HippoSleek
05-28-2002, 07:48 AM
First - let me begin by thanking bbp for planting the seed of adventure in me! <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/thumbs-up.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':thumbsup:'>
Okay, background: a) I'm tall; b) I drive an s14; c) I like to wear a helmet in the car as much as possible. If you are like me, then you know that "a" + "b" does not equal "c" b/c there's just no headroom! It is bad enough w/o a helment and not sitting in attack position. After seeing bbp posting about his racecar's lower s13 passanger seat, I decided to do an experiment this weekend.
Results - I got about .5" or so of headroom by removing padding (my hair used to graze the roof, now it has about .5-.75" of space). Not a lot, but every little bit helps! Besides the extra head room, it also provided a little deeper of a hole to sink my a$$ into, so I feel the seat is holding me better. So far, I haven't found it uncomfortable for lack of foam (although the newfound pressre on the sides of my cheeks is hard to get used too <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'> ).
Process - Not hard at all.
1. Remove the seat (four bolts - 1.5 minutes!<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'> and don't forget the little seatbelt light wire/clip. Be prepared for the track/ slider to scare the hell out of you when it releases (it will - and it will do it when you least expect it (not as soon as it unbolts)). And while you are at it, clean that hard to reach area and retrieve all loose change <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>
2. Take the seat bottom off. Remove the plastic trim on the sides (two screws per section + remove seatback release lever plastic). Unbolt the bottom from the chassis (two screws on the door side, three screws + the big seatbelt buckle bolt on the tunnel side). Fidget with the clips that hold on the wires again (3 total) and Presto!
3. Open seat/ remove foam. The basics of this process it to take the cover off the seat so you can reach in and take out some foam. I found that this is a bit more complex than I would have liked b/c I kept opening up the wrong section (there are multiple bolsters - thigh, each hip, center, back). Still, it only took me about 30 minutes. What I should have done was remove the hog rings on the rear half of the seat (including the flap at the back). Remove the hog rings that separate the center foam from the rear bolster (found under that flap on the bottom). Pull that section up and out of the way. Reach in and start grabbing handfulls of foam. I was lazy and didn't take it all the way apart and don't have a uniform foam surface now, but I can't feel the difference when I sit on it - so being anal will get you few rewards. Uncompressed, there is about 2.5" of foam in there. I removed about 1.5" worth. When you are done pulling, close it up. I used zip ties (a la bbp's suggestion) and reused some of the hog rings (squeezed together w/ pliars).
4. Reassemble.
Easy, free, and more rewarding than I imagined.
Okay, background: a) I'm tall; b) I drive an s14; c) I like to wear a helmet in the car as much as possible. If you are like me, then you know that "a" + "b" does not equal "c" b/c there's just no headroom! It is bad enough w/o a helment and not sitting in attack position. After seeing bbp posting about his racecar's lower s13 passanger seat, I decided to do an experiment this weekend.
Results - I got about .5" or so of headroom by removing padding (my hair used to graze the roof, now it has about .5-.75" of space). Not a lot, but every little bit helps! Besides the extra head room, it also provided a little deeper of a hole to sink my a$$ into, so I feel the seat is holding me better. So far, I haven't found it uncomfortable for lack of foam (although the newfound pressre on the sides of my cheeks is hard to get used too <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'> ).
Process - Not hard at all.
1. Remove the seat (four bolts - 1.5 minutes!<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'> and don't forget the little seatbelt light wire/clip. Be prepared for the track/ slider to scare the hell out of you when it releases (it will - and it will do it when you least expect it (not as soon as it unbolts)). And while you are at it, clean that hard to reach area and retrieve all loose change <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>
2. Take the seat bottom off. Remove the plastic trim on the sides (two screws per section + remove seatback release lever plastic). Unbolt the bottom from the chassis (two screws on the door side, three screws + the big seatbelt buckle bolt on the tunnel side). Fidget with the clips that hold on the wires again (3 total) and Presto!
3. Open seat/ remove foam. The basics of this process it to take the cover off the seat so you can reach in and take out some foam. I found that this is a bit more complex than I would have liked b/c I kept opening up the wrong section (there are multiple bolsters - thigh, each hip, center, back). Still, it only took me about 30 minutes. What I should have done was remove the hog rings on the rear half of the seat (including the flap at the back). Remove the hog rings that separate the center foam from the rear bolster (found under that flap on the bottom). Pull that section up and out of the way. Reach in and start grabbing handfulls of foam. I was lazy and didn't take it all the way apart and don't have a uniform foam surface now, but I can't feel the difference when I sit on it - so being anal will get you few rewards. Uncompressed, there is about 2.5" of foam in there. I removed about 1.5" worth. When you are done pulling, close it up. I used zip ties (a la bbp's suggestion) and reused some of the hog rings (squeezed together w/ pliars).
4. Reassemble.
Easy, free, and more rewarding than I imagined.