elysium19

iTrader: (1)

Of the 4 people I know with this car, half of them had problems with the aluminum "rx-8" trim plates on the door sills coming off. Some discussion of the problem can be found here:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...2&page=1&pp=15
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ight=door+sill

After 20k miles, mine started to become detached. They are attached with a black adhesive that is very strong. I looked at them up close and noticed WHY they are coming off: the plates are SLIGHTLY too long for the indentation in the plastic door sill!!! They don't fit lengthwise so they bend upwards, are no longer flush with the door, and therefore get nudged every time you close the door. No wonder they fall off frequently!

So, before mine came off any further, I decided to get proactive and fix the problem. If you let it get more and more detached, one day you will just graze it with the door or your foot and it will get bent, and you will be unable to fix it. I filed down the ends, just a millimeter or so on each end, and now they fit perfectly.

(For each of these steps, see the attached pictures.)

First, remove the old plate. A putty knife is ideal. If you don't have that, use fishing line, just slip it underneath the plate and work it along the length.

Clean both the door and the underside of the plate well. Use a chisel to get the remainder of the adhesive off the door (don't worry about scuffing the plastic, it wil be covered by the plate anyway. It's very tough and sticky, and took me about 10 minutes per side to do. Get off all the remaining adhesive, and clean both the door and the plate with some type of kitchen cleaner, or something equally strong as a degreaser. Anyway, clean them well.

Next, get a strong metal file and find a good place where you can support the relatively flimsy aluminum plate. A table or other 90-degree edge is ideal. Gently file away BOTH ends, and round the sides. See picture #2 for a before-and-after comparison to see what I mean. It should end up perhaps 2 millimeters away from where the flat border bends up.

Get double-sided tape. I got some in an auto parts store, it's probably better than what you'll find in a stationary store or something. Also, make sure it is relatively THIN. 3M and other brands make double-sided mounting tape, but it is fairly thick, so try to avoid that. The whole point of this is to minimize the height of the plate. Lay a strip of it on the door, and trim it to the right length using a razor blade.

Firmly put the plate in place. Insert it down FLAT, not "one side than the other", so that it remains flat and flush with the door. That was the goal in the first place. Rub it firmly to set the tape as securely as possible.

Uhhhhhh. Thats it. Let me know if this helps.

-Andrew

elysium19

iTrader: (1)

I should have mentioned...one might ask: WHY are the aluminum plates too long? I really don't know, but it looks like a definite design flaw. Not a huge one, because it's clearly happening to a fair number of people but not all of them, but it's more than just an occationall defective plate or something...

Ryan X-8

Awesome man.. Looks worth a try.