Installed RX8 seats but I need some more help!
#26
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I don't know about the yellow connector. I haven't gotten that far but I was afraid to play with it. I thought that one might be the air bag connector but that was just me. I didn't hear that from anyone. as far as the fat wires on the big white connector, those are definitely for the seat motors with the exception of the lumbar supports. If you do confirm which wires are for the lumbar supports and the heaters, please let me know. I am interested.
#29
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https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/how-rx8-seats-into-fb-428256/
Stu has a great step-by-step on how to disassemble the seat in the above thread. He apparently did it without destroying anything, so I suppose it works
Stu has a great step-by-step on how to disassemble the seat in the above thread. He apparently did it without destroying anything, so I suppose it works
#30
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removing the airbags is a simple 10mm bolt behind the SRS cover.
the yellow connector IS the airbag power connector. nothing else
there is not really any lumbar support in these seats, sorry!
and unfortunately i only have one good black leather drivers seat left :P
the yellow connector IS the airbag power connector. nothing else
there is not really any lumbar support in these seats, sorry!
and unfortunately i only have one good black leather drivers seat left :P
#32
In auto body repair school I learned that all air bags use yellow connectors, I don't know how accurate that is, but at least all the ones I've seen are yellow. be careful, they deploy at over 200mph, we set one off face down (steering wheel) in the parking lot, and IIRC it flew around 100 feet or more in the air. btw, those seats are the hotness, me likey. Heated, leather, and electronic controls! yea baby. I wonder if a race harness would work on those?
#33
I love that pic from outside the car looking through the front windshield. Those seats look wicked how those rotor emblems show through the front window. I just picked up these seats from a friend. I can't wait to get them installed. I have a few other things that I need to do first though that take priority.
#35
RX HVN
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Hi Guys-
Thought I'd jump in again with my on-going experience/update since I wrote the earlier (original??) RX8 install - it lasted ONE driving season before the stock (RX7 that is) seat rails broke under the weight of the new RX8 seats (to answer Dave's Q about using RX7 seat rails).
I stripped the seats out and apart (BTW these are the manual seats) and - and THIS is the key - found a set of ADAPTER BRACKETS made to adapt generic racing, etc seats onto the existing RX7 body floor mounts. ie RX7-specific seat adapters. I am not sure if or who makes these any more. I did NOT want to punch holes in the car body.
What I did, in a nutshell:
- cut RX8 seat attachment hardware off down to the sliders, creating a flat surface to mount to
- using 1/4" steel plate, I welded a plate to each side. This is to allow the ADAPTER BRACKETS to span the WIDER (!) RX8 seat sliders (pics).
- threaded holes were taped into the steel plates to mount the ADAPTER BRACKETS (pic)
Passenger seat is shown, info applies to both. NOTE: this method allows the passenger seat to sit as low as is possible into the RX7 - BUT it still sits a bit higher than the stock seat. If you try install while keeping the RX8 mounting brackets still attached to the slider rails, the seat will sit MUCH higher - really, rendering it useless for anyone over 5'5" to sit in (ie, short girl friends, kids - your mom
Some other caveats to RX8 seat installs-
-any welding, such as I did, will require removing the seat pad assemblies, which are very straight forward (4 bolts for each piece)
-it also requires removing the plastic trim side panels - which are an ABSOLUTE Bee-otch!!!!!! If YOU can remove these without breaking the use-only-once snap fittings, well, yer a frickin' genius!
I had to replace BOTH the big outer panels (one per seat) to the tune of $150+! Damn you Mazda!
:p
Sorry. rant.
Finally: AIRBAG:
-you can pull it out - very easy as described above: pop open square SRS panel with flat blade driver, remove 10mm bolt, unit slides UP (to clear metal insert guide tab on bottom of bag) and out. The harness piece is a locking-type which requires you to insert a small screw driver blade into the back, pull a snap-in panel away, allowing the harness to disconnect. FYI the RX8 shop manual displays this nicely (I just went and looked at the dealers copy). Frankly, just cut the wire.
Exploding cartridges aside - if you remove the assy, you have a big-@ss hole in the seat, since the cover of the airbag is a part of the unit. You really have no choice but to use it.
OH WAIT:
did I mention these seats RUST!??! YES! One season in uber-dry Alaskan interior, and when I removed the seats to re-mod, the BASES were starting to rust (I have just posted a detailed diatribe on the RX8 forum). Its nasty surface rust and it was going everywhere. Again - this car was NOT emersed in a creek, no rain leaks, bone-dry winter storage. You guys living near oceans or wet climes are in for a NASTY-@ssed surprise. The rust is only on the seat bottom PAN (ie the metal "floor" of the seat bottom the pad is attached to). This is a piece of thin, punched out preformed panel that everything attaches too (making its integrity vital!).
