Seat discussion (2 Viewers)

[dnp]

I've read most every seat thread on the 80 section, and most of them have dealt with the rebuilding / recovering of the stock seats (front seats in particular). I've also seen where some have retrofitted some aftermarket / other brand seats into an 80, but they were harder to find models and/or not really that good of an option.

My purpose for posting this thread is to explore what alternatives we have for seating (primarily the front two seats) in an 80. In my opinion, even new, 80 seats weren't particularly comfortable, and especially now that my leather has become hard as a steel plate (Leatherique won't even soften the leather), I'm looking for something else. That begs the question: what are some reasonable (easy to find and at a good price), more comfortable alternatives? There ought to be a "standard" out there that could become a suitable alternative for those that don't want to just recover what they've got..........

I know some of you are just ITCHING to ask "why would you want to do that? The 80 seats are fine" or "I think they're great as-is" blah, blah, blah.....but that's not what I'm asking. I'm wanting to see if there are complete seats that are reasonably easy to install IN PLACE of the factory seats..........for instance, there is an order-of-magnitude difference in the comfort of my 100 seats vs. my 80, so I'm wondering if there might be a whole seat unit that would just be more comfortable (and maybe more adjustable, etc.)

That's all I'm asking: what's the "best" swap for factory 80 front bucket seats? Anyone out there pleased with their swap and are the ones you used reasonably easy to swap? Comfortable? Readily available? Priced where most can afford them? Let's see what many of you have to say.......

 

[landtank]

how a seat fits you is kind of subjective. I'm 6'6" tall and the backs seem a little short for me.

How tall are you and what's your weight. What fits me might not fit you and expecting a single best solution really doesn't seem possible to me.

 

[Nay]

Corbeau Moab's.

You can also fix the 80's seats by having an upholstery shop add a lot of cushion to better shape the seat and raise the seating height, which is what I did, although admittedly the PO had already replaced the seat bottom leather so it is really soft.

But the 80's front seats do suck in standard form, and Corbeau has a bracket for the 80 for their seats and I think the Moab is the right "type" of seat for the 80 and they are very affordable.

 

[LINUS]

It doesn't help you at all, but I plan to have a pair of Recaros in mine by Summers' end - I'll post some shots of progress once I have the seats I want to work with in hand.

 

[little_joe]

Agreed w/ Landtank, this is too subjective! In addition to our physical builds, what we're looking for as an end result has to be considered - for example, some may want extreme comfort, some may want a "sport" seat that really hugs, and on and on........

I have Corbeau Sport seats, got them for a screaming deal. I love them. Wife hates them. I also want an arm rest for both front seating positions, and quite honestly I'm getting to the point I want some coddling comfort. IH8LEATHER. Thus I have some Mazda 5 cloth front seats to put in here shortly................

 

[jlg32281]

My first 80 had the manual seats and now I have the power seats. I personally think the manual ones were more comfortable. The seamed wider in the butt. At one point I looked into fitting the front seat fromn a conversion van in there since those are the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in. It could be done, but you will have to modify the base to fit as you will with almost any swap. I think the fabrication that would have to happen to make a new base of any new seat. Corbeau is the only aftermarket company that has a braket for the 80.

 

[ALCO]

The 80 seats are comfortable and provide good support for me. The only thing I have noticed with my cloth seats is that the foam is starting to deteriorate some. I think this is normal after a period of time.

If you are looking for plush comfort with support for the long haul, the Lexus IS250, 350 series have some some buckets that will put you to sleep. Not sure about the fit.

 

[Jack G. Nichols]

"Reasonable cost" is relative, I guess, but to cover my driver's bottom and back, and the passenger bottom, with new padding and premium vinyl, cost about $650. Sure, they look great, just like stock, but $650 gives you a lot of room to look around. I agree the leather sucks after fifteen years, and hope the vinly holds up - I considered cloth, but my truck is just high enough I still have to slide a bit on the seat to get in and out.

I will be watching this thread, for sure.

 

[gotmud]

I purchased my 80 with front seats that had the usual worn out leather and stiff foam. I replaced them with a set of Corbeau Moabs and found them to be too thin and too low. I then replaced the foam in my original seats with the LX foam and got Shane's leather kit installed. Major improvement in the comfort and support of the seat. I'm 6'1 240lbs, but with a long torso. I wouldn't mind an extra inch or two of seat-back height, but I'm still plenty comfortable even on long trips or all-day off-road outings. YMMV

 

[Clint Z]

Junkyard ford explorer seats

I spent $70 at the pick and pull to buy a pair of mint front seats from a 97 exploder. I wanted cloth and gray. drill out tack weld off the rear stock seats and weld on the bottom of the explorer manual seats. The front is bent down just like factory but are actually too narrow. I used a small 1 in x 2 in 1/4 in thick plate to bolt in factory front holes. I gained 6 extra inches of travel, 3 forward and 3 back. The seats bottoms are approx 1.5 in thicker but softer and are MUCH more comfortable. My wife actually likes riding in the truck again. My old seats were ripped and trashed.

