FYI,

this arm rest bolts right in to the Countryman without any problems. I just installed one and it fits perfectly. It does not interfere with the parking brake, seat movement, or the lumbar ***** on the seats. There is also room for a cup holder underneath.

 

What does it bolt on to?

 

It connects to the front seat track bolts. It slides under the seat track and the track bolts holds it in place.

 

That's cool. Where can we get one and how much? Could you post some pictures of it installed so we can get an idea of what it's like.
thanks....Matthew

 

FYI the factory armrest is attached with four machine screws. It looks like the center rail is reinforced where the armrest attaches. Has anyone tried to remove it yet. Is the reinforcing part of the rail or will it drop off the bottom when the armrest is removed. Also the rubber strip in the center rail is cut out under the armrest.

I was hoping to rig it so it could be there for the wife or moved to the back seat. There is also a hole in the rail just rear of the armrest attachment point.

To get to the screws the plastic cover slides to the front and rear splitting in the middle. I used a plastic knife at the top to unsnap the connection.

Bill

 

posted this under the Rail Accessory thread, but may be useful here for armrest questions:

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...n_armrest.html

 

I have ordered this for my Countryman S and will post pictures on the installation for those who are interested.

 

Did you ever install the armrest? It looks a lot like the OEM and I'm wondering about removing mine and adapting it to use one of the rail attachment gizzmoes so I can move it a bit. Also it will mount higher, which would be a plus.

Thanks,

Bill

 

I have not gotten the armrest yet. From outmotoring.com the plastic molding and metal bracket are instock but the arm rest has to come from Germany. I fear that it maybe sometime before it arrives

I did do a little bit of poking around and the install should be fairly easy

 

a small update, i should be getting this on Monday hopefully and will install at some point next week

 

So i got the armrest and now i'm confused a little.

There are 2 screws which go into the bracket plate that goes under the rail that is bolted to the bottom of the car, and i can see the 2 more holes in the rail but they go no where. If you look at the bracket, you are supposed to secure the screw with 4 screws (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...0&hg=51&fg=35).

so
1) i need to get 2 more screws, possibly 4 if the ones i already have are too short.
2) find out where the other screws go.

 

I was sure they would give more detailed instructions. From the parts list it doesn't look like the four holes are drilled in the support bracket.

In my MINI with the center armrest it there is a square hole in the rail, the rail bottom plastic fabric is removed and there are four bolts through the rail fastening the armrest to the support bracket.

On your MINI is there a rail support between the seats or is it only supported front and way back?

Thanks,

Bill

 

So the support bracket is drilled and threaded for the bolts to hold the arm rest in place. As it turns out, i already have the bracket in my car or some form of it

since i dont have an arm rest the center rail is attached by 2 bolts to the bracket (the same bolts according to the part number that you'd use to attach the center arm rest to the rail and bracket) but the arm rest requires 4 bolts, i only have 2, and if you look at the rail in my car, there are 5 holes, 4 for bolts and 1 hole for the bracket hook thingie (see crappy iphone picture) its the middle hook prong thing.

Also just so this is documented somewhere, when you buy the center arm rest from outmotoring.com, at least for me, they sent the one that has the Smart Phone cradle. It has a extra wiring harness that i need to figure out what to do with, since i have the bluetooth installed in my car it seems redundent to have another way to connect your phone.

 

Did you install the arm rest? How do you like it?

Bill

 

Been away on business for a little bit and will finally get around to doing it this weekend hopefully, life gets in the way of motoring stuff sometimes :(

 

I just removed my center armrest. Seems like a totally new car. I don't hit it with my elbow and the rail accessories are much more usable. I had to remove the rubber stop strips behind where the armrest was. The storage in it was next to useless as well.

Bill

 

Pics of the I Phone Base that some day will hold the correct cradle, is out of the armrest in photo gallery, for those who care to see.

 

Can you do a little write up on getting the cover off that is around the shifter?

Or point me to the 2nd Gen Mod thread you used?

Thanks!

 

GeoffreyM..Did you mean the leather cover around the Shifter ?
I have the manual…so when I took the center console off for modifications
the leather part that is attached to the console has a plastic ring sewn in the pouch and is pliable and can be maneuvered so it will pop out of the underside of the console. It's not spring loaded..but it has some give to it.
I just received my JCW Carbon Fiber shifter…That will be interesting to see how the upper part of that leather pouch comes off….I need to start re-assembling soon before I forget!. I have pics of the base for the cradle out of the armrest with the arm rest removed in my gallery. (4) machined bolts threaded through the rail into the countryman itself.

 

Hey Flyer,

I'm talking about the console itself. I'll tell you what I want to do so you can better understand why I'm asking. I want to put a scissor mount behind my tachometer so I can put my i-phone up there. So if my dock extender works as advertised, I want to take the y-cable and put it inside the console, cover the mini-jack and usb holes. Take the dock extender up into the dash and bring it out the steering column to plug into the I-phone when it is in the scissor mount. I hope that explains it.

 

Ok, the console is only held in place by (3) torx screws and several plastic/snap clips. 1 screw in each of of the cup holders. The 3rd is located in the rail. Pull back the rubber strip and you'll see screws, Outer 2 for the rail and middle is for console. Edge of console wraps on the rail. Careful pulling as the LED's are also there. The RCA/USB plugs snap out of the holders. Probably a good 6 inches of that harness that can be re-routed towards the back. Not sure which dock extender you have but mine works fine. I originally bought a USB extender as well as a RCA extender. Either work fine. Anyways after that just need to slowly unclip around the edges. Should be able to feed and make your connections without removing the console completely. You'll have to tuck them up by the tach, I have both sides off, mine are or were Piano
black. No room to feed them up that way. In my gallery is a few pics with console off and showing the USB/RCA plugs exposed. Hope this helps. It's been awhile since I took it apart. I'd be happy to take an additional picture or two if it helps. Let me know how you make out.

 

where did you get this armrest

 

It's probably from OutMotoring. http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...h_storage.html