Solution:
-remove seat bottom - 4 bolts, VERY easy
-detach as much of outer cover as you can away from PAN, and cover it - I used a plastic garbage bag
-polish out rust, which I did with any metal polish
-clean off polish residue with isopropyl alcohol
-rattle can SPRAY (I used krylon clear for metal) BOTH SIDES of the PAN
ook.
But you know - it worth it everytime I slide into the damn seat
'luck.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
Thought I'd jump in again with my on-going experience/update since I wrote the earlier (original??) RX8 install - it lasted ONE driving season before the stock (RX7 that is) seat rails broke under the weight of the new RX8 seats (to answer Dave's Q about using RX7 seat rails).
I stripped the seats out and apart (BTW these are the manual seats) and - and THIS is the key - found a set of ADAPTER BRACKETS made to adapt generic racing, etc seats onto the existing RX7 body floor mounts. ie RX7-specific seat adapters. I am not sure if or who makes these any more. I did NOT want to punch holes in the car body.
What I did, in a nutshell:
- cut RX8 seat attachment hardware off down to the sliders, creating a flat surface to mount to
- using 1/4" steel plate, I welded a plate to each side. This is to allow the ADAPTER BRACKETS to span the WIDER (!) RX8 seat sliders (pics).
- threaded holes were taped into the steel plates to mount the ADAPTER BRACKETS (pic)
Passenger seat is shown, info applies to both. NOTE: this method allows the passenger seat to sit as low as is possible into the RX7 - BUT it still sits a bit higher than the stock seat. If you try install while keeping the RX8 mounting brackets still attached to the slider rails, the seat will sit MUCH higher - really, rendering it useless for anyone over 5'5" to sit in (ie, short girl friends, kids - your mom
Some other caveats to RX8 seat installs-
-any welding, such as I did, will require removing the seat pad assemblies, which are very straight forward (4 bolts for each piece)
-it also requires removing the plastic trim side panels - which are an ABSOLUTE Bee-otch!!!!!! If YOU can remove these without breaking the use-only-once snap fittings, well, yer a frickin' genius!
I had to replace BOTH the big outer panels (one per seat) to the tune of $150+! Damn you Mazda!
:p
Sorry. rant.
Finally: AIRBAG:
-you can pull it out - very easy as described above: pop open square SRS panel with flat blade driver, remove 10mm bolt, unit slides UP (to clear metal insert guide tab on bottom of bag) and out. The harness piece is a locking-type which requires you to insert a small screw driver blade into the back, pull a snap-in panel away, allowing the harness to disconnect. FYI the RX8 shop manual displays this nicely (I just went and looked at the dealers copy). Frankly, just cut the wire.
Exploding cartridges aside - if you remove the assy, you have a big-@ss hole in the seat, since the cover of the airbag is a part of the unit. You really have no choice but to use it.
OH WAIT:
did I mention these seats RUST!??! YES! One season in uber-dry Alaskan interior, and when I removed the seats to re-mod, the BASES were starting to rust (I have just posted a detailed diatribe on the RX8 forum). Its nasty surface rust and it was going everywhere. Again - this car was NOT emersed in a creek, no rain leaks, bone-dry winter storage. You guys living near oceans or wet climes are in for a NASTY-@ssed surprise. The rust is only on the seat bottom PAN (ie the metal "floor" of the seat bottom the pad is attached to). This is a piece of thin, punched out preformed panel that everything attaches too (making its integrity vital!).
Solution:
-remove seat bottom - 4 bolts, VERY easy
-detach as much of outer cover as you can away from PAN, and cover it - I used a plastic garbage bag
-polish out rust, which I did with any metal polish
-clean off polish residue with isopropyl alcohol
-rattle can SPRAY (I used krylon clear for metal) BOTH SIDES of the PAN
ook.
But you know - it worth it everytime I slide into the damn seat
'luck.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
#36
Hi Guys-
Thought I'd jump in again with my on-going experience/update since I wrote the earlier (original??) RX8 install - it lasted ONE driving season before the stock (RX7 that is) seat rails broke under the weight of the new RX8 seats (to answer Dave's Q about using RX7 seat rails).
