I received my door panels a couple days ago from the Fiero Store, and I have to say I am impressed with the sturdiness of them. The Fiero Store had donated a set for the Daytona Show to be raffled away, but in all the chaos of the show, I did not really get a good chance to look them over or review them. The panels are made of what appears to be a solid ABS plastic, and are quite thick, and do not bend at all, just the way you would want them to be, nice and solid!
I am eventually going to upholster the door panels, but wanted to test fit everything before doing so. I personally think these panels will look much better when upholstered / carpeted, rather than painted.... more on that in later in the review.
I have a set of Polk Audio speakers that I bought quite a few years ago to go in my Eclipse, before I totaled it. When I was looking at the Fiero Store panels, I remembered I had those speakers, and dug them out of the back of the closet, thinking I had a fat chance of them being the right size. Low and behold, they are 6.5" speakers. Next, I thought they still will probably not work, as the panels require a shallow mount speaker, 2" depth. Again, I was shocked to find that the speakers I had, once again, were the correct size!
Anyhow, here is a look at the back of the panel, with the "Christmas Tree" fasteners in place. They are supplied with the panels. . .
Next, I used the speaker itself as a guide to mark where the holes needed to be drilled. I then drilled them out, and placed the metal clips over the holes for the screws to seat into. Just lining everything up and getting it ready to mount the speaker. . .
Next, I put the speaker and the grill in place and used the screws to secure everything. . .
Next, I put the door panel in the door, and everything fit into place easily. The panel lines up perfectly around the door, and all the clips pushed in easily. Placing the arm rest and door handle / lock mechanism lined up and installed easily as well. . .
Now that the door panel was in place, everything seemed to line up perfectly, and looked well. All except for the end of the panel where the door opens. The mount for the "Christmas Tree" fastener at the bottom of the panel, hits the door, and creates a gap at the end of the door between the panel and the door. As mentioned above, I am going to upholster the panels, so this should cover this gap in my case. If I were to paint the panels, I can see no way to hide that gap. To be fair, if the original Fiero door panels were not upholstered, there would probably be a gap there as well. . .
Lastly, towards the top of the panel, where it is shaped to go around that curvature in the door, the panel does not follow the lines there perfectly. You can see what I am talking about in this photo:
Again, when the door is upholstered, with the padding and all, this will most certainly cover that as well. It really is not that big of a deal, and barely noticeable.
Overall I am very happy with the thickness, quality, and fitment of the panels. This is a great item that fixes a known problem with the Fiero, where to put decent speakers! Kudos to the Fiero Store for making these available!
I will post more pictures here when I get the panels upholstered and completed.
These are the speakers that I used in my Door Panels, for $57.00. It is uncanny how the speaker grills are almost the same exact look as the Scion TC wheels I have installed on my car.....
Feel free to give me a + if you found this useful.
Ok, I got the door panels back from the upholsterer today. They came out great!
Before I get into the pictures, I have one word of advice. Do NOT use the fasteners that the Fiero Store includes with the door panels. They will frustrate you beyond belief! The are not like the OEM ones that you push in, and turn a quarter turn to lock into place. They have a very thin disk, that "rotates into place" and is a royal pain to attach them to the door panel. If you do use them, and manage to get them into the door panels, pray you never have to remove the panels ever again! They pull free from the door panel with very little force, however they take extreme measures to remove from the doors!
Here is a photo of the ones provided from the Fiero Store, compared to ones I purchased at NAPA Auto Parts:
After I put the panel in place, I had to make some adjustments, and when I removed the panel, just about all of the Fiero Store fasteners remained in the door. I had to use vice grips to remove them! Some held so tightly that it ripped the head off of the fastener, and still refused to come out!
Here are the ones I purchased from NAPA. They are like $5 a pack, and contain 9 fasteners, enough for one door. 2 packs will do it. DO NOT go to Autozone or Advanced Auto if you can avoid it. They only stock 2 packs in the store, the packs contain only 3 fasteners, and they are $5 per pack.
Ok, now onto the upholstered door panels. I went with black micro-suade for the top, and the electric blue on the bottom to match my seats:
He did a bit of nice stitch work to prevent a pleat around the speaker housing:
Here is the speaker, baffle and all hardware ready to attach:
Speaker mounted and installed into the door panel:
Here is an angle from inside the car. He matched the color of the seats perfectly!
Lastly, here is a close up of the panel on the door. I still need to add the caps and hardware to cover the screws.
I am very satisfied with the construction and the fitment of the panels. If you are looking for a nice place to put a couple speakers, you can not go wrong with these door panels in my opinion.
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 10-16-2014).]
