Floor matts

[Petrus]

Why?? have they become just about ´mandatory´?

Ok, in a 4x4 used in the mud, it makes sense to have a rubber matt with high sides collecting the mud, keeping it off the carpet.
But in a road going vehicle, why have carpet on carpet.
I mean the factory carpet already has wear resistant rubber inserts under the pedal box.

Not even all thát long ago, base model cars did not have any carpeting, only rubber matts. Carpeting was a luxury which only about mid seventies evolved with a sound deading function to become essential and now we have a flying carpet on top of that carpet.

What´s more, they cause a lót of potentially véry hazardous problems, like causing the throttle pedal to stick. There is a lót about that on MX5 fora p.e.
I myself have not experienced it but clutch pedal issues yes.
What´s not fitted can´t cause problems, so mine are out but remains the why do we, me included, per default see it as an essential?!

[Snelbaard]

I wholeheartedly agree. In my previous car (a Subaru Forester S-turbo) the carpets had the continuous tendency to fold up onderneath the pedals. In that car they had some use but I took them out anyway, and the same goes for my MR2. Also: another couple of grams saved!

[Petrus]

Have a look at





What is good enough for Elis is good enough for Belle.

So the job for next week (apart from modding seat mounts):
Take seats and centre console out; faff with handbrake; take sills and other bits retaining carpet out; remove carpet; add 5 kilos of lightness.
Mountain Girl has already pointed me towards where to find a thin silicon anti slip matt.

[StuC]

To counter this, there are plenty of examples of mr2's with carpets that have worn through. Some of them were at ding day.
The carpets are not as robust as the once were.
Owners who wear pointy heels to drive make this work. Certainly in the UK there are plenty of this type of owner for these little cars.

On the positive side, for the drivers mat there are a couple of eyelets, which have hooks in them to stop the mat from moving about.

[Call the midlife!]

Have a look at





What is good enough for Elis is good enough for Belle.

So the job for next week (apart from modding seat mounts):
Take seats and centre console out; faff with handbrake; take sills and other bits retaining carpet out; remove carpet; add 5 kilos of lightness.
Mountain Girl has already pointed me towards where to find a thin silicon anti slip matt.

If you've never taken the sill plates off previously you'll soon put them back on, the wiring loom runs underneath them and the seam edges aren't particularly user friendly, especially on bare skin.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[StuC]

If you've never taken the sill plates off previously you'll soon put them back on, the wiring loom runs underneath them and the seam edges aren't particularly user friendly, especially on bare skin.

There is a voice of experience talking!! Lol.

[Call the midlife!]

If you've never taken the sill plates off previously you'll soon put them back on, the wiring loom runs underneath them and the seam edges aren't particularly user friendly, especially on bare skin.

There is a voice of experience talking!! Lol.

Only from putting my weight on them while doing various bits of work with the carpet out..[emoji23]
I wouldn't want to be getting in and out of the car with them removed though, although I do plan to trim the point off where the seatbelt continuously gets caught behind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[StuC]

Agreed with the seatbelt getting caught, that is a pain!

[Call the midlife!]

Agreed with the seatbelt getting caught, that is a pain!

Only needs to happen the once and strain the cover and it never goes back the same, going to heat mine up a bit and see if it seats in the hole better.
I've got belt pads on mine also which stop the belt retracting fully, which only makes it worse.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Petrus]

The sill covers only go off to get the carpet out and then back on.
I expect some tidying up of cables to be neccessary.
Got the silicon anti slip stuff already.
Leaving tomorrow for Jerez at 05.30 and chores to finish, otherwise would do it nów.

Back to the matts; so basically they are now perceived a must because of some female drivers wearing high heels, which is/should be illegal as that is not suitable footwear 

[Call the midlife!]

The sill covers only go off to get the carpet out and then back on.
I expect some tidying up of cables to be neccessary.
Got the silicon anti slip stuff already.
Leaving tomorrow for Jerez at 05.30 and chores to finish, otherwise would do it nów.

Back to the matts; so basically they are now perceived a must because of some female drivers wearing high heels, which is/should be illegal as that is not suitable footwear 

Err? I wear high heels...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Petrus]

Err? I wear high heels...

That does not make it suiteble foot wear for driving.
Plenty of people drive wearing flipflops; ditto.

[Call the midlife!]

Err? I wear high heels...

That does not make it suiteble foot wear for driving.
Plenty of people drive wearing flipflops; ditto.

You're not wrong, I would never drive in 4 inch heels, no matter how pretty they were...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Petrus]

Some of my heavier footwear is not suiteble either and taken along while I drive in lighter wear.

btw. the rear cubby doors out makes the space behind the seats ever so much more practical to use for chucking in a plastic back with heavy shoes.

[Petrus]

In 2010 Mazda produced the ND Superlight show model.
It weighed in at 1000 kilos and ... look ma, no carpeting :-)

[Joesson]

I remember seeing Pat Moss / Carlson's Austin A40 Monte Carlo Rally car at an Earls Court (perhaps) exhibition around 1960.
I think Petrus has taken some pages from her book about adding lightness.
The interior was totally stripped, even the door locking mechanism, the doors were kept closed with a door bolt, like you would see on a bathroom door of the time, precision fitted, no, it was mounted on a piece of wood as a packer.
At the same exhibition iirc there was a BRM stand where their H16 engine was displayed.
Certainly not too many of them around now.

[Petrus]

Like the A40 was weighed down by luxury 
Still; a perfect example of adding lightness to even this spartan car.
Wood btw has a density of say 0.5 whereas steel is roughly 16 times that, and even plastic is around 1.0 so makes sense no, to use wood 
Ahhhhhh..... if only we could use aerogel....

[Petrus]

Just ordered their, Pat and Eric´c, book for 30€ incl. shipping.
That is bound to contain a wealth of knowlegde and as such bargain cheap study material.

Ah.... nów I know why is was cheap:





Mo, seriously, looking very much forward to it.

[Joesson]

Maybe the book will have sub titles!

[Joesson]

Maybe user error or a Glitch in the new system but I managed for the first time in a long time to double post!

[Joesson]

[/quote]

Like the A40 was weighed down by luxury 
Still; a perfect example of adding lightness to even this spartan car.
Wood btw has a density of say 0.5 whereas steel is roughly 16 times that, and even plastic is around 1.0 so makes sense no, to use wood 
Ahhhhhh..... if only we could use aerogel....

For those, like me, that are not aware of what Aerogel is, this link should help:

https://www.aerogel.org/

[Petrus]

I've got belt pads on mine also which stop the belt retracting fully,

btw. one of those many things we think normal that are actually prohibited.
Every now and then a copper reads that it is not permitted to put anything on the seat belt nor put anything between the belt and shoulder other than clothing worn and uses this knowledge to boost his fine rate and annoy car drivers.

A friend was fined 150€ and we looked it up. I was .... baffled that this ubiquitous product is actually proibited!

[shnazzle]

How To for floor mats moved to How To section. 

Thanks @Petrus for typing it up!

[Petrus]

Please share a photo of your floor in this thread if you decide to go naked 

[StuC]

@Petrus nice write up for the how to mate.

Thanks.

Lol @ naked