I stripped the seats out and apart (BTW these are the manual seats) and - and THIS is the key - found a set of ADAPTER BRACKETS made to adapt generic racing, etc seats onto the existing RX7 body floor mounts. ie RX7-specific seat adapters. I am not sure if or who makes these any more. I did NOT want to punch holes in the car body.
What I did, in a nutshell:
- cut RX8 seat attachment hardware off down to the sliders, creating a flat surface to mount to
- using 1/4" steel plate, I welded a plate to each side. This is to allow the ADAPTER BRACKETS to span the WIDER (!) RX8 seat sliders (pics).
- threaded holes were taped into the steel plates to mount the ADAPTER BRACKETS (pic)
Passenger seat is shown, info applies to both. NOTE: this method allows the passenger seat to sit as low as is possible into the RX7 - BUT it still sits a bit higher than the stock seat. If you try install while keeping the RX8 mounting brackets still attached to the slider rails, the seat will sit MUCH higher - really, rendering it useless for anyone over 5'5" to sit in (ie, short girl friends, kids - your mom
Some other caveats to RX8 seat installs-
-any welding, such as I did, will require removing the seat pad assemblies, which are very straight forward (4 bolts for each piece)
-it also requires removing the plastic trim side panels - which are an ABSOLUTE Bee-otch!!!!!! If YOU can remove these without breaking the use-only-once snap fittings, well, yer a frickin' genius!
I had to replace BOTH the big outer panels (one per seat) to the tune of $150+! Damn you Mazda!
:p
Sorry. rant.
Finally: AIRBAG:
-you can pull it out - very easy as described above: pop open square SRS panel with flat blade driver, remove 10mm bolt, unit slides UP (to clear metal insert guide tab on bottom of bag) and out. The harness piece is a locking-type which requires you to insert a small screw driver blade into the back, pull a snap-in panel away, allowing the harness to disconnect. FYI the RX8 shop manual displays this nicely (I just went and looked at the dealers copy). Frankly, just cut the wire.
Exploding cartridges aside - if you remove the assy, you have a big-@ss hole in the seat, since the cover of the airbag is a part of the unit. You really have no choice but to use it.
OH WAIT:
did I mention these seats RUST!??! YES! One season in uber-dry Alaskan interior, and when I removed the seats to re-mod, the BASES were starting to rust (I have just posted a detailed diatribe on the RX8 forum). Its nasty surface rust and it was going everywhere. Again - this car was NOT emersed in a creek, no rain leaks, bone-dry winter storage. You guys living near oceans or wet climes are in for a NASTY-@ssed surprise. The rust is only on the seat bottom PAN (ie the metal "floor" of the seat bottom the pad is attached to). This is a piece of thin, punched out preformed panel that everything attaches too (making its integrity vital!).
Solution:
-remove seat bottom - 4 bolts, VERY easy
-detach as much of outer cover as you can away from PAN, and cover it - I used a plastic garbage bag
-polish out rust, which I did with any metal polish
-clean off polish residue with isopropyl alcohol
-rattle can SPRAY (I used krylon clear for metal) BOTH SIDES of the PAN
ook.
But you know - it worth it everytime I slide into the damn seat
'luck.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
Thought I'd jump in again with my on-going experience/update since I wrote the earlier (original??) RX8 install - it lasted ONE driving season before the stock (RX7 that is) seat rails broke under the weight of the new RX8 seats (to answer Dave's Q about using RX7 seat rails).
I stripped the seats out and apart (BTW these are the manual seats) and - and THIS is the key - found a set of ADAPTER BRACKETS made to adapt generic racing, etc seats onto the existing RX7 body floor mounts. ie RX7-specific seat adapters. I am not sure if or who makes these any more. I did NOT want to punch holes in the car body.
What I did, in a nutshell:
- cut RX8 seat attachment hardware off down to the sliders, creating a flat surface to mount to
- using 1/4" steel plate, I welded a plate to each side. This is to allow the ADAPTER BRACKETS to span the WIDER (!) RX8 seat sliders (pics).
- threaded holes were taped into the steel plates to mount the ADAPTER BRACKETS (pic)
Passenger seat is shown, info applies to both. NOTE: this method allows the passenger seat to sit as low as is possible into the RX7 - BUT it still sits a bit higher than the stock seat. If you try install while keeping the RX8 mounting brackets still attached to the slider rails, the seat will sit MUCH higher - really, rendering it useless for anyone over 5'5" to sit in (ie, short girl friends, kids - your mom
Some other caveats to RX8 seat installs-
-any welding, such as I did, will require removing the seat pad assemblies, which are very straight forward (4 bolts for each piece)
-it also requires removing the plastic trim side panels - which are an ABSOLUTE Bee-otch!!!!!! If YOU can remove these without breaking the use-only-once snap fittings, well, yer a frickin' genius!