Now that the door panel was in place, everything seemed to line up perfectly, and looked well. All except for the end of the panel where the door opens. The mount for the "Christmas Tree" fastener at the bottom of the panel, hits the door, and creates a gap at the end of the door between the panel and the door. . .
Are you sure it's the mount and not the christmas tree fastener itself that is creating the gap?
I can't find the reference right now but I am certain that one of the trees on one of the bottom corners is supposed to be clipped a bit shorter to make it clear the inner mechanism and fit flush against the door.
Are you sure it's the mount and not the Christmas tree fastener itself that is creating the gap?
When I read that, you had me wondering, and I was not sure. I just went out to the car, and looked. It still appeared that the mount was the problem, but to be 100% certain, I pulled the fastener out of the door panel. When I press on the panel, with the fastener removed, I pushed it tight against the door, there is still a 1/2" gap, so it for certain is the mount, and not the fastener.
Here is a photo with the fastener removed, and me pushing on the panel to hold it against the door:
Actually, the mount is like all the others, and probably is not the problem. It seems more like the end of the panel itself was trimmed a bit short. If the panel had another 1/2" added to the lip, it would fit flush up against the door.
This may be a problem with how it is trimmed when taking it out of the press / mold that they are manufactured in. If this is the case, it could vary a small bit form panel to panel. When I put the panel on the passenger door, I will compare that fit to the drivers door.
Again, it is really not that big of a deal. The panel fits perfectly around the rest of the door, lines up with the metal track at the top, the arm rest goes into the recess exactly as it should, the speaker pod works perfectly for the speakers that I have, and every mount hole, and screw hole line up perfectly. I really am happy with it, but wanted to show the imperfections along with the good stuff
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 10-09-2014).]
I'm disappointed that the lower half doesn't follow the curved contour of the door shell and leaves that gap. It's great the Fierostore offers new parts for us to refurb our cars so I don't want to be to brash and complain too much, but it's disappointing none-the-less. I don't think anyone but a few of us Fiero owners would notice it even..
Love the speaker choice! I installed the same speakers in my Grand Prix GTP and they sound amazing, but I did have to add some foam baffles to them like these: http://www.crutchfield.com/...les-3-1-4-depth.html
[This message has been edited by Steel (edited 10-09-2014).]
Are these parts supposed to be covered in vinyl/carpet? If so, that would take care of that issue of the gap.
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Originally posted by JohnWPB:
Again, when the door is upholstered, with the padding and all, this will most certainly cover that as well. It really is not that big of a deal, and barely noticeable.
Originally posted by Steel: Love the speaker choice! I installed the same speakers in my Grand Prix GTP and they sound amazing, but I did have to add some foam baffles to them like these: http://www.crutchfield.com/...les-3-1-4-depth.html
Thanks for the tip! I was wondering as I installed them about just firing freely with no restriction behind them. This is perfect! I just ordered the pair you linked. This should make a big difference in the sound, and only $8 shipped to boot! Perfect!
I just talked to Jason at the Fiero Store. He was telling me that during testing, they had the door panel fit flush, and when they were upholstered or carpeted, the fasteners did not hold the panels on well. The decided to leave a small gap to allow for upholstery. He is going to check their test car, and see however if anything does need corrected. He said after they look into everything, he will probably post in this thread letting us know what they came up with.
Now, something TOTALLY off topic. While I was on hold for Jason, they had this song that was very very catchy playing. When he came back to the phone, I mentioned it, and he said they have been getting a LOT of comments on it this week.. It is a bit strange, but uniquely interesting in the fact that you want to keep listening to it. I was able to find a Youtube of it.... you be the judge
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 10-09-2014).]
Lol ! I guess it depends on how long your on hold, might get old after three min. Them door panels look very tempting.Let us know how the speakers sound when your hooked up.
Oh, and a little "insider information" Rumor is that they will soon be offering door panels without the speaker mount area So many people in various threads said they would order them, if they did not have the speaker mount. Let's see, in true Fiero fashion, just how many actually order them now that they will be available
I dropped the door panels off at a local upholsterer today. He said they will be ready to pick up Tuesday. I am having the top of the doors done in black micro suede, the same as my headliner, and the bottoms done in 'electric blue' vinyl to match the Mr. Mike's seats.
Here they are, along with the black micro suede that I gave him, and the old door panel to use to match the color with:
Cant wait to see the results. Im working on getting a set as well depending on how this turns out. The Fiero store is working on getting me better shipping that what was listed on their ebay add.
Well, they were supposed to be done today. When I called, he said he got the material late in the day, and will have them done, and will call me tomorrow. I am really anxious to see how they turned out.
Ok, I picked up the door panels today, and they came out great! Scroll back up to the second post in this thread to see the pictures and some info on installing them.
