Post your aftermarket seat here [Archive] - BMW E46 330 ZHP For Sale Forum

wertyu78

05-23-2014, 09:36 AM

It's about that time for me to ditch the stock sport seats in lieu of something that will hold me in place better. I've toyed around with the idea of utilizing harness with the stock seats, but ultimately decided I'd like to run aftermarket seats + harnesses so that when I do add my roll bar, I'll be able to run SCCA hill climbs and such.

What are you running?
What did you pay?
Are they comfortable?

I have been eyeing the OMP stuff....

http://s22.postimg.org/694tjqiu9/ralleye_black_omp.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

http://s22.postimg.org/wvha8pn1d/style_omp.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

Hermes

05-23-2014, 09:44 AM

Don't buy fixed back unless you plan on fully caging your car

wertyu78

05-23-2014, 09:50 AM

Don't buy fixed back unless you plan on fully caging your car

I'm fine with a fixed back. The ZHP isn't driven much anymore. Plus, I've driven fixed back seats for hours upon hours and it wasn't that bad.

mbeckel

05-23-2014, 09:52 AM

I like the seat choice. Looks like it hugs you in place

Sent from in the bushes

Hermes

05-23-2014, 10:21 AM

I'm fine with a fixed back. The ZHP isn't driven much anymore. Plus, I've driven fixed back seats for hours upon hours and it wasn't that bad.

Comfort is not the issue, it's a safety reason. In case of a rollover you don't want a fixed back seat unless you have a full cage or else your spine will be compressed

Smilez

05-23-2014, 10:26 AM

derbo

05-23-2014, 10:49 AM

Comfort is not the issue, it's a safety reason. In case of a rollover you don't want a fixed back seat unless you have a full cage or else your spine will be compressed

I think if you use a stock 3pt seatbelt with a fixed back, you should be fine. It allows you to bend over in an event of a rollover.

derbo

05-23-2014, 10:52 AM

oops forgot to actually reply.

https://img.skitch.com/20120226-m9mq5uxcpb37nmjsi7yngqyirj.png

Recaro SPG
Recaro Brackets
Recaro Slider
Machschnell Mounts
VAC sedan seatbelt mount brackets

I use a stock seatbelt as I do not have a cage.

My old setup was Schroth BMW specific Quick Fit Pro harness with the stock seats. They did their job well and they held me using the stock seatbelt mounts.

http://www.schrothracing.com/tuning/quick-fit-pro/qfp-bmw

http://www.schrothracing.com/pimg/quickFitProInstalled_cf01bdfe.jpg

Vas

05-23-2014, 11:13 AM

I been debating this forever if i should buy some. some NRG bucket seat or recliner seats

https://www.getnrg.com/files/node_images/RSC-400SL%20Pose.jpg
https://www.getnrg.com/files/node_images/RSC-400SL%20back.jpg

These seats are just complete 100% knockoff from the Bride Japan seats that I owned. I personally would not trust any cheap aftermarket seat that is a copy.

If I do ditch the factory seats, Recaro SPG would be my choice.

cakM3

05-23-2014, 11:20 AM

For me it's Recaro Sportster CS seats....no other seats look perfect to me other than these in our BMWs :) I helped my friend Brian install these in his ///M last year. They are so awesome :drool

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/Library2/IMG_8972_zpse21e773e.jpg

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/Library2/93BCAAE7-7FB8-443E-B57B-320E4C474ED1_zps9d72367b.png

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/Library2/IMG_8974_zps828d052e.jpg

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/macdctr/Library2/IMG_9062_zpsc2f5e17a.jpg

I gotta get off my butt and get a set for my ///M sometime....:facepalm

Vas

05-23-2014, 11:26 AM

Only issue with those is that they are not FIA approved.

But they do look nice for a street seat.

Hermes

05-23-2014, 11:30 AM

If I was to go fixed back there is only one choice for me

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads17/scheel11272575584.jpg

E_Rak

05-23-2014, 11:31 AM

Derbo's Recaro setup for sure. :drool

cakM3

05-23-2014, 12:26 PM

Only issue with those is that they are not FIA approved.

But they do look nice for a street seat.

Vas, so that means you can't track your car if you have these seats installed?

Curious...because I know of a guy who has these in his 330CiC and he tracks that car with these seats....

I find this interesting...

Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk HD

Hermes

05-23-2014, 12:36 PM

Not necessarily, it depends on who you are running with.

Vas

05-23-2014, 12:43 PM

Vas, so that means you can't track your car if you have these seats installed?

Curious...because I know of a guy who has these in his 330CiC and he tracks that car with these seats....

I find this interesting...

Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk HD

Not exactly true.

But many race-sanctioning bodies require that aftermarket seats are FIA approved. Reason being is that FIA seats are tested to a higher standard and get an approval from FIA that states that the seats are safe enough to be use for that style of motorsports.