I had to replace BOTH the big outer panels (one per seat) to the tune of $150+! Damn you Mazda!
:p
Sorry. rant.
Finally: AIRBAG:
-you can pull it out - very easy as described above: pop open square SRS panel with flat blade driver, remove 10mm bolt, unit slides UP (to clear metal insert guide tab on bottom of bag) and out. The harness piece is a locking-type which requires you to insert a small screw driver blade into the back, pull a snap-in panel away, allowing the harness to disconnect. FYI the RX8 shop manual displays this nicely (I just went and looked at the dealers copy). Frankly, just cut the wire.
Exploding cartridges aside - if you remove the assy, you have a big-@ss hole in the seat, since the cover of the airbag is a part of the unit. You really have no choice but to use it.
OH WAIT:
did I mention these seats RUST!??! YES! One season in uber-dry Alaskan interior, and when I removed the seats to re-mod, the BASES were starting to rust (I have just posted a detailed diatribe on the RX8 forum). Its nasty surface rust and it was going everywhere. Again - this car was NOT emersed in a creek, no rain leaks, bone-dry winter storage. You guys living near oceans or wet climes are in for a NASTY-@ssed surprise. The rust is only on the seat bottom PAN (ie the metal "floor" of the seat bottom the pad is attached to). This is a piece of thin, punched out preformed panel that everything attaches too (making its integrity vital!).
Solution:
-remove seat bottom - 4 bolts, VERY easy
-detach as much of outer cover as you can away from PAN, and cover it - I used a plastic garbage bag
-polish out rust, which I did with any metal polish
-clean off polish residue with isopropyl alcohol
-rattle can SPRAY (I used krylon clear for metal) BOTH SIDES of the PAN
ook.
But you know - it worth it everytime I slide into the damn seat
'luck.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
What is the benefit to putting power to the seat? What am I overlooking here. Thanks
#38
RX HVN
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Thanks for taking the time to write this update for us. I have a few questions though, what's the concern with the airbag? I don't see a reason to run any power to my seats anyways????
What is the benefit to putting power to the seat? What am I overlooking here. Thanks
What is the benefit to putting power to the seat? What am I overlooking here. Thanks
Airbag: no issues other than it won't work. Just leave it alone...
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
#39
OK, thanks, I was confused because my seats look like yours with the manual slider, yet you had thte airbag compartment opened up in your pic. I guess it was just part of your write up for those that are hooking power to thier seats. Thanks
#40
Banned. I got OWNED!!!
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yea the power seats consist of three wires to get them to work, two are power one is ground.
The heaters, forget it you wont wanna mess with it. They arent even good anyway. and you would need someone to cut the wiring harness and heat switches (hint its not a separate harness, its through the entire car)
The airbags, useless because it requires the airbag control unit to function.
The heaters, forget it you wont wanna mess with it. They arent even good anyway. and you would need someone to cut the wiring harness and heat switches (hint its not a separate harness, its through the entire car)
The airbags, useless because it requires the airbag control unit to function.
#41
Chad Carson
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Hi guys. I'm currently deployed to Iraq. I recently went home for leave and got a 1985 GSL-SE. I got it from another member on the forum. (Thanks Fire85GSLSE) While I was on leave I installed some RX8 seats. The installation was very easy but since the seats are red and black leather the drivers side is electric. I considered going with the cloth manual seats but I wanted the leather. Anyway, I manually adjusted the seat so it fits me. That was a pain because I had to partially take the seat and motors apart and turn the correct gear by hand. I want to do the installation right though, and make it so the seats are adjustable. I have seen plenty of pictures on the forum of people with the leather seats? How did you guys hook up the seats to allow them to adjust? I would like to hook up the heaters too but the first priority is to allow the seat to adjust. Any help would be appreciated. I Won't be home from Iraq for another month but I wanted to try and get a head start on getting this information. Thanks guys.
Also, this is my first time uploading pics so I don't know how it will go. I'll try and get some better quality pictures but this is all i have so far.
Also, this is my first time uploading pics so I don't know how it will go. I'll try and get some better quality pictures but this is all i have so far.
#42
www.signaturetile.net
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Back from the dead, Yeah!
