Cup Holders
 

Brian needs some ideas of some sexy, slim, tender, cup holders to install. I like the idea of the boneyard pop-outs but I'm not about to loose my center vents to accomodate them.... I could build some brackets to still allow airflow through them and this is the top solution right now... just wondering what else hath been done.

Hey Brian my father and I both have a little flipdown holder screwed down to the passenger side. Right down where the shifter cover meets the lower dash. I was going to get you a pic, but the camera battery is dead. IIRC we got them out of Victoria British LTD catalogs...when they used to have RX7 catalogs.

Here is just about the same one
http://www.amazon.com/American-Techn.../dp/B000Q86IQQ

I'm not sure about the one I linked but my father and mine work really well except for a couple things. They're not made for "Lake o' Pepsi" large drinks so they won't hold those huge sodas that fast food joints sell. Also they don't hold tall cups/bottles very secure. There have been times I lost mine out of the holder going around turns.

Build a single insert/slide piece from aluminum. The housing is spring loaded with a lock lever on the left side. The insert is a sheet of aluminum with two holes cut in it for insertion of the cups. Install unit between radio and vents, or between climate control unit and vents.

Since the insert is made of a single sheet of aluminum the cups will be held by the fact that gravity will pull the tapered cup to be seated snuggly into the holder. However you'll need some cups to see what size will work the best.

I've never liked the idea of hanging cups in front of my electronic parts. Granted a spill probably (probably being the keyword) won't result in frying parts, but it will result in a sticky mess to clean up. I don't want to have to pull my console apart to clean soda. If you have a flipdown face on your headunit or one that angles for glare it could really be a PITA to clean all that.

If you're spilling soda then you have an issue bigger than attempting to clean it up (thinking sudden stop/accident).

The issue isn't so much that it's going to be difficult to clean up, you'd have that issue regardless of the location of the cup holder, but more of locating them as to minimize intrusion into the operation of the vehicle. I admit the center console is not the ideal location for a cup holder, but then again, neither is behind the individual as it becomes difficult to pick up and drink.

I have yet to find a decent cup holder that works well in an FC or FB, i.e., that won't spill its load at the first hint of any G forces or a bump in the road, and I haven't been ambitious enough to try fabricating one of my own design.

Best bet is to just drive with your GF, wife, mistress or buddy and let them hold the cups if you're thirsty!

Thanks Jeff, was thinking about those and they can be had at the chandlery store down the street pretty cheap. The two things that I don't like about them is that they don't go completely away, and they require screwing into the vinyl dash which I can't bring myself to do just yet..... or the door panels.

Sounds sharp and dangerous and RedBulls aren't tapered ;)

I think I'm going to have to hit the boneyard tomorrow and see what I can find. There are a few factory options that are pretty nice.... The pop out ones etc etc

Two problems with that..... I don't think the GF would want to meet the mistriss and I can't stand either one of them for the amount of time with the proximity that will be required for the rd trip :smilielol5:

And here I thought you lived dangerously... my mistake.

It's an easy fix for non-tapered stuff. Put in a collapsible wire underneath the aluminum holders. Or better yet, here's something else you could do for your red bulls.

Turn your center console (the one where your arm rest is) into a redbull fridge. Setup a little fridge unit in there and have it hold your redbulls in sort of an form fit piece. Keeps them ice cold and holds the open ones. Then when you want a drink you flip open the door, drink your chilled redbull and flip it back.

I mean, that's not sharp, dangerous, and ignores the design failing of the Redbull cans.

It's law of averages that sooner or later the top is gonna come off the fountain drink when you reach for it. You drop it trying to get the cup back in cause all the sudden you have to shift gears for whatever reason.

Or it's bound to happen while you are texting, reading a book, eating your breakfast enroute to work and oh yeah...driving :driving:

Stupidity or clumsiness doesn't have to result in a catastrophic accident. All things being equal, I'd much rather clean my carpet and floormat than my expensive electronics and gauges.

BUT it would be nice to have it both on that console but also out of the way of electronice.

+1 hold the drink AND don't dare touch the stereo unless given specific directions about it :icon_tup:

Cute sidestory. My rule has always been, you don't touch my stereo in my car and I don't touch yours in your car. My last GF didn't own a car :)

[QUOTE=TitaniumTT;132310]Thanks Jeff, was thinking about those and they can be had at the chandlery store down the street pretty cheap. The two things that I don't like about them is that they don't go completely away, and they require screwing into the vinyl dash which I can't bring myself to do just yet..... or the door panels.



