bobgodd

This is what I'm planning to try as well. Might as well start small before I go ape ***** on my seat.

guysandiego

like stated - the fans suck air from the passenger --- We should try flipping them - thus blowing air at us.... and those fans do look like a computer fan -- Since we know other cars have good cooling seats -- we should check and see what types of fans they are using ---

infantry

I find it funny they figured out a way to make quad zone climate control and even vents in the B pillar in the back. But we couldn't get the damn vented/ac seats to work well.

JayhawkPharmD

Didn't get a chance this weekend so Tues night will tear them out.

03'55AMG

If you can explain the removal of the cover I'd gladly take a look, but then i remembered , i dont have vented seats,.

bobgodd

The back of the seat is really easy.. At the bottom of the rear panel there are two T20 screws and then the cover pulls out and then down.

bobgodd

The easiest way (that I saw) to get the fans out was to unhook the two springs on the right side (I'm doing my drivers seat for reference), don't forget to disconnect the connector, cut the cable tie, then gently pull back the back-springy-frame-thing and ease the fans out of the side.

The fans operate off of 12V which is awesome, and apparently they blow straight into the back of the driver. I went to Fry's and purchased two bigger "quiet" fans and the plan is to put them right back in where they came from. I will use an x-acto knife to trim away the matting in the seat until the new fans fit. I didn't go too big because I don't want to be able to feel a void in the seat back when I sit down.

Hellzno

awesome let us know how it turns out. are you installing the fans to push air on passenger or pull air from passenger?

Benz-O-Rama

Again....

They don't blow towards the occupant, but rather, they suck or draw air off of them, and vent out of the rear of the seat.

Look closely at the rotation direction, and angle of the fins.

bobgodd

I pulled the fans out and reconnected them and ran it on high... I could definitely feel air blowing out towards where the seat back would be, and nothing out of the other end (rear of the seat).

There are no directional arrows on the fans, otherwise I'd post a picture.

Tjdehya

So did the bigger fans help? If it did then this is a worhty weekend project becuase the current Vented seats are useless.

Benz-O-Rama

Very odd, as anything I've ever read about the seats, state that they draw air away from the occupant. Not only that, but I've taken a napkin and placed it on the seat with the ventilation system on, and it didn't blow it up, but rather kept it in place.

bobgodd

I've read that on this site as well and I was very surprised to find that they blow directly on the driver, especially since I don't ever recall actually feeling air on my back lol.

Nino S

I have very little to complain about with this car but these things suck compared to many other vehicles. i can hear the fans turn on but they are no where near as cool as the other japanese cars I have been in. My moms old 06 Avalon used to blow 3x as hard as my E55. Subscribed!! would love to see what other have retrofitted in the seats to actually make them function. Some summer days in a suit and I need them just for swamp *** hahahahahaha

Benz-O-Rama

Keep in mind that they're not "cooled seats", but rather "ventilated seats". Don't be fooled by the blue lights, and think that means cold.

I actually called MBUSA when I first got my W211 and asked them why the seats don't cool, but only ventilate. Their response was because their research showed that prolonged use of cooled seats, promoted back pain. I'm not making that up.

Nino S

very interesting, thanks for the info. I do not know that they are cooled on the Avalon's or not but they blow MUCH harder then my E55. You can turn them all the way up and feel the air pressue blowing against your hand. I can see having cold air blown on your back for a long period of time causing your back to tighten up so I see their point.

bobgodd

Ok, I haven't gotten much done but I have trimmed down one of the new fans with a dremel to fit. I decided to start small in fan size so I don't have to take too much material out of my seat patting; I'm slightly worried that I will feel the void when I sit back in the seat, if I do end up taking too much out. These fans are still small, but have a decent CFM so they should do the trick.

Basically, I trimmed away as much material as I could so that it would mimic the form of the original fans, only in a slightly larger size. Going to take an x-acto to the seat padding tomorrow, and hoping to literally take out one donut shaped piece so that if I am not happy with the results I can glue it back in or something.

guysandiego

awesome - keep taking those pics

JayhawkPharmD

Excellent pictures! I'm very interested in the results. I begin tearing into mine soon.

viper04

Nice keep us posted!

Benz-O-Rama

Are you only modifying the seat back, or are you going to do the bottom cushion too?

nanayaw6

Bobgodd, do you happen to know the dimensions of the stock units?
I'm about to go test a few fans at fry's. I honestly don't think I would mind them being louder, so long as I feel something you know.
TIA.

bobgodd

I can measure them when I get home. You might be able to find something with better flow in the same size, that could be a great option.

Right now I plan to do just ONE fan on the seatback, before tearing up two bigger holes in the seat padding. If the fan works good, I will likely do the second hole as well.

I suppose the seat bottom would involve taking the seat out and I'm not ready to get that involved yet, especially since this is my only car. Maybe one day though, if the seat back fans work super.

pullejo

Taking the seats out is a piece of cake. I did a write up on it when I got the "office chair" seat and had to remove my passenger seat and install the "office chair" seat to get power to it to move it. VERY straight forward.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...-2006-e55.html

If this mod works out well...I anticipate Fry's having a run on fans by E55 owners.

pullejo

I wouldn't be able to hear them being louder anyway - the "crackle" produced by the "ultra-high quality" Harmon Kardon system when I blast my metal would drown it out anyway.