That would be amazing to have those available state side, even for the price tag the features, options, and comfort look like they offset the cost
LC 200 FRONT SEATS UPGRADE (1 Viewer)
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That would be amazing to have those available state side, even for the price tag the features, options, and comfort look like they offset the cost
I had my Scheel-Mann seats installed today.
I had my local shop do it for only $300. Given how accident prone I am, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine me crossing the wrong wire and exploding an airbag.
My first impression? The seats get an A+. They are the seats that a $90,000 SUV should’ve come with. Build quality is perfect. Attention to detail is perfect.
That said, they are stiff. For those who remember, they remind me of the bench seat on an old F250. in a good way. Perhaps firm is a better term, but very firm. If someone is expecting soft seats like in a luxury car that “cradle your body in comfort” and emit rainbows and perfume-scented puffs of air when you sit down while soft, smooth jazz music is playing in the background, I would buy something else.
For me, the seats are everything I expected.
The only bad part is that because the seats are stiff and haven’t had a chance to be compressed at all, you do feel a slight bit higher when you sit in them. I went back-and-forth on making this statement because it’s important to a lot of us. When I slide into the seat and when I get out it feels as if I’m at the same level as I was with the stock seats that had 185,000 miles on them and had the kind of sag that one would expect from that much use. It’s just as easy to get in and out as it was before. But they ARE slightly higher. More on that.
This brings me to the brackets. For those who don’t know, Scheel-Mann outsources the brackets from a nearby company called Planted Technology. You don’t have to buy them separately, however. When you pay for the seats, they order the brackets and have them sent to the same address. All of that was pretty seamless.
I give the brackets a C+. They are solid and appear to be bombproof. But what a annoys me – and maybe this is because they haven’t made that many for Land Cruiser owners – is that there is a good 4+ inches of space between the bottom of the bracket on which the seats sits and the floor. That’s on the front. on the back of the seats it’s about 3 3/4 inches to the floor. There’s enough space to hide another freaking land cruiser underneath the seat! I have no idea why they couldn’t have dropped the seat 2 1/2 inches on the front and maybe an inch and a half on the back . I looked at the manufacturers website under their FAQs and one of them was “my seat is too high. What can I do?” The only solution they offered was to remove the rails that the seat slide on, giving you another 3/4 of an inch. But then you can’t slide the seat forward or back. What on earth is the point of that?
I know absolutely zero about welding, but as welding-stupid as I am, it’s pretty clear that these brackets could be half the size and you would still be able to reach and see underneath the seats. Any tips from anyone on why I should not do this, perhaps with regard to metal fatigue or a well, not holding, please chime in.
The only other drawback is a small delay. Scheel-Mann includes a small package with a couple of resistors and some wire that you use to connect the airbag. apparently it’s a very tiny package and mine was either accidentally left out or got tossed with the packaging. a quick call to Portland and another package was on the way. So right now I have a Christmas tree of airbag lights and a check PCS system message. But that will be fixed soon.
Overall, I have to say it was a good purchase and not something that I’m going to list in the “mods you regret thread”
They are comfortable enough that I haven’t even messed with the lumbar function yet. And I’m loving the bolster that comes out underneath your knees.
One thing I discovered is that apparently the fan and the seat heaters are wired directly to the battery. I don’t know if that’s the way they’re meant to be or if that’s just the way my shop did it, but I can definitely see someone killing a battery if they leave the seats on. I may have to address that later.
Photos attached. If anyone wants a specific photo or a specific angle, let me know.
I had my local shop do it for only $300. Given how accident prone I am, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine me crossing the wrong wire and exploding an airbag.
My first impression? The seats get an A+. They are the seats that a $90,000 SUV should’ve come with. Build quality is perfect. Attention to detail is perfect.
That said, they are stiff. For those who remember, they remind me of the bench seat on an old F250. in a good way. Perhaps firm is a better term, but very firm. If someone is expecting soft seats like in a luxury car that “cradle your body in comfort” and emit rainbows and perfume-scented puffs of air when you sit down while soft, smooth jazz music is playing in the background, I would buy something else.
For me, the seats are everything I expected.
