Rear seat removal?
 

Has anyone taken out their rear seat of their car, specifically the part attached to the floor? If so how did it come out, are there any bolts, does it just pop into place?

I'm trying find out because I have a set of 12" subs that I took out of my Dodge Magnum when I traded it in and I want to put them in my BRZ, however with the trunk being so small and the depth of the trunk being less than the diameter of the subs I don't think the trunk is feasible without losing basically the entire trunk, however since the back seats are virtually useless since there is zero leg room and they seem to dip down pretty low below where the folded back access to the trunk i'm thinking I may be able to build a custom box to put the subs where the back seats are and still be able to open the back into the trunk for when I need to carry large items.

I'd be concerned that it might mess accidently trigger the rear seat airbag. That or somehow adversely affect normal opperation. I don't know how rear seats and the like are integrated like that in a modern vehicle. Makes me miss my 240. You could strip that thing out without a care in the world. No airbags anywhere.

Haven't taken them out but looks like there is one totally exposed bolt per seat bottom and they should just slide out.

Well I wouldn't worry about the rear seat airbags personally because the subwoofers don't need airbags ;)

Yeah, the rain just finally let up so I was able to go out and take a look and saw that one bolt there, if that's it that will make it nice and easy, just gotta check to see if there is enough depth for my subs, which I need just under 8" if I make the boxes out of 3/4" MDF again, maybe 7" if I go fiberglass, so i'm guessing it'll either fit like a glove, or be a hair too tall.

Just buy a couple of good 10"s and build new speaker boxes. Problem solved. 12"s in this car is ridiculous anyway.

The trunk is actually quite deep. There's a large foam tray under the "floor" containing the spare tire and a bunch of jack tools. But a LOT of foam. I haven't researched it, but I'd think you could remove the spare and foam tray and tools and dynamat the metal floor, giving you a lot of space for subs and an amp. Just an idea.

I don't run a spare tire in my other car, and if you pull the spare, no need for the jack and tools either.

Blasphemy! No car is too Small for a pair of 12" subs :p

Either way though I already have $1300 worth of speakers + amp from my Magnum, so it makes no sense to buy new stuff if I can make my current setup work in the BRZ.


I thought about removing the spare to possibly put the subs there, but i'd really like to have it available just in case. And there would have to be a whole lot of foam to put a 12" in without eating up a lot of the trunk/taking out the spare, even the 10" sub box I've seen for the BRZ they had to angle the sub quite a bit to fit in in the shallow trunk height. And since the back seats are 100% useless why not make use of that spot, as much as Subaru wants to call the BRZ a 2+2 it's really just a 2 seater with a storage area behind the front seats, I honestly wonder if they did it strictly for insurance reasons or vehicle classification or something because there's no value added with those "rear seats".

false floor would be sick making it look like you just have your rear seats folded..

This is a real rough image of what i'm thinking of doing, so the top of the box would have a layer for acoustically transparent fabric so the subs wouldn't be visible and the top of the box would be flush with the center hump so the back seat could still fold flat when needed, also I would put speaker grills over the speakers but under the fabric so I can put stuff back there without worrying about damaging the subs.

My 2yo rides back there quite comfortably. I wouldn't have bought the car otherwise.

True, a childs seat does fit back there, but I bet 99% of the people buying a brz/fr-s don't have carying a baby/young child around in a car seat in their mind as it's not a family friendly car.

That's kind of what a 2+2 is... S14, 944, etc. all have pretty similar back seat situations to the BRZ and there have been plenty of people that have shown it's possible to get people back there in a pinch. Sure, it's not the best place to be, but it can be done.

It seems virtually imposible to me, as i'm 5'-8" which while tall for a woman really isn't that tall in general, I would bet almost all the guys driving the car are my height or taller than me, with the seat adjusted for me there is only 1" between the front seat and back seat, too small for anyones legs to fit back there, now I could possibly see if you squish the person in the passanger's seat you could squeeze someone in the back on that side, but the drivers side? I don't see it as possible unless the driver is a really short woman around 5'-0"

I got a friend that was about 220 pounds and 6 foot with another 6 foot guy around 130 pounds behind him.

I'm 5'7" and have driven the FR-S with MomHawk (5'3") and Son3Hawk(5'10") in the back behind me. My son's head heads the glass, but otherwise was OK for a short trip. He was much more comfortable turned sideways though or sitting behind MomHawk on the passenger side.

Damn, how did you manage that, a giant shoe horn? My bestfriend is only 5'-8" and around that same weight and she had to have the seat all the way back just to fit in, and even with it all the way back she wasn't exactly perfectly comfortable in the car. I guess my definition of a useful seat is just different as to me really it has to be a practical useful seat, you get in, you sit down, you have room, to me if it involves squishing people in and some kind of human oragami it's not a useful seat, maybe when I was in my late teens/early 20's I would have thought that was acceptable to call a seat useable, but not now.

This guy claims to have gotten 4 "dudes" in the FR-S during his test drive.

If she is 5'8" and had the seat back that far then I would guess she is either 70% leg or had the seat much further back than is really necessary. Most people sit a lot farther back than is needed or even ideal for driving. Sitting closer may feel uncomfortable at first, but it's something that you will quickly adjust to.

Stolen from:http://www.ferrari-talk.com/forums/f...position-2274/
Proper driving position, according to Ralf Schumacher

1. Seat height: as high as possible.
2. Distance from steering wheel: your outstretched arms meet the sides of the wheel at the wrists.
3. Distance to the pedals: with the clutch fully depressed, the knee is still bent.

