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I would prefer standard door pulls for my GT4 as well!
I went with 2 way heated seats for my GT4. Having heated seats was really important for me. Getting in and out of buckets all the time would be a drag, and for the track the LWBs still need a sub belt mount and there's no hole for the sub belt in the passenger seat. So for track days I will swap in buckets, either the 996 GT3 buckets I have, or I will sell them and buy some others.
PaulE, for switching out your seats to buckets, do you do this yourself? Do you have any issue with the airbags or with sensors/seat belt indicators not working? Asking because we're ordering our GT4 with 18-ways and I'm looking to do the same swap for track days but with a Recaro seat.
I have a driver side bucket and a 2 way passenger seat for my wife. Only downside is aesthetics for those who can’t stand mismatched seats but it’s perfect for us. I can also swap the driver seat back for road trip if desired.
The really hard core track guys would move to a halo seat. LWB is not that great if a track seat but workable.
Vantage, I'm hoping to do the exact thing you're doing with the mix-matched seat in our GT4. Which after-market bucket did you purchase to swap in?
I see, so it was a clean swap in/swap out with all the same connection points? That seems like a great way to go.
I'm guessing (a lot) here - but if you had LWBS you could "easily" source some OEM 2-ways and install them relatively quiclky w/o I believe any issues or re-programming AFIAK ... seat mounts and electrical are compatible ... I doubt you can do this with 14 or 18 ways though ...
Ive DIY'ed this in previous generation GT cars ... usually going the other way sofas -> buckets (996 recaros and 997.1 GT2RS Sports Buckets, 997.2 18's -> RS LWBS)
Last edited by Larry Cable; 09-21-2022 at 06:56 PM.
I'm guessing (a lot) here - but if you had LWBS you could "easily" source some OEM 2-ways and install them relatively quiclky w/o I believe any issues or re-programming AFIAK ... seat mounts and electrical are compatible ... I doubt you can do this with 14 or 18 ways though ...
Ive DIY'ed this in previous generation GT cars ... usually going the other way sofas -> buckets (996 recaros and 997.1 GT2RS Sports Buckets, 997.2 18's -> RS LWBS)
This is great news. My Dad is in his 70s and mainly wants to use the car for spirited back-road drives. I want to track it. So we're going with the 18-ways installed from factory with the idea that we'd find a great bucket seat to swap the driver seat out for track days. For a 718 GT4, are there any seats you would recommend we source aftermarket for the easiest swap?
This is great news. My Dad is in his 70s and mainly wants to use the car for spirited back-road drives. I want to track it. So we're going with the 18-ways installed from factory with the idea that we'd find a great bucket seat to swap the driver seat out for track days. For a 718 GT4, are there any seats you would recommend we source aftermarket for the easiest swap?
I cant help with the aftermarket sorry - but most of the main aftermarket seat manufacturers have the necessary h/w to "mate" their seat with the OEM rails - removing an 18-way will I suspect (but do not know) will throw errors not least of which will be airbag failures for the absent OEM 18 way side airbags etc
Right, thanks Larry. Do you think opting for 2-way instead of 18-way fix this potential problem?
only if you swap it with an OEM seat like the LWBS ... since all the OEM seats have the same (subset of) electrical connections airbags, and in the case of the passenger seat, the "passenger present" sensor in the seat cushion to detect your passenger's A$$ in the seat (or not).
I'm personally not aware of any aftermarket seat option that is electrically & functionally compatible with the OEM - but that doesn't mean they don't exist - I have a vague recollection of GMG having a spiffy Recaro aftermarket seat in their 991.2 GT3 a couple of years ago (Rennsport VI?)
