Seat upgrade -350z seats

[Mike]

On 3/22/2016 at 6:43 PM, madkaw said:

Got a message the other day of someone selling some black leather 350z seats and I couldn't say no. Well I could of, but the price was great. Being they had red stitching kind of sealed the deal- lol.

they are power heated seats so I will have wiring to do plus some fab work. Looking forward to having some more flexibility and comfort in my ride. 

I guess there will be some 1st gen seats on the market soon!

well I would have posted a pic but the upload keeps failing

Post some pics, would love to see these seats.  I'll send you a PM about the process.

[madkaw]

There was a problem processing the uploaded file. -200

 

is the message I get

[madkaw]

That's from my I phone 6

[Captain Obvious]

On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 9:05 AM, rossiz said:

what year? are they all the same?

They are all the same with the exception of the final year (1988). In 88 they changed the way the "listing" seams are done. On earlier years they used metal rods inside the seats to pull the seams down (just like the Z does), and on the final year, I think they used Velcro instead. I'm guessing that the Velcro method was cheaper to produce and easier to install.  It matters because you won't like the original fabric cover and will probably want to have the seats recovered. I'm not sure if the available seat upholsteries work for the Velcro types. Not wanting to turn this into a Fiero seat thread, so if you do want additional details, PM me. I should probably make a thread about my install....

Here's a pic of my reupholstered Fiero seats in my Z. They are way way way more comfortable than the stock seats. Much more supportive in all the right places, and good side bolstering on both the back and the base:

[madkaw]

....and tidy whity too!

they do look decent. Biggest advantage of the 350 seats or anything newer than the eighties is the choice of fabric kits. The Z seats have every option as far as material and color.

[Captain Obvious]

Tidy! My plan is to add some more white accents to the interior. I don't think I'm going to convert everything, but there are plans to do more to go along with the seats. This is a fair weather sunny day vehicle for me, and I'm trying to get my interior temps down some. The white seats already make a noticeable reduction.

 

The Fiero community has one company who has the market cornered on quality replacement seat covers. I'll give him a plug here... Mr. Mike (http://www.mrmikes.com). You can get cheaper stuff on ebay, but Mr. Mike's quality is highly respected. Unfortunately, due to the shrinking market, the choices are relatively limited in both color and fabric. He offers leather and vinyl, but the only cloth offering he has is "stock" GM. I'm sure your choices are much wider with the 350Z seats.

 

I was also looking into early Miata seats, but from what I've heard, the early Miata seats look better than they feel. The consensus is that they look the part, but really don't preform well. At one of the recent car shows near me, there was a whole bunch of Miatas and I talked at length with owners of several different years and they confirmed that belief. 90-98? (First generation) Miata seats aren't top choice while the second and third generation seats are supposedly much better. I was looking into second gen Miata seats, but decided to break the analysis-paralysis and go with the Fiero seats instead. Mr. Mike also does Miata seats, but at this time, he only does first gen.

 

My seat install was one of the few times that I was wishing I was working on an earlier year without the catalytic convertor bump-out. Was a royal pain, but I only had to do it once.

 

So make sure you take copious pics of the 350Z install. I like the idea of a Nissan product in a Nissan.

[rcb280z]

I can't wait to see how this install goes. My original seats are like sitting on picnic benches! At this point anything would be an improvement for me. But I like the look of the 350 seats.

[grannyknot]

CO, I had 1st gen. Miata seats in my TR6 and as you say they looked the part and were just okay for comfort.

The speakers in the headrest were fun but I wouldn't do them again, I have spent some hrs in my shop sitting in the 350z seats reading when I bashed up my foot and could work for a few days.

Very comfy.

[Patcon]

We had a Miata for a while and the seats never bothered me. The car was so small inside for me they didn't have to be too supportive because I was wedged in there anyway. We had the speakers in the headrest too, and I loved them. They made the stereo so much easier to here at lower volumes

[rossiz]

14 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

if you do want additional details, PM me. I should probably make a thread about my install....

i'm fine to take the conversation off this thread, but i think lots of folks might like to see a thread on your install - pics and lessons learned would be great.

[madkaw]

So I started digging into this swap and it's going to be a challenge. To get full range of motion back and forth and still squeeze in room for seat belts will be a challenge to say the least. The wiring will probably be the easy part. The heat and power are all thru one connector, but I will have come up with controls for the heated seat.

The plastic covering the mechanism will have to be trimmed, but not sure to what extent. I also noticed that the seat wont slide all the way back before it starts to hit the trans tunnel towards the rear close to the bulkhead. Might have to bash some there if it becomes an issue. It's not much and I probably wont bother for the passenger side. The seat is still pretty far back before it makes contact. The BIGGEST issue will be the seat belts. Being that my 9/71 does NOT have the pockets in the rockers for the retract mechanism, they stick out in the way. I barely had enough room with the OEM seats.  I'm using 2+2 retracts for the lap belts now. The only solution I saw was to mount retractor on the floor behind seat on floor, but still seeking options. Might need help from the brain trust guys.

Not even sure my fancy cup holder will fit when it's all said and done.

I did remove the airbag from the seat which was pretty easy. The seat just unzips in the back.      

[rossiz]

looks tight...