Is200 Front Seat Replacement

[StuP]

Hi guys. I'm thinking about changing the front seats in my Is200 to some standard reclining bucket seats that are colour coded to the car and will inevitably be lighter. I'm not worried about loosing the electronic adjustment or heated seats as I don't use either much. I was hoping someone has done this too and could advise on suitable subframes as i've found seats on eBay which come with the runners only and knowing my luck will not be a straight swap out. Any other advice on changing them appreciated.

Stu

[StuP]

Hi guys. I'm thinking about changing the front seats in my Is200 to some standard reclining bucket seats that are colour coded to the car and will inevitably be lighter. I'm not worried about loosing the electronic adjustment or heated seats as I don't use either much. I was hoping someone has done this too and could advise on suitable subframes as i've found seats on ebay which come with the runners only and knowing my luck will not be a straight swap out. Any other advice on changing them appreciated.

Stu

Oh and forgot to mention the biggest issue of how to wire and what resistor to use to ensure the remaining airbags still work!

[lexynik]

Hi guys. I'm thinking about changing the front seats in my Is200 to some standard reclining bucket seats that are colour coded to the car and will inevitably be lighter. I'm not worried about loosing the electronic adjustment or heated seats as I don't use either much. I was hoping someone has done this too and could advise on suitable subframes as i've found seats on ebay which come with the runners only and knowing my luck will not be a straight swap out. Any other advice on changing them appreciated.

Stu

Oh and forgot to mention the biggest issue of how to wire and what resistor to use to ensure the remaining airbags still work!

why dont you try and source some alteeza seats if weight is the issue ? i think they would go straight in and shouldnt look quite as horrible as bucket seats sitting on a made up frame - i think the wiring isnt too hard to do either- theyre not electric or heated and sound like they would be just up your street - people usually give them away on here when they upgrade to is200 seats so should be cheap enuf - its hard to imagine an is200 with bucket seats unless its a full race type - are you going whole hog on the weightloss issue ie stripping out the back seats,door panels,carpet,spare wheel,carbon bonnet,full LIGHTWEIGHT roll cage etc ? or are you of the impression that you can improve the cars performance,handling,looks and comfort just by installing a pair of cheap bucket seats ?

if you are trying to do it properly it might be best to buy an alteeza 210bhp as standard like the one yeldarb is selling and then transform that as its a faster lighter car to start with

best of luck either way

[StuP]

The aim is to customise my IS the way I want it and not to make major changes, any performance increase due to weight loss is a bonus. I've done all of the performance mods I want to for purely enhanced road use as I'm not into racing etc. The plan is to get a bit of colour into the interior now without going over the top.

[Monster-Mat]

TRD do seats for the is200, that come with the correct mounts

there is also a airbag cancel resistor, ill dig out the part number, these are the seats i had in the monster before it was stripped out completely

[lexynik]

oh right i see - why dont you think about having your seats and door panels retrimmed then - you can change the eccsaine or leather for whatever colour you want - or add piping on the seats ie red for example - its nowhere near as expensive as it used to be and you can get a lovely very individual and yet tasteful result with the right choices - plus everything works as it should and no wiring -

[StuP]

Thats not a bad idea, I'll look into it as I was going to get the steering wheel recovered in black and red leather as its scuffed and fading a bit so the same place may be able to do it all. being without the car for a few days while its done may be an issue though

[StuP]

TRD do seats for the is200, that come with the correct mounts

there is also a airbag cancel resistor, ill dig out the part number, these are the seats i had in the monster before it was stripped out completely

Can you order the TRD parts direct from a dealer as I've struggled in the past to source TRD parts.

[lexynik]

either that or if you are set on bucket seats why not ask matt if his arm can be twisted to let you have those trd ones if he doesnt need them anymore .

i did have a think about it and if you had the suede/eccsaine part of your seats redone in red leather with black stitching and maybe your suede type bits on the door panels done in the same red but maybe ruffled like on the late mercs etc and obviously front and back it would look good maybe being as how you are goin with the red theme- i doubt youd see anather one like it and you can give them parts at a time to do ie back seats and door panels,then passenger seat then last drivers seat so they ought to be able to do most of it and you still got your transport

[StuP]

Anyone know what the resistor value is for the side (seat) airbags as it seems that the part may only be a plug and resistor in some heat shrink tube that I could do myself but am loathed to measure the resistance of the airbag as it may go off :-(

[sparkystav]

surely its just a matter of measureing the resistanct of the plug on the seat when you remove it?

[StuP]

When measuring the resistance the meter applies a small voltage which i'm worried may be enough to initiate the bag

[sparkystav]

When measuring the resistance the meter applies a small voltage which i'm worried may be enough to initiate the bag

that depends on your meter mate, if you have an older meter it doesnt (we have to have two types at work for this reason)

[StuP]

Anyone considering doing this take note- This is turning out to be a bitch of a job for the following reasons:

No one makes subframes for IS200/Altezzas to fit bucket seats;

Universal frames are no good as the mounting holes are at different heights and angled at the back;

The existing seat belts need to be used to keep the seat belt warning lights working and the passenger detector circuit needs to be replicated in the bucket seats;

The airbag circuit needs plug in cancellers to keep the other airbags in the vehicle working.

I'm now sort of wishing i just had the original seats reupholstered. If anyone disagrees with anything in this post please let me know as I'm sure I'm not the first person to attempt this.

:tsktsk: :duh: (any of these adequately describes my current state!)

[lexynik]

sorry you are having so much aggro - did you see this guy and his retrimmed seats that joined after previous discussion-kinda what i was trying to describe HERE

[StuP]

sorry you are having so much aggro - did you see this guy and his retrimmed seats that joined after previous discussion-kinda what i was trying to describe HERE

Thanks for the link, I'm still salivating at the thought of mine looking a bit like that sometime soon. Its made my mind up and the bucket seats are going back and i'll be looking for a local upholsterer to redo the OEM ones as you originally suggested.

[lexynik]

no problem-it does look gorgeous doesnt it - did you not see him join a couple of days after we spoke last ? never mind youve seen it now-yeah what a nice job,might be worth getting hold of him or the previous owner for suggestions on who to use and costs etc - defo goes well with the red for sure