I am looking to replace the carpet in my 1991 Honda CRX Si due to a
water leak.  I have been searching for a consensus as to the best
brand of aftermarket carpet for my Honda in terms of quality, fitment,
match to original, and price.  The carpet is unfortunately no longer
available from Honda.

I would prefer the carpet to be custom molded, and pre-cut is nice. 
It is often available in two varieties, passenger area, and passenger
area and hatch area.  I have yet to make up my mind which I'll go
with.  Price may be a factor.

Usually you can always find a consensus on the best brand for
anything, there must be a best-of-breed replacement carpet out there.

My interior color is: Type K - Off Black

Jason91si, 
 
May your 2nd generation CRX live long and prosper! I own a 1987 CRX-DX
which recently passed 160,000 miles: they are great little cars and
fun to drive.

There are several sources of aftermarket carpet sets for your 1991 CRX
Si. These sets are molded to the proper shape and overall size, but
you will have to do some final fitting and trimming.

Automotive accessory retailer J.C. Whitney sells the following carpet
set:

   Custom-Molded Nylon Carpet Set 
   1988-91 Honda CRX, SKU# 78RQ7069NF
   http://www.jcwhitney.com/item.jhtml?ITEMID=50160

Their specifications state:

   - One piece 100% nylon cut-pile carpet
   - Custom molded to fit contours of car's floor pan 
   - Nonwoven 40 oz. OE polyester backing 
   - Covers every part of floor that was originally carpeted 
   - Color-coordinated vinyl heel pad on driver's side

For more information, call J.C. Whitney's Customer Service department
at (877) 927-7427. They ship internationally if you live outside of
the U.S.A.

The carpet set sold by J.C. Whitney is manufactured by Auto Carpet
Systems, Inc.:

   Auto Carpet Systems, Inc.
   1805 S. Hamilton St.
   Dalton, GA 30720-5344
   Tel: 1-800-533-3057
   Fax: 1-706-227-5098
   Email: originaltrim@aol.com
   Web site: none

You can order carpet sets directly from ACS by calling their general
number at 1-800-533-3057. If you give them your zip code, they can
also look up local dealers in your area. ACS also distributes carpet
sets through the auto parts chain stores AutoZone
(http://www.autozone.com) and Pep Boys (http://www.pepboys.com).
 
To request carpet color samples, call ACS at 1-877-927-7427. For
installation assistance, call their technical support at
1-800-533-3057.

I have not been able to find a brand-to-brand comparison of auto
carpet sets, but here is one car owner's review of an ACS carpet set
he installed his 1990 Nissan Maxima:

   [FWDLK] Carpet Supplier - ACS
   http://www.forwardlook.net/mail-archive/msg10215.html

Another major manufacturer of molded auto carpets is:

   Auto Custom Carpets
   The World's Leading Manufacturer of Automotive Carpet
   http://www.accmats.com/main.html

From what I have seen, ACC appears to have the most complete
information online that explains pile types, specifications, and
installation:

   Carpet Information
   http://www.accmats.com/html/carpetinformation.html

   Molded Floor Carpets
   http://www.accmats.com/html/molded.html

ACC's downloadable PDF catalog
(http://www.accmats.com/pdf/ACC%20Catalog.pdf) lists a complete carpet
set for 1988-90 Honda CRXs (catalog item # 52836), but it does not
specifically mention 1991 CRXs. However, you can call ACC at
1-800-633-2358 to confirm that this set will fit your car.

ACC's ordering information is here:

   Easy Ordering
   http://www.accmats.com/html/ordering.html

WLS Carpet Systems also sells carpet sets for 1988-91 CRXs. Their Web
site has detailed information (and photos) about their auto carpet
products:

   WLS Carpet Systems
   OEM Molded Carpets and Mats
   http://headlinerkit.com/ac/index.shtml

   Honda Car Replacement Carpets
   http://www.headlinerkit.com/ac/hmc.shtml

Some other suppliers are:

   Auto Carpet Originals
   Honda Products
   http://www.autocarpetoriginals.com/hondaprod.htm#1984-1987%20CRX

   ShadetreeOnline.Com
   Auto Carpet Kits
   http://www.shadetreeonline.com/carpet/carpetkits.htm

Thank you,
Huntsman

P.S. -  If you're looking for a good source of information about Honda
CRXs in general, I recommend the "CRX Resource" Web site. It was
recently updated, so there is still some overlap between the old and
new sites:

   CRX Resource 
   [updated site]
   http://resource.crx.org/index.php
 
   CRX Resource
   [old site]
   http://65.57.232.178/

You will need to register (for free) to get into the CRX Resource
discussion forums. Don't expect to find much of a consensus there on
anything, except for the fact that everyone *loves* their CRX. ;-)


Search Terms & Google Results - 

replacement auto carpet honda
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=replacement+auto+carpet

"auto carpet systems"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22auto+carpet+systems%22

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Request for Answer Clarification by jason91si-ga on 16 Aug 2002 05:15 PDT

I was not very suprised that you too ".. have not been able to find a
brand-to-brand comparison of auto carpet sets".  Which is exactly what
I've been looking for as well.  The review of the ACS carpet for the
Maxima is along the lines of what I'm after, and I'm grateful for
that.

I suppose this isn't the type of topic that one would find in Consumer
Reports, or on Amazon, so I still feel as if I'm buying somewhat
blind.

Thanks for all the resources though, the consolidated list of links
will be helpful.

---

Clarification of Answer by huntsman-ga on 16 Aug 2002 17:19 PDT

Jason91si,

When you consider the general population of car owners, how few of us
ever need to replace our carpets? And if we do, the shop simply takes
care of it and bills us. There's just not very much public demand for
this type of DIY information.

From what I saw, ACS looked like the most popular brand of
after-market carpet sets. Photos of their products were being used on
several web sites, and they distribute to large retailers.

Any time you want to know more about your Si, try the CRX Resource
forum. Please post in Google Answers, too, even though I don't have an
Si (not yet, anyway).

The new BMW Mini Cooper (http://www.mini.com) looks pretty tempting,
though: I think my old CRX is starting to get jealous.

Thanks,
Huntsman

The Researcher did a great job of providing resources for finding an
aftermarket carpet.  But, like myself, was unable to find any type of
user reviews of different brands.  Its quite possible it doesn't exist
out there at this time.  Great effort though.