State of Nine E-brake Boot done! Many big photos beware!
Well, after many months of pondering, loungin and and forgetting, I finally sent in my money for State of Nine's e-brake boot. Made in Italy with a fine leather, it feels very good to the touch and definitely gives the interior a very nice boost of sophistication and a slightly more upscale look to the inside.
Here is what you get with the kit.
They said I was to also get a washer but that was not included.
Installation is a breeze. Just turn the new boot inside out and slip the open end onto the e-brake lever like so. Remember to maintain the curve of the lever with the curve of the leather. This to help get it positioned correctly.
Use the enclosed zip-tie along the white line imprinted on the brake boot. You can only see it when the boot is inside out. I put the zip-tie on so the plastic "latch" part is not where I can grab it. Makes it more comfortable.
Return the brake boot to it's normal position. Then press it into the brake boot section. You may need to lower the e-brake lever if it is difficult to latch it in correctly.
The screw and washer that are included into the kit are supposed to help keep the part from popping out. Since I have only had it in for 30 minutes now, it seemed ok to me and thus I'm not using it. If it does pop out, I may look into the installation of the screw.
I know the new leather part makes the e-brake lever look a tad "fallical", but from other angles, it looks certainly more upscale, which is what I think our 900/9-3s deserve for the interior.
So, tell me what you think! Good mod? Bad taste? I certainly like it. Brings out a more luxurious feel to the inside, by just a bit.
I'm not sure if I like the 'fore skin' look better than those horrible brushes but yes, it does look more 'upsccale'. Atleast stuff won't fall down that hole to where ever it goes!
Thanks for the detailed install photos. Much appreciated.
Robert
I've thought for a while these cars needed a nice leather boot to replace those cheesy brush bristles. I just ordered one of them, and I can't wait to put it on this weekend!
lost my cell phone in there at the beginning of the year only to find it after i purchased a new phone. may have to invest in one of those.
very classy
i installed one of these a while ago. i think it looks a bit more classy. i hated the look of that brush...and once in a while things would fall in there. the only thing that bothers me about it is that its so tight...it only allows the e-brake to go up about 4 clicks...so i had to adjust my ebrake after installing it.
As mentioned by szucman, the leather brake is pretty tight and only allows up to about 4 clicks worth of tension for the e-brake, any more tension would pull the new boot off of the latching. So, I decided to try and get the screw, included with the kit, in through the leather and plastic dash portion.
I had to call State of Nine to get an idea of where to try and get the screw through. Eventually I found it.
On the front of the part, underneath the leather in front of the lip that attaches to the front part of the dash is a small hole, just big enough for the screw. I had to about a cm2 off of the leather from underneath with a knife from a multitool to try and locate it and get the screw to go through the hole. I started from beneath and drove the screw through the plate, and through a small part of the leather up on the top side. I then took the screw out, replaced the part to what it is going to be, and screwed in the screw, through the leather and plastic on the dash.
Once the screw was all the way through, it hasn't moved one bit. Although I was kind of hoping not to use it, especially since the leather is so nice, but this is definitely something to do so you don't have to constantly deal with the boot popping out all the time.
Can the leather be moved farther back on the handle? It seems like it would look less phallic if more of the handle shows.
It definitely looks nicer than the brushes. Would be cool if they made a whole piece to cover the handle in leather to get rid of the plastic to leather transition.
You can move it as far down to the pivot as you can or want to. The only concern of mine is usage that would result in the leather tearing, especially if the brake lever tension becomes to get more slacking. But the leather is a very fine quality material. I think excessive tugging/yanking would tear it.
ah i find it pretty durable...i dont think it'll rip any time soon....although i managed to rip the screw out of the plastic. that plastic is really thin. but i easily fixed it with a nut underneith and its on there pretty good!
I bought a red leather e-brake boot to match my interior. Where do I get the snap in thingy to put the leather on? Any model that would work? Thanks in advance!
If you got the one from State of Nine, the only color, AFAIK, is black leather. Also, the ones from So9 is specifically designed(not to hard to do though) with the correct tabs and leather angles for our 9-3s. If you have two Saabs, get one from So9, see how it is made, and then, maybe make your own tap part.
I bought a red leather e-brake boot to match my interior. Where do I get the snap in thingy to put the leather on? Any model that would work? Thanks in advance!
Where did you get that???? Not State of 9! I know they only sell the black leather one. No red!
And the seats are original right? I know of a few only with the red leather inserts and another few with yellow ones.
Viggens have diffrent color schemes too but it's rare to find the 2 color seats on 9-3s and NG900s. You're of the very few lucky ones :cheesy:
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