The S15’s first install of the year to be documented on the site and it’s…a pair of window visors. No they’re not anything crazy like new aero or power upgrades, but they’re brand new OEM components and “brand new OEM” is something I always enjoy hearing when it comes to parts for this car.
At some point in its life my S15 had clearly worn visors as its window trim showed the clues: glue residue (that had still yet to fully come off despite a lot of effort over the years) and marks from when said visors were removed. I had considered finally replacing the window trim this year as part of the new season’s updates to the car but knew that I’d ultimately just cover them with visors again anyway, so I went straight to step 2 and ordered a pair as soon as some inventory popped up.
A slightly blurry photo, but it’s the only one I took of the box prior to recycling it. Oh well.
Opened up – there’s my prize! I should have ordered a pair a lot earlier on but fortunately some were still available. With that 25-year mark getting ever-closer I’m feeling the pressure to snap up the final OEM pieces I need for the restoration side of this project before the flood gates open!
The instructions helped a little bit I suppose, but ultimately they’re very similar to many other visors so there’s not too much to note.
One feature of these visors that I quite enjoy is that while they mainly secure to the car via double-sided tape, there are also a few tabs on each that snap around the window trim for extra security.
For reference, here’s where the top three sit – the fourth is located at the base of the A-pillar. With the tint of the visors you don’t see any of the mounting tabs or tape once installed.
For fitting these, I made sure the still-scarred original window trims were fully cleaned and degreased and then ran masking tape along the roof to protect the paint and PPF from the clips. I never even hit the tape with them, but better safe than sorry!
Close-up of one of the clips, about to snap around the window trim. You’ll know when these are in properly!
With the visors clipped in place the backing from the tape could come off next. Note the small piece of green masking tape hanging off the end of the film – with installs like this, always peel a tiny bit of the backing off and bring it around (taping it) to the front of the piece. Having a tail to pull on then allows the rest of the backing to easily come off, and having it taped in place ensures it doesn’t accidentally curl back under, out of reach.
To finish the visors off I then quickly ran the heat gun up and down each while applying some gentle pressure, to ensure the tape was really stuck to the trim.
And with that, they were on! No longer do I need to look at the beat up upper window trim, and I can finally crack my windows open for fresh air without letting rain in the car. Unlike with the prior years, I don’t really have one area of the S15 on which I’m focusing my attention for 2022. Rather, I’m hoping to bring up the overall quality level by addressing some smaller parts and details like this, ahead of the next major overhaul phase for the car at some point in the future. Along with the visors I do have a few more new OEM parts here (and a couple more on the way) to remove some of the weak links from the exterior, and the interior will get a couple of revisions to build on what came last year too. We’re just over one month from Driven now, the clock is ticking!
-Bill