Sport/Racing Seats Help and Install

chris_flies · 11-05-2017, 05:40 PM

Hi all. I'm looking into installing some sport/racing seats in my 128i, which has heated, manual seats, finished in black V-Tex. I'm looking to install a cloth-finished Sparco R100 seat for me, the driver, and most important component of the vehicle.

My largest concern is the airbag located on the side of the stock seat. What is the resistance, or how can I test it without eating airbag?

Also, can I install my stock seat heater into the Sparco, or should I get comfortable with having a cold bum in winter?

As a last resort...could I have my stock seats reupholstered, except with increased bolstering and shoulder support? How much could this be expected to run if upholstery is a nice cloth? I hate leather and vinyl!

Many thanks for any help offered!

Matticus91 · 11-06-2017, 08:37 AM

My largest concern is the airbag located on the side of the stock seat. What is the resistance, or how can I test it without eating airbag?
-If you are planning to remove the whole seat as a unit this shouldn't be a concern, there's nothing in the seat removal process that should set it off. Just disconnect your battery completely and pull the seat - but I'll let someone else chime in if they have more details.

Also, can I install my stock seat heater into the Sparco, or should I get comfortable with having a cold bum in winter?
-Pretty sure that's a no, mostly due to the Sparco design but also because removing the seat heater is quite a job!

As a last resort...could I have my stock seats reupholstered, except with increased bolstering and shoulder support? How much could this be expected to run if upholstery is a nice cloth? I hate leather and vinyl!
-I can 100% guarantee this is not worth it. I think you'd be better off going to m3 seats in this case. The amount of money it would take to custom-make your stock seat into something comparable would give you many more options in other markets!

Also, if you're doing this for racing purposes I highly recommend test-fitting yourself in the seat before buying it, and make sure your harness will fall in the right spots. The shoulder holes should be in line or just slightly lower than the top of your shoulders, allowing the harness to keep downward pressure on your body in the event of a rollover. I'm not assuming you don't know this, I've just seen so many people buy racing seats with no idea that they're all pre-formed fit to certain body types.

chris_flies · 11-06-2017, 12:55 PM

^^
About the airbag, I was talking about emulating the existence of it to the car. I don't want an airbag light, and I don't want any problems with state inspections, etc.

I kinda figured that about the seat heater. Oh well, cloth isn't nearly as cold as my stupid V-Tex!

I'm simply looking for a reclining bucket that I can daily. I want the side-to-side support for when I go on my favorite backroads, and when I do go to the track, occasionally. I don't plan to install a full race harness, I'd probably go with something simple, like the Schroth Quick-Fit Harness, mostly for it's compatibility with all the pre-tensioners, etc.

ianc · 11-07-2017, 10:43 PM

Buy a set of good condition factory sports seats from a wreck and sell your current seats. Keep resale value, and factory airbag safety. The sports seats are really good...

ianc

Esteban · 11-08-2017, 02:53 AM

The 1 series sport seats are very nice. I think they would be even nicer if they were offered in something other than just leather or leatherette/sensatec.

These two tone seats with fabric are pretty cool. I'd love to have them but sadly they were only sold in Europe.

BimmerAg · 11-08-2017, 04:25 PM

+1 to the sport seats being great. The best feature IMO is the inflatable side bolsters that allow you to have a nice comfortable seat during daily driving or long trips, and a very supportive seat for more spirited driving

chris_flies · 11-08-2017, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BimmerAg

+1 to the sport seats being great. The best feature IMO is the inflatable side bolsters that allow you to have a nice comfortable seat during daily driving or long trips, and a very supportive seat for more spirited driving

Do these fancy-pants sport seats have manual adjustment? Or are they power only? Are the inflatable bolsters available with the manual seats? Are there any additional controllers I'll need to add to my car to make the sport seats work?

I'm very interested, as an OEM look would be nice...

But hey, those Sparcos...

EDIT: They do come in manual, and with heat! Uh oh...

