ASH8

Me too..
I am just waiting for mine to go...it is over $700 here in Australia we have RHD which is different (of course).

Sphere

Mines been cracking too, and I just received a 5'x10' roll of CF wrap for $33. I had considered wrapping the dash but as has been stated, I would be extremely worried about the airbags not deploying properly. There's a reason the cracks are in the same spot on everyone's dash, and that's the preferations. I think covering your dash with any kind of vinyl or wrap would severely hinder the bags deploying.

stickyRice

Well, there's no question about that video scaring the crap out of me... But I still wonder about this. It has the explosive power to blow a watermelon apart (and maybe my head?), then would a few microns of vinyl matter at all? Real carbon fiber is one thing, and even leather, but vinyl is so very weak. I wonder if the leather, with perforations, could be stronger than plain vinyl? I'm afraid there is probably no way to know for sure. And in the mean time, I'm very hesitant to cover it with anything, or pay the $400 for a new one...

OtherSyde

Here's my result. Not perfect, but also not bad-looking at all, and a million times better than my starting point, since the "H" shaped crack had sprouted many little cracks branching out from the ends of each line in the H shape like spider-cracks in glass. It really looked sh!tty. This vinyl is pretty thin and weak, not to mention already stretched to fit snugly on the shape of the dash, so I doubt it would hinder an airbag.

Sorry for potato quality, I shot the pics with my phone the other day when I got home.
.

coop2003

Just wanted say thanks for this thread...i was able to purchase passenger side( a 2009 model) for $200 from Ebay. I was able to do this in 20mins on my 06 RX8.

UHATEIT

This looks great! You did a really good job wrapping around that thin area by the vent. Do you have a link to the vinyl you used for this? it's definitely not the CF vinyl sticker type stuff. What did you use to stick this down? Did you end up going other areas of the dash as well with this stuff?

ASH8

Interesting...and please don't get the wrong idea, I am not criticising you, but what happens in the event of a frontal car crash and a passenger sitting next to you?, does the Air Bag deploy?, what are the legal liabilities if it does not and there is a fatality?.

UHATEIT

As a result of the scam thread I lost the $ I gave to a seller for the airbag cover. So I'll be trying to see what I can do as far as wrapping mine.

I like the CF vinyl wrap, and there is a difference in the sticky backed 3m thin vinyl as compared to actual fake leather vinyl which is obviously thicker. Maybe thats where the confusion is when people are talking about "wrapping" as the sticker vinyl should rip as it is thin, but fake leather vinyl is thicker and probably would not tear during an airbag pop

stickyRice

What scam thread?

For what it's worth: I wrapped mine with some leftover 3M matte black I used to wrap the car. It didn't look terrible, but it also didn't look "correct". My feeling is that since it's so thin it wouldn't affect the airbag deployment, but there's always that nagging in my mind, especially when my daughter is sitting there. So, I ended up buying a used but unripped one off ebay (I gave up!). I felt like I got fairly ripped off paying $225 for it, but at least my dash isn't messed up anymore...

And, yeah, that fabric-backed vinyl you can buy at fabric stores would almost certainly affect the airbag deployment (I'm guessing. Please don't ask me for slow-motion video evidence, or any other evidence to back up my hunch). This was the first solution I tried, and also the best-looking one. But I felt so weird about the airbag deployment thing, that I pulled it all off -- and getting all that adhesive off was a huge PITA!

UHATEIT

This was the scam thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-s...-miles-258618/

Seller got banned for trying to sell crap and never sending anything to anyone. I had paid him for the passenger side airbag cover shipped but he never sent it

Totally sucked because he was charging $100 for the cover shipped, which was a good deal, which is why I bought it! Ido agree everyone seems to be charging up the *** for those covers because they are in high demand and cost a lot new. So the best option for me now is to try some sort of wrap for it as I don't feel like spending $200+ for the cover.

Danmn858

iTrader: (10)

Going to be taking mine apart this weekend to wrap in suede!

ShellDude

iTrader: (12)

I'm assuming you simply didn't bother reattaching the airbag...

Real CF is REAL nice... but man, those CF strands / braids will make it next to impossible for the airbag to deploy... you may setup for a quite nifty explosion.

UHATEIT

What's about a typical price for an upholstery shop to wrap in the CF vinyl (actual vinyl not the 3m sticker vinyl)

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

I'm sensing a disconnect here ...

UHATEIT

My airbag is torn from the heat. So I bought a new replacement off another forum member. But it happened to be a scam and the seller never shipped anything and took the money so no one got their parts. So I'm back to my other option which is recovering it with vinyl instead since everyone else that is selling their covers wants more than I'd like to pay for one. So I'm interested in a price on a recover from what others have paid for a shop to recover.

I'm most certainly not confused. Perhaps you are?

Paracleet

How do you unbolt the airbag?

Paracleet

How do you unbolt the airbag?

FunRun8

iTrader: (5)

With the 4 nuts pictured in the picture presumably.

https://www.rx8club.com/attachments/...g-%24150-5.jpg

mazdamedic

Replaced my airbag door in about 30 minutes and I took my time. This was not a hard repair and the door can be found now for under $300 if you're patient, do your web searches and wait for promo codes to come around. My PITA eye sore is now beautiful.

I replaced my shift boot while I was at it, since mine had cracked so bad there were multiple holes in it. Now, what do you all use to keep these things from cracking? Armor-all is clearly a no-no, but what do you all recommend?

jcisbell@gmail.com

Obviously, your solution is the least expensive - always my first choice. Did you ever get any kind of supporting evidence that the air bag can safely deploy through your vinyl? I've been lucky that my '04 lives in CA and just started cracking. So I'm looking for the best dyi and yours seems like the one.

novelwriter333

Hi,

No, I haven't seen anything about deployment of the airbag being affected by the vinyl. But with the force the bag deploys, this thin piece of cosmetic vinyl provides no more resistance than tissue paper. Its also pliable and doesn't have any sharp edges. I'm not worried in the least bit, and the covering looks much better than the crack.

OtherSyde

FYI, mine isn't the "real" CF vinyl, it's the super-cheap 3M sticker vinyl from ebay - I doubt it would stand up at all to the force of a deploying airbag.

jcisbell@gmail.com

Thanks. Sometimes I have to be told something more than once I guess . I WAS thinking of a tougher vinyl but I had just started thinking you must mean a thinner material when I saw your post.

Thanks!