SPF911

Hello,
I'm a very happy new owner of a 981 Spyder. While I absolutely love the LWB, they're proving too uncomfortable for my wife (who has a bad back). To keep the marriage intact, I'd like to replace the passenger seat with an 18-way.
Has anyone successfully completed such a swap? I'd love to learn more about the steps involved. I also get that it won't be cheap...
TIA,
Pete

NoGaBiker

Honestly, probably cheaper to get a wife with a good back.

NashvilleJoe

There is a pair of 718 18-ways on the PCA mart for $4K. Don't know what else it will take but likely some rails and figure out the power situation since LWBs are manual.

dav9515

yea the 18-ways bolt right in but the wiring is the problem. I don't believe you can just plug them in as the wiring is different for the 18-ways vs. the manual seats. What you should look for is the 2-way sport seats as those should be a direct fit bolt in and plug in....Or you can trade me your buckets for my 2-way spyder seats lol!

DrBillyD

LOL.

After getting divorced, i bought a Spyder. What I noticed is that the transaction required only one negotiation (with the dealer), instead of two if I'd still been married.

johnsopa

Easy swap. Connectors all the same 987 and newer. I’ve done it multiple times.

johnsopa

Some more info. Raise LWB all the way up. Slide it back. Loosen the front bolts. Slide it all the way forward. Loosen and remove the rear bolts. Sit in seat and slide it backwards. Remove the front bolts. Sit in seat and lower it then center it fore and aft. Get out of the seat.

if you want, disconnect the battery ground and wait a few minutes.

Tilt the seat backwards and unlock and remove the seat electrical harness connector.

Cover center console and dash with towels.

Remove the LWB.

Put the new seat in place.

Reverse steps above.

Should be GTG maybe have a code reader on hand to reset any codes.

ironically, the only time I had codes is when I disconnected the battery to do this. Other times I left the battery connected and never had any codes. I have swap seats on my GT4 and both 991.1 and 991.2 GT3s. No issues.

Le Petit Garage

Very easy to take these seats in and out. You can probably swap a seat in ~10 minutes total.

have you thought about the seat recliners? My wife hated the buckets and now loves them.

SPF911

Thanks for the specificity of your response. I had several concerns. First, whether I could use the existing brackets - it appears, yes. Second, would the electrical connectors be compatible or would I need to tap into power somewhere? Lastly, would it be difficult to clear any resulting codes?

TIA

SPF911

I picked up a set of recliner brackets from DesignsByJacob. Definitely gonna try them out before paying $$$ for seats.

SPF911

Is this really true? This is great to know. Connectors and seat brackets were some of my main concerns.

johnsopa

Yes it’s true. Swapping 987/997/981/991/982 seats is easy no new hardware needed.

Except for the bolt holding the end of the seat belt to the body instead of the LWB. Now that I think about it, you will have to use an X-Acto knife to cut a small X in the carpet, where the belt is secured to the body.

johnsopa

More info here courtesy of me, haha…

https://rennlist.com/forums/gt4-spyd...with-lwbs.html

Ishnish7

Is it true that swapping in reverse, 18ways to LWBs is not as easy due to some sensors or something? I thought I read something on that a while ago but can’t seem to find the thread.

SPF911

Thanks everyone. This is very encouraging! Now I just need to find a good deal on a passenger seat.