"A Formula One driver wouldn't be able to drve more than a few hundred yards in the seating position used by most drivers...

...The best seating position for ordinary drivers is not quite as extreme as in motorsport, but the principles are similar...

...A high seating position automatically provides a better all-around view and a better view of the instruments. Of course, there are limits to height adjustment: there should be at least enough room between the ceiling of the car and the top of the driver's head for a clenched fist...

...The angle between the backrest and the seat should be 90-100 degrees, i.e., nearly upright. Most drivers prefer a more shallow position for the backrest, and initially find this most comfortable. That's not ideal, however, because the backrest supports the entire back only when the spinal column keeps its natural shape...

...The headrests are not just there for comfort; they also protect against severe injuries to the neck vertebrae. In a head-on crash, the driver is first preopelled forward, then diagonally backwards and up. Therefore, the top edge of the headrests should be at least level with the top of the head or higher. Whiplash injuries and dangerous injuries to the cervical vertebrae frequently come about because the headrests are set too low..."

Well she is a big girl, as in heavy, so it was tight for her.

That's actually almost exactly how I have my seat adjusted, no clue if my knees are bent with the clutch depressed since it's an automatic, but they are always when pressing the gas/brakes, the steering wheel is exactly that distance away and the seat is almost all the way up height wise.

This sounds like something I would want to do, just to get the car shaking. Although that's if I choose to have a car to be casual vs. track oriented.

Post pics when you get this project dun! I want to see

Yeah, my car will likely never see a track ever, it's just my daily drive so making sure I shave every pound of weight off the car I can isn't a concern, and no way I could live with the lack of bass in the factory stereo for too long, going from a car with 2 12" subs and 4 6.5" woofers for bass to a car with simply 2 6.5" woofers for bass is painful, the music sounds so lacking and hollow to me, my $40 Skullcandy headphones have more bass sadly :/

Yup, I certainly will once I get everything in :)

Today I finally got a chance to poke around back there and pull the rear seat out which was easy (putting it back in was a bit of a pain though) and it looks like if I go with a fiberglass enclosure I should be able to fit the 12" subs I have in the back there without interfering with folding the rear of the seat to get access into the trunk.

the rear seats can be removed in minutes with simple tools. It took us about 5 minutes or less to remove them the first time.

Yeah, it took me more time to find the right size socket to unbolt it than it did to actually take it out, was just a pain getting that back loop to latch back in place when putting it back in.

It looks pretty simple..any need to disconnect the battery? I'm not in the mood to get thumped in the back of the head by an airbag while doing it.

I didn't disconnect the battery when I took one of the seats off, really there should be no reason to have to do so.

There is no need to disconnect the battery to remove the rear seat bottoms. There are no electrical connectors there for the airbag system - only the fuel pump stuff.

To those who still haven't figured out how to remove the rear seat bottoms, 1x 10mm bolt holds it in place at the forward edge nearest the front seats, and a hook (on the seat cushion) and loop (bracket bolted to the car) system at the trailing edge nearest the trunk for each cushion. Unbolt at the front, push down and pull out at the rear, and presto your seat bottom is out.

it's safe back there for a child! car is built with all the latest safety features!

this is incorrect! my daughter who is 5"2" fits nicely behind the passenger seat with ample leg room! ,my wife who is 5' 1" sits in passenger seat,and also has "plenty" of leg room as well! it CAN be done and has proven to be quite comfortable too! i wouldn't entirely "write off" those back seats,such as they are!..just sayin'

"first and foremost" why did you buy this car if you knew ,going forward,that it was impractical for YOUR purposes? you "bitch" about the seats being un fit for humans,yet you attempt to use them for that purpose anyway! your thought processes require adjustment! i believe you should just turn the car into a "symphony hall",and be done with it! if anyone NEEDS to ride in your car in the future,you can just let 'em curl up in a "fetal" position in the trunk,and slam the lid...just sayin'

Another one here who did the delete.. and I also found it pretty easy.

Besides the 10mm bolts at the front of the r seat bottoms, I ran into 2x 12mm bolts that let the seats to drop down and out of the brackets. I'd say 5-10 minutes start to finish.

That along with the trunk un-junk opened more room for my bike and lightened the car by 52lbs.

You could still sit back there and buckle in - not that you ever would.

My girlfriend and her sister would disagree, both of them are short, both 5'-2", can I fit both in the car, yes, we did it twice in a pinch, but plenty of leg room is definitely an exaggeration.

Umm, I never said the car was impractical for my purposes since my purposes was a 2 seat sports car, which is all I consider it, I never considered the back seat area as anything more than a large behind the seat storage area as really the back seats of the BRZ/FR-S are for nothing more than insurance reasons and never meant as practical and usable seats, in a pinch can you squeeze someone in the back? Sure. But calling it a 4 passenger car is kind of laughable, and I never bought it for that purpose, if I wanted something that actually fit 4 people I would have gotten a different car.

kewl! but one was led to believe otherwise. clarification was required on your part and graciously you provided the additional information!. thankyou!. my family's comfort level utilizing the back seats was/is exactly the opposite of your experience,yet they are both approximately the same size as your friend,and sister.i would respectfully suggest you attempt to "adjust" the seats accordingly to achieve the desired comfort level.

I fit 4 people in my FR-S lol.

I won't be trying that again, lasted for a whole 10 seconds :P

1 small person can sometimes fit in the back but I don't do that unless they have leg room or its just a small trip.

I can definitely see the appeal of turning this into a 2 seater though, and I've thought about it a few times.