They sell their 30 piece dash kits on eBay. I was wondering if the fit and finish is good. The three kits im considering is the Alka Plus, AP-signworks, or the Joshua ree kit. Which kit do you guys prefer?

 

Forum search results for "alka":

http://forums.maxima.org/search.php?...der=descending

Doesn't look promising.

Forum search results for "signworks":

http://forums.maxima.org/search.php?...der=descending

Not a lot of info, but we do have a member here that works for them.

Forum search results for "joshua tree":

http://forums.maxima.org/search.php?...der=descending

Most used by Maximas on the board. Most members like the kit. It's $$$, but many are pleased with the results. I still like mine after 2 years.

Good luck!

 

I purchased my dash kit off of ebay from alkaplus. High quality stuff my good man. They sent it the next day at no additional cost as well.

 

I own AP-Signworks. In my opinion, you shouldn't lump the Alkaplus kit in with ours or with Joshua Tree. Ours as well as Joshua Tree's are real brushed aluminum. I don't know if Joshua Tree still sells synthetic kits for Maximas. I've heard some bad things from a few people about Alkaplus's customer service. In fact several of my customers are their previous customers who didn't like the way things were handled. Their kits sell for like $100 or so, our kit as well as the JT kit both sell for $200+. Remember, you get what you pay for. My wholesale cost on the kit is way above what the Alkaplus kit retails. Even the manufacturing cost on the kit we sell is about what their kit retails for. Between our kit and Joshua Tree's kit, the only real difference is that our kit has some pieces combined for a smoother look. Both ours as well as JT's real aluminum kit fit well. I used to have the JT synthetic kit, that didn't fit really well which is why I ended up prototyping for a shop to make the real aluminum kit which is what I have now. But from what I've been told, their real aluminum kits fit much better.

So in conclusion (after this long winded post) don't get the Alkaplus. Spend a little more for either our kit or the JT kit, I think you'll be much happier in the long run.

 

How was the fit? Did it fit well? Is it real brushed aluminum or the synthetic crap?

 

I think JT still sells synthetic ones.

I've got a JT real kit and the fit is very good. If you want, send mike and email and said I sent you, he'll take care of you.

-Shing

 

i have the synthethic one on my max,
eh. fitment was an issue on a few pieces. but Mike is really good on Customer Service, if that's anything to you.

i would get the real brushed aluminum, but i sorta like that high gloss finish... cuz if i scratch the real aluminum, its over.

 

chston sucks!! never replies to emaills.. haha, well alka sucks too!! prefer Josua trim kits.. they are the bomb. Alka is not as complete and they use fake carbon fiber not real..

 

Thanx for all the replies, I love you guys!

 

Are Alka's wood trims equally cheesy?

 

I had Alka Plus' carbon fiber kit on my car for almost 6 months, 3 months after I put the kit on the pieces started to peal up and nothing fit well at all. Yes you get 30 or so pieces, but none of them are near the right size. It looked funny.

Joshua Tree is not that bad of a kit, but being a sales rep for AP-Signworks I can tell you that I back my company to the fullest and would recommend the AP-Signworks kit over the JT kit anyday. The price difference is not that big, and you get to deal with someone who owns a maxima and knows what is entailed with the exact kit and fitament with AP-Signworks.

Customer Service is also a plus. JT is not great, and Alka Plus hung up on me whenever I called and asked to speak to a supervisor.

In conclusion - AP-Signworks for all your dash kit needs.

Jason Sadler

 

I ordered the alka brushed aluminum kit guage cluster looked horrid
Shifter piece did not fit a manual stick and this kit is plastic. Very dissapointed returned the next day. took them to long to credit my card IMO...

 

i ordered the alka carbon fiber(but ended up being carbon-look) gauge bezel and it was a horrible fit...none of the holes for the gauges lined up and the bezel covered parts of my warning lights and the hole for the trip odometer reset button was too small...overall very dissappointed and would not recommend their product...

 

Alka PLUS customer service sucks. They just don't care.

DW

 

I do not see a carbon fiber kit listed on AP-Signworks webpage. Am I missing it or do they only sell aluminum? Also, does anyone know about Veneerz.com and their kits???

