A cool idea....

[xray]

After sitting in my friend's Expedition with Seat ventilation system, I got hooked! Those things were great and made me almost not need AC! I got to thinking about whether this can be retrofitted into the Z seats, especially since I'm redoing the upholstery and foam in the next couple of months.

This example I googled for appears a bit pricey, so I thought the great Z minds might be able to develop a cheaper alternative....

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/seatvenheats.html

Any thoughts?

Steve

[hls30.com]

This is an interesting idea, the worries to me are the noise a fan with suitable flow would generate uinder the seat, and the air path under/through the upholstery(how it would be kept open when the hiney is in the seat). I don't think it would be too difficult to work out something.

Will

[GunnerRob]

I wonder if the system can be reversed and sent through a charcoal filter so it could eliminate air biscuits?

[xray]

What I'm looking for is to create a way to remove the hot humid air that develops in the seat foam, just under the upholstery, after sitting/reclining against a seat. If you use a DC tubeaxial fan with enough CFM, it should pull that moist warm air out, allowing ambient/cooler cabin air to take its place, effectively cooling off the passenger's backside...

Most DC fans I've looked into are 30-50dB, which is pretty quiet.

My initial idea is to use a central fan mounted under the seat, presumably direected to the driver's feet. It would receive air via two separate routes--one from the seat and one from the back--figuring that fans mounted IN the seat itself would be noisier and less comfortable...I was also thinking that creating channels in the seat and back foam would aid in directing air into the collectors. The collectors would have to be relatively thin and pliable, so as not to be too noticeable, yet able to resist collapse when exposed to the vacuum of the fan....

Wiring would theoretically be easy. Tap into the accessory circuit. Separate fuse, switch, maybe a rheostat to control fan speed. Easy to hide under the front of the seat...

While it won't keep up with 90+ degree days in cars w/o AC, I bet it would help keep cool into the 80s, especially with how sticky those vinyl seats get...

[xray]

I wonder if the system can be reversed and sent through a charcoal filter so it could eliminate air biscuits?

Oooooh...yeah...replaceable scented filter packs!

[=Enigma=]

I wonder if the system can be reversed and sent through a charcoal filter so it could eliminate air biscuits?

ROFL ROFL

Now there's a productive ideer!

[hls30.com]

oops! !

[hls30.com]

I wonder if the system can be reversed and sent through a charcoal filter so it could eliminate air biscuits?

I think the rest of us would like your fart filter a little closer to the oven doorROFL !

Charcoal liners for the underoos with a anti-turtle protective layer!

Will

[hls30.com]

On the seats, I think it would be easier to push the air through the seat than to pull it, but when thinking about it, there seem to be two situations to deal with.

1) non permeable upholstery(leather/Vinyl). the flexable plenum would be setup to remove heat from the upholstery by pulling air through a pathway bound on one side by the upholstery and on the other another non-permeable membrane held apart by a very permeable media for the air to flow through that would not be subject to collapse/crushing from being sat on. Or use perforated upholstery.

2) Cloth upholstery. A flexable plenum just under the cloth upholstery made much like an airhockey table(lots of small vents to allow air into the upholstery fabric). Works even with skin contact to the upholstery. This would be pretty easy to add to existing seats!

Will

[alissa280z]

The late 280z seats are VERY permeable... not sure about others. Air would blow right through them if you cut holes in the foam. Not to mention ventilation for the rear end of you boys! Maybe practical to run some tube under the carpet up through the seats. You would just have to have the vents on the same time you wanted seat air. Or you could just use a hose clamp to disable it.