Center console/armrest delete

[shawn36]

The stock stereo on my 2016 FiST was plagued by electrical noise and distorting tweeters (b/c of resonating door panels), so I deleted it and installed an Alpine deck in the glovebox, a 4-channel amp under the passenger seat, a 1-channel amp under the driver's seat, and a 10-inch subwoofer in the hatch. In the process, I decided to delete the center console/armrest. I did this to make wiring easier -- the amps ground to the chassis in the area vacated by the center console -- but also to remove wiring and other bits I deem unnecessary.

Removing the console is fairly easy, as it is only affixed by two bolts and two screws, though you have to pull off the dash trim over the HVAC controls and remove the plastic housing surrounding the gear shift. For details, Boomba Racing has an install video for a product that requires removing the console here (removal starts 50 seconds in).

Inside the console is a wire loom containing (1) usb wiring; (2) wiring for the 12 v "cigarette" lighters; and (3) the ambient light module and associated wiring. I unloomed everything and deleted (1) and (3).

I covered the gap between the front seats where the console lived with old floor mats that I cut to shape. Since the mats are very stiff, I was able to glue together a sort of two-sided wall to cover some of the bare metal of the emergency brake. I then affixed two nuts onto existing threaded posts to hold the material in place.

Here are some photos.



This is the majority of what gets deleted, including the usb wiring and the ambient light module and wiring.



This is the cover I glued together out of old car mats.



Top view of cover in place.



Secondary view of cover in place.



Top view of console delete area without cover.



Secondary view of console delete area without cover.



Detail view of console delete area without cover.



1-channel amp under driver's seat.



4-channel amp under passenger's seat.

 

[Nitelife]

Curious to see the glove box mounted head unit if you have pictures. How do you like that small Alpine 4-channel amplifier? I ran across them when doing some build research.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I had one of those Alpine KTP-445A 'in-line' amps in my Z28 hooked up to a mid upper level Alpine HU (forgot the model number), and the sound was VERY good playing through just Focal 6.5" co-axials up front, and Alpine 6.5" co-axes in the sail panel.

Decent clean power for very little wiring/weight!

 

[M-Sport fan]

The stock stereo on my 2016 FiST was plagued by electrical noise and distorting tweeters (b/c of resonating door panels), so I deleted it and installed an Alpine deck in the glovebox, a 4-channel amp under the passenger seat, a 1-channel amp under the driver's seat, and a 10-inch subwoofer in the hatch. In the process, I decided to delete the center console/armrest. I did this to make wiring easier -- the amps ground to the chassis in the area vacated by the center console -- but also to remove wiring and other bits I deem unnecessary.

Removing the console is fairly easy, as it is only affixed by two bolts and two screws, though you have to pull off the dash trim over the HVAC controls and remove the plastic housing surrounding the gear shift. Inside the console is a wire loom containing (1) usb wiring; (2) wiring for the 12 v "cigarette" lighters; and (3) the ambient light module and associated wiring. I unloomed everything and deleted (1) and (3).

Just curious; did you happen to weigh everything you removed?

 

[shawn36]

Curious to see the glove box mounted head unit if you have pictures. How do you like that small Alpine 4-channel amplifier? I ran across them when doing some build research.

The Alpine deck in the glovebox is pictured below. I had to cut away some of the glovebox lip around the deck, as well as cut a 2" x 2" (or so) hole in the back to run the RCAs. The USB out isn't usable b/c it's on the front of the deck.

I like the Alpine KTP-445U amp just fine. It's 45 watts RMS x 4 channels -- whereas the deck is 18 watts RMS x 4 channels -- and it's loud enough, especially since the sub has its own amp. And it's small enough that it fits under seats w/o blocking the air vents.

 

[shawn36]

Just curious; did you happen to weigh everything you removed?

Everything in the photo + a couple brackets that I also removed weighed about 10 lbs. The console is just a big, boat-shaped piece of plastic, so while you free up space in the cabin -- at the cost of losing cup holders, usb ports, and ambient lighting -- you don't lose that much weight.

 

[FLORIDAST]

As long as it works for you but it looks like you destroyed the interior. Is that a hole in the side of your driver's seat?

 

[Truth in Ruin]

As long as it works for you but it looks like you destroyed the interior. Is that a hole in the side of your driver's seat?

It looks like he removed the lumbar support.

 

[FLORIDAST]

It looks like he removed the lumbar support.

Interesting.

 

[shawn36]

It looks like he removed the lumbar support.

The missing lumbar support lever on the driver's seat is the result of my rebolstering that seat, which -- in my unskilled, non-upholsterer hands -- involved hacking and cutting to add more structure for the foam to cover; the lumbar lever was a casualty. The seat still has lumbar support, but it's no longer adjustable. (Well, it's adjustable if you remove the seat and the fabric cover and adjust by pulling on the lumbar cable with pliers.)

If anyone has suggestions or recommendations for covering the hole -- are iron-on patches still a thing? -- I'd love to hear them. I still have the lever and I have tried to get it to stick to the side of the seat with heavy-duty double-sided tape and some other things, but the backside of the lever isn't a smooth surface, so adhesives don't grab on sufficiently.

