How To: 350Z Seats Install

[Xren17]

I did this a few months ago and have been meaning to write it up. There are two options for you in order to install 350z seats. Either modified the existing brackets or make your own with a 2" wide and 3/8" thick piece of mild steel. I did it both ways and find that you can have a lower seating position if you made your own but the modified brackets doesn't sit that much higher, maybe 1/2". I'm 6'2" and have no problem fitting into either seats. Also my knees is no longer banging into the e-brake handle. I'll update this if people want to see how the mild still brackets look and also with pics of how the seats look in the car.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/p3bd324eb36344b0beadcd8e45defcce9/f1d16e5c.jpg
Drill out or grind off the big ass rivet and 2 spots welds.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/p006e56a6f870b3eeb6672825dc919c0f/f1d16eaf.jpg
Put two cuts into the bracket and hammer it to the desired angle.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/pc2c9758921e04f2337c112f4d1109845/f1d16e4e.jpg
Test fit the brackets in the car.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/p2a2bb4c20c14a1e8e15422b7d90d6cc8/f1d16df1.jpg
Weld it in place.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/pb6640bf3fa9f24a0deba677a700c0f00/f1d16ddd.jpg
Bolt the outter rear bolt and use that to determine where the brackets are going to be welded to the seat rails.
Weld the brackets to the seat rails.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/p860d956f727187656fc8d1e76ed0928f/f1d16e9f.jpg
Fabricate the rear inner bracket with a L bracket, a bolt, (2) washers and nuts.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/pc460153fc47511485052d6a06aa7403c/f1cfe72a.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/p52b223a148ec13dd76291d6c6f41cd7b/f1cfe700.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/pf45b7975f19c7f407ae0249419a8378d/f1cfe6e4.jpg
Pics of the mild steel brackets. If I hadn't been so anxious I would have painted them.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/p9d5a88aba0e9b50775c36be2c2292ded/f1cfe65b.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/p944b307ff859ea88f5b313fe8c6096f3/f1cfe61d.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid191/p17330885566a1091390bf56787b6c231/f1cfe6c4.jpg
Pics of seats in the car. I was too lazy to cut the plasticmolding on the side of the seats to fit, so I just left them off.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2118806581
More pics if you want to check them out.

[Yoshi]

yes yes! more pix!

it'd also be nice to know whether this write up pertains to S13 or S14....
on your way to a great write up tho! almost there!

[jy116]

yoshi... the mounting points are the same for s13 and s14...

Could u link pic #1 as a thumbnail, its too small to see your notes. And howbout a in car photo. Looks pretty simple for a nice seat! Ive been lookin for a seat for a while :/ R32 seats have great shoulder bolster, but not enough leg... hows the 350z support for leg/shoulders? Thanks for the write-up :]

[brokeAs240sx]

sweet, the mild steel/lower than stock pics/how to would be awesome!

[Loofee95SE]

more pics please, and can we see 1 in the car shot?? C

[slide_or_die]

awsome write up
pics asap please!

[Drunk Bastard]

great writeup...

[Al_S14]

Killer!! MOre pics please of how it look in the car and how much better they hug. It was awesome in a Z when i drove it but it feels different whe youre in another car even tho seat is same.

[jdm538]

i really like the yellow leather seats now i can fit them, thanks for the write up.

[Yoshi]

yoshi... the mounting points are the same for s13 and s14...

Could u link pic #1 as a thumbnail, its too small to see your notes. And howbout a in car photo. Looks pretty simple for a nice seat! Ive been lookin for a seat for a while :/ R32 seats have great shoulder bolster, but not enough leg... hows the 350z support for leg/shoulders? Thanks for the write-up :]

ok sorry, I guess I should have been more clear.
I wasn't asking S13 or S14 for that sort of fitment. I wanted to see how they fit in the car more asthetically. Wide shoulder bolster seats often times look awkward in S13s, not so much in S14s.

What I should have asked, was for a pic of hte finished install, looking from about the driver's side quarter (front), looking in, as well as side shot for height, which is also slightly more of an issue for S13 than S14.

I was looking for more pix of his finished install so I could compare to stock/reclinables w/2tall sliders, side mount rails/buckets, etc.