That does not mean that other seats are not safe but just that they have not went through FIA testing to get the approval.

webster

05-23-2014, 12:52 PM

Damn Charlie...those seats in your buddy's M3 are sick! :drool

QC_ZHP

05-23-2014, 01:16 PM

+1. I don't want to even know the price tag on them, but they're perfect.

derbo

05-23-2014, 03:16 PM

Vas, so that means you can't track your car if you have these seats installed?

Curious...because I know of a guy who has these in his 330CiC and he tracks that car with these seats....

I find this interesting...

Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk HD

Most HPDE hosts here do not check if your seat is FIA approved or even if the date on the seat or seatbelts is past it's expiration. However, during sanctioned racing events, there are rules where the seat has to be FIA approved and the dates cannot be expired. For HPDE I would keep stock belts and a bucket seat as I'm not competitively racing.

Sliders/brackets/Mounts usually will cost around 500-600 per corner. The seat itself varies depending on type of seat. SPGs go for $800 new. Sportster CS $1300+ depending on trim. You are looking at rough estimate of $1300 brand new. This doesn't include a new seat occupancy mat and sensor module which added to another $200.

Good luck on your search!

Oh, as far as comfort goes, I can sit in the SPG the whole commute to Buttonwillow fine. (5hr drive). I don't mind it daily driving, however I hate getting out. I have to raise my steering wheel up and roll out. I cannot get out in my garage if I am too close to the left. The door needs to be close to fully wide open to get out due to the size of the side bolsters.

330i ZHP

05-23-2014, 07:18 PM

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd62/smoulton0204/wagon/STU_3982.jpg

derbo

05-24-2014, 09:27 AM

Those Sportsters :drool

Sent from my iPad

Pip

05-24-2014, 09:38 AM

I was amazed at how comfortable the sportsters were. They are a great bridge between awesome road feel/driving experience in a street car that makes it to autox or track.

cakM3

05-24-2014, 07:01 PM

Damn Charlie...those seats in your buddy's M3 are sick! :drool

Yeah...my friend Brian doesn't mess around when it comes to his ///M. He even recently did an SMG to 6MT conversion and did it right.

After helping Brian install his Recaros I'm looking to do the same thing but in black with carbon backshells. But right now getting the CSL roof panel is higher on my list :)

ItsRichieRich

05-05-2021, 10:00 AM

Bumping an old thread. Anyone got pictures of their seat setup?

t.er

05-05-2021, 11:15 AM

Ooooooo I didn't know this was a thing

Sparco Pro 2000 on Brey Krause power slider:

https://i.imgur.com/BWmayTxl.png

https://i.imgur.com/W0gV0Npl.png

Initial reactions: mixed, but I knew what I signed up for. Ingress/egress is a bit of a PITA, but once you’re in there, you’re snug – taking any sort of curve at speed is intoxicating now because it’s just you needing to man the wheel, no need to use it to hang on tight. And you can feel so much more of the car, the sensitivity of my ass-sensor has been dialed up to 11. Seating position is much lower, which felt weird initially, and isn’t as practical when you’re parking or getting near curbs. I also wished the steering wheel went lower to match, but the gearstick is now higher up relative to me, and comes to the hand easier.

After another 1.5 hours of driving on the highway l I was fully settled in and loving it – I could definitely do a much longer stint in the seat with no problem, and the higher steering wasn’t as much of a bother.

ItsRichieRich

06-02-2021, 08:25 AM

For those that gone with aftermarket seats, how did you guys address the airbag light?

Going to be getting some seats ordered soon and would like to address this when it comes time to installing.

t.er

06-03-2021, 07:09 PM

For those that gone with aftermarket seats, how did you guys address the airbag light?

Going to be getting some seats ordered soon and would like to address this when it comes time to installing.

I've only swapped the driver's seat, so there isn't an airbag occupancy sensor, just the pre-tensioner. If you re-use the pre-tensioner with an aftermarket seat, you don't have to code it out. But it's pretty simple, I just used PA-Soft and unchecked a couple boxes in one of the modules, only took like 10 mins - I think there was a box for the seat belt being plugged in, and a box for the pre-tensioner itself.

You can also use NCSExpert (https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/special-interests/coding-tuning/27812-coding-out-the-seat-belt-pretensioners-and-occupancy-sensor) but I use PASoft as it's a lot more user-friendly.

Can't really comment on the airbag occupancy sensor for the passenger's side but I can't imagine it's much more difficult

EDIT: I found the picture I referenced from E46F (https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/belt-pre-tensioners-issue-pasoft.1272117/#lg=thread-1272117&slide=0) and copied it below (so sorry for poor quality). But I believe I unchecked what is highlighted, and (don't quote me on this) but the red circled might be the airbag occupancy

https://i.imgur.com/rKEn7WJ.png

ItsRichieRich

06-10-2021, 08:38 AM

I've only swapped the driver's seat, so there isn't an airbag occupancy sensor, just the pre-tensioner. If you re-use the pre-tensioner with an aftermarket seat, you don't have to code it out. But it's pretty simple, I just used PA-Soft and unchecked a couple boxes in one of the modules, only took like 10 mins - I think there was a box for the seat belt being plugged in, and a box for the pre-tensioner itself.

