Rear seat removal mod

[Eyeman]

I guess I could stick this topic in the DIY but really it's more of a topic for discussion than a how to.

I finished up my rear seat removal today. The bottom seat cushion just pops out. It's very relatively lightweight, I'd guess 20+lbs. The side pads under the seat belts can be a little tricky to get to pop out. They are very lightweight and cover some messy electronics so I put them back on when finished.

The seat back is the only difficult part to remove but it's the heavy part, I'd guess around 50lbs. You basically have to remove where the hinges attach. I first removed the T50? silver screws in each corner. For some reason when I turned they turned kind of strange like something was slipping or binding but came out fine. The two T30? black screws that hold on the center hinge bracket to its support are much harder to get to. They are on the left lower side of this bracket and until I found them I couldn't figure this project out.

Without the seat, there is still a fairly comfortable area for seating. Should work fine for me given that I've only had rear seat passengers once in nearly a year now.

I'm very happy with this inexpensive mod that will drop 60-70 lbs of dead weight. Just fuel savings make it worth considering for anyone that rarely uses the rear seat. I'll get some pics soon, especially after I build something to separate off my trunk. The insulation under the seat matches the rest and is okay to sit on, etc. I taped off one colorful exposed wire. It looks fine, maybe more so in a black car, lighter painted cars might not look as good.

[rodi]

interesting. wonder how this affects traction for the rear wheels. splits off the 51:49 weight distribution, too, no?

[shodanusmc]

Have you considered removing the paint and taling it down to bare metal? You can also remove the floor mats, visors, passenger seat, trim pieces, glove box, headliner, grab handles and most importantly, hire a 110 pound jockey to do the driving. You may also want to drain several Qts of oil, some antifreeze, and keep the gas at the 1/8 mark.

[infinitekidM2C]

Relax..its 60 lbs and he doesnt use the rear seats. He probably doesnt even notice they are gone...The only difference is cosmetic (unless u actually have a passenger)..

[BahamaBart]

I'd like to see some pics.

[Citizen Z]

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

Relax..its 60 lbs and he doesnt use the rear seats. He probably doesnt even notice they are gone...The only difference is cosmetic (unless u actually have a passenger)..

I dunno, those rear seats muffle a LOT of noise from the trunk. It drove me nuts while driving with the seats down a while back. Also, weight distribution doesn't really matter in a car that understeers as badly as this one does.

[Eyeman]

Lol, our cars are heavy. And seriously most kids that would be happy to ride in a One series backseat would be just as happy to ride in it now.

Rodi, I don't think most feel a few percents of balance are as important as weight in general, even in a track car. My car is also lighter in the rear due to my aftermarket muffler and I'll get a 21lb Braille battery after I get a few yrs out of the stock one. I carry a donut spare however. About the only other weight mods I will consider will be a CF sunroof replacement.

CitizenZ, sounds like the noise just comes from the trunk being open then. If that's the case it will be easy to build something lightweight and attractive to close it off.

[Citizen Z]

Originally Posted by Eyeman

CitizenZ, sounds like the noise just comes from the trunk being open then. If that's the case it will be easy to build something lightweight and attractive to close it off.

Well, the trunk lid wasn't open if thats what you're referring to; the trunk just isn't sound insulated like the cabin. Two layers of any properly rigid material with spray foam between them covered with a nice carpet material would do the job nicely. Use fibreglass for extra class. You could probably get a audio shop to do this job for you for less than $300 since its pretty simple.

[993 911]

I would try to shed my own body weight before ripping out the rear seats. Maybe if you did a custom storage shelf like you would find in a Porsche of Ferrari it would be a good idea, but I imagine your rear seat looks pretty messy.

[Eyeman]

Yep, CitizenZ, I'll do it myself.

[AlBel1214]

Pics or BANana??? ha

[PrimoM3]

Put that OEM BMW dog carpet seat protector thing back there to cover up your exposed innards. I have no idea if that's feasible without any anchoring points but just a thought.

[Mike01ci]

Originally Posted by Eyeman

Lol, our cars are heavy. And seriously most kids that would be happy to ride in a One series backseat would be just as happy to ride in it now.

Rodi, I don't think most feel a few percents of balance are as important as weight in general, even in a track car. My car is also lighter in the rear due to my aftermarket muffler and I'll get a 21lb Braille battery after I get a few yrs out of the stock one. I carry a donut spare however. About the only other weight mods I will consider will be a CF sunroof replacement.

Have you thought about ditching the donut in lieu of a can of "fix-a-flat" & a compressor or the m-mobility kit? I only throw the donut in for road trips. A slime kit w/ compressor is $18 at wal-mart... Just throwing it out there.... Since you removed your seat b/c of "dead weight," I am assuming your donut + jack + wrench are about the same weight as the seat you took out...

[HeyMoe53]

Mike has a point there, though if I want to get rid of some weight myself, I gotta start with the person making the payments ; )

[Eyeman]

The insulation lining under the seats is fairly nice. My camera is not available. When I get pics you'll see, but better yet, pop out your bottom seat cushion one day. That's what I did first and it convinced me to do this mod.

I don't trust slime or runflats, I've had too many blowouts on low profile tires on Atlanta potholes. The donut and jack weigh maybe 20lbs total. I have a can of slime and a pump. I can switch out when I want.

[escobar929]

could come in handy, thanks

[cagekicker]

Originally Posted by shodanusmc

Have you considered removing the paint and taling it down to bare metal? You can also remove the floor mats, visors, passenger seat, trim pieces, glove box, headliner, grab handles and most importantly, hire a 110 pound jockey to do the driving. You may also want to drain several Qts of oil, some antifreeze, and keep the gas at the 1/8 mark.

ha ha love it!

[Eyeman]

I was not bothered at all by the noise today. I'll still build something to close off the trunk but actually my emphasis will be blocking flying trunk debris (my donut) in case of an accident. Just a little sound deadening will be fine for me. My plan is to just secure a lightweight wood paneling piece that I've coated with a black rubberized underliner. Later I'll cover this piece with something that matches better.

I swear that the car seemed to ride better..lol.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by 993 911

I would try to shed my own body weight before ripping out the rear seats. Maybe if you did a custom storage shelf like you would find in a Porsche of Ferrari it would be a good idea, but I imagine your rear seat looks pretty messy.

Lol if i shed 60 lbs I am going to lose like 45% of my body weight.

[Eyeman]

I'm still very happy with this mod. Strange enough I'd rate it my most effective mod when you consider cost (2-3 hrs and $5 in supplies) vs benefits. The main benefit for me that I didn't really plan for is that this rear weight decrease practically solved my day to day rear wheel rubbing problem. I also feel my KW V1 suspension is better balanced now. I guess that also implies that I feel the replacement rear springs should be a little stiffer than what is provided.

No significant noise increase to me. The biggest negative of this mod is it will take me a minute to remove two screws and then I won't have the longer flat area that the fold down rears seats provide.

My divider is just a piece of custom cut Luan paneling coated with spray on undercoating. That's just a reflection on the right side of the picture.

[AlBel1214]

^^^ Cool !

[jibaholic101]

wow...this is pointless, why destroy the car like that?