racetested

Just in case anyone is curious about weight savings along with better bolstering going to an aftermarket seat. This weight includes full mounting tracks.

An average aftermarket reclining manual seat is around 27-33lbs without tracks. 20-25 extra lbs per seat for power, heating, and airbag is less than what I thought. Going with aftermarket cost, having to match the fabric, and malfunction lights to deal with when unplugging, etc. is a lot to deal with for only 40lbs combined weight savings.

A person better really hate the OEM seats and love the comfort of aftermarket if going this route as weight saving alone is not justified IMO.

narky

Thanks for the info, as always.

I briefly considered getting an aftermarket sport seat. Two reasons:

1. I just cannot seem to find a comfortable position on the stock seats.
2. The seats do not provide enough lateral support (bolsters) in hard driving situations.


But I eventually decided against it after a week or so of deliberation. I don't want to deal with all the electrical problems you mentioned. I also feel like switching the seats out will look terrible on an MBZ unless the new seat is of extremely high quality, and I kinda like the electronic front/back adjustment capabilities.

I too am surprised that the weight savings are so minimal. A greater weight saving would've reawakend my interest in the seat change.

racetested

If a site I found the information from is correct a 1lb savings from the wheels or any rotating mass is like a 6.5lb savings of static weight(body, interior, etc.)

I am sure quality lightweight wheels could save 4lbs ea. wheel easily from the OEM(would need to confirm OEM wheel weights) which is equivalent to 26lbs each corner or 104lbs total.

Much easier to return to stock and much less hassle involved if comparing cost to cost(quality seats with matched material vs. quality wheels minus tires) and deciding the best way to spend a modification budget.

Note: rule of thumb is every 100lbs equals about 10hp or .1 second off a 1/4 mile time.

Derspeed

I agree. I have found a good position, but I think the main problem, aside from bolstering is, it feels like the seats are trying to push you out. The lumbar support stick out too far...even in its most relaxed position. Then the seat bottom kind of does the same thing. It feels convex and not concave.