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1. Start out by unscrewing the shift knob. Firmly rotate it
counterclockwise until it's off. Set it aside.
2. Slide back the front compartment of the center console and look at
the inside front right corner. There is a small plastic panel there. Gently work
the flat-bladed screwdriver into its edges and work around the edges, prying
very softly until the piece pops out. Set it aside.
3. Open the ashtray door and pull out the ashtray container insider.
4. Grab the rear right corner of the large panel that surrounds the
shifter. This panel extends from the ashtray at the front to the cupholder
storage compartment at the rear. Use your fingertips and the tip of the
flat-bladed screwdriver to gently pop up the right rear corner just a quarter
inch or so, then work your way around the panel to remove the entire panel. Feel
where the connectors are, underneath, and ensure that they all pop free of the
car. (There are six of them spread evenly around the edges, and a seventh by the
hand brake.)
5. Turn the panel upside down and disconnect any wiring connectors
underneath it. Look for the little tabs that lock them together, and gently push
down on the tabs while pulling apart the connectors. (Not all RX-8s have any
connectors here.)
6. Remove the panel and place it upside down on a soft surface, like
a towel.
7. Reach inside the OEM (factory) shift boot and remove the padding
inside it.
8. Straighten out the padding to form it into its original conical
shape.
9. Looking at the underside of the panel, use a Philips screwdriver
to unscrew the little black plastic frame that goes inside the OEM shift boot.
10. Lift out the OEM shift boot and note how the slits in it fit over
the little black plastic frame.
11. Remove the OEM shift boot from the little black plastic frame,
and place the RedlineGoods shift boot over the frame in the same way. (You may
wish to orient the RedlineGoods shift boot so that the seam with
double-stitching that does NOT reach all the way to its tip is facing the
driver's inside knee.)
12. If the slits do not fit perfectly over the tabs in the little
plastic frame, then use the knife or box cutter very carefully to extent the
slit slightly to fit the frame. It is a tight fit and such cutting may not be
necessary. Some of the slits are hard to see, but they are there.
13. Place the conical padding material into the RedlineGoods shift
boot as it was in the OEM boot.
14. Screw the shift boot and frame back into the shifter panel.
15. Place the panel back into the car, connect all the connectors,
and firmly snap it back into place, while tucking the tip of the RedlineGoods
shift boot down and into itself, around the shift lever.
16. Replace the small panel inside the storage compartment, and
replace the ashtray container and close its door.
17. Screw the shift knob back into place, carefully holding the shift
boot so that it does not twist, and so that tip of it stays tucked inside itself.
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