Cutting down transmission tunnel side panels.
 

With these panels off I've noticed that the upper forwards section each side is excessively large.
I first vaguely noticed this when looping cables from the back of the RNS into the glovebox (for XcarLink); only a tiny gap.

With them off, as now, there's loadsa room to feed cables through (or take them out as I did yesterday). :)
Each side there is effectively a hidden near-quarter-circle flat segment of leather-covered plastic that is totally hidden and also does absolutely nothing structural.

On the drivers side this is behind the knee panel so is permanently hidden (the slot is where I "deleted" the knee panel lower left bracket).
On the passenger side I guess it partly covers the HVAC etc. when the glovebox is open, but again isn't really necessary.

Interestingly this flat area seems to be stamped with part numbers and dates - probably stamped into the metal moulds as it's raised on the plastic.

I'm planning to cut most of this surplus away as it will have two benefits:
1) A larger space for feeding additional cabling to the back of the RNS.
2) Easier to remove/replace the panels for maintenance.

Has anyone ever done this before or see any downsides?

Edit: Job done. Pictures updated to show before and after. The little black tab visible is where the support bracket "would be" for the knee panel.