[AuburnRyan]

You're supposed to know that's an s14 logo on the drivers mat...

But in all seriousness - they're in an s14 since he sold me his leather fronts.

[s14maniac]

someone post a picture!!

[Pank]

sort of off topic, but i've been looking ALL OVER for the leather 350z seats, and i CANNOT find them, where'd you find yours?

[TougeRacing]

i want too seeeeeeeeeee a pictureeeeeeeeeeee nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[Xren17]

... hows the 350z support for leg/shoulders?
The side support is really good. Atleast alot better than my old seats. But there's really no leg support.


sort of off topic, but i've been looking ALL OVER for the leather 350z seats, and i CANNOT find them, where'd you find yours?

I bought them off of the 350Zmotoring.com forum.

[s14maniac]

im wondering... why do they keep banning my e-mail? i cant register all my e-mails..

another thing, i thought 350z seats are power seats.. how do you tilt your seats??

[Xren17]

i thought 350z seats are power seats.. how do you tilt your seats??

I believe only some are power and some have two knobs on the side to adjust the base of the seats. Mine only had one. Also there's a lever on the back of the seats to tilt it forward.

[s14maniac]

does the seats fit better than s14 seats? or R33 seats?? how much did u buy your seats for?

[Bryants95240sx]

350z seats that are power are from the touring verison and i think its an option on any others beside base .Seats with a single knob are from a base model.And seats with two knobs are from enuth. models.

[Xren17]

does the seats fit better than s14 seats? or R33 seats?? how much did u buy your seats for?

I'm not sure what you mean by fit, but if you mean if they hold you better? The answer is yes, I used to slide around in my old seats in hard driving but then again it doesn't help to have leather. I haven't sat in a R33 seats so I can't say and I paid 450 shipped for them. I think the seats are a good upgrade if you don't want to spend a little more for R32 seats or want something close to stock. The downside is that you have to modified the brackets and eventhough it's easy, it is time consuming.

-Ren

[Omarius Maximus]

Leather seats from the touring model have side airbags and power. I don't know how much of a weight difference that would constitute but it's still gonna be heavier than stock. Better to go with the cloth cheapo base model 350z seats.

[s14maniac]

oh im getting R33 GTR seats for 500 this weekend... its direct bolt on so i guess ill pick that up for now :)

[dropemlow]

looks like you done all my work for me and i can start makeing my brackets now.thaks for the write up.i gave 300 for mine local and i think they are a nice upgrade.

[Al_S14]

do seats only have 3 points where they bolt to the floor or you didnt say anything about other rear point since it was same as other one?

[Xren17]

do seats only have 3 points where they bolt to the floor or you didnt say anything about other rear point since it was same as other one?

You have to make the 3 brackets that you saw in the photos. The last bolt, rear outter one, doesn't need any modification, it bolts right in.

[OdessaS13]

+1 very nice write-up...if i had more money at the time i swapped s14 seats in my s13 i would have gotten 350z ones instead, they look sweeet but please dont be lazy put the side molding back on itll look 100x better

[TougeRacing]

that is soo sweet lookin, thanks for the write up

[FRpilot]

nice seats. almost looks like r32 gtr seats but with adjustable headrest

[Pank]

Leather seats from the touring model have side airbags and power. I don't know how much of a weight difference that would constitute but it's still gonna be heavier than stock. Better to go with the cloth cheapo base model 350z seats.


eh, they cant be THAT much heavier, plus, the black leather ones are really nice.

plus, my dad had a touring model, and I miss it :(

[LH1-Hatch]

That looks great! It's like a cross between S14 and S15 seats. Definitely makes our older 240s look more modern.

[G-Force]

fghfg1hfghfghfgh

[DrtyRat]

not really, only 3 of the 4 are direct..gotta modify the rear outter bolt to fit. I used an oversize washer to hold down that last bracket. Here's a pic for reference:

http://www.flatfours.com/pics/051031-240SX/240sx5.jpg
YOu bumped an almost year old thread for that?! Anyways, I don't know that I would trust that washer to hold me in place in an accident

[G-Force]

rerertwertwertwertewrt

[ayuaddict]

...got a better solution? no? thought so..

get a 50 cent piece of 3/8" metal, either weld or bolt onto the seat bracket and drill a hole to mount onto the floor.

