DIY: Stop your FD2 boot from sagging

[Crystalis]

Alright, so this is my first DIY. I had a couple people ask me how to keep the FD2 boot from sagging when installed in my SI. Basically, I took the plastic adapter in my OEM SI boot and ziptied it to the FD2 boot. So here goes

All you need are your FD2 boot, your original boot, scissors, and zipties.

First, you invert both boots so that they're sitting up inside-out, as shown below:



Both boots' adapters are held only with a ziptie. The one on our OEM boot is easy to cut. The one on the fd2 is a lot thicker and will take a minute to cut. Be careful not to cut the material while cutting these off. They will look like this when you've cut them:



Now looking at this picture, you're going to notice the 2 large flaps on either side of the fd2 boot. Don't do anything to these flaps. You want to use the slits between the two flaps to measure and adjust your adapter.From here, you want to take the OEM adapter from our boot and slide it up underneath the fd2 boot so that it sticks out a little at the top. Be sure that the boot is still standing up inside-out, and have the wider side of the adapter facing upward towards you. At this point, I took a small ziptie and loosely fit it around the adapter so that I had some breathing room to adjust as needed. You don't want the slits going past the bottom of the adapter, or else you'll have open slits showing at the top of the boot.You want the adapter to be straight and even on all sides under the material before you tighten it. Once you have it even, tighten the ziptie, as shown here:



Make sure to cut the excess plastic off the adapter as far down as you can. The head of the ziptie will cause the top of the boot to stick out a little, but when the boot is installed in your car, it's not noticeable.

And just one extra point, the fd2 boot is definitely larger than our OEM boot. So, you can actually fit the adapter lower into the boot make the boot shorter when installed. I had the bottom of the slits sitting in the middle of the adapter where I tightened my ziptie, but you can go lower. That's just up to you if you don't want as many wrinkles when it's installed.

At this point, you're pretty much done!

This will be the finished product



Now just pop the boot back into the car, twist your shift knob on, and enjoy



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[Strate L O S S]

nice writeup !

[Crystalis]

Thanks!

[Fleet Admiral]

What's the difference in the 2 boots?

[MattyJay88]

nice write up. when i did my boot a used a normal zip tie but i didn't like how the head made a bump. i ordered up some low profile zip ties and it makes a nice difference.

[Crystalis]

Originally Posted by MattyJay88

nice write up. when i did my boot a used a normal zip tie but i didn't like how the head made a bump. i ordered up some low profile zip ties and it makes a nice difference.

I was hoping I had some lying around, but I don't. If I happen to see some when I'm out shopping, I'll grab some. For now, though, it's fine. It's not noticeable to anyone else and it's not stretching the boot seams.

[Crystalis]

Originally Posted by Fleet Admiral

What's the difference in the 2 boots?

The plastic ring at the top of the fd2 boot is much larger in both length and width than our oem one, so when you install the boot, it sags down and to the side. Plus, the fd2 boot is quite a bit larger than our oem one. Plus, the fd2 boot has red stitching, whereas my oem one did not.

[Fleet Admiral]

Originally Posted by Crystalis

The plastic ring at the top of the fd2 boot is much larger in both length and width than our oem one, so when you install the boot, it sags down and to the side. Plus, the fd2 boot is quite a bit larger than our oem one. Plus, the fd2 boot has red stitching, whereas my oem one did not.

Yeah, but why did you by the FD2 boot? Isn't the same visually as the Si boot?

[Teegs]

Originally Posted by Fleet Admiral

Yeah, but why did you by the FD2 boot? Isn't the same visually as the Si boot?

The 06's and 07's do not have the red-stitched boot. I did this same thing only I used the boot collar from crsx instead of the stock ring.

Good write up!

[Crystalis]

Originally Posted by Teegs

The 06's and 07's do not have the red-stitched boot. I did this same thing only I used the boot collar from crsx instead of the stock ring.

Good write up!

I have an '07, and wanted a red stitched boot.

Thanks!

[Fleet Admiral]

Originally Posted by Teegs

The 06's and 07's do not have the red-stitched boot. I did this same thing only I used the boot collar from crsx instead of the stock ring.

Good write up!

Originally Posted by Crystalis

I have an '07, and wanted a red stitched boot.

Thanks!

Oooooohh. I see, I have an '09 so I was unaware of that.

[Teegs]

^ Yeah, I have an 06 and saw my friends 09 boot and I was like wtf! lol.

[dcpeter28]

I know it probably isn't hard but how do you remove the boot?

[Crystalis]

Originally Posted by dcpeter28

I know it probably isn't hard but how do you remove the boot?

First, you unscrew your shift knob. Then, you just get your fingernails underneath the silver plastic housing that surrounds the boot and pull it off. Once off, turn it around so you see underneath the plastic and the inside of the boot. There are 4 star-screws that need to be removed that connect the boot and the plastic housing. And that's pretty much it.