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Matte carbon fiber dash/door trim replacement comparisons

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The EDD for my blue MYP is Sep 1 - Sep 29, so I'm getting a few mods lined up in advance. One of the first things I want to do is get rid of the horrible brown cheap-looking fake wood trim on the dash and doors. I think the Tesla interior design team must have been smoking crack when they came up with that idea.

Requirements
  • Must be matte. No shiny gloss.
  • Must be made of real carbon fiber, not hydro carbon fiber coating.
  • Must exhibit chatoyancy (an optical reflectance effect seen in certain gemstones, woods, and carbon fibre that gives a 3D effect).
  • Must fit well with no overhangs or obvious signs of being tacked on.

Disclosure
I have no affiliation with any of the manufacturers I discuss below. I paid full price for the dash I eventually ordered and nobody asked me to write or omit anything - I'm doing this of my own volition. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Where I quote anybody I have asked and received permission to do so. I have not and will not receive kickbacks, commission, or any other financial reward, compensation, incentives, etc etc. I'm just a guy buying a Tesla looking for a good dash and sharing my findings with y'all. Ok, onto the good stuff.


Vinyl Wrap / Covers ($10 - $20)
I quickly ruled out the budget options of 2-piece vinyl covers from the likes of Aliexpress, Amazon, etc. They look even worse than the OEM faux wood and meet non of the requirement criteria:

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Nope nope nope.


Hydro Carbon Fiber Coated Covers ($200)
The next step up is a one-piece "carbon fiber" cover that goes over the OEM faux wood. For example, RPMTesla do a hydro coating "dash cap":

1660466128842.png


This looks almost as bad as the cheap Aliexpress versions. There's no depth to the carbon fiber, it looks fake and shiny, and the fit is terrible - the cap literally protrudes over the edge of the original wood trim.

Again: nope nope nope.


Genuine Carbon Fiber Dash Cap ($300 - $400)
The step up after hydro carbon fiber coating is real carbon fiber molded into a cap/cover that goes over the OEM dash trim, like that offered by Teslarati:

1660466313277.png


This is slightly better than the previous solutions in respect to having a chatoyant effect, but also worse in that the application of the carbon fiber is sloppy and the diagonal lines are wonky, wobbly, and inconsistently stretched. There's a weird horizontal line all the way along the length of the trim and it looks cheaply made with poor quality control.

Nope.


Genuine Carbon Fiber Dash Replacements ($800 - $1200)
The most premium solution is to get a complete OEM dash trim that comes with a carbon fiber panel instead of a wood one. This type of carbon fiber dash is the only one that I gave serious consideration. I looked at two options:


RPMTesla

1660466913687.png


The fit looks excellent. The matte finish is nice. The 3D effect looks great. But look at the way the fiber has been stretched at the bottom right of the trim piece! It looks weird and wrong. I only noticed this after ordering a set of dash + door trim (the Fremont MYPs are coming with wood trim on the doors now), so I emailed RPMTesla with my concerns. They were happy to refund me in full (the order hadn't yet been shipped) and I accepted.

Note about RPM: before reaching out to RPMTesla I had never met or interacted with them in any way. I'm not a shill. I'm just a customer, nothing more. During my initial email interactions they were slow to respond and took 3 days to answer a couple of questions. However when it came to canceling my order they were super responsive and helpful.


Fusion Motorsports

1660467118797.png


To y eye this was the best-looking of the bunch. Great chatoyancy, really nice matte effect... but it too suffered from wonky lines where the fiber folds over the lip at the bottom of the trim piece. Just like RPMTesla I emailed Fusion Motorsports and they had this to say (reproduced with permission):

The details and design of our products is our biggest focus. Additionally, the photos you used as a reference was the first matte carbon fiber dashboard we ever built. We are aware of the carbon fiber appearing stretched/elongated and took measures to ensure that all future dashboards would not have this design. We will get those photos removed soon.

I have went ahead and attached some photos depicting our recently built matte carbon fiber dashboard. The flat area that curves downward now has an even design that does not appear to be warped/scratched.

