Latest news about precision weatherstrip door seals

[zKars]

Hey gang, just ordered and now installed a complete set of Precision weatherstrip on a 71 S30 purchased from MSA (the weatherstrip, not the car, sorry...)

The door weatherstrip was the big surprise. They seem to have gotten it right finally, the doors close exactly the same as they did with the old stock weatherstrip. No slam, no protruding doors, no drama. Just a decent fit.

The bulb size is equivalent to the Kia weather strip, in fact, the precision strip is a U, not a closed circle like the Kia strip, so is more flexible, and more like the stock cross section.

Might have to go back to ordering this stuff instead of the KIA part again.

[Sean240Z]

I recently ordered a set of the "improved" door Precision weatherstrip from Motorsport Auto (just the door, not the complete set), and the weatherstrip I received was still too thick and stiff. I had been living with the Precision weatherstrip since 2006 but last fall I broke my second door handle.

Given that the new weatherstrip was still unsuitable, I decided enough was enough.  Yesterday, I went to a local auto salvage yard and got two sets of front weatherstrip off a 2001ish KIA Sportage ($10). OMG the weatherstrip is awesome! I wish I'd done this years ago! No more slamming the door to close and one finger to open. The only negative is that the stiff part that clamps to the door opening is slightly wider then the stock, so the sill trim does not fit as well as it did before (I might try tweaking the sill trim later).

I washed my car yesterday and sprayed water around the door opening and no leaks! Do yourself a favour, if you need new weatherstrip, don't waist time and money trying to make the Precision weatherstrip work, just go with the KIA Sportage weatherstrip.

[madkaw]

I will second Sean's advice. I been living with the precision mistake for years. Just went to the junk yard the other day and found perfect 2002 Kia seals. Door closes perfect . I don't understand how precision even put these out and why and the hell MSA sold them. So when Precision showed MSA these seals or MSA tried them , did they just assume the seals needed to be broke in? That's what they left us assuming. Sorry I'm on a rant, but this isn't the first thing I got from MSA - the Z experts, that was junk.

i might order a new set of Kia seals , but no precision stuff. 

 

[Zed Head]

I sent a message to Greg@TheZStore with a link to this message.  They can't help if they don't know.

Gonna try oe of those @ things - @Joseph@TheZStore

@Joseph@TheZStore

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Edited May 9, 2016 by Zed Head
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[Joseph@TheZStore]

Gentlemen,

I'm sure you guessed we're all just trying to survive the final car show preparation, sorry for the slow response. James@thezstore will be working on this with Greg soon. The fact that there seems to be inconsistency will mean some research with Precision. Inconsistency is generally not an issue with them. Certainly if they reverted what they were supplying we will get that fixed.

James will update you once we research this, which unfortunately will take a little extra time as our small staff is all-in trying to hopefully put on a great car show.

Thank you for your patience.

[grannyknot]

Thank you Joseph for addressing this, it would be a great thing for all of us to be able to iron out issues like this and also good for MSA.

Thanks to Zed too for getting the ball rolling.

[Richard McDonel]

Regarding the door weatherstrip,  numerous people have recommended KIA Sportage, but I notice a number also mention buying it used from a wrecker.  So my question is, does this stuff fit better because it is KIA, or simply that it is used  and has compressed over time?  If I buy new from the dealer, will I have the same too-bulky problem that people are experiencing with the MSA / Precision product?

Thanks,

[munters]

New fit is good.

[jfa.series1]

31 minutes ago, Richard McDonel said:

Regarding the door weatherstrip,  numerous people have recommended KIA Sportage, but I notice a number also mention buying it used from a wrecker.  So my question is, does this stuff fit better because it is KIA, or simply that it is used  and has compressed over time?  If I buy new from the dealer, will I have the same too-bulky problem that people are experiencing with the MSA / Precision product?

Thanks,

The Kia weatherstrip has a more flexible bulb than the PRP piece.  Therefore it has more give when the door is closed.  Also, it comes attached to the welting that covers the body seam around the door opening.  Whether your buy the Kia product used (salvage yard) or new you'll get an easier door closing effort.  Been there, done that!

[Richard McDonel]

Thanks for the replies folks.

Guess I'm off to the Kia dealer tomorrow.  I also have a brand new, still in the original packaging, set of MSA /Precision door weatherstrips.  Good price too!

 

 

 

[duffymahoney]

My precisions work fine.  Took some time, no need to slam.  

[grannyknot]

11 hours ago, duffymahoney said:

My precisions work fine.  Took some time, no need to slam.  

That is interesting, how long ago did you purchase them?  For years all you ever heard was complaints about the poor fit of Precision door seals but lately, the last 2yrs or so, there has been more reports like yours, that they just fine with no slamming needed.  It sounds to me like Precision may have changed the design of their doors seals recently due to all the complaints, it would be nice to nail down some date when the design change happened (if at all). As good and cheap as the Kia seals are they are not much good for guys who really want an original car.