Originally Posted by tommy

380 seems way too steep!

I think that mine was 100-125, tops. Unfortunately, it's been too long since I bought it to still have the part #.

I'd call around at a couple of Recaro dealers, to see what others charge.

Originally Posted by tommy

Well, they have to pay for Greece's bailout somehow.

I can't believe that the prices would have gone up so much, but I guess anything's possible.

Originally Posted by infected

Here is a quick DIY for installing aftermarket seats into a Coupe.
My Coupe is a 2003 C230 with leather/heated/manual seats.

Disclaimer: Everything here is based on my own experiences. I work day in day out in a shop. If you are unsure about what you are doing then please have a professional do the installation. Use the following information at your own risk.

TOOLS:
- If you don't have a torx set then I would suggest you pick up a set soon if you plan to work on your MB a lot. I like MAC but anything works as long as it comes with regular and inverted sockets, and a couple wrenches.
- Some different size flat heads will also come in handy.
- Side cutters
- Knife/exacto

The first thing you want to determine is whether you want a solid bucket or reclineable. If you go the solid bucket route, be sure it is suitable for a 5 point harness because you will need to run the airbag sensor through the hole for the crotch belt on the passenger side.

Seat brackets are hard to come by for the Coupe. Some manufacturers will reuse parts of the stock rails while others offer a complete replacement. Be sure to specify your application is for a Coupe and also the year when ordering brackets. Sedan brackets will NOT fit so do not waste your time as I have already tried them in the past.

Do NOT place the key into the ignition at anytime there are open connections. Make sure everything is plugged in and secure to avoid paying the Dealer a visit.

For my application I decided to go with the Recaro Speed seats with one-off Bride brackets.



DRIVER SEAT:
Begin by sliding the seat all the way back and remove the two torx bolts. Slide the seat forward and remove the remaining two torx bolts. Gently allow the seat to fall back and rest on the rear bench seat. You will now be able to see a connection box under the seat as well as the main harness coming from the car. The main harness wiring should be attached to the seat with zip-ties. Cut the zip-ties holding the main harness to the seat. Disconnect all the connections from the main harness to the connection box under the seat. The seat is now ready to be removed.



Lay the seat back to reveal the connection box mentioned earlier. There is a cover clipped on the bottom of the box that needs to be removed. You will now see the plugs are held in with a plastic tab. Use a flathead and push back the tab to release the YELLOW plug. The plug has 2 wires and is for the seatbelt. Follow the wire and remove it from the seat. There is one torx bolt holding the seatbelt receptacle that needs to be removed as well.



Attach the seatbelt receptacle to the aftermarket bracket and tuck the wire nicely. You do not want the wire to get caught on the sliders after the seats are installed. The aftermarket seat is ready to go in. Place the seat in the car and allow it to lean back on the rear bench. Connect the seatbelt sensor and tuck all the wiring neatly and away from any moving parts. Allow a little slack so you will still be able to slide the seat forward and back without stretching the wiring.

Bolt in the 4 torx bolts and we're finished the driver side!



PASSENGER SEAT:
The passenger side almost exactly the same as the driver side. The only difference is the seat occupancy sensor in the passenger seat. In the case of an accident with a child or baby in the passenger seat, the airbags will not deploy. Without the sensor, there will be a SRS light on the dash only the Dealer will be able to reset. Different manufacturers have different airbag systems and I am uncertain if only the passenger side airbags will be turned off with the airbag sensor disconnected or all the airbags will be turned off. The system can be bypassed with a resistor that will trick the computer into thinking there is a passenger at all times. In the case of an accident the passenger side airbags will deploy regardless of whether there is a passenger or not. I do not recommend this option but if you are looking for a cheap alternative then feel free to play around with the bypass. I will not be giving any information on how to bypass the system so please do not ask. For my application I decided to retro-fit the airbag seat sensor into the passenger side Recaro. You may rip out the sensor in your current seat or pick up a new sensor. I picked up a new sensor to avoid cutting into the stock seat so I may return the vehicle to stock in the future if I wished.

The airbag sensor is 203 821 62 51.

Be careful when handling the sensor, it is thin. For my application I managed to remove the cushion and placed the sensor below. Make sure the black points are facing UP. Do not confuse the seatbelt sensor and the airbag sensor as both the plugs are yellow. The seatbelt sensor has 2 wires where as the airbag sensor has 3 wires.



Take a knife and cut a small opening in the bottom of the seat to allow the wire for the airbag sensor to run through.



Everything else is exactly the same as the driver side.





The finished product!



The Recaro seats are roughly half the weight of the stock seats. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saved 100 pounds just by replacing the seats. There are no seatbelt error lights on the dash due to the transfer of the seatbelt which also covered the issue of the seatbelt tensioner working correctly. Airbags are also fully functional.

I hope you found this write-up helpful.