DIY: Switching seats - All or most questions answered

[hoanger]

Well.. after reading numerous threads about changing seats and numerous answers involving "I think you can do this..." or "I'd assume all you have to do is..." I'm going to make the thread so all you kiddies can reference to. I've had too many PM's as well.. here it goes.

After changing mine, here is what I can tell ya.
I'm just gonna assume you know nothing about it, so I'll tell you all I know.

First of all, You will need new brackets and rails. Rails to attach to you new seat and brackets to attach to the car. The rails mate to the bracket, so you gotta get two that correspond with each other, as well as with the seat. Corbeau makes brackets and rails as far as I'm told. You also need some new seats, of course. Pick one to your liking.. bucket, reclinable, it doesn't matter.

Now if the manufacturer was smart and looked at the car before designing a bracket, they'd know that the passenger side seatbelt is attached to the car, while the driver side seatbelt is attached to the stock bracket. They are two completely different brackets. Do not order two of the same brackets assuming you'll just have to flip one around. If you choose not to use stock seatbelts, then the seatbelt holes are not much of a concern. I, however, wanted to keep them.

Wedge Engineering makes these brackets and can supply rails of your liking. The only downside is the wait time that it takes to make the brackets. I waited 5 weeks. Some 4 weeks, some 7 weeks. You can pay them for a rush order, so that it can be cut down to maybe 2 weeks.
A company like wedge makes the brackets with a hole for the driver side seatbelt to mate to. Good quality products.

As for you seatbelts. You will be able to retain you stock seatbelts, I dunno where the idea comes from that you can't use them anymore. The wedge brackets also have spots for your seatbelt female connector to screw into. If you want, you can even use some racing harnesses along with your stock seatbelt and switch at your convenience.

Your sensors. You will have two sensors in total for the switch. Two females in the car, two males on the seat, for each seat.
One is the seatbelt sensor to know whether or not your seatbelt is connected.
The other is one I'm not totally sure of. However, this is what I know. It is the weight sensor on the passenger side to let the car know whether or not to deploy the airbag in the event of an emergency. If the weight is under "x" amount (I can't remember what the manual says, refer to it to get an exact number).. you'll see the light on your dash that says "OFF". This is to ensure that if you had a baby seat in the front, the airbag would not go off and potentially kill the baby.
This sensor is the infamous sensor that everyone says you need a resistor for. I've tried 2ohms, 2.5ohms and 3ohms, all of which have failed. However, I'm not electrical saavy, I may have been doing it wrong, but it didn't turn the light off for me. If you have a voltmeter, you can check exactly what ohms you need.

Q: Doesn't the beep get annoying?
A: The beep is only for the seatbelt sensor, not the weight sensor. The light is simply on in your dash.

Q: Can I get rid of the light?
A: By figuring out how to plug the resistors in correctly, you can. You can also open up your dash and put some black tape over it. OR, learn to get used to it. It's not terribly annoying.

Another option that is available that I have seen on NASIOC is to open up your stock seat carefully, pull the weight sensing pad out of the seat and simply slip it under your new seat. This gets rid of the need to use resistors because you have the weight sensor along with the male plug to attach to your female in the car.
I wasn't particularly keen on trying to open my seats up to get that pad, so I'm not knowledgeable on that subject. I just put it out there for those brave enough.


Putting the seats in. It isn't terribly difficult.. hell it's one of the easiest things you can do to your car. You'll need a socket wrench, I believe a 10mm and a 12mm, don't quote me on that.. If someone knows the definitive answer, please chime in.
That's it. The bolts aren't even hard to take off either, one hand should do it.
Unbolt all four (4) bolts in each corner of each seat. eight (8) in total. The rears have a plastic cover that covers the bolts, you can carefully pry them off or just break and pull. They can't be used with the new brackets.

Rock the seatbackward, unclip the sensors by pushing the tabs to release them.
*On the drivers side: you will need to unbolt the seatbelt.

Once you get the seats out carefully without scuffing your panels, you will need to remove the female part of the seatbelts on the inside part of the seats. One (1) bolt on each side, two (2) in total.

Assemble your rails onto your seats. Assemble the brackets onto the rails. Install each of the female seatbelt plugs onto the inside part of each seat.
*On the drivers side, it's best if you put the seat in first (without bolting it down), and install the seatbelt portion to it first to give you more leg room.

Plug the seatbelt sensor into the car. (now is the time to insert your resistor if you want). If not, simply tape it up so that it doesn't get dirty. Bolt each corner down. Sit in them, put your seatbelt on, and turn on the key. The only light you should see is the one that required the resistor. (If you were successful with the resistor, then no light!). ENJOY

Q: Should I disconnect my battery before doing this?
A: It is recommended you do so. However, the rumours of disconnecting the battery before you start will prevent the light from coming on is not true. Connected in or not, the light will come on because there is nothing giving the empty sensor information. I did it with my battery connected.

Q: Resistors, resistors, resistors!
A: If you do plan on "playing" with the resistors to see what works, DISCONNECT the battery. If you use the wrong one, there is a chance that the airbag can deploy. At this time, I'm unsure of what resistor will work.

I will update this thread as needed. Hopefully this helps a bunch of people.. I know how many people hate asking and not finding.

Here is a picture of the passenger side seat out.. as you can see.. it's not complicated. 4 bolts and you're good to go


and the finished product

[SiliconX]

I'm coming straight for you Jason when I change mine. After sitting in the Recaros in the Evo X, I must have some.

Good write up dude, i'm sure many will appreciate the info and your time.

[hoanger]

Thanks, Eric.
I haven't sat in them before.. But I've found that the only Recaros worthy of mentioning have always came from Type R's. I wish I could've got a set of DC5R's, but even the DC2R's are so comfy.

[FBFG]

Nice write up.Good info

[insole23]

freaking good right up, I need to start this

[paolo2k2]

this makes me want to buy si seats....

[hoanger]

thanks guys
updated with before and after pics

[insole23]

so freaking sick. im going to try this!

[sohcBOOST]

Great write up man.

[r18lx]

nice write up! i'm planning on getting s2k seats soon

[thesaintnick]

Bump for useful info. Great writeup.

[bueno4x4]

Originally Posted by thesaintnick

Bump for useful info. Great writeup.

x2...sticky?

[Show Stoppa FG1]

i just got my seats in yesterday... im gonna install soon, nice write up

[NEBRASKACHERS]

I've searched the forums and couldn't find this and was wondering if anyone knows if I have a 2009 SI coupe and want to replace the seats with 2009 EX coupe seats is it pretty much plug & play or is it going to require modding. I just don't care for the bolsters on the SI seat but I like sitting in my friend's EX Coupe. I would rather not go aftermarket but try OEM first. Thanks for any help you can give me.

[asianskater91]

^^^lol what bolsters?
there are like none on the si seats.