rconnon

I'm considering replacing the seats in my 993 with seats from a newer Porsche (Cayman or 996). I know the manual slide seats with electric seat back are the seats to target, compared to full power seats which sound like either they are really hard to fit or wont work at all.

Are the Cayman seats the same track/rail system as 996 seats? Would the below adapter from FVD work on Cayman seats as well? And or the manual conversion that people have used on the forums.

http://www.fvd.de/us/en/Porsche-0/96...-996-Seat.html


Have people used the adapter from FVD? Would you recommend it?

Pros/Cons of using this versus other install methods? I've heard that newer seats sit a bit higher and you will lose some head room, is this true?

Thanks in Advance!
Rob

nile13

They are 997 seats with same rails as 996. Easy fit into 993 with minor modifications, you don't need FVD brackets. Extremely comfortable seat, actually.

Make sure they are not memory seats if you value your sanity. Power slide seats are doable but difficult. Manual ones are a 10 minute project per rail mod.

One other thought is heat. 996 heaters are much easier to hook up than 997 heaters. If you are getting seats with no heat go with 997, it's a better seat than 996/986 and miles better than a 993.

1stgear

Those FVD brackets are great and they are what I am using on my 997 GT3 seat install. I opted for this instead of cutting and bending the rails on the seat to make the seats fit. Contact the FVD to see if they fit if you decide to go that route. They are extremely helpful!

doc_porsche

How heavy are the 997 seats?

1stgear

I haven't weighed them, Doc. I know that the factory seats with motors are very heavy. When I do the swap, I'll weigh each.

rconnon

Thanks for your replies and answering my questions.

Mike J

So.... you going for it?

WBYonder

If you get full power seats, these adapters make the install very easy (all you have to do is cut off the metal stud at the back of each seat rail and bolt them onto the adapters)

As Nile said, memory seats pose additional difficulties, at least for the driver's side. The passenger side will operate fine without modification. Since I got memory seats (in my defense, they really are beautiful and comfortable seats, and hardly used) I ended up getting a new switch assembly (for a non-memory seat) and adjusting connections to make it work. There is also a DIY on Pelican that details how to re-wire a memory switch assembly, but I did not have the confidence in my soldering ability to do this, so I took an easier route.

I have all the materials and will wire the seat heating soon.

The seats (full power) are a tad bit higher, which I did not particularly like at first, but I have adjusted well and I'm ok with now. Overall, this was a great upgrade that I would recommend (but get non-memory seats if you can, and make it easy on yourself!)

Mike J

How much head height is taken away? (I know Rob - he is a big boy.. ) :-)

nile13

Rob, can you elaborate on seat heating materials you'll use? I understand that 997 switches are somewhat controlled by the HVAC computer.

95carrera

I am interested in doing this as too. So 996, some 997 and all Cayman seats will fit without major issues? Are Boxster seats the same as Cayman or do those fit as well?

WBYonder

With the new seats at their lowest position, I would estimate 1 inch or less, probably around 1/2 or so. Not so much that I notice a different view of gauges, windshield, etc, but I did feel a little higher. Still have several inches between my head and the headliner (I'm 6' 0'', 165 lbs Not quite big boy!).

WBYonder

I checked out the PET and the seat heating is as you say, controlled by the dash-mounted HVAC computer. It appeared that the only part of the heating in the seats were the heating elements, so I reasoned that if I got a couple of seat heater sets for retrofitting into any car, I should just be able to take the components, minus the heating elements, and connect the kit to the already installed heating elements in the seat. I found a seat heating kit for about $37/each online that included a switch, a relay, wiring harness and heating elements. I'll probably mount the switches somewhere behind the e-brake (round switch, 2 position heat) and mount the relay under the seat. I'll just hook it up to a switched 15 amp power source. As I said, I haven't installed it yet, but will soon, so I'll know for sure if it works or not.

As a bonus, the relays are easy to find and cheap, and I can just copy the wiring harness and get a couple of new switches and I'll install the heating elements in my Silverado so nothing goes to waste.

WBYonder

I'm not sure about Boxster seats, but the rest should fit. 997 seats should all fit too; the Cayman seats are the same as 997 seats (mine have all 997 part numbers). The adapters above are made by Brey Krause; I got mine from Livermore Perfomance.

The main issue I see is to get non-memory seats to make your life easier. You CAN get the memory seats to work, it just requires more time and potentially cost (depending upon how handy you are) to do it. If you do get memory seats, definitely take this into consideration when negotiating price.

I was planning on documenting this in a DIY after I got the heaters hooked up.

RocketJohn

pics... we need pics!