ANOTHER EDIT: Another question... can I replace a blown airbag in a sport seat with the good airbag in my seat? I've found a few seats, but they're either a full interior, which I don't need, or they've been in an accident where the airbags or seat belt pre-tensioners were deployed.

BimmerAg · 11-08-2017, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Do these fancy-pants sport seats have manual adjustment? Or are they power only? Are the inflatable bolsters available with the manual seats? Are there any additional controllers I'll need to add to my car to make the sport seats work?

I'm very interested, as an OEM look would be nice...

But hey, those Sparcos...

My seats are manual adjustment, but with power adjustable bolsters. i'd imagine the power seats have the same feature. Not sure what needs to be done to make them work though. Good luck!

Esteban · 11-08-2017, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BimmerAg

My seats are manual adjustment, but with power adjustable bolsters. i'd imagine the power seats have the same feature. Not sure what needs to be done to make them work though. Good luck!

Yep, power seats have the same feature. Sport seats were a must have for me.

Tommm · 11-12-2017, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Do these fancy-pants sport seats have manual adjustment? Or are they power only? Are the inflatable bolsters available with the manual seats? Are there any additional controllers I'll need to add to my car to make the sport seats work?

I'm very interested, as an OEM look would be nice...

But hey, those Sparcos...

EDIT: They do come in manual, and with heat! Uh oh...

ANOTHER EDIT: Another question... can I replace a blown airbag in a sport seat with the good airbag in my seat? I've found a few seats, but they're either a full interior, which I don't need, or they've been in an accident where the airbags or seat belt pre-tensioners were deployed.

My car came with vinyl heated manual seats. I replaced it with a heated, electric, leather, sport seat that had a blown airbag.

I swapped the airbag, and tied the power into the car's computer by the radio. I tried tapping into the power for the heat but it didn't work. I may have written something up around April 2017. It wasn't a tough job after I realized I had to tap into the cars computer.

I had cars with aftermarket seats. The problem with them if you don't track the car is that the distance of the headrest from the back of the head is usually a bit more to leave room for the helmet. Great on the track, not so great if you get rear ended at a red light.

When my kid gets her license I hope to find a mechanically solid one or three with say 150k miles, a tired drivers seat and tired suspension for her. In goes my vinyl seat and 52k mile suspension.

chris_flies · 11-12-2017, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tommm

My car came with vinyl heated manual seats. I replaced it with a heated, electric, leather, sport seat that had a blown airbag.

I swapped the airbag, and tied the power into the car's computer by the radio. I tried tapping into the power for the heat but it didn't work. I may have written something up around April 2017. It wasn't a tough job after I realized I had to tap into the cars computer.

I had cars with aftermarket seats. The problem with them if you don't track the car is that the distance of the headrest from the back of the head is usually a bit more to leave room for the helmet. Great on the track, not so great if you get rear ended at a red light.

When my kid gets her license I hope to find a mechanically solid one or three with say 150k miles, a tired drivers seat and tired suspension for her. In goes my vinyl seat and 52k mile suspension.

I was at the track this weekend, I used the seatbelt lock trick to hold me in-place. It was great for a little bit, but eventually the foam in the seat would settle and the seatbelt would release the lock, and I'd be flailing around again. I need either a good seat, or a harness, or both! Unfortunately, a harness would require a harness/roll bar...

Zolder91 · 01-09-2020, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Hi all. I'm looking into installing some sport/racing seats in my 128i, which has heated, manual seats, finished in black V-Tex. I'm looking to install a cloth-finished Sparco R100 seat for me, the driver, and most important component of the vehicle.

My largest concern is the airbag located on the side of the stock seat. What is the resistance, or how can I test it without eating airbag?

Also, can I install my stock seat heater into the Sparco, or should I get comfortable with having a cold bum in winter?

As a last resort...could I have my stock seats reupholstered, except with increased bolstering and shoulder support? How much could this be expected to run if upholstery is a nice cloth? I hate leather and vinyl!