[Dousan_PG]

WOW thats fucking ghetto
enjoy death. say hi to satan. and hitler

[babowc]

haha..
im thinking of going and picking up a driver's seat..
same fitment for s13 i suppose?

bumping an OLD ass thread.

[Xren17]

Just in case anyone is interested I actually redid all the mounting brackets almost right after this how-to. The reasons was to provide more leg room for the driver side and replace the "ghetto" looking bracket with 3/8" mild steel welded to the inner-rear bracket leg and mounted to the stock location. And yes, "ghetto" is my specialty since the first time around I'm more worried about fit and ironing out the details than I am with quality. That's what building and experimentation is for, it's to proof and improve your process.

[civilized_drifter]

awesome write up man, now i have to get these seats out of this new 350z that just arived in my local junkyard

[statik]

Just in case anyone is interested I actually redid all the mounting brackets almost right after this how-to. The reasons was to provide more leg room for the driver side and replace the "ghetto" looking bracket with 3/8" mild steel welded to the inner-rear bracket leg and mounted to the stock location. And yes, "ghetto" is my specialty since the first time around I'm more worried about fit and ironing out the details than I am with quality. That's what building and experimentation is for, it's to proof and improve your process.

I need to redo my inner rear mounts as well, a little scary, but the seats are awesome

[Slow Poke]

Post up some pics of the new brackets for us!

[puravida]

getting some tan 350z seats a pair actually...
I'll see if i can get some pics going for a s13..

[paNX2K&SE-R]

I'd love to see pics of the new mounts too.

[harangatang]

you should most deff sell these brackets.. Id buy some.

[OptionZero]

again, why would anyone want to pay money and do work to mount crappy seats onto their car?

[ixfxi]

again, why would anyone want to pay money and do work to mount crappy seats onto their car?

HEY DUDE... BACKOFF?#[email protected][email protected] if you dont like it, dont post in this thread. oK?#[email protected][email protected][email protected]?

haha jk

seriously, we ALREADY have good seats. i mean, r32 seats are the ULTIMATE seats on this planet.

i have first hand experience with Z seats being kinda crappy. the support isnt great and they have problems with play in the railing after time. my cousins seat would move forward a 1/4 of an inch when he would brake, and a 1/4 of an inch back when he would accellerate because the rails were poopy.

either way, not the end of the world.. but hey, i just dont care much for those seats and think better ones exist. its cool to see new ideas work, but literally.. have some stuff fabricated out of thicker steel. that shit doesnt look solid.

[Dcrprez]

could you take the bracket off the s14 seat and put it on the 350z seat so not to change mounting to the floor board??

[Xren17]

/rant
Honestly, one of the reason I stop coming on here regular is because I keep seeing similar comments as above to anything that someone doesn't agree to. I don't know the majority of you but I had assume somewhere along the line of growing up you've all learned how to be civil and give constructive criticism. I apologize if stock seats are crappy and I'm not a master fabricator. I guess what we need is to go into debt so we can afford the latest and greatest or not try to fix up cars at all. rant/

[ixfxi]

/rant
Honestly, one of the reason I stop coming on here regular is because I keep seeing similar comments as above to anything that someone doesn't agree to. I don't know the majority of you but I had assume somewhere along the line of growing up you've all learned how to be civil and give constructive criticism. I apologize if stock seats are crappy and I'm not a master fabricator. I guess what we need is to go into debt so we can afford the latest and greatest or not try to fix up cars at all. rant/

no, just do shit that isnt hokey.

some of the parts you were using were silly, not strong enough to hold a damn seat in during impact, thats for sure.

besides, its interesting to see these seats in your car - yes, but there are much better seats available that i personally consider better, thats all.

dont get all butt hurt, seriously. its just opinion. its kinda why i laugh when i see people install maxima brakes.. like come on, theres so many better options out there.

[bigOdom1]

plus the fact that this is the oldest thread thats still alive holy shit both of you need to grow up

[DRO916]

Anyone have an updated thread? The pics in this 4 year old thread are done

[kalypso123]

this is awesome, but OP can you relink the pix?