bobesser

What is the difference between 993 seats and 996? It seems that the rails are different - or people wouldn't need to modify the gt3 seats. what else? Are the hinges between the seat and the back? could you put a 996 seat back on a 993 seat base?

Bob

Nuff

There is a good DIY that covers installing 996 hardbacks that has pretty good photos of the rails: HERE. I actually didn't have to modify my rails that much when I did mine. Very easy install that took about 45 minutes to an hour per seat. Other than the rails, I didn't have any issues wth putting them in. The power controls ar different, but I'm not sure if there are any other differences. My GT3 seats don't have the embossed Porsche crest or the logo on the back.

bobesser

I guess, what I am looking for is if I had 996 seat backs, could I install them on my 993 seat bottoms? Would everything line up?

Bob

Smiles

Which part of the 993 bottom are you attaching the 996 seatback to?

If my question is unclear, unscrew your hinge covers, and take a look at the hinges. You're going to have to cut and weld (or otherwise attach) the seatback onto the seat bottom somehow. I don't think you can pull half of a hinge from the 993 and mate it up to half of the hinge from the 996. But I don't know for sure.

I don't know if the hinges are the exact same angle or width, but to some degree it doesn't matter. If you're going to fabricate something, it could have whatever angle or offset you want in order to make it work.

I think it would be a lot easier to install the 996 seats with the 996 bases.

bobesser

Probably so. As much idle curiosity as anything. The mental path I was going down was this: You can get hard-back conversion kits for the 996 seats that cost about $1500. How hard would it be to make these kits work for 993 seats?

I am not so concerned about hard back as I am about the side bolsters, power adjustments, and ability to fold the seat forward - ie no fixed back.

Bob

Smiles

I've got regular black seats in my 993.

I would love to have heated seats. It's completely unnecessary, but in a car that doesn't have the best HVAC, it makes a big difference, especially when I want to drive it in PA in November. (I've driven it exclusively for the past two months; my BMW has a radiator problem, which doesn't steer my affections away from the 993!)

It seems that heated seats are more widely available in the 996. I prefer the old-school looks of the 993 seat controls, but the 996 seats make more sense.

Do 996 seats have any more adjustability than the 993 seats? My dad has a BMW 530 in which the seat back bends in half, a tighter angle or a more open angle, right above the lumbar, and is awesomely adjustable. Do any Porsche seats do that?

Willie P

Smiles-

I know you've not had your car in very cold weather yet, but I can tell you from the time I pull out of my house to the time I reach the clubhouse at the golf course, that heater is HOT! Of course, this is in the vasly superior 964 variant of the 911, but I am sure you 993 C4s guys have something similar in terms of heater.

talk to you soon- willie p

gonzilla

I remember seeing a hardback seatback conversion kit when I was looking for seats a while back. I don't remember them being particularly awe inspiring. Do you have a link to the conversion kit?

Mark in Baltimore

No need whatsoever to modify 996 GT3 shell seats to plop right into a 993. 996 GT3 electric seats mgith be another matter altogether.

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/101522-gt3-seat-and-sabelt-harness-install-long-and-lots-of-pics.html

Smiles

Hi, buddy.

Do you mean in something like four city blocks your heater is hot?

I can't wait that long! What I should do is start it up, let it warm for a little while, and check the tire pressure or something, and I would be pretty happy.

("Vastly superior...")

bobesser

Hey Mark,

Unfortunately, not what fits my mission profile. I need to be able to fold the seats forward to access the rear seats. In about 7 months, the child seat goes back there.

To be perfectly honest, I was wondering if the seatback modification that changes a normal 996 seat to hardback sport seats would work for 993 seats or if I would have to purchase 996 seats then mod.

As far as heating goes, I was amazed at how fast I got warm air out of the 993. All my previous cars depended on the anti-freeze getting warm before I could get warm. That usually took a while. I get warm air in less than 2minutes.

Bob

Smiles

Congratulations!

On the subject of heated seats, I'm just spoiled. This morning was right around freezing, and the 993 did warm up quickly.

bobesser

I actually had an infant seat back there and the kid got to ride in the p-car once. Then he outgrew the infant seat. Our current convertable seat (rear to forward facing) won't fit back there. I understand that once he is 1 year old, he can ride in a forward facing seat, and there are a few forward seats that fit.

Bob

Smiles

I always found the rear-facing logic a bit backwards. Or, I should say, the rear-facing seats protect the infant's neck in the event that you have a frontal impact with something. It's worse if you are rear ended.

I've been rear-ended twice, although lightly. I've never hit anything. If I had been carting along an infant each time I drove, I would have been better off putting him facing forwards, right?

bobesser

It is kind of wierd. For everyone that rear-ends someone, there is someone who rear-ends them. I guess that on average, there are more impacts to the front bumper than the rear. Simply because there are head on collisions, T-bones, brick wall (or other fixed object), etc, where really the only impacts worth mentioning to the rear are rear-ends.

Bob