I think I'm going to have to hit the boneyard tomorrow and see what I can find. There are a few factory options that are pretty nice.... The pop out ones etc etc[QUOTE]

I'm at my folks house for dinner with the family. Once I get home I"ll post up pics of the cupholder location. The ones we have use one screw per corner, but we found that we can hang them lower and use only the top two screws. The bottom of the holder hits the contour of the transmission hump. I suppose it resting on the hump in theory makes it more secure. More importantly it cuts the number of holes in the dash in half.

We've got 2 holder for 3 cars. Dad took the one out of the black ver to use in the red vert. The holes left behind are barely noticeable. They'd be even less noticeable if I filled them with some sort of black putty. I'll get pics of both on and off w/holes.

My brother has some damn sweet cupholders in his Porsche. Push on them and they slide out. While sliding out the fingers on the holder slide apart. Pretty slick setup very similar to what Vex is proposing you make.

I like where you're going with this!!! Could get you in a Red Bull ad...get your car sponsored. Of course for sponsorship you'd also have to strap a HUGE fake can to the back of your car.

Oh I do.... I do.....

As much as I like the fridge idea, and I have toyed with it.... requires more work than I have time for right now.... as does the intricate fabrication.... as much as I love it...........

That's what I'm talking about. Mounting something like that somewhere somehow....

VW's and Audi's are similar... gotta love them Germans.... and if anyone can pronounce my last name, they'd love me too :lol:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Honda-Civic-CRX-...item35ad30c8b5

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JB-La...Q5fAccessories

These look pretty nice but i don't know how they'd interfere with the shift and shifting. They look pretty nice though i need to just order one and find out how they work.

Zack.

Thought about something like that but I've got my switch panel/MoTeC interface mounted under the stereo. I'd need to ditch all those to fit that in.... which is why I think I'm going to go have a look for some single ones tomorrow and see what I can find.

Gotcha, i forgot you had those there. Shit just be a man and chugg that shit and ditch, don't wanna me messing up the trim with spills and shit.lol(there's my weekly thug sentence)lol. I've always wanted to do something inside the center console, just a little square piece of metal the same size as the inside of the console, then cut a circular hole in it.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...untitled-1.jpg
Zack

Since you can weld, why not have one coming off the passenger seat bracket. You fabricate a metal holder that will sit to the right of the shifter (kinda where the passengers left knee would be) and have an arm extending from the left front seat bracket. I wouldn't think it'd be hard to fabricate as it's just the cupholder part attached to a bent piece of metal.

You could add a ring around the stock cup holders to make them more useful at the expense of glove box space.

It should be pretty simple to get some abs pipe the same diameter as the cup holder cut to about 2 or 3 inches tall then bond them into place.

The problem with the stock "cup holders", besides being useless, is their position. It's quite a reach to grab something out of there, especially if you're short like me (or most people that fit in a 7...).

How ironic, law of averages happened yesterday coming back from lunch and errands. Reach for my soda, right when I have it over the center console top comes off!! Now I have coke in all the little buttons on the vert center console. Volume controls, vert top, mirror controls, etc

i gotta find some pics, but if you can, check out the lincoln ls's cupholders, they have one that flips up from the center console

also i dont remember which car it came off...might have been the navigator or one of the minivans but they have these little ones that you push and the pop out straight out of wherever they were hiding...if you can visualize it they slide out horizontally

ill dig up some pics

speak of the devil, look what i found for ideas

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...nge-Cupholders

I find it hilarious in the link above that everyone (stateside) whines how small cupholders are...

Personally, I don't eat/drink when I'm in the driver's seat. Hell, I don't eat/drink when I'm in the 7. Period.

If I drink, it's water out of a water bottle. That way I avoid spills and am free to let the bottle roll around on the passenger seat.

I thought about that... but because of the RX8 seats it's really not feasible. They're wider than the FC seats and anything in a good grabbing location would negate being able to move the seat forward.... which I find myself doing frequently now that it can.

I'm about 5'10" and it's a reach for me. Plus that leaves the glove box open while driving which is just asking for trouble.

UGH.... sorry to hear that man.

Cool, I'm going boneyard hoping tomorrow me thinks.

Some GOOD ideas in that thread... now this is what I'm talking about

http://www.thesaabsite.com/shop/cati...-Cupholder.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....pe_rev2040.jpg

I agree to a certain extent.... but I'm looking at 6400 miles and over 100 hrs in the car in the coming month...... so yeah.

