Well, I broke my drivers side door handle. It broke off up onto the handle itself and can't be fixed with the fixit thingies. Been there done that. SOS makes some nice billet handles for $345. Anyone know of any other options other than OEM (or Dali) that are better than OEM - ie won't break?
Options for replacement door handles
- Thread starter whitebois
- Start date
I have the billets {in silver}. I love them and would do it again.
^ +1
I prefer the OEM look, so I went with the SOS black. That was over 5 years ago & they still look perfect.
I prefer the OEM look, so I went with the SOS black. That was over 5 years ago & they still look perfect.
Sometimes you have to decide if your girl deserves a Diamond or a Cubic Zirconia. Like the Bee Gee's song, How Deep is "your" love. :biggrin:
There's a pair for sale over the Classified forum. Cmc140(chris) is the seller. Great guy.
I believe they are sold to a friend of mine.
Any updates? I'm more curious about the wear life of the finish.
Just get the SOS door handles. They are fantastic and totally worth the money. I really like the hefty feel of them relative to stock-- provides a quality feel every time you open door. No regrets.
I have the sliver anodized ones, so no concern about the finish coming off. I feel the silver handles look better than the black ones provided you have a few other bits of silver visible to help balance the look. I have a silver anodized shift handle and NSX-R steering wheel which helps. But if you're all stock then black will probably look better.
I have the sliver anodized ones, so no concern about the finish coming off. I feel the silver handles look better than the black ones provided you have a few other bits of silver visible to help balance the look. I have a silver anodized shift handle and NSX-R steering wheel which helps. But if you're all stock then black will probably look better.
I'm torn between the ceramic coated matte black for the OEM look or the natural metal finish.
I'm not sure how long the ceramic coating will last from repeat touching of the handle over the years. Natural finish (even if it's a clear coat that wears off) shouldn't show it's age as much.
Any thoughts?
I'm not sure how long the ceramic coating will last from repeat touching of the handle over the years. Natural finish (even if it's a clear coat that wears off) shouldn't show it's age as much.
Any thoughts?
Clear anodizing is a chemical treatment of the surface of the aluminum. You can still scratch it and abrade the surface; however, it does not wear like a coating. Keep your fingernails short and you are probably good for the rest of your life! Can't comment on the durability of the ceramic coating.
I installed the SOS anodized black handles in 6/2009 (20,000 miles ago) on my NSX and they show no signs of wear. One of the factory handles cracked, I bought a used replacement & kept that pair if I want to restore the car to 100% original. But, the SOS handles are so close in appearance to the OEMs (just slightly more glossy) that someone would have to be more anal than me to put back the OEM ones.
I have not seen the SOS ceramic version, so I don't know how close they are in appearance to the ones I bought from SOS. Theoretically, a ceramic coating could be harder than the anodized surface, but that depends on thickness, ceramic material composition, etc, etc.
I have not seen the SOS ceramic version, so I don't know how close they are in appearance to the ones I bought from SOS. Theoretically, a ceramic coating could be harder than the anodized surface, but that depends on thickness, ceramic material composition, etc, etc.
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Perhaps you could explain the difference. In my understanding, anodizing is a process that forms a coating of Al2O3 (aluminum oxide) on the surface of the aluminum. More precisely, part of the aluminum is converted to aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide is a ceramic. Moreover, it is among the harder ceramics. So while overall durability may depend on coating thickness, I don't follow why anodizing is not not sufficiently hard.
As I noted, the anodized surface on the pair I installed in 2009 has held up very well. So, what you are implying is that SOS is not using a different "ceramic" process (such as a deposited coating other than Al2O3). I.e., both the 2009 & 2015 versions are Al2O3, and SOS is simply calling the handles "ceramic" now vs "anodized" when I bought them.
Yes, sorry for my misdirected confusion/questioning. My point was only that anodizing is ceramic and using by both terms to contrast with each other requires more information to distinguish them. It appears that SOS uses both terms now. But all versions of their product are the same price, which implies to me that they are made by the same process and simply use different-color anodizing. Not that there's anything bad about that. Anodizing, when "hard anodized" (as I understand it, that refers to type III coating, which is defined primarily by thickness of the oxide layer), is a super hard finish. I'm not sure you could do any better.
Probably getting off topic; but, anodizing is an electro chemical process that alters the surface of the aluminum alloy to form an altered (Al Oxide) structure that is more resistant to corrosion (and probably harder). The common usage of ceramic coated implies a paint or a powder coat that contains ceramic spheres or other stuff in the body of the paint to improve its durability. Because the black ceramic finish is a coating, it might chip off if it was wacked hard enough with something sharp. The anodized finish will not chip off because the finish is actually part of the surface of the metal. However, anything that could damage the surface of the metal will damage the anodizing.
In the context of the SOS handles, if the anodizing or the ceramic coating is done properly, they would both qualify as durable finishes.
The only thing I would note is that when aluminum alloy is clear anodized, in my experience (sail boat spars and other bits) it normally alters the finish so that it has a slightly flat finish. I don't think you could mechanically polish the anodized finish without destroying the anodizing. This makes me think that the SOS parts might have a clear finish on top of the anodizing.
In the context of the SOS handles, if the anodizing or the ceramic coating is done properly, they would both qualify as durable finishes.
The only thing I would note is that when aluminum alloy is clear anodized, in my experience (sail boat spars and other bits) it normally alters the finish so that it has a slightly flat finish. I don't think you could mechanically polish the anodized finish without destroying the anodizing. This makes me think that the SOS parts might have a clear finish on top of the anodizing.
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BTW, I'm down for a group buy discount on this and that other piece in the door.
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Count me in. I was just looking at the door handles and will replace the actuator levers inside the door at the same time. Haven't decided between black for the OEM look or gunmetal to match my shift knob yet. But I def want in on a group buy/discount on these.
I still want these.. my OEM ones are plastidipped silver and no one ever notices.. they actually look great.
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