I'd really like a Recaro driver's seat, but so would a lot of people, and they're really hard to find. I installed an NRG RSC-400 Series Racing Seat with a Planted Technology SB146DR - Driver Side Seat Bracket, but it was so low that I couldn't see over the dash. And the prospect of raising it up with spacers (or something along those lines) didn't appeal to me.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I installed an NRG RSC-400 Series Racing Seat with a Planted Technology SB146DR - Driver Side Seat Bracket, but it was so low that I couldn't see over the dash. And the prospect of raising it up with spacers (or something along those lines) didn't appeal to me.

When you had this NRG seat installed, were there ANY other problems with it besides the height issue (quality, comfort, 'flimsiness', support, etc.)?
Did the factory 3 point belts work fine with it?

I was going to get these seats for my Z28 when I still had it, to replace the over-priced, P.O.S. quality, Recaro SPD which I had on the driver's side, but never got around to it before selling the car.

 

[shawn36]

When you had this NRG seat installed, were there ANY other problems with it besides the height issue (quality, comfort, 'flimsiness', support, etc.)?
Did the factory 3 point belts work fine with it?

The factory 3 point belts worked fine with the NRG seat, though, if I remember correctly, the receiving end of the buckle attaches to the seat bracket, not the seat. The seat fits in the FiST, even with the center console, though it's wider, especially at the shoulders. I don't have much experience with racing seats, and I didn't spend much time with the NRGs in my car b/c I couldn't see well enough to drive safely, so I'm not sure how much insight I have regarding comfort, etc. That said, the NRGs don't have nearly the padding of, e.g., the FiST Recaros, though it seems people find those pretty bulky, anyway. The padding felt a little thin -- which might be normal for race seats -- though the seats didn't seem cheap or poorly made. Just kind of spare.

 

[M-Sport fan]

The factory 3 point belts worked fine with the NRG seat, though, if I remember correctly, the receiving end of the buckle attaches to the seat bracket, not the seat. The seat fits in the FiST, even with the center console, though it's wider, especially at the shoulders. I don't have much experience with racing seats, and I didn't spend much time with the NRGs in my car b/c I couldn't see well enough to drive safely, so I'm not sure how much insight I have regarding comfort, etc. That said, the NRGs don't have nearly the padding of, e.g., the FiST Recaros, though it seems people find those pretty bulky, anyway. The padding felt a little thin -- which might be normal for race seats -- though the seats didn't seem cheap or poorly made. Just kind of spare.

OK, Thanks!

They are not really "racing" seats, just recliners which are shaped and padded similarly to, and weigh only a little more than actual one piece shell type racing seats, with a hard fiberglass composite shell backrest portion (what I like about them, and other seats like them, over the factory, separate headrest Recaros).

 

[DBLE]

Dumb question but how did you remove the entire lid off the center console? Is it just clipped in like the glovebox?

 

[Spaceman_Spiff]

View attachment 15514

This is the majority of what gets deleted, including the usb wiring and the ambient light module and wiring.

Question: What is the part at the bottom right of the pic? Looks like a tray of some sort with 2 buttons? I can't place it in my mind relative to my own car...

 

[shawn36]

Question: What is the part at the bottom right of the pic? Looks like a tray of some sort with 2 buttons?

That part is the back of the console, so, when attached, it is vertical. The button-looking things are two of the ambient lights that point downward and illuminate the cup-holder area for the rear passengers.

 

[shawn36]

Dumb question but how did you remove the entire lid off the center console? Is it just clipped in like the glovebox?

The lid has three parts: a top, a bottom, and a sort of metal tongue between the two that hinges to the body of the console. The top and bottom are removed with three torx bit screws. Removing the metal tongue/hinge requires pulling apart the console body.



Console lid: From left, the metal tongue/hinge, the bottom, and the top. I previously cut a hole in the lid (and added a computer desk-style cable guide) so I could run the usb cables out of the top of the console. That's why the top of the lid looks different than stock.

 

[Spaceman_Spiff]

Cool. You've got me thinking about removing mine now - I've been looking for a place to put some switches, and that could free up some room.

 

[shawn36]

Cool. You've got me thinking about removing mine now - I've been looking for a place to put some switches, and that could free up some room.

My experience was that it was easier to work on the console by taking it out of the car entirely, rather than pulling off pieces individually in the car. Once it's out of the car, you can pick it apart. Most of it is connected by clips that have varying degrees of compliance to being unclipped. It's a lot of prying with trim tools and tugging. Boomba Racing has an install video for a product that requires removing the console here, in case you are interested or that is helpful.

 

[DBLE]

The lid has three parts: a top, a bottom, and a sort of metal tongue between the two that hinges to the body of the console. The top and bottom are removed with three torx bit screws. Removing the metal tongue/hinge requires pulling apart the console body.

View attachment 15523

Console lid: From left, the metal tongue/hinge, the bottom, and the top. I previously cut a hole in the lid (and added a computer desk-style cable guide) so I could run the usb cables out of the top of the console. That's why the top of the lid looks different than stock.

Awesome, thank you for the info and pics.