Removed the side moldings...much better!

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'08 CPW Mazdaspeed 3
Before:

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After:

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(cabpatch)
 
Looks good! Mine didn't leave a line but I took them off like the day after I brought the car home.
 
Looks nice... I would do this but door dings worry me. With no moldings there is zero protection, period.
 
After looking at the doors, they're zero protection with or without the door moldings. They hardly stick out. If you're going to get a door ding, it's gonna just happen. This will only prevent another Mazda 3/MS3 from door dinging you as it's a perfect height and area.
 
Looks good. I was at first leery of doing this, but you're right in that the moldings are so small and so low, they wouldn't do jack crap in offering protection from dings. Since it hit the mid-'90s yesterday, they came off with just my fingernails and gentle pulling. Only 2,700 miles, so no paint fade or residue.
 
I've been debating this as well. My only thing is I think the molding look good on the car and flow with the lines. I did a quick photo shop and am still trying to decide. We'll see I guess.....
 
honestly, the protection from door ding thing is complete bs. After 5 years in a college parking garage my car has dings/dents/paint chips everywhere EXCEPT the door moldings. I think with so many SUV/trucks running around a car with door moldings is kind of pointless. Like someone else said, looking at the majority of where my door dings are, the door moldings can't do anything to protect against dings, it's more for show/peace of mind.
 
I've been debating this as well. My only thing is I think the molding look good on the car and flow with the lines. I did a quick photo shop and am still trying to decide. We'll see I guess.....

I feel the same way. We're definitely in the minority on this board :) Who knows, I may grow tired of them one day.
 
Trust me, I think it makes the lines flow well because it adds a little difference in the sides, but then again, it does look great without the moldings. GD!
 
It depends...

honestly, the protection from door ding thing is complete bs. After 5 years in a college parking garage my car has dings/dents/paint chips everywhere EXCEPT the door moldings. I think with so many SUV/trucks running around a car with door moldings is kind of pointless. Like someone else said, looking at the majority of where my door dings are, the door moldings can't do anything to protect against dings, it's more for show/peace of mind.

I disagree.

The mouldings will protect you if the other door or object hits the car squarely. If it's a rear door that has a curve on the lower half or a shopping cart then probably not.

I've actually seen the mouldings protect my car from larger sqaure SUV doors. Some woman flung her door open in the parking lot as I was coming back to my car and hit my door. I walked over and asked her what the hell she was doing- she looked at me like I was crazy. Luckily the SUV's door hit the moulding. There was a slight crease in the moulding that went away after a day or so and the door remained unscathed.

The mouldings are not going to stop EVERYTHING but they do help reduce the percentage of dings. It's preventative not guaranteed. Of course it's up to you if you feel that your willing to go without and have nothing covering you for that 30 to 50% of the doors that will be blocked.
 
I disagree.

The mouldings will protect you if the other door or object hits the car squarely. If it's a rear door that has a curve on the lower half or a shopping cart then probably not.

I've actually seen the mouldings protect my car from larger sqaure SUV doors. Some woman flung her door open in the parking lot as I was coming back to my car and hit my door. I walked over and asked her what the hell she was doing- she looked at me like I was crazy. Luckily the SUV's door hit the moulding. There was a slight crease in the moulding that went away after a day or so and the door remained unscathed.

The mouldings are not going to stop EVERYTHING but they do help reduce the percentage of dings. It's preventative not guaranteed. Of course it's up to you if you feel that your willing to go without and have nothing covering you for that 30 to 50% of the doors that will be blocked.

I sort of feel the same way. Without the moldings it's just straight up metal-on-metal contact, no matter what the situation. :eek:
 
I did the same thing on my 04 m6, at certain angles you can notice a bit of a difference where the paint is not as shiny but I am very happy with the result.
before
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after
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