 

We only make aluminum. We're the manufacturer, not a reseller, so we don't carry everything.

 

if this is for a 5th gen..i dont know if you would want to go with a real alum dash kit

just my personal preference...the molded kits look better because they cover all the little areas

ive had the real alum kit on my 5th gen and besides the host of other problems i had(unrelated to the kit)...i wasnt 100% satisfied with the look....it covers the top of the main dash and (if you're into details) you can see the lines of the stock headunit on the side (the area that isn't covered by the kit) which made it look incredibly cheap....to me it looked like i just slapped something on top of my dash and let it be...from what ive seen the 4th gen kit is much better than the 5th

go with the molded kit....you wont have to worry about denting, scratching or misshaping it if something happens + it looks better

 

Got mines from ebay. I am happy with the wood trim. However, the picture in the auction was different from the kit that was sent. It was missing pieces. Called them up, and they said that those pieces are to be purchased separately. Stupid me, I should have returned it back then. The add was misleading. Instead I decided to pay and order the extra pieces. Its been TWO Months now, made several calls to get a status. Customer Service (Anna) was rude and kept giving me BS about the delivery date. Every week I checked for status and every week it was a different reason why it did not ship. Very stingy on the adhesive activator. One measely pad to handle all 30 pieces. The moment you open the packet, the activator starts drying out. It only lasted on a few pieces then it dried-out. I requested for more adhesive activator. They said that you should have only used one and that pro installers only need one. I told her emphatically that I am not a profesional installer. A debate went on about this. Reluctantly, she sent me one packet in the mail. I wonder what these activators are made off and how much they cost. To this date I am still waiting for my extra pieces. The only pieces installed in the car are the center vent, A/C face and the Stereo face. Lesson learned. You get what you pay for.

 

The AP Signworls kit looks the best, but it's lacking in the number of pieces. For that $265 price at the website, I would think that I would get more than just 14 pieces. I want an aluminum dash kit bad, but I want it to be of good quality with greater amount of pieces.

 

I wish I had checked up on alkaplus before using the buy it now option on their auction for a brushed aluminum kit for my 95 MaxSE (5 speed) What was enticing for me was that they included the gauge bezel with the auction, but if its gonna fit like **** and I am going to end up being shipped a kit with missing pieces, should I send out the money order or take their negative feedback and save my money for a higher quality kit? I am planning on sending the money this Friday if you have any comments please reply before then if possible. Oh yeah the kit with shipping included comes out to $143.00

You guys in the forum rule, thanks a lot!

 

The price I sell the kits to you guys is $160, not $265. And I could make as many pieces as Alkaplus, but most of the extra ones would look like ****. Some things should not be covered in metal. It would look tacky, obviously stuck on like it didn't belong and would detract from the look. We tried it, hated the look and pulled the pieces out of the template.

 

shadow can u make the a dash kit for 3rd gen max??

 

I've been trying to. Someone sent me their dash kit a while back but it was in too bad of a condition to use, so I'm getting another one now. We have the gauge bezel ready, just have to test fit it.

 

cool let me know when u are ready and would like to sell the dash kit. and where can i see those other kit for other gen of max is there a website?? thanx..

 

I have the 30-piece wood dash kit from AlkaPlus. I don't have anything to compare it with (kit from other manufacturer), but I have to say that I like the overall result. As long as you don't expect OEM type finish, you won't be disappointed. I bought the Oxford Burlwood version.

 

I have the Oxford Burlwood as well, and I really like it. Overall the kit looks great and I only have 2 complaints:
1) The piece above the clock will eventually crack due to the heat from the sun (especially since I'm in Texas)
2) There is a gap between the head unit and the A/C controls
Here's a few pictures: http://www.imageevent.com/xhypex/maximapictures

MaxLimits any reason you dug up this thread
-hype

 

I have Joshua Tree molded 9 piece Oxford Burlwood. I love it! They just started to make the molded wood kits. The customer service is great. You can ask questions in their chat room (woodtrim.com). Oh, and yeah--$240 to the door.