I would also like to clarify that if you do decide to proceed with this, you are more than welcome to return the dashboard/door-trim at no cost to you if you feel you are not 100% satisfied with the design.
--Alex @ Fusion Motorsports

A note here: before reaching out to Fusion Motorsports I had never met or interacted with them in any way. I'm not a shill. I'm just a customer, nothing more. Anyway, I pestered Alex (who seems to be the CEO/owner) quite a lot with questions and he was responsive, patient and helpful.

This is the new look Fusion dash (photos were sent to me by email and are reproduced with permission):

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This is (in my opinion) easily the best-looking dash trim I found during my search. The matte effect looks great, it's really 3D/chatoyant, and it's the only one that doesn't appear to have a sharp lip where it folds over at the bottom of the trim. I ordered it immediately after Alex sent over the updated photos. When it arrives I'll update this thread with photos and thoughts.

I hope this is helpful to someone.

Peace and love y'all!
 

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I appreciate your write up over the Dash Trims, but I personally disagree that the full dash replacement is actually worth the $900+ Price point after taxes.

I've seen many of the Full Piece Caps paired with various Other Matte Hydrodipped trim caps in Tesla Interiors, I never thought they looked cheap, couldn't tell the difference between the ABS material and real Matte Carbon Fiber splitters on my Y.

I think if money isn't an Object the full replacement makes the most sense, I just wonder if you will realize any increased ambiance value in Real CF vs Hydrodipped Caps. I tend to think you could spend the extra $600+ on something else like a high-end front Splitter(Lip)

Have you found these Dash replacements via a Direct Chinese Manufacturer for lower price? I think they would be worth an extra $300 dollars ontop of the Cap replacements, but I still think when we start discussing pouring $1000+ into the interior, maybe custom Alcantara coverings make even more sense.
 
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The carbon dash is overplayed. You can get the same look and end product with a $20 piece of carbon vinyl wrap, $60 cheap two piece overlay, $500 replacement or with a $1200 full real carbon fiber replacement. In the end it’s a cosmetic mod, with no functional implications.
If things like the weave pattern being perfect meant you spend $900 then you do you. Someone else can spend under $100 and no one would know the difference between yours and theirs.
 
The carbon dash is overplayed. You can get the same look and end product with a $20 piece of carbon vinyl wrap, $60 cheap two piece overlay, $500 replacement or with a $1200 full real carbon fiber replacement. In the end it’s a cosmetic mod, with no functional implications.
If things like the weave pattern being perfect meant you spend $900 then you do you. Someone else can spend under $100 and no one would know the difference between yours and theirs.
If you genuinely don't care about - or can't tell the difference between - this hydro CF:

1660511247807.png


and this real CF:

1660511324556.png


then you can safely ignore the rest of this thread :)

For those of us who can tell the difference and for whom it is of importance, let the discussion continue!
 

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I personally disagree that the full dash replacement is actually worth the $900+ Price point after taxes.

Fair enough. I don't yet know if it's worth it for me - I don't have the dash in hand and fitted to a car. If it's not worth it then I can return it to Fusion and get on with my life. It costs me nothing but time to try.

I've seen many of the Full Piece Caps paired with various Other Matte Hydrodipped trim caps in Tesla Interiors, I never thought they looked cheap, couldn't tell the difference between the ABS material and real Matte Carbon Fiber splitters on my Y.

This is where I think we fundamentally disagree on a subjective topic. I think they look cheap and plastic-y. You don't. That's cool.

I think if money isn't an Object the full replacement makes the most sense, I just wonder if you will realize any increased ambiance value in Real CF vs Hydrodipped Caps.

I firmly believe the increased ambience is worth it. To me the hydros appear flat, two dimensional, unmoving and dull. In contrast, I like to work with wood and I love the 3D chatoyancy effect in nicely finished wood grain; I'm looking for that same depth, lustre and shifting light in nicely finished CF. I'm fortunate enough that cost isn't a factor and I can focus on the end product.

I tend to think you could spend the extra $600+ on something else like a high-end front Splitter(Lip)
I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in a splitter/lip. 99% of the time that's for other people to look at and I don't care. The CF dash is for me to look at and I do care!

Have you found these Dash replacements via a Direct Chinese Manufacturer for lower price? I think they would be worth an extra $300 dollars ontop of the Cap replacements, but I still think when we start discussing pouring $1000+ into the interior, maybe custom Alcantara coverings make even more sense.

