I’m think of fitting Scuff Plates to my Soul Red Mk 4 ND because the black plastic is already showing slight scuffing (not done by MY shoes, of course!).
The MX5 Parts offer is Aluminium Sill Plates with MX-5 logo at £91, said to be genuine Mazda parts, but aluminium doesn’t seem to me to be the right material to avoid scuffing by grit-laden shoes. The alternative from Mazda dealers is Stainless Steel Scuff Plates with MX-5 logo at £74, and this would seem to be a better bet, and cheaper too. But are they really Stainless Steel? The pictures appear identical but are they actually made from different materials, despite both being genuine Mazda parts? Does anyone already have experience of these, both fitting and how they stand up to wear?
Hi Andy I purchased my scuff plates from Mx5 spares Now 4mths ago and fitted them to my Mk4 recaro , this has done the job to save the plastic, I do clean them with some polish to help keep them looking like new When fitting forget the template put in place mark around with a pencil clean the plastic with the wipes in the box ,then put the glue within your pencil lines ,push down and away you go . I did mine in 10mins a side well worth the money.
Thanks for the advice, coolzapper, but it doesn’t really answer my question. Is the Mazda scuff plate stainless steel and is the MX5 Parts plate aluminium? I think I would really prefer stainless steel if, in fact they are different.
However the price was far too high and they did not cover the vulnerable fold in the sill, which is where one scuffs all the time with the heel or edge of the foot when getting in and out. A terminally stupid design, a triumph of style over function.
I could not find any scuff plates with the relevant wrap over the edge and Mazda3 legend, and I ended up with some generic polished stainless scuff plates,
but there seemed to be a vast choice of MX5 stainless plates for earlier models than ND on offer at a wide range of prices. For once, Google is your friend here.
Some while ago (March) I bought genuine Mazda “aluminium” sill plates from MX5 Parts after a post by “Rally Tart” , check it out. After an extensive thread and discussion on the matter the general consensus was that they were in fact made from stainless steel. I must say that I agree with that opinion and I think that MX5 Part listing is erroneous. They’re easy to fit (forget the templates! just use a marker pen!) and they’ve saved me from kicking lumps out of the plastic door sill. Well worth the money and cheaper now than when they first appeared (£113.56 inc vat and P&P)!. Go for it, Mazda’s price looks good, order them from your dealer and fit them yourself!
I also got a set from my local dealer. I’m pretty sure they are stainless steel. They certainly do the job and look good. They look straightforward to fit and the comments above would confirm this but I had the dealer fit them to save me the time.
I have fitted the genuine Mazda aluminium sill covers from MX5 Parts referred to by OP. I have to agree the likelihood is they will scratch if care is not taken (which arguably defeats the object of them being ‘sill protectors’). However, I have got myself into the habit of mindfully lifting my little legs over the sill (and carefully training the little lady to do the same on her side ) and to date after several months they remain ‘as new’. I fitted a set of aluminium pedal covers at the same time and together the over all effect is very pleasing.