I've gone the recloseable bottle route before but it always ends up getting flung into the foot well, or into the door panel... or somewhere out of my reach and then I sit there and debate if it's worth it to stop to get the drink or wait until I tank up.... I'll debate and calculate time lost vs the need to pee.... how warm will it be when I finally do stop... then I get angry and slam on the brakes at an upcoming exit ramp which launces said bottle into the footwell for sure... then when I do get back on the rd and go for a drink there's the possibility of it being flat or exploding... so I'll cautiously crack it open which leaves me driving with my knee for a breif period which is never good... my left knee is in aweful physical condition... and then after the daring sip I'll put the cap back on, drop it in the passenger seat and the whole experience starts over again. This is why I drive with a pack of smokes on the seat, in the door handle and a backup in the center console all with thier own lighters just to be extra safe.:icon_tup:

Here's what my father and I use. This is out of his car and he mounted his further forward than I'd like it. Looks like he's using all 4 screws.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6363596_n.jpg

I have mine mounted right where the shifter cover meets the dash. I have it so that half the holder is on either side of the shifter cover and dash. It works well and it leaves behind two screw holes that are a few mm wide.

It's simple, its cheap and it works. It'll save you time junkyard hunting or fabricating something up.

That being said, the holder that flips out from the door panel is damn slick. If someone finds out what car that is out of let us know.

Something I just thought of after looking at the pic. You could mount it where the shifter cover and console cover meet. Do it up higher and sink the screws in the two covers...thus saving yourself the holes in your dash. Wish I had thought of that before I mounted mine.

its either out of a bmw or a volvo, i remember getting a ride with someone that had it..i was playing with it for the whole ride hahaha

and btw brian, i know exactly what you mean...though my solution is just to drop a gear and gun it..the g-forces launch the bottle back at the seat were i can then grab it before it goes flying again :)

Or just mount a damn holder onto a roll cage if you got one. I also learned that a Camelbak strapped behind the seat works well if you only want water.

I know it's not what you're looking for, but instead of having a cupholder built into the '7, why not approach the problem from the other direction - a portable cup specifically designed to be used inside an RX-7?

What I'm thinking is you get one of those plastic or AL hot/cold lidded cups, fabricate a sheet metal bracket for it that would be epoxied/JB welded to the cup itself. The bracket would be designed to slot securely into the gap between the side window glass and door panel. I don't do many long road trips in the '7 myself, but was thinking of doing this for the next DGRR trip (~650 miles for me)

Only real downside of this idea is you have to transfer the drink of choice from whatever container it was served in into your "spec RX7 cup". Otherwise if designed well, it should meet all the other criteria.

I've taken my Camelback in the car with me. Works awesome in a vert on long drives. It being insulated keeps my water ice cold.

Hrm..... decent idea I must admit....

Went boneyard hoping today and found the perfect cupholder in a 2001 Audi A4... unforturnately for me, it was on the wrong side of the fence :banghead:

So it looks like I have a few phone calls to make.

hmm I wonder if a drink holder could be made to replace the ashtray. I've seen guage pods that do, how hard would be to glass a cupholder to the front of one?

The question would be how big of a drink can fit between the shifter and the radio?

Not in my application.... that spots been reserved for the Sirius

I have one of those pop-out DIN sized double cup holders from a ford Taurus, half cup holder and half coin holder. Guaranteed to position the drink in the perfect position to punch a hole in the side of the cup when you shift...

Need to get Clokker (from da Club)to do one of his renowned boneyard ssearch and rescue programs.

He would probably find the perfect cup holder from a Subaru...

What about making something that sits behind the center console? I forget if you're doing this for a vert or a coupe. It's been a while since I've been in a coupe but in a vert it might work. Probably only fit one holder, but I've always assumed the passenger can hold their own drink.

Behind the center console has room, it'd just be a pain to get to while driving.

or you can go all out
http://www.carmate.co.jp/upload/save_image/nz647-3.jpg

just got in a bmw 535i i believe? had some sweet cupholders, i took pics...gonna upload them soon

Sweet, thanks Dave. I gbot a few years/models to look for so the more the better

Or maybe not.... no, definately not. Does it tuck away when not being used? Can I mount it somewhere it's not obnoxious? Is it in itself obnoxious?

I sort of have an idea for a cup holder I'm going to look into mine. Going to make up a bracket that tucks in behind the top of the dash, picking up those 2 bolts hidden behind the a/c vents. So it bolts in there and comes in front of the a/c vents. Only real way I've been able to think of doing it. If it looks nice Ill make it up out of carbon.

Sorta hard to explain. I loved the look of those ebay ones linked, shame I've already mounted my turbo timer and suspension controller with a carbon facia below the head unit doh!

I'm liking using 2 out of those 4 screws as well. but I'm thinking about mounting them right where the vents are. Trimming them and hiding the pop-out holders there. It's been backburnered though as the last 3 days have produced very little progress on the car itself :banghead:

whoops, feel asleep before i could post this, i thought they were pretty cool, especially since they swing towards you, kind of broadens were you could mount them

closed:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Photo0427.jpg

open:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Photo0428.jpg