I contacted topgaiters about the issues, and they said that they would make it right. They also asked me to check out the fitment of the handbrake gaiter (boot) to make sure that it fits okay. Second problem. The opening for the handbrake handle is way too small, to the point that it is stretching the stitching to the point of breaking. Kinda defeats the object of fitting a new boot. Not really impressed at all. Now I am going to have drive around with no boots on either the shift or handbrake. I might just spring for a set of Redline, or JCW.
Your pictures just showed up for me on my end and man, you're fitment was way off compare to mine. They definitely need to make things right with you. Ask them if they would replace you mounting ring while they're at it.
Topgaiters have offered to replace the gaiters AND the plastic retainer ring. When they arrive, I will keep the retaining ring and throw the gaiters into the trash where they belong.
To their credit, topgaiters have offered a full refund. Found some GP boots on ECS Tuning website and I will probably go with them.
From what I read on this thread, I expected mine to also fit. That is why I bought them. narvarr said that he had to use a razor knife to make adjustments to the slits to make the shift boot fit the retaining ring. As you can see from the pictures that I posted, if I had cut new slits the original ones would probably have shown over the trim ring. That would have defeated the object of fitting a new boot. To their credit, topgaiters did refund my money.
I have fitted after market boots. The leather one looked too tight. So I put it on a little at a time to let it stretch out slowly. You just have to give it time to stretch.
Tried that. If you look at the pictures, the slits are SO much further up the boot than the original that it effectively reduces the diameter of the boot. This made the boot too small for the very thin plastic retaining ring, and the stress caused the plastic to break.
To be honest, the quality of the material and stitching on these are some of the best that I have seen. I'm satisfied enough with the end result that I'll be ordering their down tube and arm rest covers in the near future. The fit may not be OEM perfect, but then again, these are custom pieces probably hand made so there will be some variations. The little bit of extra effort was worth it for me. In M1N1's case, his many have been sewn just a tad bit too small and some credit goes to Topgaiters for stepping up to the plate and making things right.