Many thanks for any help offered!

Reviving an old thread here but @chris_flies what did you end up going with? I’m running into the same issue. I originally wanted oem sport seats but I don’t want to be digging into wiring, so that leaves me now with the idea of Sparcos and a module for the airbag light.

chris_flies · 01-09-2020, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolder91

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_flies

Hi all. I'm looking into installing some sport/racing seats in my 128i, which has heated, manual seats, finished in black V-Tex. I'm looking to install a cloth-finished Sparco R100 seat for me, the driver, and most important component of the vehicle.

My largest concern is the airbag located on the side of the stock seat. What is the resistance, or how can I test it without eating airbag?

Also, can I install my stock seat heater into the Sparco, or should I get comfortable with having a cold bum in winter?

As a last resort...could I have my stock seats reupholstered, except with increased bolstering and shoulder support? How much could this be expected to run if upholstery is a nice cloth? I hate leather and vinyl!

Many thanks for any help offered!

Reviving an old thread here but @chris_flies what did you end up going with? I’m running into the same issue. I originally wanted oem sport seats but I don’t want to be digging into wiring, so that leaves me now with the idea of Sparcos and a module for the airbag light.

I just finished installing some OEM Sport seats (manual adjusting) like 5 minutes ago

Plug and play so far, other than the inflator for the lumbar(maybe bolsters?).

Jeb_ · 01-10-2020, 07:22 AM

I swapped from manual heated seats to manual sport seats a year or so ago. To get the bolsters to work I just moved some pins around on one of the connectors to reroute the supply power for the heated seat control module to the bolsters.

If I recall correctly, there were a few unused pins in the connectors for the manual seats. Assuming a car came from the factory with heated seats, it may be possible to jump two pins together on the body harness side and provide power to both the seat heaters and bolsters on the same circuit.

11-05-2017, 05:40 PM	#1
chris_flies Sideways and Smiling 3027 Rep 2,860 Posts Drives: In Exuberance Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Rosamond, CA USA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 BMW E91 328i [0.00]	Sport/Racing Seats Help and Install Hi all. I'm looking into installing some sport/racing seats in my 128i, which has heated, manual seats, finished in black V-Tex. I'm looking to install a cloth-finished Sparco R100 seat for me, the driver, and most important component of the vehicle. My largest concern is the airbag located on the side of the stock seat. What is the resistance, or how can I test it without eating airbag? Also, can I install my stock seat heater into the Sparco, or should I get comfortable with having a cold bum in winter? As a last resort...could I have my stock seats reupholstered, except with increased bolstering and shoulder support? How much could this be expected to run if upholstery is a nice cloth? I hate leather and vinyl! Many thanks for any help offered! __________________ 2012 BMW 328i 6-Speed Wagon \| Deep Sea Blue with Grey Dakota Leather \| Manual Swap, 330i Intake + Tune, 3.15 Helical LSD, Öhlins R&T (SOLD) 2009 BMW 128i 6-Speed Coupé \| Monaco Blue with Black Sensatec \| chris_flies' 128i thread
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

11-06-2017, 08:37 AM	#2
Matticus91 Brigadier General 3475 Rep 3,722 Posts Drives: 2013 135i Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Washington DC iTrader: (6)	My largest concern is the airbag located on the side of the stock seat. What is the resistance, or how can I test it without eating airbag? -If you are planning to remove the whole seat as a unit this shouldn't be a concern, there's nothing in the seat removal process that should set it off. Just disconnect your battery completely and pull the seat - but I'll let someone else chime in if they have more details. Also, can I install my stock seat heater into the Sparco, or should I get comfortable with having a cold bum in winter? -Pretty sure that's a no, mostly due to the Sparco design but also because removing the seat heater is quite a job! As a last resort...could I have my stock seats reupholstered, except with increased bolstering and shoulder support? How much could this be expected to run if upholstery is a nice cloth? I hate leather and vinyl! -I can 100% guarantee this is not worth it. I think you'd be better off going to m3 seats in this case. The amount of money it would take to custom-make your stock seat into something comparable would give you many more options in other markets! Also, if you're doing this for racing purposes I highly recommend test-fitting yourself in the seat before buying it, and make sure your harness will fall in the right spots. The shoulder holes should be in line or just slightly lower than the top of your shoulders, allowing the harness to keep downward pressure on your body in the event of a rollover. I'm not assuming you don't know this, I've just seen so many people buy racing seats with no idea that they're all pre-formed fit to certain body types. __________________ "Tobias" 2013 135i ///M-Sport 6MT • Pure Stage 1 • XDI 35 HPFP • 404whp/440wtq IG: msteelio91
	Appreciate 1 chris_flies3027.00 Quote

