whole centre console out and put nuts on the back. It’s solid as a rock now.

I’m not sure why you would think it would bother a passenger. Why would you have it open all the time? I can see that if you were both having drinks but you said you’d relocate the drink holders.

It’s a great place to leave my wallet, cash and any other valuables.

[humfrz]

Well, that is the first thing I noticed when I got into my FR-S. WHERE is the armrest?

I needed more of an "elbow" rest, my arm just falls down naturally along the E-brake handle. The second criteria was that it had to be wide enough to share with mrs humfrz without our arms touching. Yes, I love her, but I don't like touchy when driving.

So, I found this old armrest I had in my MX-5 and slapped some side spacers on it and Velcro-ed it down.

Bubba approved of this mod -


humfrz

[CelicaJoe]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

I have the OEM “style” one and it works fine. I did have to replace the wonky little rubber things that are supposed to hold screws. They loosen over time. I took the whole centre console out and put nuts on the back. It’s solid as a rock now.

I’m not sure why you would think it would bother a passenger. Why would you have it open all the time? I can see that if you were both having drinks but you said you’d relocate the drink holders.

It’s a great place to leave my wallet, cash and any other valuables.

I was considering keeping the cup holders in there for the time being until I found where I’d want to relocate or in the case I didn’t find a relocation solution I’d keep it there. Otherwise it’s a perfect solution to having a compartment. Did you happen to find an alternative place for cupholders?

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by CelicaJoe

I was considering keeping the cup holders in there for the time being until I found where I’d want to relocate or in the case I didn’t find a relocation solution I’d keep it there. Otherwise it’s a perfect solution to having a compartment. Did you happen to find an alternative place for cupholders?

Nope, the passenger has to deal with it. They’re not doing anything anyways. Reach over

[extrashaky]

There were TWO OEM arm rests. There was the JDM 86 arm rest you linked, and there was the USDM Scion FR-S arm rest shown in this thread:

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82059

I selected this one, for two reasons. First, I need coffee, so I wanted to retain the cup holders. Second, the JDM arm rest is too low for my elbow. The USDM FR-S rest is considerably higher, and I can actually use it as an arm rest. I've had it for a few years now, and I have no complaints at all.

Here are some pics (not mine--my car is never this clean):

[HyperTech]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

I have the OEM “style” one and it works fine. I did have to replace the wonky little rubber things that are supposed to hold screws. They loosen over time. I took the whole centre console out and put nuts on the back. It’s solid as a rock now.

I’m not sure why you would think it would bother a passenger. Why would you have it open all the time? I can see that if you were both having drinks but you said you’d relocate the drink holders.

It’s a great place to leave my wallet, cash and any other valuables.

Mine still solid, but i admit i did not drive this car very often. But this is an amazing idea (bolt at bottom), when mine start to loosen, I'll do it for sure.

[HyperTech]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

There were TWO OEM arm rests. There was the JDM 86 arm rest you linked, and there was the USDM Scion FR-S arm rest shown in this thread:

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82059

I selected this one, for two reasons. First, I need coffee, so I wanted to retain the cup holders. Second, the JDM arm rest is too low for my elbow. The USDM FR-S rest is considerably higher, and I can actually use it as an arm rest. I've had it for a few years now, and I have no complaints at all.

Here are some pics (not mine--my car is never this clean):

I find this one (us one) more fonctional than the jdm one, but i do prefer by far the jdm one for the aesthetic.

But the lack of cup holder did bug me a bit. Now i use bottle most of the time in the door. Center console to keep my cell phone and wallet.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by HyperTech

I find this one (us one) more fonctional than the jdm one, but i do prefer by far the jdm one for the aesthetic.

But the lack of cup holder did bug me a bit. Now i use bottle most of the time in the door. Center console to keep my cell phone and wallet.

The forces generated upon 'take-off' in our Twins will play havoc with this armrest.. I can see up and down like someone's draws!!!

[RToyo86]

I was lucky enough to snag a local selling a carsmo armrest from a part out. I like that it retains the use of the cupholders, and doesn't require any screws.

[gtpvette]

This is a DIY holder. Fiberglass with an aluminum insert. The good thing is it's 5" deep so holds my coffee out of the way of the shifter. Not too many passengers but if so,, they're on there own to hold it.

[soundman98]

i've got the jdm version. i like that it gives me somewhere to hide the crap that i've got to have in the car(tire pressure gauge, lighter, phone charger, change, etc.)

[CelicaJoe]

Originally Posted by gtpvette

This is a DIY holder. Fiberglass with an aluminum insert. The good thing is it's 5" deep so holds my coffee out of the way of the shifter. Not too many passengers but if so,, they're on there own to hold it.

Ohh that looks great, might attempt to do the same

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by JD001

The forces generated upon 'take-off' in our Twins will play havoc with this armrest.. I can see up and down like someone's draws!!!

Sarcasm? That thing really doesn't move unless you push or pull on it.

It's kind of annoying that it really only lets you access one cup holder of the two at any given time if you have the holder in the farther back position (I do because I needed room for the phone charger to plug in; probably my one real design gripe for that whole area), but at least I have something for my arm to rest on.

I do find that passengers often do move it slightly to the rear when they contact it because they tend to sort of lean on and push back on it, but otherwise it never moves unless someone moves it, and it has 3 positions on its rails that it locks into from front to rear. Once it snaps to one of those, it doesn't move.

Is it cheap and rickety feeling at times? Yeah, and when you're on imperfect roads it'll even rattle, but I'm glad it's there instead of just an open hole in between the seats.