I want to get a silver/aluminum dash kit for my car, my options are a) getting the Mazda "performance" kit or b) getting an aftermarket one such as this one dash kit. what do you think?

To those whose cars came with the aluminum kit, does it look good? what parts does it cover? I've seen it in some your pics but never in person.

thanx

 

I think the mazda kit looks good. It covers the stereo surround, door levers, and the panels where the window switches are in the front. Then it has fake carbon fiber on eash side of the stereo surround. In the p5 the cup holders and shifter surround are silver.

If I were you I wouldn't buy anything. Paint it yourself. A lot of people on the board have done it and say it looks great. Plus painting it would be a lot cheaper and you get to pick the color.

Somebody posted a pic of their gauge surround painted blue. I think that looks really nice. I am thinking about doing that and painting all the silver blue. I wish I had a laser blue car but I don't think it would look that bad with a silver car.

 

The reason I'm hesitant about painting it's because I don't know how itll look a few years from now, what if starts to chip? also, it's probably very easy to get it scratched. Paint and interior don't mix IMO, unless it's like a show car or something like that.

Does anyone know if the kit that mazda sells also includes the part around the shifter and the cup holder lid?

 

anyone?

 

I don't know for sure but probably. It is a whole Dash Kit that replaces most of the removable dash trim. If it is not part of the kit you could just order it separately.

If you do the job right and use some clear coats, scratching would not be a problem. You could also look into some of that 3M industrial clear tape. It is like a film that you could stretch over the trim pieces before you install them. That would prevent dings and scratches in the paint. Check an industrial supply store and talk to them about it. I know they make some type of film for the front end too. Some kind of clear bra...