Hey all,

I traded in my H2 (end of lease) for an '05 330. I do miss the big armrest in the middle.

I'm a big guy so the 330 is a bit small for me but not too bad. I usually end up putting my armrest up and putting my arm on my wifes armrest.

I was thinking it would be cool if there was an attachment you could add to sit in the center console area to give you an armrest there?

I was looking and found this one http://www.jjproducts.net/jj_product...ota/index.html
Looks kinda weird though and I'm not sure how sturdy it would be?

Anyone know of any others, or opinions on this one?

thanks.

 

That big arm rest seems like an improvement over the skinny ones now. Then again, I don't have huge Popeye-like arms so it's not too uncomfortable for me.

 

don't even get me started on the armrest of CENTERAL COUNSEL I mean lack of one. The arm rests in a late model Sienna minivan are better designed at least you can adjust their height. And what up with the Dodge Caravan style center counsel. I don't really see a point for it to slide, the Infiniti FX has a great center cousel or front cabin design. To bad it rides bad, performs poorly in the snow and has a stupid screen like on Mercedes SUV. Futhermore it has Lots of bins not just a huge bin with stupid open close cover that jams half the time; impressive at first but stupid for daily use + its so low and far from reach. Also now I literally have no place to put a cell phone or anything. i cant just rest in the counsel area.

 

I bought one of these larger center console armrest's when I got my RX350. Its much nicer. Sits a little lower. Took 10 minutes to install. My only problem now is after 18 months. It leans a little to the right. So its not level. But works fine.

 

I got use to the armrest until I sold my RX and got a car with the regular armrest, then I realized how bad those armrest were in the RX

 

What do you mean? So you installed a costum center council thats pretty cool. Do you have a pic? thanks

 

Did you get the one I mentioned above? That's what I was concerned about, I thought it would probably bend and dip down and possibly damage the seat over time?

 

I got one, wrote about it a while back. If you get it, I'd trim the foam a bit and put a layer of felt (or really soft foam) between the foam and leather for softer cushioning. For what you get, it's kind of a rip off for the price. But it is pretty sturdy and was pretty nice to have for long trips.
It's relatively easy to install. The leather does match well, just not as soft as you would expect for a 200 dollar arm rest (due mostly to the hard foam core). Would I get it again? Probably, but that's just me.

 

Yeah, that is what happened to mine. When you get out of the car the tendency is to lean on it to get out of the seat, and since there is a big lever arm due to the armrest width, you end up bending the steel tube where it attached to the steel bracket. You can just grab it and pull up--bending it back to level.

If you get one, be careful to not put your full body weight on it. If y;ou can remember this, it is worth it. Those original arm rests are nothing but a sick joke for anyone bigger than 5' 10".

Some day I will take it apart and see if there is a way to strengthen it. Either weld on s stiffener, or temper the steel in the bracket assembly with a torch and a quick quench.

 

I bought the JJ Products arm rest from ebay. The same as the one above.

 

I have had the JJ armrest in my RX for several years, and find it excellent. I don't, however, use it when exiting the car, but I lean my elbow on it when entering the car. It's wonderful on long trip and even short trips. The only downside is that you have to lift it up to access the center console, but I don't do that too often.
If you don't like the stock skinny armrest, this is the way to go to solve that problem.

 

am going to give it a try. didn't even know there was a solution to the dinky armrest.

 

I'd be in the same boat if it wasn't for this forum & members like Carver on the nice write-up.