Are Scheel -Mann seats worth the price? (2 Viewers)

[Marvelicious]

Did

what bracket did you use for the Audi seats? Took I take another brand factory manual seat with the planted 80 bracket and it my be close to plug and play ?

Made my own brackets. I started by trying to cut apart and reuse the 80 brackets, but eventually decided they were more work than they were worth. I've seen threads where others used those Planted brackets with the Audi seats, but they required modification, so why not start from scratch?

The Audi seats are designed for their rails to bolt straight down on a basically flat floor. The base on them is much wider than the Toyota floor and barely fits in the location. My solution was to make two cross braces that tied in to the Audi bolt points. The one in front was just a piece of angle trimmed in such a way to bolt to the factory 80 mount points on the front of that big rib in the floor, so the angle rests over that rib and the Audi rails bolt down onto it. I had to clearance that rib a bit with the BFH at the inside corner where it meets the trans tunnel. The rear was basically just a chunk of unistrut with some legs welded to it. Most of the strength is in the front bracket and I suspect it's actually a lot stronger than the stock arrangement, so I wasn't worried about the rear being less robust.

In the end, several people have used the Audi seats and they are very comfortable, but I suspect there may be easier options. The nice part is there is a TON of adjustment in the Audi seats. They'll go back far enough that they nearly touch the back seat, and as far forward as the OEMs, plus a ton of vertical range... though I pretty much keep them bottomed out due to the location of the steering wheel.

 

[BayouFJ80]

Made my own brackets. I started by trying to cut apart and reuse the 80 brackets, but eventually decided they were more work than they were worth. I've seen threads where others used those Planted brackets with the Audi seats, but they required modification, so why not start from scratch?

The Audi seats are designed for their rails to bolt straight down on a basically flat floor. The base on them is much wider than the Toyota floor and barely fits in the location. My solution was to make two cross braces that tied in to the Audi bolt points. The one in front was just a piece of angle trimmed in such a way to bolt to the factory 80 mount points on the front of that big rib in the floor, so the angle rests over that rib and the Audi rails bolt down onto it. I had to clearance that rib a bit with the BFH at the inside corner where it meets the trans tunnel. The rear was basically just a chunk of unistrut with some legs welded to it. Most of the strength is in the front bracket and I suspect it's actually a lot stronger than the stock arrangement, so I wasn't worried about the rear being less robust.

In the end, several people have used the Audi seats and they are very comfortable, but I suspect there may be easier options. The nice part is there is a TON of adjustment in the Audi seats. They'll go back far enough that they nearly touch the back seat, and as far forward as the OEMs, plus a ton of vertical range... though I pretty much keep them bottomed out due to the location of the steering wheel.

Thank you for the information. I appreciate it.

 

[Marvelicious]

Thank you for the information. I appreciate it.

If you get inspired to do it, I can probably dig up notes on the wiring. It looks like a ton of wires, but most of them are for the Audi's driver position memory and you can cut them.

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Things that make it worth it.

Long Drives
Less back pain
Arm Rest
Heated Seats
Flip up seat to access under the seat
Arm Rest
Arrives with zero farts in it
Parts can be easily replaced
Gears don't break

Also give a new seat a good 12 hours before it breaks in


Things that make it not so glorious
Cost
You become snooty if you have to ride in other seats
You like other peoples farts
It will cost a good amount to rebuild the oem seats

Zero farts hahahahahahaha

 

[Mandrake]

Made my own brackets. I started by trying to cut apart and reuse the 80 brackets, but eventually decided they were more work than they were worth. I've seen threads where others used those Planted brackets with the Audi seats, but they required modification, so why not start from scratch?

The Audi seats are designed for their rails to bolt straight down on a basically flat floor. The base on them is much wider than the Toyota floor and barely fits in the location. My solution was to make two cross braces that tied in to the Audi bolt points. The one in front was just a piece of angle trimmed in such a way to bolt to the factory 80 mount points on the front of that big rib in the floor, so the angle rests over that rib and the Audi rails bolt down onto it. I had to clearance that rib a bit with the BFH at the inside corner where it meets the trans tunnel. The rear was basically just a chunk of unistrut with some legs welded to it. Most of the strength is in the front bracket and I suspect it's actually a lot stronger than the stock arrangement, so I wasn't worried about the rear being less robust.

In the end, several people have used the Audi seats and they are very comfortable, but I suspect there may be easier options. The nice part is there is a TON of adjustment in the Audi seats. They'll go back far enough that they nearly touch the back seat, and as far forward as the OEMs, plus a ton of vertical range... though I pretty much keep them bottomed out due to the location of the steering wheel.

Funny; I've been considering '16+ Jaguar XJ seats. They mount the same way your Audi seats do- straight down, and have a ton of adjustment. Also, they give you back massages.

