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Which type of armrest is preferable for you?

  • no armrest (im not a pussy and ill be fine without one)

    Votes: 27 15.6%
  • Usable interior pocket underneath the arm rest

    Votes: 129 74.6%
  • just a place to rest my elbow no storage space needed

    Votes: 17 9.8%

GRanola GRC Aftermarket Armrest Available

44K views 395 replies 66 participants last post by  SXTH Element Engineering 
#1 · (Edited)
Hahaha it was coming, we all knew it was coming.
Anyway since I already started a future product idea thread and this has come up in EVERY SINGLE FACEBOOK POST!

it seems like something people would like to see.
I am in between 2 ideas:

1) Basic ass armrest with no storage underneath, just a place to rest your elbow when driving especially for long trips
2) Some kind of potentially 3D printed storage tray with an armrest on top, I have not gotten my car yet in order to scan everything and look at potential mounting locations but where there is a will theres a way.

I will try at all costs to avoid anyone needing to drill holes into anything. I also am shooting to keep it as similar to interior colors and such so that its not obvious its aftermarket.

ARMREST IS Live!

 
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#2 · (Edited)
I think it's important to be able to use the ports in the armrest area so I don't think a usable interior pocket is easily possible unless you sacrifice some space behind that armrest area. The armrest may end up too high as well.

Here's a picture from CatsLikeCatFood of the mounting spots that are possible.
 

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#4 ·
I could leave open access to the ports


That photo is immensely helpful, the options would be to leave those exposed as are for access and either run the armrest just over the area that is covered by the rubber pad which would leave it staggered slightly toward the passenger (I have long arms so for me thats not an issue) or run it up and staggered outwards towards the top. The reason I dont wanna cover the ports is because I like giving access to them to rear seat passengers.
 
#14 ·
Without seeing one in person I can’t really chime in but the issue I see is more the top panels and stuff. For the traction buttons, chin charging etc. it would involve way more excessively visible top panels vs something that takes less away from a purpose built interior center console
 
#16 ·
Here is a solution for GR Yaris owners. Pretty sure it works for the GRC, as both seats appear to be the same.
 
#17 ·
While I'm not sure I'll bother to install anything, I'm definitely curious to see what people come up with. All the mounting slots in the picture CatsLikeCatFood shared make it look like there will be plenty of options for snap-in designs.

To be quite honest, I think a fully 3D-printed one could work for testing/prototyping; it just might not be the most aesthetic and definitely not as strong as injection molded or metal-framed. But it might not realistically need to be either.

Interestingly there was a 3D-printed design mentioned in the thread shared by Tokyotexan, though its mounting system is quite different to fit the GR Yaris:
 
#18 · (Edited)
I'm liking the adapting an existing Corolla armrest to our top trim option.

We'll have to see how much slack there is in the console power port wiring. It should be relatively simple to provide at least rear-facing hole for the existing ports to stick out off in an armrest cubby. Failing that, many of the armrests come with USB built in that you could run extension cables to.

From the earlier pics of the existing console it looks like the rear fasteners sit high right under the black tray, so I don't think there's much space to enlarge the storage space down into the console. But maybe those same threads could be used to bolt down an after market armrest cubby if you drilled trough the black undertray.
 
#26 ·
@doktorjak idk what the dimensions are on your hk but unfortunately my Walter 9mm doesn’t quite fit even with the magazine removed. I could make some adjustments depending haha. Anyway. Did some test fit and have an already solid idea how I plan on mounting this and it’s nearly identical to other interior trims.
I might tweak the height but this is nearly perfect. Still allows access to both charging ports as well. I know some people were discussing running them up through the base but I haven’t decided yet.
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#31 ·
@doktorjak idk what the dimensions are on your hk but unfortunately my Walter 9mm doesn’t quite fit even with the magazine removed.
You’ve got another business opportunity then. Safariland or Blackhawk Kydex. We’d need an under drivers seat mount so we can mount the Kydex with the locking tab under the seat. With them seats there is no way you are gonna IWB imo. Under the seat is probably the only way.
 
#27 ·
Do you think you could find a wider console that fills the entire gap between the two seats, and is the same width as the center console below? My thought is that access to the charge port and USB port are kind of restricted by in your pics. But if the add-on console was the same width as the factory console, you could make the charge ports sit inside the bottom of the storage box, keeping things a little tidier. Just thinking out loud.
 
#29 ·
I understand where your head is going the only reason that I’m not sure about doing a wider one is because as soon as I have to extend the base plate, then I have to either put felt or some kind of trim on the bottom in order to stop it from scratching Toyota’s choice of piano black plastic 😑
 
#33 ·
Looked at mine today, the USB and DC sockets push through and the wire to them is long enough to route into the rear of an upper box or out the rear of the existing lower housing. I was interested in what a full depth storage box might be like, so I looked around underneath. Except for the parking brake cables close to the tunnel, the only thing under there looks to be what I assume is the center antenna for the keyless system, and the bolted in H brace that mounts the lower console housing to the tunnel. If one could fabricate a brace that mounted the lower housing by the sides, you could drop the bottom of your bin down 50-70mm lower. I've not yet seen any of the "universal" boxes wider than 150mm, our console is closer to 175 overall, or 160 at the inner trim step of the lower housing.
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#35 · (Edited)
I've only looked on ebay (Universal +Armrest/Console), and very few listings have dimensions, and there's a ton of duplicate listings. Not wild about the split top, but this one has a USB hub and seems to be one of the largest. ~$70
I think there's a version with 3 USB A ports and one with 4 more out the back if I'm not confused. Still searching for one I thought I saw that was 160 or 165mm wide. I'd probably eventually fit a bottom that dropped down into the empty space below, but for now I could just fab a mounting plate to replace the rear portion of the existing console cover.
Waiting to see what others come up with, or to see if there's a E210 OE swap from overseas, given that we all saw the pre-production cars with a storage area, or if we could hack up the version with out the handbrake to accommodate one, if it has a deeper storage well.
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#38 ·
Started working on the bracket, here’s a quick render. The front will maintain a little pocket for cards or a garage door opener or something.
Did you end up going full width or partial? IMO it would be worth the felt tape to go full width, the benefits being more room for passenger and driver elbows, more storage space, oem look (no random gap), and hidden charge ports + wires.

I’d definitely pick one of those up if you produced it. The narrow width seems sort of unfinished to me - a compromise.
 
#42 ·
Got the 3D printed base plate printed and test fit today and I have a successfully installed and functional arm rest!
trying to decide on final materials and a few small things before I potentially release it. I’m making an installation video and here are some photos.
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#50 · (Edited)
This is the quick, simple and removable solution. If you want a deeper larger storage bin there will be a bunch more work to replace the deck trim and console mount bracket, as well as relocate the power sockets.
 
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