Viper pilot

I'm considering changing the seats in my 2014 CS from 14 way heated memory 'sport seats' to the equivalent 18 way sport seats plus if I can find some. I'd like to know if that would be a plug and play type of change or I would have to also change connectors and reprogramming as well?

KBell

Great question.

I have the 4 way sport seats and also wonder in they can be changed. Plug and play?

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Viper pilot

Well here is what I think I know about this subject as of today. First, I have a 2014 Cayman S with what is known as '14 way heated sports seats with memory'. All this is in Luxor Beige color theme. I was trying to find out if it was 'plug and play' to exchange my seats for the '18 way heated Adaptive Sports Seats Plus' configuration. These have all the same attributes as my '14 way seats' and also have larger, adjustable bolsters in both the seat and the back rest. I've chatted with 3 or 4 Porsche mechanics plus the folks down at Suncoast Porsche in Florida and they all seem to agree that it would not be a simple change. They all seem to feel it would involve connector and possibly wiring changes plus programming work as well. In general they all seemed to try and discourage me from trying to go ahead with the modification. Another shop near me (Kelly Moss Motorsports) which does a lot of Porsche customization and modifications, also felt it was most likely not 'plug and play' but admitted they have not done a seat change-out like I wanted. They are going to try and do more research into wiring diagrams to see if they have a definitive answer. Anyway, I think I am cooling to the idea at this time.


Nick

manifold danger

I have the 14-way in my Macan, and the 18-way in my Boxster. I know it's not quite apples to apples as the seats themselves are different, but I'm pretty sure the adjustments are the same... you really don't get that much over the 14-way with the 18-way. Really it comes down to the bolsters, which I don't even really mess with.

Maybe there's some slight advantage that you get on track or something, but I personally don't think it would be worth the cost or effort to go through with the swap.

Dom991.1

Ummm....well, it's FOUR MORE, of course!! These amps go up to 11!! 😁 In all serious I thought about this swap but like too much hassle..good luck to op and keep us posted!

Viper pilot

Interesting info. Thanks for your input about the 14 vs 18 opinion.

Thanks again.

Nick

ssaa77

I have a 981 Spyder and put in 4 ways to preserve lwbs and my back. My local shop swapped the seats and said it was straightforward except it triggered the airbag light. They said it had to be cleared by dealer since they have the “weights” needed to calibrate, but that didn’t turn off it to be true. Apparently other shops can just clear the light but haven’t gotten to it and looking to put the lwbs back now anyway as I prepare to sell. Hope that helps!

Viper pilot

Very interesting. Thanks for the info. Were the original seats that you had in the 981 Spyder electric adjustable or bucket type seats?

ssaa77

They are the OEM LWBs - they have power up/down but that's it. Rest is manual, and they don't recline

Viper pilot

Ah ok. Well apparently from what I have found out it appears to be more complicated to swap out the fully electric (say 14 way for 18 way) seats . It probably wouldn't be as difficult if for instance I was installing racing type manual bucket seats in place of the electric ones but when trying to go from one model of electric to another I guess it involves much more. Oh well.......................!!!
Thanks for your input.

SpyderSenseOC

I gotta ask. Even if it were possible, what is the cost in obtaining a pair of suitable seats? Where would you source them?

Viper pilot

That's a good question. In checking with various Porsche dealers, Porsche does not sell complete seats per say. It appears to me that you would have to find some one selling them used for one reason or another. The prices I've noticed on here ranges from $1000. to over $4000. depending on configuration, age and condition. Packaging and shipping is another consideration.

ssaa77

Took FOREVER, particularly sports seats. Finally got lucky on ebay and pulled the trigger. I think a lot of sellers don't know the difference between seats, so they labeled mine as 997 seats, when they clearly were 991/981 sport seats. Took the gamble and it worked out, but they weren't cheap.