991 Seat Exchange
#16
I finally installed proper seats in my 991, now I have an airbag warning light. In the older cars you could trick this out with a resistor but it looks like this doesn't work on the newer cars. Has anyone figured out how to turn off the airbag warning light on a 991?
TIA
TIA
#17
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,141
Likes: 153
From: Northern VA and Central FL
Careful word of advise, measure the width of you car (or current seats) to get a feel for clearance. I started with a pair of Sparco Evo II's I purchased from a friend (they fit great when I sat in them), they were too wide at the end flair of the seat (where your knees are) and wouldn't fit due to the console. Ended up with Racaro seats with halo (these fit me a little on the tight side).
Now a warning about halo seats. I love them but when I slide the seat back (to get out of the car) they get stopped by the B-pillar. The left rear side of the halo ear hits the B-pillar. I've learned to be careful with this because; a) it puts some unneeded torque on the seatback and bracket, and b) it makes a mark on the B-pillar trim.
The really good news is the Cantrell roll bar, they did their homework. Not only was this a clean install but they connect to the car at solid points and have their own flush plate to minimize shear. My undergrad is structural engineering and I was pleased with this setup. For those that don't know these newer cars have punch through shear problems. I've seen the entire front shock tower punch through its connection when a guy hit a pothole at the beginning of some curbing.
Now a warning about halo seats. I love them but when I slide the seat back (to get out of the car) they get stopped by the B-pillar. The left rear side of the halo ear hits the B-pillar. I've learned to be careful with this because; a) it puts some unneeded torque on the seatback and bracket, and b) it makes a mark on the B-pillar trim.
The really good news is the Cantrell roll bar, they did their homework. Not only was this a clean install but they connect to the car at solid points and have their own flush plate to minimize shear. My undergrad is structural engineering and I was pleased with this setup. For those that don't know these newer cars have punch through shear problems. I've seen the entire front shock tower punch through its connection when a guy hit a pothole at the beginning of some curbing.
#18
Careful word of advise, measure the width of you car (or current seats) to get a feel for clearance. I started with a pair of Sparco Evo II's I purchased from a friend (they fit great when I sat in them), they were too wide at the end flair of the seat (where your knees are) and wouldn't fit due to the console. Ended up with Racaro seats with halo (these fit me a little on the tight side).
Now a warning about halo seats. I love them but when I slide the seat back (to get out of the car) they get stopped by the B-pillar. The left rear side of the halo ear hits the B-pillar. I've learned to be careful with this because; a) it puts some unneeded torque on the seatback and bracket, and b) it makes a mark on the B-pillar trim.
The really good news is the Cantrell roll bar, they did their homework. Not only was this a clean install but they connect to the car at solid points and have their own flush plate to minimize shear. My undergrad is structural engineering and I was pleased with this setup. For those that don't know these newer cars have punch through shear problems. I've seen the entire front shock tower punch through its connection when a guy hit a pothole at the beginning of some curbing.
#19
Originally Posted by jscott82
I don't know about the 991 specifically. But in a 987 you can code each airbag individually with durametric pro. Easy peasy
This is as of a few months ago when I called Durametric because I wished to do this on my 987.2 CS
#20
Originally Posted by erko1905
That's quite a problem isn't it?
So if one were to be involved in an accident (let's say on the way to track) and the steering wheel/front airbags don't deploy, it's not possible to know whether those airbags were faulty from the factory, whether it was the seat install that messed them up, or whether they might've developed a problem sometime after the seat install.
I'm currently having a lot of trouble staying in place on track w the sofa seats, so I'm considering getting race seats + harness but this airbag light issue is a problem.
So if one were to be involved in an accident (let's say on the way to track) and the steering wheel/front airbags don't deploy, it's not possible to know whether those airbags were faulty from the factory, whether it was the seat install that messed them up, or whether they might've developed a problem sometime after the seat install.
I'm currently having a lot of trouble staying in place on track w the sofa seats, so I'm considering getting race seats + harness but this airbag light issue is a problem.
#21
You can buy the OEM euro club sport seats (GT2 CF seat) from Sun Coast Porsche Parts and have them installed and programmed with the PIWIS since they have OEM airbags. Pricey but no insurance issues if you get in an accident on the street. Half the price of the “918” style seat and are articulated so you can still access the rear of the 911. Wife has a replacement knee, so the 991 GT3 started with sofa seats. I replaced the driver side 2 years ago with the Club Sport seat so I could track with a harness and she can still get in and out of the car on the passenger side. No airbag light.
#23
You can buy the OEM euro club sport seats (GT2 CF seat) from Sun Coast Porsche Parts and have them installed and programmed with the PIWIS since they have OEM airbags. Pricey but no insurance issues if you get in an accident on the street. Half the price of the “918” style seat and are articulated so you can still access the rear of the 911. Wife has a replacement knee, so the 991 GT3 started with sofa seats. I replaced the driver side 2 years ago with the Club Sport seat so I could track with a harness and she can still get in and out of the car on the passenger side. No airbag light
Are you referring to these? Their description claims it's strictly a 997 seat and it won't fit the 991s, but there is a review talking about it fitting just fine on a 2015 GT3 - wonder if that's you? At 11k it is a pretty penny; 11k would go a long way to track prep the car but I can see the appeal w these.
Thanks the heads up, those were in pretty rough shape
#24
That was probably me since I do have one fitted to a 2015 GT3. They are pricey especially if you buy two and only use one! These were optional in Europe for the 991 GT3 club sport package, which was not brought to the US. So not officially sanctioned.
#25
I feel for you. Did the same with my 2014 Carrera S. OMP HTE 400 driver and WRC passenger seats fit great and really transformed the experience on the track, but the airbag light drove me nuts. Couldn’t find an independent shop with access to the PIWIS tool to take care of it, and no area Porsche dealership service department was willing to code it out due to potential liability issues. In the end I found a shop that tried the resistor trick, creating an elaborate patch harness to plug into the chassis seat wiring connector, but that only worked for a couple of days before the light came back on. Other than the annoyance of having the airbag light on, my main concern was functionality of the airbags on the passenger side. With no weight sensor in the OMP passenger seat and therefore no way for the car to know whether the passenger seat was occupied, I had no assurance that the passenger airbags would actually deploy in an accident on the street if I was carrying a passenger. So I never wanted to have passengers in the car from that point on. Pretty frustrating. It would be great if we could source OEM passenger seat cushion occupancy sensors to retrofit under the seat cushions of aftermarket race buckets. Then they could plug into the wiring harness connector on the floor and all would be good.
Ultimate solution for me was to put the stock seats back in, turn the 911 in and move on to a GT4 with the fixed carbon buckets. They’re not quite as deep and secure as the OMP race shells, and they don’t have halo protection, but the OEM functionality is well worth it.
Ultimate solution for me was to put the stock seats back in, turn the 911 in and move on to a GT4 with the fixed carbon buckets. They’re not quite as deep and secure as the OMP race shells, and they don’t have halo protection, but the OEM functionality is well worth it.
#26
In my 05 M3 I used Sparco EVO seats (driver and passenger) and had the same issue with the airbag light. At Sebring, the right front control arm bolt sheared in half and lost all steering by the Oak tree. Hit the wall at about 100 mph. Both airbags deployed. They are the smart airbags so I'm sure they when off at full force. So yes, I would assume the airbags will work but will explode a full force.