I have a 2006 XK8 and have seen the dash kits to add coverage to the exhisting factory wood and wonder how close the wood match is?

 

"add coverage to the factory wood"? I'm curious, where is this wood going to be?

 

The kits show 15 pieces. More coverage around the radio and upper door panels.

 

Is this the one, from Arden? The pictures I have seen of theirs looks really close to stock...but they might also be replacing the factory pieces to achieve this. I'm guessing that it is expensive. I always thought their hardtop was cool...until I found out it almost costs as much as these cars are worth.


More photos attached, one with less wood.


To my eyes the first two pictures are a bit too much wood, but around the shifter along with the radio and climate controls looks pretty nice.

 

No that's not the one. The ones I have seen like from Dash Kit Mall just fill in around the radio and in front of the shifter where the top button is located. They also have a strip which goes on the upper doors.

 

That is a pretty interesting kit. The price makes me question how close it will match though. I think it is sort of like rolling the dice whether the tree for the new kits comes close to matching the wood on your car. If it doesn't match close enough to suit you, you could always leave off parts 1-6 which adjoin the existing wood and the rest might have enough distance where it would still look good. You might want to figure out what their return policy would be if you do not like the wood match.

I think adding just parts 8-12 would look nice in my car

 

That's just too much wood! I have seen the door inserts though and they look pretty good though.

 

The Arden setup is real wood, and extremely expensive, IIRC it was 4-5k Euros at least.

 

Hi guys,
I had mine manufactured by Myrtle, Ltd. in the UK. The quality is quite nice and you don't have to sell body parts to afford them. If money was not an issue, I think that Arden would have been my first choice. However, living in the real world where price does count, Myrtle was an excellent alternative. If I remember correctly, the Arden Console alone was priced at well over $5K........!
Brian

http://www.myrtleltd.com/jaguar-daimler/xk8-xkr

PS I REALLY like their Steering Wheel. It matches my dash much better, being Burl rather than Plywood, and it's a bit thicker, which feels quite nice.