Screwless Armrest For The New Ford Figo


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I know its a personal preference but few would disagree that an arm rest would provide that extra comfort while driving. I am definitely one of them and when I bought the next gen Figo automatic, this was one accessory I want to have in the car.

Looked around lot of videos, forums and threads and was convinced that it is possible to do it yourself. Though I had no idea what I would do if I did not want to drill holds into the center console, something kept telling me to go for the arm rest.

So, I decided to go for one of the universal arm rests, though I was not sure if that would fit the Figo's center console. Went for me de-facto online store Amazon and found this one economic and fitting my requirements well : Ascension Armb01 Universal Car Centre Console Hand Armrest (Black): Amazon.in: Car & Motorbike

It was 699 + shipping when I bought.

Total cost of the project :
Arm rest - Rs. 725
Super glue (2) - Rs. 20.
Double sided Adhesive (1m) - Rs. 10 (not 3M).
Nuts and bolts - Rs. 20 (the ones that came, while good, would not fit as the length would fall short because of the extra padding I have given).

Grand Total - Rs. 775.

Recommendation - Use a bit more super glue and 3M tape like this :
3M IA210135678 Acrylic Foam Tape (Grey with Red Liner): Amazon.in: Car & Motorbike

This is a 4m length tape. Though you will need just a part of it, you can use for other DIY since it is of good quality.

4113w9AUh5L.jpg

It came in good time and when I just wanted to have a look as to how it would fit, I was in for a small disappointment. The total width of the bracket was lesser than the console width, so it would not go around instead would sit on the console. Also the console itself is not a rectangle from top view. It starts with one width from the rear and then tapers out slightly as we move towards the gear lever.
This meant, I had a deficit of around 5 mm at the rear of the bracket to 10-13 mm at the front.

The below image should give you an idea.
drawing.png

One option was to go for a customized bracket but I was not for that idea as it would still mean that I have to drill holes which I was thinking of avoiding.

Now, the very problem became an advantage. The plan now was to use the extension supports as reinforcements and let the bracket sit on the console. So all I needed to do was to make sure a top force (which will be from our arms) will not unsettle the arm rest.

As a part of the plan, instead of screws or nuts, I decided to use double sided adhesive. Now you get a wide range of quality in these but the best ones are from 3M. Again, you have a wide range to select from but just go for the entry level one. I have used a local brand one but would strongly recommend 3M. In fact, I am going to add 3M ones to reinforce it further.

With that done, I was left with the issue of those deficits of 5 mm and 13 mm. So for that, I took the floor mats from my old Figo and used it as wrappers on the outside of the bracket. This helped in two ways, 1. Added that extra thickness 2. Gave a better look.
I gave a double layer just for the front part so that the total thickness would go close to 13 mm.

padding.jpg

Added adhesives to the bottom of the bracket.

with_adh_bottom.jpg

And to the side walls of the extension support, both of them. Forgot to mention a couple of things here. I had to cut a part of the extension support (the sharp ends) as that would help and had to drill extra set of holes in the brackets. This was required as otherwise the top of the extension support would block the seat belt lock. So adding extra set of holds, I was able to keep the support lower than usual and that allowed free movement of the seats.

adh_sides.jpg

View from the back seat. Though you loose out on the cup/bottle holder, it is still usable to store small stuff.

back1.jpg

Planning to cover the the nuts with another layer of the same material.

back 2.jpg

View from the front. Notice that we can still use the two bottle holders as normal. The gray color of this particular arm rest matches very well with the gray seat of Figo. Might vary on other cars.

front.jpg

Lateral movement is minimal, almost non existent. The whole setup is stable enough, as of now.
 
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Joined
Oct 8, 2011
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I was sold similar armrest by a seller on Flipkart saying its i20 Armrest but turned out to be universal armrest, When i was getting my car music system done, the installer did me a favour & installed this armrest using some custom made bits.
Love the slid-able top,but opening the armrest is annoying & it creeks a bit.
 
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