Well in getting some info from Stu, I decided to look for aftermarket seat brackets. There's a couple out there. A local company 425 Motorsports has custon ones for all generations.
(http://www.425motorsports.com/catalo...7+seat+bracket)
These things are BEEFY. 3/16 steel all around, great welds etc. not cheap at all at $140 each but they bolt right in. Only issue is the back bolts are a pain to get to because of the large surface area of the top mounting plate.
Still had to remove all the brackets off the bottom of the Rx8 seats, and had to drill some holes to bolt through as the stock holes on the brackets did not line up, but that was really easy.
I'm still working on the wiring for the driver seat, got all movements working just have to figure a good place to tie in to. I'm going to be taking them out again once my black carpet gets here, but here's a pic of them in.
(http://www.425motorsports.com/catalo...7+seat+bracket)
These things are BEEFY. 3/16 steel all around, great welds etc. not cheap at all at $140 each but they bolt right in. Only issue is the back bolts are a pain to get to because of the large surface area of the top mounting plate.
Still had to remove all the brackets off the bottom of the Rx8 seats, and had to drill some holes to bolt through as the stock holes on the brackets did not line up, but that was really easy.
I'm still working on the wiring for the driver seat, got all movements working just have to figure a good place to tie in to. I'm going to be taking them out again once my black carpet gets here, but here's a pic of them in.
#43
Well in getting some info from Stu, I decided to look for aftermarket seat brackets. There's a couple out there. A local company 425 Motorsports has custon ones for all generations.
(http://www.425motorsports.com/catalo...7+seat+bracket)
These things are BEEFY. 3/16 steel all around, great welds etc. not cheap at all at $140 each but they bolt right in. Only issue is the back bolts are a pain to get to because of the large surface area of the top mounting plate.
Still had to remove all the brackets off the bottom of the Rx8 seats, and had to drill some holes to bolt through as the stock holes on the brackets did not line up, but that was really easy.
I'm still working on the wiring for the driver seat, got all movements working just have to figure a good place to tie in to. I'm going to be taking them out again once my black carpet gets here, but here's a pic of them in.
(http://www.425motorsports.com/catalo...7+seat+bracket)
These things are BEEFY. 3/16 steel all around, great welds etc. not cheap at all at $140 each but they bolt right in. Only issue is the back bolts are a pain to get to because of the large surface area of the top mounting plate.
Still had to remove all the brackets off the bottom of the Rx8 seats, and had to drill some holes to bolt through as the stock holes on the brackets did not line up, but that was really easy.
I'm still working on the wiring for the driver seat, got all movements working just have to figure a good place to tie in to. I'm going to be taking them out again once my black carpet gets here, but here's a pic of them in.
Thanks
#45
RX HVN
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oop! my bad-
pic (above) is bottom of seat BEFORE the adapter frame is mounted, showing the welded-on "intermediate" plates needed to allow NARROWER RX7 adapter to mount up to WIDER RX8 slider-base.
Chad's adapters make this step unnecessary! Right Chad??
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
pic (above) is bottom of seat BEFORE the adapter frame is mounted, showing the welded-on "intermediate" plates needed to allow NARROWER RX7 adapter to mount up to WIDER RX8 slider-base.
Chad's adapters make this step unnecessary! Right Chad??
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
#46
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In auto body repair school I learned that all air bags use yellow connectors, I don't know how accurate that is, but at least all the ones I've seen are yellow. be careful, they deploy at over 200mph, we set one off face down (steering wheel) in the parking lot, and IIRC it flew around 100 feet or more in the air. btw, those seats are the hotness, me likey. Heated, leather, and electronic controls! yea baby. I wonder if a race harness would work on those?
just take the yellow connector and tie it back out of the way and go on with your business. the air bag will not deploy with static electricity (some people think that) or any thing like that, they are almost 100 percent safe unless you physicaly apply 12 v or higher to them. and provide a ground. i bet the connector even has a bridge built in to it to short the two (or three) wires to each other when connector is unplugged. totally harmless.
but back to the seat, they are very nice looking in the fb....
good luck and just take your time and do it right the first time.
#47
www.signaturetile.net
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Figured I'd add something else too. My seats are the brown/black ones, and I managed to find a vinyl that matches damn near 100%. Did the cloth panels on my doors to match the seats. It's called 'Cinnamon Whisper' Googles shows it being sold as a cover material for poker tables, I found it in a local fabric store.
Next is dying the carpet and the bottoms of the door panels to a dark grey
Next is dying the carpet and the bottoms of the door panels to a dark grey