You can also use NCSExpert (https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/special-interests/coding-tuning/27812-coding-out-the-seat-belt-pretensioners-and-occupancy-sensor) but I use PASoft as it's a lot more user-friendly.

Can't really comment on the airbag occupancy sensor for the passenger's side but I can't imagine it's much more difficult

EDIT: I found the picture I referenced from E46F (https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/belt-pre-tensioners-issue-pasoft.1272117/#lg=thread-1272117&slide=0) and copied it below (so sorry for poor quality). But I believe I unchecked what is highlighted, and (don't quote me on this) but the red circled might be the airbag occupancy

https://i.imgur.com/rKEn7WJ.png

Noted, I greatly appreciate the response.

How do you like the Brey Krause power seat sliders? I was planning to go the traditional manual route but these power sliders are the same cost.

t.er

06-10-2021, 08:53 AM

Noted, I greatly appreciate the response.

How do you like the Brey Krause power seat sliders? I was planning to go the traditional manual route but these power sliders are the same cost.

BK in my opinion is the best, most optimized seat mount you can get - you don't have to deal with a platform specific adapter plate -> generic sliders & side-mounts. I don't have first-hand experience with aftermarket sliders but from what I've read online, have a ton of play and aren't very stiff. Since the BK mounts reuse factory manual or power sliders, it'll be just like your stock seats and the mechanism will have pretty much no play

ItsRichieRich

06-10-2021, 09:58 AM

BK in my opinion is the best, most optimized seat mount you can get - you don't have to deal with a platform specific adapter plate -> generic sliders & side-mounts. I don't have first-hand experience with aftermarket sliders but from what I've read online, have a ton of play and aren't very stiff. Since the BK mounts reuse factory manual or power sliders, it'll be just like your stock seats and the mechanism will have pretty much no play

So obviously it will adjust horizontally but does it go vertically as well?

t.er

06-10-2021, 10:30 AM

So obviously it will adjust horizontally but does it go vertically as well?

Correct - power/manual adjustment is forwards/back. Vertical adjustment & tilt is through the screws for side-mount, so it's not actively adjustable while driving, but you set that during installation

Hermes

06-13-2021, 07:27 AM

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210613/1b1ffc26d4f48a6f1b5f2e28eed50fb4.jpg

I didn’t like the seat on my Snap On stool

t.er

06-13-2021, 07:33 AM

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210613/1b1ffc26d4f48a6f1b5f2e28eed50fb4.jpg

I didn’t like the seat on my Snap On stoolHa, that's awesome!

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ItsRichieRich

07-26-2021, 09:49 AM

No problem at all - let's take this to the aftermarket seat thread. Currently at the track but I will respond there later tonight

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

Discussion moved :)

t.er

07-26-2021, 05:17 PM

Discussion moved

Alright - so to answer your question from the other thread, you can buy the harness off Ebay. The part number you posted has the main power connector for the seat, actually one of the Ebay listings has it shown here:

https://i.imgur.com/La58QL5l.png

However that harness does not appear to have the required X1469 (motor) connector:

https://i.imgur.com/B2NCRwll.png

Pic of my harness with the motor connector (4-flat circular pins on the left):

https://i.imgur.com/dQZxVCbl.png

Had a quick look on realOEM and couldn't find anything - but from TIS it seems the X1469 connector goes from the motor to the seat adjuster controls, which I guess is a separate harness. But if you have to buy these entire seat harnesses just for the 2 connectors... quite pricey. If you can't get to a junkyard or have another way of getting the connectors here's 2 options that you can use:

1) Cut the seat harness, and crimp an intermediate connector to the wires such that you get a pigtail you can use for your new seat, but if you want to reinstall the stock seat you can have the mating connector on that and just plug in, rather than having to re-solder.

2) The power connector really just houses 2 male spade connectors in a fancy plastic housing, that then gets clipped into that giant yellow connector housing for the seat. You can probably get away with just crimping 2 male spade connectors, just need to find a way to prevent them from pulling out of the mating female side on the car harness. I guess you could either do more digging to source the motor connector, or just solder to the 2 wires.

ItsRichieRich

07-26-2021, 09:54 PM

t.er

07-27-2021, 08:33 AM

So I found this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/FRONT-SEAT-WIRE-WIRING-HARNESS-LEFT-DRIVER-MEMORY-BMW-E46-323-325-328-330-99-03-/393245143883?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

It looks like it has that 4 pin connector, but it shows ‘99-‘p3. I wonder if that will work? Guessing game at this point…

Do you have a picture of the OEM wiring so I can see what it looks like? That way I know what to cut too.
I’ll see if there’s a local salvage yard with some seats. I prefer not to cut my setup as I want to switch back if need be.Yo, that might work! Looks to have both the 4-flat motor connector and the main power connector. You can probably ask the seller for more pics just to be sure.

Unfortunately I don't have a pic of the OE harness. The motor connector pigtail came with my mount setup (which I bought used) and member @Archbid was such a gentlemen to supply me with the main power connector pigtail.

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