The only bad part is that because the seats are stiff and haven’t had a chance to be compressed at all, you do feel a slight bit higher when you sit in them. I went back-and-forth on making this statement because it’s important to a lot of us. When I slide into the seat and when I get out it feels as if I’m at the same level as I was with the stock seats that had 185,000 miles on them and had the kind of sag that one would expect from that much use. It’s just as easy to get in and out as it was before. But they ARE slightly higher. More on that.
This brings me to the brackets. For those who don’t know, Scheel-Mann outsources the brackets from a nearby company called Planted Technology. You don’t have to buy them separately, however. When you pay for the seats, they order the brackets and have them sent to the same address. All of that was pretty seamless.
I give the brackets a C+. They are solid and appear to be bombproof. But what a annoys me – and maybe this is because they haven’t made that many for Land Cruiser owners – is that there is a good 4+ inches of space between the bottom of the bracket on which the seats sits and the floor. That’s on the front. on the back of the seats it’s about 3 3/4 inches to the floor. There’s enough space to hide another freaking land cruiser underneath the seat! I have no idea why they couldn’t have dropped the seat 2 1/2 inches on the front and maybe an inch and a half on the back . I looked at the manufacturers website under their FAQs and one of them was “my seat is too high. What can I do?” The only solution they offered was to remove the rails that the seat slide on, giving you another 3/4 of an inch. But then you can’t slide the seat forward or back. What on earth is the point of that?
I know absolutely zero about welding, but as welding-stupid as I am, it’s pretty clear that these brackets could be half the size and you would still be able to reach and see underneath the seats. Any tips from anyone on why I should not do this, perhaps with regard to metal fatigue or a well, not holding, please chime in.
The only other drawback is a small delay. Scheel-Mann includes a small package with a couple of resistors and some wire that you use to connect the airbag. apparently it’s a very tiny package and mine was either accidentally left out or got tossed with the packaging. a quick call to Portland and another package was on the way. So right now I have a Christmas tree of airbag lights and a check PCS system message. But that will be fixed soon.
Overall, I have to say it was a good purchase and not something that I’m going to list in the “mods you regret thread”
They are comfortable enough that I haven’t even messed with the lumbar function yet. And I’m loving the bolster that comes out underneath your knees.
One thing I discovered is that apparently the fan and the seat heaters are wired directly to the battery. I don’t know if that’s the way they’re meant to be or if that’s just the way my shop did it, but I can definitely see someone killing a battery if they leave the seats on. I may have to address that later.
Photos attached. If anyone wants a specific photo or a specific angle, let me know.
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A couple more. I also like the fact that the seat will fold all the way forward if you wanted to. For sleeping and camping I enter an exit on the rear driver side so that gives me a lot more room to sit on my bed. take my boots off, etc.I had my Scheel-Mann seats installed today.
I had my local shop do it for only $300. Given how accident prone I am, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine me crossing the wrong wire and exploding an airbag.
My first impression? The seats get an A+. They are the seats that a $90,000 SUV should’ve come with. Build quality is perfect. Attention to detail is perfect.
That said, they are stiff. For those who remember, they remind me of the bench seat on an old F250. in a good way. Perhaps firm is a better term, but very firm. If someone is expecting soft seats like in a luxury car that “cradle your body in comfort” and emit rainbows and perfume-scented puffs of air when you sit down while soft, smooth jazz music is playing in the background, I would buy something else.
For me, the seats are everything I expected.
The only bad part is that because the seats are stiff and haven’t had a chance to be compressed at all, you do feel a slight bit higher when you sit in them. I went back-and-forth on making this statement because it’s important to a lot of us. When I slide into the seat and when I get out it feels as if I’m at the same level as I was with the stock seats that had 185,000 miles on them and had the kind of sag that one would expect from that much use. It’s just as easy to get in and out as it was before. But they ARE slightly higher. More on that.
This brings me to the brackets. For those who don’t know, Scheel-Mann outsources the brackets from a nearby company called Planted Technology. You don’t have to buy them separately, however. When you pay for the seats, they order the brackets and have them sent to the same address. All of that was pretty seamless.