11-06-2017, 12:55 PM	#3
chris_flies Sideways and Smiling 3027 Rep 2,860 Posts Drives: In Exuberance Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Rosamond, CA USA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 BMW E91 328i [0.00]	^^ About the airbag, I was talking about emulating the existence of it to the car. I don't want an airbag light, and I don't want any problems with state inspections, etc. I kinda figured that about the seat heater. Oh well, cloth isn't nearly as cold as my stupid V-Tex! I'm simply looking for a reclining bucket that I can daily. I want the side-to-side support for when I go on my favorite backroads, and when I do go to the track, occasionally. I don't plan to install a full race harness, I'd probably go with something simple, like the Schroth Quick-Fit Harness, mostly for it's compatibility with all the pre-tensioners, etc. __________________ 2012 BMW 328i 6-Speed Wagon \| Deep Sea Blue with Grey Dakota Leather \| Manual Swap, 330i Intake + Tune, 3.15 Helical LSD, Öhlins R&T (SOLD) 2009 BMW 128i 6-Speed Coupé \| Monaco Blue with Black Sensatec \| chris_flies' 128i thread
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-07-2017, 10:43 PM	#4
ianc Ex '87 Carrera 246 Rep 1,259 Posts Drives: '10 TiAg 6MT 135i Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Redwood Shores, California iTrader: (0)	Buy a set of good condition factory sports seats from a wreck and sell your current seats. Keep resale value, and factory airbag safety. The sports seats are really good... ianc
	Appreciate 1 Esteban43788.50 Quote

11-08-2017, 02:53 AM	#5
Esteban Major General 43789 Rep 7,224 Posts Drives: a slow car fast Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: SoCal iTrader: (0)	The 1 series sport seats are very nice. I think they would be even nicer if they were offered in something other than just leather or leatherette/sensatec. These two tone seats with fabric are pretty cool. I'd love to have them but sadly they were only sold in Europe. Attached Images __________________
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-08-2017, 04:25 PM	#6
BimmerAg Lieutenant 425 Rep 545 Posts Drives: 2011 135i Join Date: May 2017 Location: San Antonio, TX iTrader: (0)	+1 to the sport seats being great. The best feature IMO is the inflatable side bolsters that allow you to have a nice comfortable seat during daily driving or long trips, and a very supportive seat for more spirited driving __________________ 2011 BMW 135i ///M-Sport, DCT Bilstein B12 kit, Dinan camber plates, M3 front control arms, Whiteline poly RSFB, MHD Stage 1, cp-e Charge Pipe, H&R Front sway bar, BMW performance diffuser
	Appreciate 1 Esteban43788.50 Quote

01-10-2020, 07:22 AM	#14
Jeb_ Private First Class 61 Rep 107 Posts Drives: 2011 128i Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: NC iTrader: (0)	I swapped from manual heated seats to manual sport seats a year or so ago. To get the bolsters to work I just moved some pins around on one of the connectors to reroute the supply power for the heated seat control module to the bolsters. If I recall correctly, there were a few unused pins in the connectors for the manual seats. Assuming a car came from the factory with heated seats, it may be possible to jump two pins together on the body harness side and provide power to both the seat heaters and bolsters on the same circuit.
	Appreciate 0 Quote