 

[fjbj40]

Pretty much $10k for 2 seats…..hard not a chance, *** dat s***!

 

[thatcabledude]

Pretty much $10k for 2 seats…..hard not a chance, *** dat s***!

Foam and cloth.

 

[fjbj40]

Foam and cloth.

Yes, it’s insane what some consider value.
But I suppose if you want to spend more for 2 seats than your truck then I guess so?

I think a turbo kit would bring way more smiles than a “seat”!

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I mainly want to ditch electric seats all together.

I would also prefer manual seats, but no way I’d shell out more than I paid for my 80 to upgrade them. How much adjusting is really necessary once the seat is dialed in for you? None, unless someone else of a different size also is driving it at times.
The stock seats really aren’t bad IMO.

 

[Marvelicious]

I would also prefer manual seats, but no way I’d shell out more than I paid for my 80 to upgrade them. How much adjusting is really necessary once the seat is dialed in for you? None, unless someone else of a different size also is driving it at times.
The stock seats really aren’t bad IMO.

The stock seats were abysmal in my opinion, like most Toyota seats. They really aren't sized well for someone tall and broad shouldered. My only real gripe against the brand.

As for how much adjustment is necessary, probably not that much. Useful though? I change my driving position occasionally on long drives. I also prefer a completely different position for offroading than I do for cruising down the freeway. Beyond that, it's not something I would have planned on using, but the ability to slide the seat way too far back is actually really nice if you ever like to nap in the drivers seat. I travel all over and my schedule is beyond irregular. Sometimes a quick half hour nap can be just the ticket to get me home safely. Just slide the seat way back, kick the shoes off, recline, tilt the seat bottom, just so... I've paid for hotels with worse beds.

 

[FiftyTwoEighty]

100% worth it. I just installed mine in July. After nearly 20 years with my 80, my back deserved it. The buckets in my other fun cars have fixed backs, nomex, and carbon fiber.

The Scheel-Mann seats provide similar support, with more comfort, without the race car sacrifices. I went with cloth and pleather for durability. I didn’t want to burn my a$$ on leather on a hot day.

 

[FiftyTwoEighty]

several people have used the Audi seats and they are very comfortable

As an Audi owner, they are comfortable — BUT the leather and stitching deteriorate quickly after a few years. My wife loves her A3 S-Line Quattro, but the leather has seen better days.

 

[Marvelicious]

As an Audi owner, they are comfortable — BUT the leather and stitching deteriorate quickly after a few years. My wife loves her A3 S-Line Quattro, but the leather has seen better days.

Honestly, I could wish that anything wore as well as the MB-Tex in the old S-class I had. I genuinely didn't know it wasn't leather when I first got it.

 

[FiftyTwoEighty]

Honestly, I could wish that anything wore as well as the MB-Tex in the old S-class I had. I genuinely didn't know it wasn't leather when I first got it.

Old school MB-Tex was indestructible! That was my thinking with the ScheelMann pleather.

 

[BayouFJ80]

I would also prefer manual seats, but no way I’d shell out more than I paid for my 80 to upgrade them. How much adjusting is really necessary once the seat is dialed in for you? None, unless someone else of a different size also is driving it at times.
The stock seats really aren’t bad IMO.

I guess the beauty and the curse is I have sat in these seats since 1997 so I don’t know better or what I am missing until I drive another “new” vehicle, and then I am like whoaaaaaaa. .

 

[BayouFJ80]

100% worth it. I just installed mine in July. After nearly 20 years with my 80, my back deserved it. The buckets in my other fun cars have fixed backs, nomex, and carbon fiber.

The Scheel-Mann seats provide similar support, with more comfort, without the race car sacrifices. I went with cloth and pleather for durability. I didn’t want to burn my a$$ on leather on a hot day.

View attachment 3997025

They do look very nice and tempting . Are those the vario or traveler? On a side note, is that a delta center console? How do you like it and do you recommend one?

 

[FiftyTwoEighty]

They do look very nice and tempting . Are those the vario or traveler? On a side note, is that a delta center console? How do you like it and do you recommend one?

Vario F is the seat. I didn’t want heating or cooling, but it comes with integrated heating. I wanted seats as light, simple, and mechanical as possible.

My center console is a modded Tuffy Box, which pre-dates the DeltaVS one by about a decade. Absolutely love it. The irony, I just ordered their shifter console today — because my old one needed an upgrade.

The Tuffy Box sits atop the old metal frame of the OEM console. In the gap under the Tuffy Box and above rear heater vent, but within the old frame, I have a power strip and my WeBoost module. The two cupholders that came with the Tuffy Box are bolted to the side of the old frame and behind the E-brake.

I hated my old center console. It offered zero hardened security in the 80. Now we can lock anything of value inside the box, without any worries.