I give the brackets a C+. They are solid and appear to be bombproof. But what a annoys me – and maybe this is because they haven’t made that many for Land Cruiser owners – is that there is a good 4+ inches of space between the bottom of the bracket on which the seats sits and the floor. That’s on the front. on the back of the seats it’s about 3 3/4 inches to the floor. There’s enough space to hide another freaking land cruiser underneath the seat! I have no idea why they couldn’t have dropped the seat 2 1/2 inches on the front and maybe an inch and a half on the back . I looked at the manufacturers website under their FAQs and one of them was “my seat is too high. What can I do?” The only solution they offered was to remove the rails that the seat slide on, giving you another 3/4 of an inch. But then you can’t slide the seat forward or back. What on earth is the point of that?
I know absolutely zero about welding, but as welding-stupid as I am, it’s pretty clear that these brackets could be half the size and you would still be able to reach and see underneath the seats. Any tips from anyone on why I should not do this, perhaps with regard to metal fatigue or a well, not holding, please chime in.
The only other drawback is a small delay. Scheel-Mann includes a small package with a couple of resistors and some wire that you use to connect the airbag. apparently it’s a very tiny package and mine was either accidentally left out or got tossed with the packaging. a quick call to Portland and another package was on the way. So right now I have a Christmas tree of airbag lights and a check PCS system message. But that will be fixed soon.
Overall, I have to say it was a good purchase and not something that I’m going to list in the “mods you regret thread”
They are comfortable enough that I haven’t even messed with the lumbar function yet. And I’m loving the bolster that comes out underneath your knees.
One thing I discovered is that apparently the fan and the seat heaters are wired directly to the battery. I don’t know if that’s the way they’re meant to be or if that’s just the way my shop did it, but I can definitely see someone killing a battery if they leave the seats on. I may have to address that later.
Photos attached. If anyone wants a specific photo or a specific angle, let me know.
View attachment 3770720
View attachment 3770721
View attachment 3770722
View attachment 3770723
View attachment 3770724
One more thing. I will be driving from Minnesota to Maine after Thanksgiving, and then from Minnesota to Nevada in early January. If someone along my route wants to check these seats out I am more than happy to stop and let you check them out and sit in them. I know trying to find these in stock somewhere to check them out like trying to find a unicorn.
Nice report. Keep us updated as you get some more time in them with how they break in, wear, age, etc.
I hope they attached the seat heater/fan to a switched power source. Tough day to come out of a freezing great white north day of fun to have to jump it due to having forgotten to turn off your seat warmer.
As a fellow man of culture, nice marathon. I’ve got a gsar myself.
I hope they attached the seat heater/fan to a switched power source. Tough day to come out of a freezing great white north day of fun to have to jump it due to having forgotten to turn off your seat warmer.
As a fellow man of culture, nice marathon. I’ve got a gsar myself.
I had my Scheel-Mann seats installed today.
I had my local shop do it for only $300. Given how accident prone I am, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine me crossing the wrong wire and exploding an airbag.
My first impression? The seats get an A+. They are the seats that a $90,000 SUV should’ve come with. Build quality is perfect. Attention to detail is perfect.
That said, they are stiff. For those who remember, they remind me of the bench seat on an old F250. in a good way. Perhaps firm is a better term, but very firm. If someone is expecting soft seats like in a luxury car that “cradle your body in comfort” and emit rainbows and perfume-scented puffs of air when you sit down while soft, smooth jazz music is playing in the background, I would buy something else.
For me, the seats are everything I expected.
The only bad part is that because the seats are stiff and haven’t had a chance to be compressed at all, you do feel a slight bit higher when you sit in them. I went back-and-forth on making this statement because it’s important to a lot of us. When I slide into the seat and when I get out it feels as if I’m at the same level as I was with the stock seats that had 185,000 miles on them and had the kind of sag that one would expect from that much use. It’s just as easy to get in and out as it was before. But they ARE slightly higher. More on that.
This brings me to the brackets. For those who don’t know, Scheel-Mann outsources the brackets from a nearby company called Planted Technology. You don’t have to buy them separately, however. When you pay for the seats, they order the brackets and have them sent to the same address. All of that was pretty seamless.
