Easy Mods to Upgrade Seat Comfort
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 731
Likes: 1
W210 W140
Easy Mods to Upgrade Seat Comfort
Fellas,
I thought I'd share some slight mods to my driver's seat to make it more comfortable. To make a long story short, I purchased a driver and passenger seat in pretty good condition about two years ago. I did this because the passenger side airbag sensor went bad and I needed a new one. The dealer quoted me $500 to fix it. I found two working seats in great condition for $500 so I bought them instead.
What I did:
Seat bottom
Problem: Part of the "suspension" of the seat bottom is a combination of a foam/rubber pad that the metal wire frame rests on. After a while, the metal frame starts to crack the foam pieces and it pushes through the cushioning instead of the foam supporting it.
Solution: I found some heavy cardboard and duct tape in my closet. I made cardboard cut outs that traced the edges of each foam piece. I then heavily wrapped each piece of cardboard in duct tape. I inserted these pieces between the metal frame and the existing foam support. I then reassembled the bottom piece.
Result: I have better bottom support overall. In particular, the front portion of the seat supports the underside of my knees better than before. Big improvement.
Seat Back
Problem: The lumbar and back support sucks unless you have the air bladder seats. I don't.
Solution: I disassembled one of my old seats and identified how the "suspension" in the frame of the seat works. There are a series of springs that attach the metal center back support to the metal frame. These springs have a decent amount of "give" to them. I took the springs off of my old driver's seat that I was going to throw away and doubled them up on my new seat. I then reassembled everything.
Result: Lumbar support is a little better. Probably because I don't sink into the seat as much as before.
All in all, I would rate this project as a success. If you purchase some seats to replace your worn out old ones, I would definitely suggested doing these procedures before installing the new seats and throwing the old ones out.
Good luck, and let me know if you experience the same results.
I thought I'd share some slight mods to my driver's seat to make it more comfortable. To make a long story short, I purchased a driver and passenger seat in pretty good condition about two years ago. I did this because the passenger side airbag sensor went bad and I needed a new one. The dealer quoted me $500 to fix it. I found two working seats in great condition for $500 so I bought them instead.
What I did:
Seat bottom
Problem: Part of the "suspension" of the seat bottom is a combination of a foam/rubber pad that the metal wire frame rests on. After a while, the metal frame starts to crack the foam pieces and it pushes through the cushioning instead of the foam supporting it.
Solution: I found some heavy cardboard and duct tape in my closet. I made cardboard cut outs that traced the edges of each foam piece. I then heavily wrapped each piece of cardboard in duct tape. I inserted these pieces between the metal frame and the existing foam support. I then reassembled the bottom piece.
Result: I have better bottom support overall. In particular, the front portion of the seat supports the underside of my knees better than before. Big improvement.
Seat Back
Problem: The lumbar and back support sucks unless you have the air bladder seats. I don't.
Solution: I disassembled one of my old seats and identified how the "suspension" in the frame of the seat works. There are a series of springs that attach the metal center back support to the metal frame. These springs have a decent amount of "give" to them. I took the springs off of my old driver's seat that I was going to throw away and doubled them up on my new seat. I then reassembled everything.
Result: Lumbar support is a little better. Probably because I don't sink into the seat as much as before.
All in all, I would rate this project as a success. If you purchase some seats to replace your worn out old ones, I would definitely suggested doing these procedures before installing the new seats and throwing the old ones out.
Good luck, and let me know if you experience the same results.
