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Finding a single passenger seat isn't likely. I posted a warning after Carnewel said they were out of the ROW (rest of world) version, so I asked around and it appeared at the time that buckets were indeed disco. So grabbed some of the last of them and posted here to warn Rennlisters. Even before they were discontinued, I was amazed that used ones sold on BAT for as much as they did. It's not like that in my business.
Make sure you know what you are buying and that they are U.S. spec seats. ROW seats may not have the same passenger airbag sensor and I guess it can be dealt with, but I've never gotten a clear answer on it.
Oh....I bought the $425 spare bolster too. Which is a piece of leather. Very expensive stitched leather.
Last edited by Upscale Audio; 01-17-2022 at 10:25 PM.
I recently installed a set of ROW 991 folding bucket seats into my GTS. I purchased the set from Carnewal and the install is detailed in my build thread (https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...ld-thread.html). The biggest differences between the ROW and US-spec seats:
ROW seats do not have the passenger sensor. You will need to have the sensor coded out to eliminate the error on your dash. My local tech did this after I installed them. This does not eliminate the functionality of the airbags, except all bags will blow in an accident, including the passenger bags, even if there is no passenger occupant.
ROW seats have three back seat sections rather than two in US seats.
ROW seats come with heat. If your car already had heat functionality in your stock seats, you can retain the heat in the ROW seats. My car had heated/ventilated seats and my 2-stage heat button works. Of course, not ventilation.
ROW seats are relatively less expensive. At the time (Oct 2021) they cost $10,400 USD including shipping. They are priced in Euros so it will fluctuate depending on conversion rate. Gert is fantastic to deal with as well.
The ROW seats are a good alternative to US seats if you are willing to deal with the seat sensor.
Originally Posted by Upscale Audio
Finding a single passenger seat isn't likely. I posted a warning after Carnewel said they were out of the ROW (rest of world) version, so I asked around and it appeared at the time that buckets were indeed disco. So grabbed some of the last of them and posted here to warn Rennlisters. Even before they were discontinued, I was amazed that used ones sold on BAT for as much as they did. It's not like that in my business.
Make sure you know what you are buying and that they are U.S. spec seats. ROW seats may not have the same passenger airbag sensor and I guess it can be dealt with, but I've never gotten a clear answer on it.
Oh....I bought the $425 spare bolster too. Which is a piece of leather. Very expensive stitched leather.
I recently installed a set of ROW folding bucket seats into my GTS. I purchased the set from Carnewal and the install is detailed in my build thread (https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...ld-thread.html). The biggest differences between the ROW and US-spec seats:
ROW seats do not have the passenger sensor. You will need to have the sensor coded out to eliminate the error on your dash. My local tech did this after I installed them. This does not eliminate the functionality of the airbags, except all bags will blow in an accident, including the passenger bags, even if there is no passenger occupant.
ROW seats have three back seat sections rather than two in US seats.
ROW seats come with heat. If your car already had heat functionality in your stock seats, you can retain the heat in the ROW seats. My car had heated/ventilated seats and my 2-stage heat button works. Of course, not ventilation.
ROW seats are relatively less expensive. At the time (Oct 2021) they cost $10,400 USD including shipping. They are priced in Euros so it will fluctuate depending on conversion rate. Gert is fantastic to deal with as well.
The ROW seats are a good alternative to US seats if you are willing to deal with the seat sensor.
Those look nice and the heated option is great...the airbag sensor light is kinda dumb anyway, if I put a piece of paper on the passenger seat it goes on lol. The 997 can still be coded out with a durametric... I remember also somewhere that people that make config for the Cobb tuner like Dundon can also do it, 2015< I think you cant code out airbags anymore?
Great info @Busta Rib Thanks. I couldn't get a clear answer on this a couple years ago. Carnewel ran out first, then U.S. ran out. But there's that one company in Europe that sells used seats from time to time. Can't recall their name off-hand, but the upshot is they are useable as you demonstrated.
Wonder if the 991 seats got figured out? I think a guy was working on it as it took some hacking from your old seats to the new one IIRC. 991 buckets Carnewel
Great info @Busta Rib Thanks. I couldn't get a clear answer on this a couple years ago. Carnewel ran out first, then U.S. ran out. But there's that one company in Europe that sells used seats from time to time. Can't recall their name off-hand, but the upshot is they are useable as you demonstrated.
