Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
Stainless Steel Door Sill Protectors from Moss Motors
I found the sill protectors easy to install, about two minutes each side. I prepared the back of the sills by lining them with electrical tape to prevent fretting between the metal surfaces in contact with each other. I also had to remove small burrs on the sheared edges using a machinists deburring tool, a fine file would have done equally as well. Dimensionally they fitted well, the only minor improvement might be an increase in bend radius to fit the sill profile better.
The sill protectors fit and finish met my expectations, they look better than the scuffed paint, the red logo matches the car paint and the price wasn't excessive. I'm happy.
Under 5 minutes to remove
I ordered the stainless steel door protectors with a red Miata logo. Product arrived in one dayvia UPS ground (the East Coast warehouse is about 15 miles away from me). Installation was really simple: remove the plastic sill liner thingie, place the sill protector underneath, and screw the liner back on. I waxed the door sills beforehand to retard the accumulation of water after the sill protectors are installed, but I'll check up on them every couple of months just to make..
It looks pretty good, and seems to match up wth chrome quite well. The inherent problem with such nice shiny sill protectors is that you can pretty much count the number of times I've entered/exited the car during the past week. It's like having a mirror doormat. I also have some reservations about the vinyl logo, so we'll see how that holds up. Still, it's worth $30 IMO.
Black finished aluminum door sill protectors.
When I ordered them, I thought that they'd be a little more substantial, but for $30, what the heck. In hindsight, I could have made them quite easily. Subject to a bit of bad timing, I bought them just before BSP came out with their tape sill protectors, but once something's done, it's done.
I took my time installing them (six months), waiting for spring to get my door sills repainted first, prior to covering the existing scratches. I ended up getting the sills as well as my rocker panels painted (all in blue, which looks pretty sharp) and installed the sill protectors a day later.
Installation is quite simple, all that's needed is the removal of the four screws that hold down the plastic panel in the sill area and reinstallation when the sill protector is in place. Prior to installing mine, I sanded down the cutouts (for the screw holes) and installed some small felt tabs under the sill protector to provide a bit of an air space between the car and protector to aid in drying.
The white scripted Miata on the protector combines nicely with the Miata on the seat covers, however, we'll see how long the 3M vinyl Miata logo on the protector lasts as opposed to a painted one. Time will tell.
Door sill protectors that add to the apperance of your Miata. (At least when the door is open.)
Very nice once they are installed.
Unlike the other reviewer of this product, I found the installation to be more difficult than a two minute job. It took me about 30 minutes. I first removed the black plastic pieces that cover the lip by the sill and help hold down the carpet. Then I waxed the entire area to prevent any rusting as others have reported as it is easy for water to get trapped under the sill plates. In order to get the sill plates to install perfectly flat, they must be installed UNDER the plastic tabs that the screws drive into. I found it rather difficult to get these plates to slide under these tabs and a little patience is required.
Once installed, the plates look good and they help to finish off what is otherwise a rather plain door sill. The “Miata” scripting gives them that extra custom look. Well worth the $29.95. I just installed them yesterday, so I don’t know how they will hold up. Only time will tell....
Basically a sheet of thin aluminum covered with a piece of black non-skid tape which has a white Miata script logo in it.
Extremely disappointing. Picture and description in Moss implied this was an aluminum part *coated* with a non skid finish. In reality it's just a piece of cheap aluminum covered with an ill-fitting piece of grip tape (the tape doesn't cover the whole sill protector, so bare aluminum is visible to varying degrees all around the protector). Furthermore, the v-shaped cutouts in the sill protectors (to accomodate the screws which hold the stock plastic trim and sill protectors down) were apparently cut with a very blunt tool; there was an extremely sharp crease on the underside of the sill protectors where the cut-out was removed, which if not fixed would surely cause more damage to the Miata's sills than any shoe would.
Poorly made, poor finish, and doesn't look nearly as good as the picture. I'm returning mine.
Just installed the Moss Motors brushed stainless steel sill plates. Took two minutes to do both. Loosen the 4 screws, slide the plate in and re-tighten. I like the way they clean up the door sills, not to mention, cover all those paint scratches.
Very simple design. A long strip of stainless steel (1/16" thickness?) with a 90 deg bend along one edge and a Miata Logo (available in several colors). Cost $30.
There are differences between these sill plates and the OEM Mazda ones besides the price. The OEM Mazda sill plates are $105 from Roebuck. The Mazda sill plates are more complex, actually replacing the black plastic strip that holds the carpet down. In my opinion, the Mazda ones do look better, but for $105 they better look good.
The Moss Motor ones will do just fine. I like the way the stainless steel sill plates go with the polished aluminum Voodoo knob.