Power seats to manual...make any sense?

ActionDad · 05-02-2007, 03:00 PM

I don't care about my seats being electrically controlled but I do want them to be comfy/supportive/etc. I am not a bg fan of leather seats and the seats in my SC are tired anyway...which leads me to my question.

Is it crazy to not only buy power seats and not power them but to also strip them of their motors, wiring, etc to lighten them? I want/need as much headroom as possible so I'd have the seats as low as they can possibly go without a need to adjust up and down and the fore/aft and tilt controls will still be manual.

Anyway. Does that make any sense at all?

cbeers · 05-02-2007, 03:33 PM

I guess if you got a great deal on some power ones, but why not just get what you want, lighter manual seats?

-Chris

jtfreels · 05-02-2007, 04:13 PM

FYI, in my SC I have a power seat from a Carrera. It is higher than the non power passenger seat. By at least an inch and a half. I'm 6'2" and I'm tight on head room.... when the top is on

Jay

rusnak · 05-02-2007, 05:30 PM

Check out the "sport seats" with high bolsters and manual adjust. They're awesome.

MIK911 · 05-02-2007, 10:45 PM

I did. I went from electric '86 Carrera seats to early 80's manual Sport seats. Huge difference in support, lower too, cuz my orig seats were on risers.
Not much diff in weight (motor etc not too heavy). These seats are heavy (approx 40+lbs), so if you want to lighten the load, go for aftermarket (Recaro, etc) sport seats. You won't be sorry.
Sport seats are da bomb!

diverdan · diverdan's Garage

I agree. I rarely change seat position and I sure as heck can do it myself without some heavy motor. In my opinion a whole lot of stuff on today's cars is useless put there only because of marketing and fads, "gotta have it."

diverdan

Greek55 · 05-03-2007, 04:59 AM

I have done both, first electric and seat was too high, especially when I had a helmet on. Now I have manual sport seats out of a 1985 Carrera. Seats are lower, comfort and support about the same.

rusnak · 05-03-2007, 05:58 PM

huge difference in support on sport seats unless they're worn out and the foam is falling apart.

Greek55 · 05-04-2007, 04:03 AM

My electric seats were sport.

70SWT · 05-04-2007, 01:26 PM

Makes a lot of sense to us on the end of the spectrum where one is more obsessed with weight than comfort.

I just picked up a used Recaro early-style manual sport seat, and was disappointed to find it feels actually heavier than the manual later-style Porsche seats that erroneously came with my 72...looks like I may have to choose between proper looks and better support vs. lighter weight...GRRRRR

Quote:

Originally posted by ActionDad
Does that make any sense at all?

cbeers · 05-04-2007, 01:31 PM

The question is not whether or not lighter seats make any sense, but does buying power seats and then stripping them make any sense......to me, no. Not unless you get them for really cheap.

-Chris

rusnak · 05-04-2007, 02:04 PM

If you strip power seats of their motors, how do you get them to stay put? Or adjust them later manually?

ActionDad · 05-04-2007, 06:01 PM

Chris is right on.

Ideally I would like to get seats that are more comfortable (firmer) and offer me at least as much, if not more, headroom as the regular stock seats (manual) in my 79 SC. Lighter weight and cloth instead of leather/vinyl would be a bonus.

The question arose when I found some RS America seats for sale. Turns out these seats are heavy and powered as well as comfy and cloth-faced so they represent a non-perfect solution.

The search continues!

rusnak · 05-04-2007, 06:07 PM

I have some cloth Recaro SE seats from my old BMW that I could sell you, but I have to say the Porsche sport seats are way better in terms of durability and looks, and not heavier.