Installing BMW E46 Front Seats (4 Viewers)

[M4x4Ever]

I had a similar install with the 2013 VW Jetta seats that I recently swapped in. Leather, heated. Manual slide/power recline. The rails on these are wider than stock so like the OP I had to modify the floor in the same way. This was necessary to get the seat centered but also inboard enough so the door would shut. The stock door pockets do make contact with the outside rails of the seats and push in the top of the pocket a little bit but it works and doesn't bother me. I should also note that using these VW seats will require removal of the rear heater under the passenger seat. I never used mine anyway so no big deal and now I have room to stash stuff under the seat.

I like the placement of the patch collection on sunroof cover.

 

[HardyDanger]

I found a set of Porsche Boxster seats at the junkyard, and was able to modify them to fit.


View attachment 1113087

How do you like them? How'd they mount up?
I just found a set that I'm going to look at this weekend from a 2000 boxster, as well as a set of BMW e36 seats.

 

[ZackR]

I have BMW E46 seats in my BMW E46 wagon and they are great. If they fit I would recommend them for a swap anytime.

 

[2fpower]

How do you like them? How'd they mount up?
I just found a set that I'm going to look at this weekend from a 2000 boxster, as well as a set of BMW e36 seats.

I made custom mounts for them. Work great. My favorites are still the honda prelude I put in the UTE.

 

[HardyDanger]

Hmmm. Prelude. Never considered those. These are up for $450 on CL.
From a 1990.

 

[thatcabledude]

Those s very comfortable also

 

[JeepinPete]

I'm quite happy with the BMW seats.

 

[excessive]

BMW leather always smells nice

 

[Bambusiero]

1990 Honda Prelude - noted and logged.
Any other recommended CLOTH seats?
More than one option is a help when hunting for salvage units.

 

[2fpower]

View attachment 1784111 Hmmm. Prelude. Never considered those. These are up for $450 on CL.
From a 1990.

Check ROW52 for a junkyard near you. I got mine for under $40.

There is a JDM version of these in leather, but they are hard to find and typically $500.

 

[HardyDanger]

I bought a pair of e36 seats for $100. Going to Lseat recover them next.

DS has a tear, PS is perfect.

Pretty happy so far.

 

[jaymar]

I've been searching and watching this forum looking for a solution to the front seats in my truck. I have a bad back, and no Toyota I have every sat in has been comfortable for me, certainly including the 80. Of course it doesn't hurt than the foam is a hard as a rock, and the leather is too, along with being cracked and split. This truck is a hobby and the budget is limited, so $1k for new leather and replacement foam just wasn't in the cards.

Last week I noticed a set of BMW E46 seats in the classifieds modified to fit an FJ60. A set of sport seats happened to turn up locally for a good price, so I bought them to give this swap a shot in an FJ80.

Before I go any further, this swap requires a modification to the truck. It is minor IMO, but may not be in yours. Take it for what it is.

Let's get started. Here are the seats:

E46 sports seats, fully manual adjustments. They are supposed to be heated, but I am not going to worry about hooking that up until the fall, if I get around to it at all. The only thing missing is lumbar adjustments, but they feel perfect as is so I doubt I will miss that much.

The rails are on a wider footprint than the stock seats, 18" vs 13.5". They just so happen to be 2" wider on each side. This is where our first vehicle modification comes in.

The stamping that the seat mount to up front is basically a top hat shaped piece of steel. It goes over the transmission hump. The wider rails of the BMW seats interfere with this if you want the seats centered on the steering wheel. If you don't care about that, they will fit offset, but I do not like that arrangement.

I cut the carpet around the stamping. Using a cold chisel, I split the steel down the center, then hammered it in to flatten the stamping. This all took maybe 5 minutes. Once I was done, the flap of carpet covers the floor as before.

Once this was done, it was on to making adapters to mount the seats. The front is easy, it is just a piece of 1 1/2" X 1/8" angle iron cut 19.25" long, with holes drilled on both flanges.

The rear two adapters were more involved. The mounting points in the floor are at different elevations. For the left mount, I stacked two pieces of angle iron, resulting in a height of 1.625". They were welded along all seams, and the corners cut to avoid any pointy edges.

The right side ended up being 2.75" in height. That would only leave .25" for a lap joint, which I did not feel comfortable with. I ended up piecing that out of four pieces and welding all of the joints.

Finally, a picture of the seat in the truck. The color is not a match at all, but frankly I prefer this color of the factory color.

Finally, the seat belt latch is integrated into the seat on the BMW seat just like the stock seat. It just so happens the Toyota buckle from the second or third row seat belts fits perfectly. The front row does not. Why exactly Toyota would use two different size belt buckles is beyond me, but they did.

Since I do not use the third row seats, I decided to see what it would take to use it up front. I ended up swapping the belt front the third row retractor to the front retractor. The belts themselves are within 6" of each other, with the third row being shorter. It is plenty long enough for me.

Driving impressions, the seat is a big improvement over the stock seat. The height of the seat is exactly the same as the stock seat. I did not have to adjust the rear view mirror when all was said and done I am 5'9", am long in the torso, and have a 30" inseam. There is plenty of fore and aft adjustment for me, but you long legged folks may need to mount the seat further back.

I wonder if they would bolt up to Planted brackets?

 

[6894kevin]

I love the seats in my wifes RX350 and have always wondered if anyone has done Lexus RX300 seats in an 80 series. The RX300 also has armrests on both seats, anyone ever tried them???

 

[colerig420]

I found a set of Porsche Boxster seats at the junkyard, and was able to modify them to fit.


View attachment 1113087

I have a friend with some 986 seats he’s willing to part with. How was the bracket and wiring work to make it fit?

 

[2fpower]

I have a friend with some 986 seats he’s willing to part with. How was the bracket and wiring work to make it fit?

I made my own bracket, although there are many brackets available now that might work fine. For wiring, I got the pigtail when i pulled the seats, so one power line and one ground. The seat belt warning light was on the seat belt female side that I swapped over from the 80 seats, so no change there.

 

[FJ62 Jose]

GREAT WRITEUP!!

In any case, is there a way to make brackets without welding?? I don’t have a welder that’s why I ask..

since on the topic has anyone successfully installed 5 series seats and if so, what models are manual?

 

[JeepinPete]

I have seen other's remove the factory seat rear feet, for lack of a better word, use a cross bar and bolt it all together. One of those things I want to do someday, but never seem to get around to it.

 

[Tedward]

@FJ62 Jose
I made brackets without welding.
Used flat stock, the factory seat feet, Audi seats, and bolted it together.
Worked like a charm. Used better bolts in a couple spots before the real install.
Two years or so later I borrowed a 110v welder for another job and welded it all.
I

 

[Grant Woodbridge]

I used a set of BMW F30 seats with great results. I first made a bracket and mounted them. But I found that I sat to high and the part under your thigh was facing to far up.

so for me the line of reference is if your base of the seat is higher than that crome line on the door panel then your seat is too high.

I ended up slotting two holes on the seat frames to get them lower under your thighs.
my seats sit 100% in the middle with no modifications to the Bodys structure under the seats.

fitted a armrest today which works like a charm. Due to the seats been narrower than the stock I was always reaching over for the arm rest/console. My hand break and Saftey belt is not affected at all and with the armrest down I can still open my fridge/console lid.

 

[Grant Woodbridge]

This is the hole I re-drilled to make the front lower.

the blue line is my point of reference if your base is higher than that line your seats are too high.