Smiles

Hi guys.

I've been searching the archives here, and can't find what I'm looking for.

I'd like to raise the front of my seats about an inch higher. I plan on machining some 2024 aluminum spacers to get that extra inch.

I haven't taken the seats out yet. I was wondering: do the bolts that hold the seats to the floor sit in captive nuts? Or, do I have to hold a wrench on a nut somewhere under the floor while I loosen the seat bolt?

Thanks in advance,

Matt

rrf

Captive as I recall

Rick

Why not just use the lever on the side of the seat....it lifts about an inch and a half at full crank.

Smiles

Rick, I'm obviously looking to go an inch higher than fully raised.

Thanks rrf.

Rick

Hope you have the panorama roof....and open it often

Smiles

Actually it's a C320 4Matic wagon. The car is my wife's, but I drive it a lot. I ordered it with power seats and the Driver Multicontour Seatback, but I still can't get my seat position where I'd like it. Rasing the front an inch or so should help provide some needed under-thigh support.

tommy

Don't mind Rick - he likes to not be helpful.

I would be a little concerned about aluminum, though - wouldn't ss be a better choice?

Smiles

Thanks, Tommy, for the post.

I'm going to mill and drill a block of billet aluminum which will be plenty strong. (Stronger, probably, than the seat track.)

And even if it were to somehow fail, the bolt running through it would still hold the seat to the floor.

Stainless would indeed be better, but it's also much more difficult to machine.

Aluminum will work fine: look at the millions of Mercedes cars on the road with aluminum wheels!

Rick

You might want to consider using a wedge design, so you dont put too much stress on the seat track at the edge of your riser. This would give you a more solid base than a post or cube design.

Afterthought; would this hinder your wife's ability to adjust the seat appropriately for her own safety and comfort?

MB-JIM

I don't think the strength of the spacers is critical, but getting longer bolts with appropriate strength is critical.

Smiles

Hey, Rick, that was actually constructive!

You're absolutely right that I need to account for an angle when raising the front. I also need to cut away any material that prevents a perfect seat against the floor and the seat frame. That's where the milling part comes in.

Thanks also for your concern over my wife's safety and comfort. She likes to sit higher anyway, so I don't think it will be a problem. If it is, I can always remove them later. Which I'll also do before I ever sell the car.

JIM is right on. I'll be using longer grade 8 bolts.

SOC320

My only concern regarding spacers is that you are changing how the force of an accident will be transferred differently to the mounting points on the seat. It's unpredicatble what and how things may break or shear. My concern for that stopped me from doing something similar in my BMW. Just a safety heads-up.

SOC320

Smiles

Thanks for sharing your concern, SOC320. Which BMW did you have? I have a 540i 6-speed with the sports seats, and they are the best, most adjustable seats short of an S class.

SOC320

Very nice. I have a 3-series sedan without sport. These are the flattest seats that I have ever seen. There is height adjustment, but no tilt. Primarily, this is my wife's car and it's not a problem for her.

A few months later, I had ordered a second BMW for myself- a 3-series wagon with sport pkg, but the car was delivered with the option missing. Given my experience from my sedan non-sport seats and that the deliveries were now paused for 3 months (factory was retooling for the facelifted 3), I cancelled the reordering of the second car. The dealer was trying very hard, referring to the non-sport wagon, to convince me to just "live with it".

Anyway, I hope that MB service will be a notch higher than BMW's. As it stands, I drive to NJ to find consistently ok BMW service.

Back on topic though... I couldn't accept the risk of the spacers causing injuries and unpredictability during a bad accident. In the end, I had the seat bottom restuffed in the front and adjust the seat differently. It is now a touch better.

SOC320

Smiles

SOC320, my experiences with the Mercedes dealership is so much better than my experiences with the BMW dealership. The Mercedes dealership, whether for sales or service, is wonderful to work with. Both of the two closest BMW dealers are downright unpleasant and even nasty.

This also extends to the national level. For example, I was invited by MB USA to attend a Customer on Track day at a local racetrack. That was a treat and an honor.

BMW, on the other hand, either refused or battled me every inch of the way to take appropriate responsibilty for defects in their cars. For example, the LCD panel that includes the odometer failed, and it was like pulling teeth to get them to replace it. BMW NA actually argued that the odometer wasn't that important, particularly because the milage was captured by the on-board computer!

And, back on topic, thank-you for offering an alternative approach. Maybe I'll also check with the dealer for some suggestions.

tuscanraider

why don't you just sit on a phone book?

are you having difficulty throwing money in the toll-booth basket?

Smiles

Tuscanraider obviously works for BMW service!

SOC320