Installing Sparco EVO2 seats

[gums]

Has anyone installed the Sparco EVO 2 seats in a 986? I like the seat and believe it will work fine for me. (DE not racing) If so what was your experience with the install?
I'm going to use the sliders.

[egress91506]

Sorry, your email completely slipped my mind. I replied to your email with my experience swapping seats in and out of my car. Really a pretty easy thing to do and, once everything is set up, can be done quickly.

[EPWilson]

If you wouldn't mind would you post that account here? I was considering the Sparco Evo 2 Plus seats as a possibility for my car.

[Wayne 962]

It's a very easy project - made even easier by the Boxster because the roof comes down. Simply unbolt your old seats, install the adapter rails, and then install the new seats. If the adapters are well constructed and well designed, the install should take a very short amount of time. See this article here: Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Sport Seat Installation / Boxster Seat Removal - 986 / 987

-Wayne

[EPWilson]

Is there any guideline on how wide a seat is too wide to fit in a Boxster? Brey-Krause makes standard adapters for the bigger seats like Sparco Evo 2 Plus and Recaro Profi XL, but I've been told additional fabrication is needed with these to get them to fit correctly.

[egress91506]

I agree with Wayne re ease of swapping the seats. When I was quickly typing up instructions for the OP, the toughest thing to explain was the disassembly of the seat belt wires. If my car weren't stripped of all those parts, I'd take pictures to explain it better. As for Evo 2+, I don't know what it takes to get them in the car. Below is my email to the OP. It's not my clearest writing ever because I was rushing at work. Feel free to ask any questions.

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The install of the Sparco seats is easy. Before my car was a Boxster Spec Racer, I used to swap a Sparco Evo into the car whenever I went to the track. Once you've done the initial assembly, swapping the Evo into the car can be done in 15 minutes or so.

I assume you've figured out which side mounts, sliders, etc you want to use. I used the Sparco side mounts, sparco sliders, Brey Krause ("BK") adapter and BK tube (for using the Sparco sliders). I have a spare seat now with the BK side mounts and Porsche sliders and it seems pretty comparable. One thing to consider is whether you plan on switching the stock seat in and out of the car. If so, you'd be better off buying new sliders for the racing seat (rather than trying to move the stock sliders on and off the stock seat and the racing seat).

Quick instructions for swapping out driver's seat once you've put together the sliders. Take key out of ignition and hide it somewhere (kidding). You don't want the key in the ignition when you're removing the seat because if you unplug the seat belt receptacle with the key in the ignition, your airbag light will be on. There are 4 bolts that hold the factory seat into the floor pan. Can't remember what the male star pattern was called on the bolt head, but I bought a socket at Sears that fit it. In a pinch, you can use a regular socket (8 mm, 10mm?). I also used a long extension that had a wobble end. You'll be using those same 4 bolts to put your Sparco in. Two bolts in the front, 2 in the rear. You may need to slide the seat forward or back to get to them; they go through the sliders.

Unbolt them and lift the seat so that the backrest is half out of the car and the left side of the backrest is touching the door sill. I used to put a moving blanket on the sill. Be careful of your center console, don't want to scratch it with the sliders (which are now facing toward the console). There's a huge Porsche plug under the seat. It is rectangular and disconnects on one of the short sides of the rectangle by pulling a tab/handle and it slides apart. Sorry I can't be more specific, but am doing this from memory. Now pull the seat completely out of the car.

The seat belt receptacle will need to go back into the car and be attached either to the BK side mount or to some other place. I had a piece welded into the BK floor adapter, but if I were doing it again, I'd buy another seat belt receptacle and bolt it into the center tunnel where my harness clips in. The plug for the seat belt needs to be removed from the special rectangular piece that came off with the seat. There's a small piece of plastic that slides off the rectangular piece and frees up the seat belt wires. MARK THE ORIENTATION OF THE PLUG!!! Use white out, dot of paint, Sharpie, something because it can be hooked back up a couple of ways and if you hook it up wrong, your airbag light will be on. (Ask me how I know this. I have the tool for resetting the light, so it wasn't a big deal.) From recollection, you plug the seat belt wires back into the plug that remains in the car. I don't recall the specifics but if you take a picture, I can walk you through it.

Once you've hooked the seat belt back in, put your Sparco Evo (with side mounts already assembled, sliders, etc) into the car and bolt it into the 4 holes that the original seat mounted to. The four bolts can be a little tricky to line up straight. I used to loosen the outside of the side mount to seat bolts to give some flex in the assembly and tighten them once the floor bolts were in. Don't screw up the bolts welded to the floor pan.

I know that the above doesn't sound easy, but once you've done it once, it is no problem. If you're in SoCalif, I can walk you through it.