I give the brackets a C+. They are solid and appear to be bombproof. But what a annoys me – and maybe this is because they haven’t made that many for Land Cruiser owners – is that there is a good 4+ inches of space between the bottom of the bracket on which the seats sits and the floor. That’s on the front. on the back of the seats it’s about 3 3/4 inches to the floor. There’s enough space to hide another freaking land cruiser underneath the seat! I have no idea why they couldn’t have dropped the seat 2 1/2 inches on the front and maybe an inch and a half on the back . I looked at the manufacturers website under their FAQs and one of them was “my seat is too high. What can I do?” The only solution they offered was to remove the rails that the seat slide on, giving you another 3/4 of an inch. But then you can’t slide the seat forward or back. What on earth is the point of that?
I know absolutely zero about welding, but as welding-stupid as I am, it’s pretty clear that these brackets could be half the size and you would still be able to reach and see underneath the seats. Any tips from anyone on why I should not do this, perhaps with regard to metal fatigue or a well, not holding, please chime in.
The only other drawback is a small delay. Scheel-Mann includes a small package with a couple of resistors and some wire that you use to connect the airbag. apparently it’s a very tiny package and mine was either accidentally left out or got tossed with the packaging. a quick call to Portland and another package was on the way. So right now I have a Christmas tree of airbag lights and a check PCS system message. But that will be fixed soon.
Overall, I have to say it was a good purchase and not something that I’m going to list in the “mods you regret thread”
They are comfortable enough that I haven’t even messed with the lumbar function yet. And I’m loving the bolster that comes out underneath your knees.
One thing I discovered is that apparently the fan and the seat heaters are wired directly to the battery. I don’t know if that’s the way they’re meant to be or if that’s just the way my shop did it, but I can definitely see someone killing a battery if they leave the seats on. I may have to address that later.
Photos attached. If anyone wants a specific photo or a specific angle, let me know.
View attachment 3770720
View attachment 3770721
View attachment 3770722
View attachment 3770723
View attachment 3770724
Thanks for sharing the info!
I’ll be upgrading at some point.
I don’t want to be a negative Nancy, but I’d most definitely look into having those brackets gusseted and re-enforced.
That’s some very oddly done welds with no real strength involved.
Having been in a near death car wreck myself, I’d bring those to a professional fabricator ASAP to have them strengthened
Hopefully someone smarter than me (I nominate @TeCKis300) can explain the forces here and the why that design is sketchy.
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Instead of the scheelmann route, at some point I may try to get the 16+ LX570 bottom cushion and leather cover and extension mechanism and modify my existing LC200 seat. Will not go for the full electric and button solution to operate the extension mechanism, yet fix it in place. I see that next best to getting an entire LX570 seat and make it work or go for a BMW seat or MBS, as the Scheelmann looks a bit to basic for my taste. Obviously many may find that exactly it’s attraction.
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Yeah, I actually spoke again with the folks at Scheel-Mann. After confirming with another mud member that a shorter bracket exists, I mentioned this. They asked me to share some photos which I did. I also shared them with a gentleman at Planted Technology.
It turns out that I apparently received the taller brackets by mistake. They are shipping me some new ones which look to be about half of the height of the ones I have. I’ll share some more more photos when I get them installed.
That would be great. Would love someone getting this done.
That looks dope !
The strap. And the watch. "My man" (American Gangster voice. ). A proper WIS.
.
I like them a lot but those are way too tall. Happy to hear you are getting new brackets. I have LR seats in my 80 and they are a tad tall. I might go back to stock LC seats for that reason.
Thank you VERY MUCH for sharing this.
The strap. And the watch. "My man" (American Gangster voice. ). A proper WIS.
.I like them a lot but those are way too tall. Happy to hear you are getting new brackets. I have LR seats in my 80 and they are a tad tall. I might go back to stock LC seats for that reason.
Thank you VERY MUCH for sharing this.
Likewise just looking out. That is scary to be running the mount configured like that which may buckle possibly in normal driving with some fatigue.
Even for mounts half the height, I'd encourage you to get it gusseted. Fortunately it won't be too hard, by add a plate along the side, making sure it goes all the way down to carpet level. Or box in with a straight plate between the front and rear mounts.
Thanks @TeCKis300
Yeah. I agree 100%
Not sure where you’re located @RandyDaytona but if you’re in SoCal, I can give ya some names of top tier welder friends for this.