A quick note on the included clips: John is correct in saying that the clips we provide are very difficult to remove. This is why we include an installation note recommending that you enlarge the hole to 7mm. On our test car, we used a 7.14mm (9/32") drill bit, which makes removal easier. Our test panels have been removed countless times without damage to the clips. It is also important to note that we did not use the OEM style clip because we found that the collar on that clip can cause the door panel to stick out from the door shell further than some might desire. Depending on your preference, you can use either clip.
Speaking of the gap between the door panel and the door shell, we should reiterate that the gap was designed intentionally for anyone who might want to wrap the panels in carpet/vinyl/etc... The pads that the door panel retainers fit into get hand ground after the panel comes from the mold. As with anything done by hand, there will be variances in the height of these pads. For those not wrapping the panels, you can reduce the gap by filing/grinding the pads to allow the panels to fit closer to the door.
Mass producing a custom product to fit everyone's tastes is difficult, but it has been a very enjoyable project and we think we have created panels that will meet most needs. Some minor fitting work should make it just about perfect for most (unless you just don't like the design). We are grateful that we found a vendor who can work with us on these kinds of projects, which opens up a world of opportunity for future parts.
Originally posted by FieroStore: A quick note on the included clips: John is correct in saying that the clips we provide are very difficult to remove. This is why we include an installation note recommending that you enlarge the hole to 7mm. On our test car, we used a 7.14mm (9/32") drill bit, which makes removal easier. Our test panels have been removed countless times without damage to the clips. It is also important to note that we did not use the OEM style clip because we found that the collar on that clip can cause the door panel to stick out from the door shell further than some might desire. Depending on your preference, you can use either clip.
LOL, typical me, I never read the directions :P Anyhow, I personally would rather use the OEM clips, than have to alter the door by drilling it out. I found that it is not the collar of the OEM clips that is preventing the panel from seating flush as it should, but the panel itself, at least in my case.
quote
Originally posted by FieroStore: Speaking of the gap between the door panel and the door shell, we should reiterate that the gap was designed intentionally for anyone who might want to wrap the panels in carpet/vinyl/etc... The pads that the door panel retainers fit into get hand ground after the panel comes from the mold. As with anything done by hand, there will be variances in the height of these pads. For those not wrapping the panels, you can reduce the gap by filing/grinding the pads to allow the panels to fit closer to the door.
If the lip of the door panel would just extend a 1/4 further, there would be no gap. That is the glory of the Christmas tree type fasteners, they allow a good 1/4 inch to 3/4 inch variance in the door panel. You just push the fastener until the panel is snug against the door, and it will hold it in that position. If you could get the factory to leave just a little more lip on the panel, in the lower back edge, I am sure that would solve the problemm no matter what fasteners were used. Heck, even it it were a tiny bit too much of a lip left on the panel, it can be trimmed. When it comes up short, nothing can really be done.
I just had the door panels upholstered, and unfortunately the gap is still there. Typically upholstery is of course padded, but usually not around the edges. Thus the vinyl is just a couple 16ths of an inch thick at the edge, and the gap is almost a half inch.
quote
Originally posted by FieroStore: Mass producing a custom product to fit everyone's tastes is difficult, but it has been a very enjoyable project and we think we have created panels that will meet most needs. Some minor fitting work should make it just about perfect for most (unless you just don't like the design). We are grateful that we found a vendor who can work with us on these kinds of projects, which opens up a world of opportunity for future parts.
Again, the things I have mentioned in this post are very minor, compared to the benefit of the panels. As you can see from my pictures above, the construction and fitment of the panels is very very good. Unless you knelt down next to my door, and got up really close, and specifically looked for any gap, you would never see one. I would 100% purchase the panels again.
BTW, if anyone reading this thread is going to use these door panels, and a little thicker speaker, I have a pair of spacers available. They will give you another 1/4" or so in clearance. They also have a foam gasket that will cut down on any vibrations. If someone wants them, drop me an email, and I will gladly give them to someone, as I did not need them.
Originally posted by JohnWPB: Oh, and a little "insider information" Rumor is that they will soon be offering door panels without the speaker mount area So many people in various threads said they would order them, if they did not have the speaker mount. Let's see, in true Fiero fashion, just how many actually order them now that they will be available
This rumor is now reality. Door panels without speaker mounts have arrived! Price is the same at $199.95/pair. We currently have about a dozen pairs in stock. If these sell quickly, we will certainly consider making more. Save 10% on these and all of our other parts during our 1-day sale this Wednesday (1/28/15).
I much prefer the Muppet Show version with the Snowths and the original Mahna Manha (the muppets' name...the Sesame Street character (from your video) was Bip Bippalotta or something close).
