Bird Arrmrest Installation in 996's

I'm considering installing a Bird Armrest in my vehicle & I would like to know of other's experiences in this regard. I am primarily interested in: 1. Ease of installation. 2. Does height match door armrest height? 3. Is the armrest comfortable to use? 4. Does overall look integrate well with 996 interior? 5. Do you like & recommend this item? <a href="http://www.birdautomotive.com/996.htm" target="_blank">http://www.birdautomotive.com/996.htm</a> Thanks, Richard <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

Both hands on the wheel. Both hands on the wheel, 9 and 3 <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" /> Heh-heh, wasn't much help, was I?

I put one in a few weeks ago and I love it. I have the nav system, so no cup holders were in my beast. I was tired of my wife calling me coffee crotch. I drove from Minneapolis to Seattle w/no cup holder(21 hours)!! 1. Ease of installation. Install is fairly straight foreward. They claim it can be installed in an hour. It took me about four, most of this time was spent on adjusting the top piece to line up w/the magnetic catch properly. They have you do this early in the install process which is a waste of time because once you get the thing in everything is tweaked, so don't really worry about adjusting the top until it's in. 2. Does height match door armrest height? It's an inch and a half to two inches higher then the door armrests. 3. Is the armrest comfortable to use? It's very comfy. I bought it mainly for the cup holder, but the armrest is the thing I enjoy most about it. 4. Does overall look integrate well with 996 interior? Yes, I think it looks better then stock. The leather is very high quality and matches perfectly (savanna beige in mine). In my cabrio the height matches the height of the "hump" in between the two back seats. I'm not sure if this is different in the coupe. 5. Do you like & recommend this item? Yes, just keep in mind the install is not as easy as they say it is. But then again look at my side marker post. Bird got screwed in the '02s because they come w/decent cup holders. I think they'll be more opened to dropping the price a bit. I got mine directly from Bird for $50.00 less then what Performance Products wanted for it.

Well, I just called Sam Bird and ordered a Metropol Blue armrest w/cupholder for my 02 Cab. He and his partner could install in 1 hour, but did admit it would take "a few hours" There's like 40 someodd pieces to this assembly, but after looking at the pics you posted and talking with him it will be functional and look great. Shipping in a week....will keep you posted.

Something to consider. Last year when I was thinking about getting one of these puppies someone on another board said that when shifting into 2nd or 4th or even 6th, his elbow would hit the Bird armrest. Any of you with this armrest have this problem? For $400+ I don't wanna get something that will prevent a clean shift...

Never thought to check, but mine's a TipS so it wouldn't matter...but it's a good point, tho.

[quote]Originally posted by Carrera Rod: [QB]when shifting into 2nd or 4th or even 6th, his elbow would hit the Bird armrest. /QB]<hr></blockquote> Not a problem for me, but I'm 5'10". I took a look and I could see if you were 6' 2" or or had long arms it could be an issue.

How about the cupholder? Doesn't it just rest over thge hand brake? I would think you have to reach newxt/behind you to get and put back your cup? I was thinking about getting one but I ended up just putting a case logic case for $14 inb fronbt of the passenger seat which works great! i can reach it easily (large Dunkin' Donuts coffee mug)and IF it did ever spill (which it doesn't even with spirted driving) it would just spill on the floor mat!

The armrest does look pretty good. So good, I actually put an order in. Thanks to carrerarod, I checked, an unfortunately I'm pretty sure my elbow will hit the armrest on shifting. Had just enough time to cancel the order.

Your Welcome Palting. I had almost ordered one about 2+ years ago for my Boxster but someone with the same height/build as I told me to be careful. That he had to shift with his elbow tilted higher than usual. I would love to add the armrest to my car but I am about 6 foot and I like to drive with the seat reclined way back (like a lowrider) so I know for sure I would hit the armrest. Oh well.... Rodney

Does the alarm still work? I have heard that with this arm rest in, you get the chirp from the alarm system indicating a fault.

[quote]Originally posted by STRSHP: <strong>Does the alarm still work? I have heard that with this arm rest in, you get the chirp from the alarm system indicating a fault.</strong><hr></blockquote> If it's installed right this shouldn't happen. They give you a rubber piece to put in place of the orginal clasp to disable the alarm. You do lose that sensor though. If your Bird arm rest is open the alarm won't know.

The installation included instructions to place a small rubber washer/plug, maybe 3/8" X 3/8" X 1X4". This was to be placed on top of the alarm switch and is descibed in step 18 of the Bird install instructions. You can always pull the console with the arm-rest intact and unplug the wire that goes to the switch. I discovered this when I pulled my console to install my B&M shifter. I left the console out for a day to make sure the shifter was working properly and was able to alarm my car with the switch unpluged and I did not get a chirp indicating a fault.

Here's a pic of it installed in mine:

I have installed a Bird unit with cup holder. The installation was a piece of cake. Everything fit very well and it looks great. It is a little cumbersome getting into the compartment but that was true with the original issue. I installed the unit and took off on a trip from Illinois to Florida the next day. I was very glad to have the cup holder and extra storage space. I have a B & M Short Shifter. Without the Short Shifter I might have had a problem with my elbow hitting the Bird unit. All-in-all I'm very satified.