Hinged armrest
 

Sorry if theres already a post for this, i couldnt find one.

I bought this:
http://bit.ly/ZT213R

And after struggling with putting it back in its place while driving anytime i needed to get into the space under it; as well as having passengers elbows push it out of place completely; i decided to see if i could hinge the lid.

First off, i did not want to permanently alter the car, so i used some super strength 3m double sided tape to attach this ( thats also the reason for the large box, i wanted a larger surface area for the 3m). Second, i couldnt find this exact hardware in a plain black finish, so i covered it in carbon vinyl, most of it is hidden, and the two large dash panels and my roof are wrapped in the same vinyl, so it matches.

This is just a 20 minute first attempt, works great, looks eh, alright for now

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Wrong hinge/right idea... Shop around and get a hinge that will not be seen from the outside. grainger.com or mcmastercarr.com

Eh. No thanks. Got this at lowes for 2$ and its spring loaded so it works really well for this and its barely noticeable.

That's a nice armrest, very simple. Good write-up but it needs a different hinge. You can definitely notice it.

The pictures make it stand out alot more than sitting in the car. Ill bet none of my passengers mention it ( unless its someone reading this first! Lol)

My arm rest was made by the same guy but it was a later addition and was longer so that it acted as a lid/cover to the complete opening in the console. I like the idea of what you have done but I will be looking for a less conspicuous hinge arrangement.

So the new ones like the link i posted are longer? Glad i got this one then, personally, i use the open area in the front for my cell and charger so id want to keep it exposed

Yeah, I don't use the cup holders or electronic gadgets so I took the cup holders out. The only food or drink I ever have in my car is bottle water and I use the pockets in the door for that. I waited for something that was more of a cover/lid for the complete opening than just an arm rest. To me it really cleans up the look of the center console area.

Same here as far as cup holders and the door pockets. But i use the little exposed cubby in the front for the phone when its charging. Well. I guess that will change soon as i ordered the dash mount for it :/

it's barely noticeable to you because you sit on the driver's side. a passenger will easily see the hinge, and it makes it look rusty and dirty.

I installed it while sitting in the passenger seat ;) every edge u can see is carbon fiber covered, alot of these pics were taken before it was truly finished as the vinyl was the last thing i did

As i said. This is a 20 minute spent, first attempt, using what i had access to at the time. Someday i will redo it. For now i was much more concerned with funtion>form