[lemedico]

DIY adding pads on hard plastic armrests – Tata Tiago. Suitable for the Tigor as well, or any other car!

Hello again, I am back with more DIY on my Tiago XZA+. One thing that really soured the driving experience was the pain my elbow suffered from the armrest on the door. It is hard and textured plastic which is very painful and abrasive on my shirts. Being my daily driver, I had to fix this. The more expensive Tigor comes with some padding but to be honest, it's just a piece of thin fabric over the same hard plastic base. I wouldn’t call that worthy of sourcing from the OEM and swapping out the one from my car.

On Amazon, I found a pair of pads which could be pasted anywhere in a car. They were advertised as knee pads for the centre console but the size made them suitable for armrests too. At Rs. 700 for the pair, I found them to be too expensive. It did inspire me to make those myself though.

First, with a pen, I traced the margins of both armrests on A4 sheets. These would serve as cutting templates for the pads. Instead of plain rectangles, I opted for shape-matched pads as the armrests on the Tiago.
I took these templates to my mate who manufactures leather shoes. We picked up some scrap leather and some foam/sponge to sandwich in its layers. We trimmed it as per the template, stuffed in some padding and sealed it with the sewing machine. Job done!

At this point, most readers will wonder what to do as we all do not have leather exporter mates. One could easily source sofa leatherette or real leather from the usual furniture manufacturers dotted across most towns. The same guys would have the pieces of foam or sponge and the sewing machine appropriate to stitch that material as well. I don’t suppose the regular garment tailors would be able to, their sewing machines and needles aren’t suitable for leather. However, if one is desperate for these pads and cannot go about getting it done themselves, let me know and I’ll have some made for you.

At home, I had to decide how to attach it to my armrest. I have some ivory tape at home, it is double sided and that’s what I used rather than car-specific adhesive tapes from 3M. I wiped down all surfaces with isopropyl alcohol, cut two strips of tape each and pasted it to the armrest. It holds well and I hope it stays there in the near 50 Celsius summer heat. Immediately the driving experience has become luxurious! I now have two soft surfaces for my two elbows, the door pad and the self-installed DIY centre armrest which is also nicely padded.























Here is the YouTube video demonstration for the same.

https://youtu.be/kTwEPbKxJx8

Here are other mods to my car on this YouTube playlist and my TeamBHP threads, enjoy!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...5pL01UBYjMXule

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...icted-diy.html (Auto-dimming IRVM for Rs. 2500 | I’m addicted to DIY)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...er-socket.html (DIY Installation | 12v rear power socket)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ata-tiago.html (DIY: Armrest installation for Rs. 1800 (Tata Tiago))

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...-cars-too.html (Adding parcel tray strings to a Tiago for Rs. 8 | This method would work for other cars too)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...rs-6500-a.html (Upgraded to an auto-dimming rear view mirror for Rs. 838 | EDIT: Honda hikes price to Rs 6500)

[Reinhard]

Nice. One of the simplest things that the car makers can offer for excellent comfort - they skimp on. All of them pretty much! Why, will always be a mystery. I can imagine the difference this brings to routine driving.

That said - Here is a thought for improvement in future. The way the front and side edges are staying up in the air - I suspect dust accumulation, usual arm movement associated forces and heat in car - will cause them to get loose sooner or later. Anyway - these kind of 2 side tapes - are not exactly long lasting under the elements.

Did you think about making extended 1 layer leatherette edges to that pad, and using prying / trim panel tools to push / squeeze them into the edges right below the arm-rest piece of the door-card? That way - it would be a completely flush fit, without any open edges at all, and the tight plastic pieces, will hold on to the leatherette much better. Look will be better too. (I may not have been able to put my concept well in words I suspect but I hope it makes somewhat sense.)

[Shreyans_Jain]

Brilliant little mod. Just like all the others you have done. Enhancing the ownership experience in a big way for little money.

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Nice. One of the simplest things that the car makers can offer for excellent comfort - they skimp on. All of them pretty much! Why, will always be a mystery. I can imagine the difference this brings to routine driving.

That said - Here is a thought for improvement in future. The way the front and side edges are staying up in the air - I suspect dust accumulation, usual arm movement associated forces and heat in car - will cause them to get loose sooner or later. Anyway - these kind of 2 side tapes - are not exactly long lasting under the elements.

Did you think about making extended 1 layer leatherette edges to that pad, and using prying / trim panel tools to push / squeeze them into the edges right below the arm-rest piece of the door-card? That way - it would be a completely flush fit, without any open edges at all, and the tight plastic pieces, will hold on to the leatherette much better. Look will be better too. (I may not have been able to put my concept well in words I suspect but I hope it makes somewhat sense.)

That's one more way to go about it, perhaps an armrest 2.0 mod! I'll call my DIY an emergency surgery for my sore olecranon!

[lemedico]

For reference, this is the Amazon product link.
STHIRA® 2 Pack Car Knee Pad, Auto Center Console Side Knee Leg Armrest Elbow Cushion Soft Pad, Elastic Thigh Support Comfort Pillow Foot Knee Pain Relief Leaning Pad Car Interior Accessories https://amzn.eu/d/apAGnOY

I usually state the total cost of each mod that I make, as you can see on my various threads and videos on YouTube. In this case the cost to me is actually ₹0.00! The pads were prepared from scraps destined recycling.

[Carmine_pepper]

while am sure the mod is very effective it would have been much more aesthetically pleasing if you had removed the resting plastic bit and given it for stitching padded leather on top it.

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by Carmine_pepper

while am sure the mod is very effective it would have been much more aesthetically pleasing if you had removed the resting plastic bit and given it for stitching padded leather on top it.

Perhaps, but as you see this is a DIY job. And kind of an emergency one as my elbow was really sore recently. Removing the door cards and dismantling the individual panels is an elaborate one. I shall look into it later on, if I find a good upholsterer around town!

[GeeTee TSI]

Brilliant DIY of a sore point I have experienced. I had even tucked a hanky under my sleeves for some cushioning

Is it possible for an upholsterer to stitch a padded piece of leather on cars having a leather / fabric layer but without cushioning?

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

Brilliant DIY of a sore point I have experienced. I had even tucked a hanky under my sleeves for some cushioning

Is it possible for an upholsterer to stitch a padded piece of leather on cars having a leather / fabric layer but without cushioning?

And I've used some chunky thermacole haha.

I'm sure they could do it, 'tis the land of jugaad!

[khanmaj]

Originally Posted by lemedico

DIY adding pads on hard plastic armrests – Tata Tiago. Suitable for the Tigor as well, or any other car!

Excellent DIY lemedico!. This hard elbow/arm rest really very painful in long drive for me. I will give it a try myself.