986 Seats / Alternatives

[Hamstuh]

Hello all, Im hoping someone has any insight towards seat alternatives that might be COMFORTABLE. I know there are many forums that have thrown 987 and 996 seats to be good replacements too though to be honest I want to see if anyone has ever done a complete 3rd party seat thats good for daily driving. My seats arent stiff however the bumps on the seat cushions arent ideal for my driving to work everyday and sometimes leave me a bit sore.

I did see these on amazon that generally LOOK ok. they are just seat covers to go on top without tearing the seats down, has anyone actually bought these before and or can vouch ?



Id rather not spent a grand on replacements if need be. If anyone also knows any sites that have a large variety of seats compatible with our cars thatd be great too. For those that HAVE gone the route of none OE seats, feel free to show pictures here too

[KevinH1990]

I recently completed the installation of 997 adaptive sports seats in my 986. I think they are slightly more comfortable than the 986 seats. I don't think the improved comfort justifies the time, energy and money I invested in the swap.

Prior to the 997-seat swap, I installed full-power seats from a 996 in the car. These seats have motors that tilt the front and rear of the seat bottom. This made it easier to adjust the angle of the seat bottom while I was driving. This changed the pressure points and made long drives slightly more tolerable because I could vary my seating position. Please note that the 996 and 986 seats are identical. If you install a full-power seat from a 986 in your car it will feel the same as a full-power 996 seat.

If I had kept my 996 seats, I would have taken them to an upholstery shop and had them install some additional foam in the seat-bottom cushion. I did this on the driver's seat in a Mercedes when I had a seat heater pad replaced, and it was helpful. If I recall correctly, the shop only charged about $125 for the work. The seats in your car are 20-25 years old and the foam has likely deteriorated a bit. Refreshing the foam may mitigate your discomfort. I think it will look more OEM than the seat covers and cost less.

Good luck with whatever you decision you make.

[Hamstuh]

Originally Posted by KevinH1990

I recently completed the installation of 997 adaptive sports seats in my 986. I think they are slightly more comfortable than the 986 seats. I don't think the improved comfort justifies the time, energy and money I invested in the swap.

Prior to the 997-seat swap, I installed full-power seats from a 996 in the car. These seats have motors that tilt the front and rear of the seat bottom. This made it easier to adjust the angle of the seat bottom while I was driving. This changed the pressure points and made long drives slightly more tolerable because I could vary my seating position. Please note that the 996 and 986 seats are identical. If you install a full-power seat from a 986 in your car it will feel the same as a full-power 996 seat.

If I had kept my 996 seats, I would have taken them to an upholstery shop and had them install some additional foam in the seat-bottom cushion. I did this on the driver's seat in a Mercedes when I had a seat heater pad replaced, and it was helpful. If I recall correctly, the shop only charged about $125 for the work. The seats in your car are 20-25 years old and the foam has likely deteriorated a bit. Refreshing the foam may mitigate your discomfort. I think it will look more OEM than the seat covers and cost less.

Good luck with whatever you decision you make.

Thanks for the helpful tips! I might look into some 996 seats. More adjustability is definitely what I am hoping for. Ill also look into upholstery shops nearby if there are any. Ive never had that kind of work done before so thatd be a really nice and cheaper alternative.

[KevinH1990]

If you decide to install full-power seats, you will need to adapt them to your car. I uploaded the instructions for adapting the seats to this thread on Rennlist: https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-and-boxster-s-986-forum/915206-upgrading-two-way-power-seats.html

The file is too large to upload to the 986 Forum. If you cannot download the file from Rennlist, send me a private message with your email address and I will forward the document to you.

It is more likely that you will find a set of full power seats that have been removed from a 996. The 996's are more expensive cars and 996 buyers probably chose to have upgraded seats more often than 986 buyers. The full power seats were available in the 986, but many buyers may have been on a budget and didn't want to spend extra.

I have attached pictures of the seats in my Mercedes. It may require a close look, but you should be able to see that the base of the driver's seat has a slightly more rounded appearance than the passenger seat due to the extra foam the upholstery shop added.