Seat Bolsters and Comfort
 

Hi folks,

My first post..! Wanted to say thanks for the excellent FT86Club site - I've enjoyed reading many of your posts before and after deciding to buy the awesome Whiteout FRS sitting in my driveway. Thanks!

I've had my FRS for a couple of months now and I have truly enjoyed the car. It's a blast to drive and it puts a smile on my face daily. That said, the only thing that has given my some grief is the seat bolsters.

I'm a big guy with broad shoulders. The seat bolsters fit perfectly around my waist and chest - but the shoulder bolsters were rough on me for anything more than a short drive. They angle of the bolsters, specifically the red accented area, forced me to cant my shoulders inward and would cause them to go numb during extended driving sessions.

I've been looking at purchasing new seats or having an upholstery shop mod the seat bolsters with memory foam as suggested by some of you on similar topic posts. Well, after looking at the costs of the above options I starting watching a few videos on doing a seat mod myself.

I noticed in a few of the videos that some of the seat frame bolsters were just steel wire loops attached to the main seat frame. These loops provided the skeletal support for the general shape of the bolster and a place for the foam to rest. After seeing that, I had to take a look at the inside of the FRS seat.

So I head outside to my car and pull the driver seat forward and fold it down. After a bit of effort with the zippers and tucked fabric, I loosen the upholstery from the back of the seat and run my hand up inside and under the foam and feel around. Sure enough, I feel the metal loop that is the shoulder bolster. Time for a seat mod :P

The loop is substantial but with sufficient muscle force, I support the back of the seat frame with one hand and push/pull the bolster support toward the back of the seat with the other. I push/bend the support back about 1.5 inches, slightly altering the angle of the bolster outward. I perform the same action on the other side of the seat. Then I readjust the foam around the new angle and pull the upholstery back tight around the bolster and zip everything up.

The result is a seat that fits me perfectly and is quite comfortable now. And the best part, this mod only took me about 20 mins to complete and was absolutely free.

Nice! Any pictures of it? Maybe a comparative before and after picture or side by side of the driver and passenger seats, assuming you only modded the driver seat?

Sure thing.. I took these pics with my phone, but they should suffice. The difference in appearance is subtle, but tremendous in feel. The only way to see the difference is to notice the curve of the red area and the distance of material between the inner stitching of the black flat area of the seat.

The right side image is the driver seat that has been modded. You can see more of the cloth material on the right side as stretched... but not so tight as to be an issue, as the the cloth material stretches easily...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7440/1...20fae31e_o.jpg

It is a little hard to tell but it's easy to see the cloth wrinkling and stretching a bit near the stitching on the bolster. Cheap and easy mods for the win! I'm glad I don't have crazy wide shoulders or anything though.

I noticed the wrinkled fabric as well, but it is a good trade off for the improved comfort for me. If it starts bothering me I may unzip and refill that area with some extra foam/cotton etc... to tighten that area up.

Truth be told, I really like the Clazzio leather seat covers... and may buy them after a long list of other upgrades I have planned for my baby! (I'm really thinking on doing the rear seat delete... just need to find a solution for a reasonable price)

Oh my god.

Thank you.

I can't wait to do this. My 45 minute commute one way has been blowing with those stupid shoulder torture devices. I'm excited about this. Again, thank you!!

Me also !
 

Had the same problem which I solved with a high back obus form. That works well for D.D. but no bolsters when i need them at the track.

Can you give more precise details before I violate the womb of my drivers seat ? My ham fisted efforts usually fuk tings up.:sigh:

:cheers:

If someone near Gastonia, NC would volunteer their car we would have a lightweight rear seat delete kit for about $300.

It's not too hard to perform - essentially just bending the bolster loop back till it is comfortable. The harder part, not really hard though, is getting the fabric pulled back tight - but like I say - not really that hard.

My side bolsters still fit me snug... it was just the shoulder area that was causing the discomfort.

Would you think that without taking the upholstery off that this could be done?

Not terribly uncomfortable for me, but I wouldn't mind a degree or two further back; just would like to avoid opening it up if possible.

Very interested in a DIY with pics

The seat bolsters would not let my shoulders fit properly either; I'm glad there is a relatively easy fix!

More details please...have you posted in the regional NC forum about this need?

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51954


Nope.