Wonder if the 991 seats got figured out? I think a guy was working on it as it took some hacking from your old seats to the new one IIRC. 991 buckets Carnewel
So $11,300 including shipping? If my kid was in highschool I'd have him make a small business out of selling these in the US with "your choice" of cool inserts and an airbag light delete.
I know! Used US-spec buckets go for $9500, not including shipping. I wonder what the global inventory is for 991 folding buckets. What makes these seats so compelling is that it is the only carbon bucket seat from Porsche that folds, which is a huge plus for me. Plus they are super comfy. My bet is to grab a pair now rather than later. These are going to be rare.
Originally Posted by Wonderdan
So $11,300 including shipping? If my kid was in highschool I'd have him make a small business out of selling these in the US with "your choice" of cool inserts and an airbag light delete.
I know! Used US-spec buckets go for $9500, not including shipping. I wonder what the global inventory is for 991 folding buckets. What makes these seats so compelling is that it is the only carbon bucket seat from Porsche that folds, which is a huge plus for me. Plus they are super comfy. My bet is to grab a pair now rather than later. These are going to be rare.
It's (or was) $12,900 all in for US seats vs $11,300 (current dollars) for ROW seats. Sounds like it would be challenging to source a complete set of US-spec seats now. Still a significant delta, but it comes with the sensor penalty. Totally worth it to me if I was in the market, but perhaps not if you prefer to go full 997 OE without the coding gymnastics.
It's (or was) $12,900 all in for US seats vs $11,300 (current dollars) for ROW seats. Sounds like it would be challenging to source a complete set of US-spec seats now. Still a significant delta, but it comes with the sensor penalty. Totally worth it to me if I was in the market, but perhaps not if you prefer to go full 997 OE without the coding gymnastics.
AFAIK the Suncoast seats don't have the Porsche crest or heated coils, so the ROW seem like a decent option... esp for the track guys who often turn off their airbags all together.
Do you guys know if the ROW seats just trigger the "Passenger Airbag Off" light, or if it actually disables the passenger airbag... I think I read somewhere it still worked.
The U.S. spec 997 buckets have crests. I got them through my local dealer for 11,501.10 + tax 891.34 = $12,392.44 and at that time PNA was almost out of them.This was March 2021. I had them install them too, and they had to spend a bit of time getting the passenger sensor calibrated correctly.
ROW seats trigger an error code (I can't remember which one), but it has to do with the airbag. You still get full functionality of the airbag with the ROW seats. My local tech is the former lead tech at my local Porsche dealer. He has the PIWIS and was able to disable the passenger sensor so it doesn't throw a code. Anyone who buys ROW seats will need to have the same thing done.
Originally Posted by Wonderdan
AFAIK the Suncoast seats don't have the Porsche crest or heated coils, so the ROW seem like a decent option... esp for the track guys who often turn off their airbags all together.
Do you guys know if the ROW seats just trigger the "Passenger Airbag Off" light, or if it actually disables the passenger airbag... I think I read somewhere it still worked.
ROW seats trigger an error code (I can't remember which one), but it has to do with the airbag. You still get full functionality of the airbag with the ROW seats. My local tech is the former lead tech at my local Porsche dealer. He has the PIWIS and was able to disable the passenger sensor so it doesn't throw a code. Anyone who buys ROW seats will need to have the same thing done.
well if thats the case...I just took off my console to redo my shifter. It would take about 10minutes to unplug the tiny little electronics plug on the airbag light... it doesnt even have a retaining clip, in-fact... pretty sure you could do it with a coat hanger in 30 seconds . I'll do a how-to tonight haha
It's not just the light on the center console. There was also an error code on the center dash gauge display as well.
Originally Posted by Wonderdan
well if thats the case...I just took off my console to redo my shifter. It would take about 10minutes to unplug the tiny little electronics plug on the airbag light... it doesnt even have a retaining clip, in-fact... pretty sure you could do it with a coat hanger in 30 seconds . I'll do a how-to tonight haha
Crest has always been on seats ordered from Suncoast , no on the heat.
Originally Posted by Wonderdan
AFAIK the Suncoast seats don't have the Porsche crest or heated coils, so the ROW seem like a decent option... esp for the track guys who often turn off their airbags all together.
Do you guys know if the ROW seats just trigger the "Passenger Airbag Off" light, or if it actually disables the passenger airbag... I think I read somewhere it still worked.
01-17-2022, 10:17 PM
. I'll do a how-to tonight haha