The car will definitely flag a "airbag" fault if you take out the OEM and replace with aftermarket ... what else taking the 18-ways out might result in I dont know - although when I took my 18's out of my 997.2 GGT3 and put the RS LWBS nothing bad happened - except the seat heating buttons became redundant!
my personal preference in your situation would be to order the car with LWBS and source some 2-ways elsewhere (you used to be able to just order them from Porsche - but I think times have changed) ... then you can pull the LWBS and install the 2-ways ... and quickly swap out the drivers seat for an LWBS when tracking
But then that makes them not be LWB. Cool thing about them is they're about as close to a race seat as you can get from OEM, and I happen to find them very comfortable, even for a 1000 mile drive. Recline, etc., isn't what race seats do. Hell many don't even slide. I kinda wish they didn't have the electric up/down and instead required adjusting which screw hole got used. Of course many would need to take it to a dealer for that and Porch would want us to purchase some one-time-use nuts anytime they were adjusted
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I’m not even thinking a **** for reclining, maybe a few notches where you loosen side bolts and angle the seat within whatever range they can. Race seats are usually ergonomically designed for the driver, not a one size fit all affair. Maybe that was true in the past but not anymore.
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I’m not even thinking a **** for reclining, maybe a few notches where you loosen side bolts and angle the seat within whatever range they can. Race seats are usually ergonomically designed for the driver, not a one size fit all affair. Maybe that was true in the past but not anymore.
Ah. Yeah, I'd be 100% onboard with something like this:
only if you swap it with an OEM seat like the LWBS ... since all the OEM seats have the same (subset of) electrical connections airbags, and in the case of the passenger seat, the "passenger present" sensor in the seat cushion to detect your passenger's A$$ in the seat (or not).
I'm personally not aware of any aftermarket seat option that is electrically & functionally compatible with the OEM - but that doesn't mean they don't exist - I have a vague recollection of GMG having a spiffy Recaro aftermarket seat in their 991.2 GT3 a couple of years ago (Rennsport VI?)
The car will definitely flag a "airbag" fault if you take out the OEM and replace with aftermarket ... what else taking the 18-ways out might result in I dont know - although when I took my 18's out of my 997.2 GGT3 and put the RS LWBS nothing bad happened - except the seat heating buttons became redundant!
my personal preference in your situation would be to order the car with LWBS and source some 2-ways elsewhere (you used to be able to just order them from Porsche - but I think times have changed) ... then you can pull the LWBS and install the 2-ways ... and quickly swap out the drivers seat for an LWBS when tracking
Thank you Larry. You've been really helpful. I'll do some digging to see if I can find some OEM 2-way GT4 seats online. We asked our dealer's parts department about this very thing and, you're right, they used to, but can no longer order a set of seats over counter. They can, however, order all the parts for the seat and the service department will assemble on site but a seat of 2-way seats this route costs the price of a new Kia Forte.
I've looked at the Recaro P 1300 GT seats that Recaro has listed on their site as being part of the GT4 clubsport package and they look so sharp. I'd be interested to know if anyone on here has had experience fitting these into their GT4. I'd be fine with an airbag light.
Thank you Larry. You've been really helpful. I'll do some digging to see if I can find some OEM 2-way GT4 seats online. We asked our dealer's parts department about this very thing and, you're right, they used to, but can no longer order a set of seats over counter. They can, however, order all the parts for the seat and the service department will assemble on site but a seat of 2-way seats this route costs the price of a new Kia Forte.
I've looked at the Recaro P 1300 GT seats that Recaro has listed on their site as being part of the GT4 clubsport package and they look so sharp. I'd be interested to know if anyone on here has had experience fitting these into their GT4. I'd be fine with an airbag light.
you can probably reset/clear the airbag warning with an OBD-II controller - the only question mark I have is if the car detects a "missing" airbag does it disable the entire system such that no airbags at all will fire in a crash?
you can of course imagine the potential negative consequences of this on both your health, any passenger's health, and your auto insurance should this be the case!
As I referenced in a prior post, the G80/82 CF bucket seats are the best seats I have ever sat in
They are adjustable in every manner, including lumbar support and heating (not cooling)
They have the tallest bolsters I have ever seen in a car and much harder to enter/egress than the Porsche CF bucket . . . the Cayman itself is more difficult to enter/egress when you combine the CF buckets with how low it sits to the ground
Anyway, point being, making a fantastic CF bucket seat does not have to come at the expense of adjustability . . . although it WILL come at the expense of increased weight AND cost
All and all, I love the Porsche CF buckets; they seem to ‘suit’ the character of the 718 perfectly and I do not need the adjustability . . . but could live with it if they were anything like the G80/82 seats
09-21-2022, 06:15 PM