The Fusion dash is handmade in the USA by Alex and his business partners. There is no replacement and I'd much rather spend my money on an American small business than anything else.
 
This is what a $20 wrap looks like in case anyone is curious... its a bit of a pain to install but it looks much better than the $50 faux plastic covers and doesn't hinder HVAC airflow. I can't justify a $600-1000 full swap mostly because I think it seems a bit out of place to install such a nice interior bit on a car that otherwise has a relatively "cheap" looking interior. If my car was say a BMW M3/M4, it would be different.

PXL_20220330_225523506.jpg
 
This is what a $20 wrap looks like in case anyone is curious... its a bit of a pain to install but it looks much better than the $50 faux plastic covers and doesn't hinder HVAC airflow. I can't justify a $600-1000 full swap mostly because I think it seems a bit out of place to install such a nice interior bit on a car that otherwise has a relatively "cheap" looking interior. If my car was say a BMW M3/M4, it would be different.

View attachment 841005

Nice car!

What you've shown here is in my opinion the flat 2D version. It looks just dandy in your photo, but in the driver's seat for me it will be lacking the je ne c'est quoi that real carbon fiber offers. I'll talk about why in my reply to the person below!
 
You may not like it, but it’s NOT FAKE. Surprised you didn’t know that.

It's either real carbon fiber or it's not. Vinyl isn't carbon fiber. Hydro dip isn't carbon fiber. Perhaps my choice of the word fake carries implications of dishonesty or deception; for argument's sake I'll agree with you and opt for imitation instead.

The thing - the je ne c'est quoi - that only genuine carbon fiber brings is the textural element of woven fibers. It is the way these individual fibers reflect and refract light that gives the 3D effect that imitation carbon fiber simply cannot do, even the high-end stuff like VViVid.

As I sit in my driver's seat with the gorgeous summer sun beaming down on my dashboard, I personally want to see (and I acknowledge that beauty is in the eye of the beholder) the depth, shimmer, and shifting patterns of light that only real carbon fiber brings to the table. Imitation CF cannot do that because of the lack of stranded fibers; the lack of a weave; the lack of fine texture.

Which is why dropping $1k on a dash replacement is (I think - we'll see when it's in my hands) likely to be worth it in my book. But I don't mind if you disagree - if we all agreed there wouldn't be any vinyl, dip, covers, wraps, or anything else to choose from!
 
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I agree that there's a huge difference between real CF and faux... That "je ne c'est quo" as you put it. It's just that the Model Y (and Teslas in general) has an interior that is mostly cheap "Made in China" molded plastic and vinyl so it seems sorta out of place. I came from Mazda CX-5 and even that had a much nicer interior. Not that I'm complaining! I bought the Tesla for it's technology and powertrain, not luxury or premium build quality. You will probably notice the cheap build once you actually own the car for a bit but honestly everyone should do what makes them happy.
 
Yeah, I have a history littered with Audis and BMWs, so I was initially concerned with the interior trim.

To address my concerns I rented a ‘22 MYP on Turo and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t as bad as I feared based on things I’d read on Reddit and TMC. In fact I liked the minimalist clean approach. I ordered the MYP after driving the rental.

Adding a well-made matte carbon fiber dash will, I hope, alleviate some of the impression of cheapness imparted by the faux wood trim!
 
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And now that new Y’s are shipping with the new revised door cards anyone updating the “dash” will need to include those pieces as well. That will add to the cost of course.
Yup. I checked with both RPMTesla and Fusion Motorsports and they both assured me that their dash + door combo packages are compatible with the new Y doors. I assume they’re the same as the M3 doors.

The price increase for the Fusion package goes from $849 to $1,129.99 (after the mail-in rebate) once you factor in the door trims on top of the dash trim. Shipping is included in the price, at least to Colorado where I live.
 
Yup. I checked with both RPMTesla and Fusion Motorsports and they both assured me that their dash + door combo packages are compatible with the new Y doors. I assume they’re the same as the M3 doors.

The price increase for the Fusion package goes from $849 to $1,129.99 (after the mail-in rebate) once you factor in the door trims on top of the dash trim. Shipping is included in the price, at least to Colorado where I live.
There is this option, this is what I’m looking at