I will do a write up in a few months once i get moved in to Denver.

FYI, my 9 yr old son who is 5'1" can drive it fine and the seat goes too far back for me and I am 6'2" with long legs. I drive the with the seat 2 clicks from the back. Head room was not changed at all.

I forgot to add, not that anyone is trying to lighten their rigs, I lost 30 lbs a side going to the explorer seats.

 

[dnp]

Thanks for the replies so far.......these are the types of responses I had hoped to see. Ultimately, I hope we'll have a list of several seats that are available as legitimate alternatives to the factory seating (even though refurbished factory seating will likely have the best appearance, I'm pretty sure there are more comfortable alternatives out there. Also, if you're like me, the only way to retain the factory seating is to refoam / recover them, and by that time - considering parts and labor - you've got a grand in two front buckets.......!)

Keep the recommendations coming!

 

[Nay]

I replaced them with a set of Corbeau Moabs and found them to be too thin and too low.

That was my concern with an aftermarket seat of any kind - you don't know what you have until you've spent the money.

That's why I had my seats rebuilt to exactly how I wanted them. It may cost the money of alternatives, but you can build what you want and still have factory looks and power settings.

That is worth the spend because you are limiting the risk of wasting money on an alternative that you have no way of knowing you will like until you've spent the coin and taken a nice long trip.

 

[john difool]

one of my next projects are new front seats as well. i find mine very uncomfortable on longer trips.
back in the days when i was fiddling with cars, i always found me some good used recaro seats. for me, recaro is the way to go. tippitop quality. bmw and vw for example have them as standard.
other than they always fit me like a glove (6ft 1in, 180lbs) i choose them because they are rather lightweight and slim build, you can find them easily without electric/motors and with the option that you can flip the backrest forward - which is handy when you have a sleeping platform setup.
i'm gonna check ebay and once i have the fundings, i might have them upholstered with leather. nothing really good up there atm tho. i twice had a similar model like this. very comfy and unblingy.
this might help for the brackets.

 

[gotmud]

After seeing the Corbeau brackets for the 80, I think anyone with can make seat brackets.

 

[Tapage]

After seeing the Corbeau brackets for the 80, I think anyone with can make seat brackets.

did you have a pic .. ?

I'm looking for option too and probably will end with manual seats .. ( which are bit lower than power seats but far more comfortable ) since I'm not that big ( 6'2" and barely 180 pounds ) that will work for me ..

 

[BrotherRob]

I have to agree with Rick. Comfort is subjective and depends greatly on body type. I'm 6'3"/250 with a long torso. Most seats with a lot of contour have the support in all the wrong places for me. One of the best ways to check out seats is to put your butt in a bunch of them. You pull it boneyards are good for this, so are test drives and rental cars. I wouldn't think of changing seats without trying them on first.

 

[80BajaBound]

Corbeau Baja an option?

after reading every post on every thread about replacement seats, I have yet to find someone who installed these..

Baja RS

I like em better than the Moab..

where most that went the Corbeau way went with the Moab style. If fear the Baja style is too wide - but just wanted to check if I missed something.

 

[kmcoop7]

back pain

I am 6'2" 180 and think all toyota seats are terrible. I had a tundra and anything more than two hours my back was in awful pain, same thing with cruiser seats. The tundra was brand new and an 06. The cruiser is a 97 with stock leather in good condition. Same experience in corrola, tacoma and camry. I don't know about lexus, but I think just about all toyotas use similar/same parts like seat parts, door handles ect. I always though it was funny that a lexus had the same door pull as a corrola.

I think the best option is the pick and pull. Buy seats out of a vehicle you used to own and liked. These can often be had with leather and heaters for about $100 per pair. This is a great dollar option compared to close to 800 for new leather, cushions and heaters.

My personal favorites:

Any thing nissan. I don't know what it is but we have had a few nissans and all of them were very comfy on long trips. My back usually gets a little fussy after a few hours, but it has never hurt at all in a nissan

Volvo. The sweeds have it figured out for my body type

Saab - dito.

 

[FirstToy]

Corbeau seats would be a downgrade in quality from stock. I don't know why I keep reading Corbeau in this forum. They are cheap and fair for the price but they are not high quality seats.

This is the only point your body is secured in the vehicle.
If you going to take the time and effort to replace seats, you need to take the time and effort
I'm not rich enough to do it twice, so I spend more for quality.

You have two options:
- refoam and add new leather to stock seats
- engineer brackets for new seats and make sure you meet the ergonomic restrictions of the 80's floorpan.

If you don't have the resources to fabricate safe custom brackets, than refoam the seats.
If you don't like OEM, a good hot rod upolstery shop can do custom seat cusions on existing seat chassis.

 

[Kernal]

Recently I sat in the driver's seat of a 2004 Q45; most comfortable car seat I can recall. Would like to know what padding/foam they used, very nice.