I HATE bringing up negative things about folks mods, and don’t want to be that guy, but this one hits home for me, long story
I’m in northern MN. We have nothing here but snow.
Will do - thanks!
@RandyDaytona I would do two things:
1) Expanding on the idea and point made by Teckis300, make plates on the supports covering say 80% of the area with say 1/2" to 3/4" gap at the bottom except for near the posts. This will provide strength and a more factory closed up look.
2) Wrap the same (or a thin sheet of separate ABS material attached to the steel) in vinyl leather potentially with some soft padding behind it or try to find an aftermarket plastic side cover which fits the seat and space. This way the overall look is lifted up a bit and will make it fit better in with the rest of the vehicle. Matter of taste of course.
Addition - A thick plate of ABS material or even plywood (for clarity in front of the steel re-enforcement) could make it look good when snug with the side of the Scheel Mann side bolster. Option to consider. Some carboard samples would allow you to try the best for your taste. Or leave it alone of course if this is of no interest...
1) Expanding on the idea and point made by Teckis300, make plates on the supports covering say 80% of the area with say 1/2" to 3/4" gap at the bottom except for near the posts. This will provide strength and a more factory closed up look.
2) Wrap the same (or a thin sheet of separate ABS material attached to the steel) in vinyl leather potentially with some soft padding behind it or try to find an aftermarket plastic side cover which fits the seat and space. This way the overall look is lifted up a bit and will make it fit better in with the rest of the vehicle. Matter of taste of course.
Addition - A thick plate of ABS material or even plywood (for clarity in front of the steel re-enforcement) could make it look good when snug with the side of the Scheel Mann side bolster. Option to consider. Some carboard samples would allow you to try the best for your taste. Or leave it alone of course if this is of no interest...
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Wow - great info! Thanks!
Another question for the brain trust.
I’m not all that savvy as far as used car parts, but is there a desire for LC front seats? If you got new seats, would you keep your stock seats or get rid of them?
I already have my 2nd and 3rd row seats bagged up and stored. I can see using the 2nd row again, and *maybe* the 3rd (but probably not). But I honestly can’t see a scenario that involves putting the stock seats back in.
What would you do?
I’m not all that savvy as far as used car parts, but is there a desire for LC front seats? If you got new seats, would you keep your stock seats or get rid of them?
I already have my 2nd and 3rd row seats bagged up and stored. I can see using the 2nd row again, and *maybe* the 3rd (but probably not). But I honestly can’t see a scenario that involves putting the stock seats back in.
What would you do?
I would keep unless I completely ran out of space. Also helps with an eventual (unplanned) sale.
In your scenario, I’d definitely keep at least the 2 fronts. In case of sale down the line, no seat airbags might be a deal breaker for someone and they may want all features.
The new brackets have arrived.
Once Scheel-Mann and Planted Technology confirmed that I had received the “tall” brackets by mistake, they pulled out all the stops to get me the correct ones ASAP.
The new brackets are about 2.5 inches lower.
The first time I got in, I was a little surprised at how low I was sitting. It was not uncomfortably low, mind you - just surprising (maybe because I had been riding on the “tall” brackets?).
That said, it is also what I think is the perfect height, at least for me at 6’1”. It may even be slightly lower than the factory seats, which I think is an unexpected bonus. Attaching a photo of the “tall” bracket, first, followed by two photos of the new one.
Now I just need to sort out the wiring for the airbag. My local shop was unable to hook up the supplied bypass (I think it was a little too much for them).
Once Scheel-Mann and Planted Technology confirmed that I had received the “tall” brackets by mistake, they pulled out all the stops to get me the correct ones ASAP.
The new brackets are about 2.5 inches lower.
The first time I got in, I was a little surprised at how low I was sitting. It was not uncomfortably low, mind you - just surprising (maybe because I had been riding on the “tall” brackets?).
That said, it is also what I think is the perfect height, at least for me at 6’1”. It may even be slightly lower than the factory seats, which I think is an unexpected bonus. Attaching a photo of the “tall” bracket, first, followed by two photos of the new one.
Now I just need to sort out the wiring for the airbag. My local shop was unable to hook up the supplied bypass (I think it was a little too much for them).
