Seat compatability

[leftfield6]

Greetings all, new Boxster owner here. Over the weekend I picked up a 1999 Boxster. It has some pluses and some minuses. Don't they all.

The good:

• comes with factory hardtop
• tiptronic just completely rebuilt
• IMS and rear seal addressed while the transmission was out.

The bad:

• needs a general good detailing and a visit from the PDR guy
• 4 tires = 4 different brands and levels of wear. Why do people do this?
• The boxster red seats are absolutely trashed. This is the root of my question.

So, a guy on eBay has a set of boxster red seats that are in much better shape than mine. $649 including shipping. Looks lke a new set of skins from leatherseats.com would run me around 800. Plus I would likely need some foam work on my seats. This might run into some real money quickly.

I'm leaning towards getting the eBay set to swap out, but they are listed as coming out of a 2000 Boxster. Mine is a 99. Anyone know if the bolt holes and/or wiring harnesses are the same?

I can re-purpose my old seats into my old Mitsubishi Mighty Max. I've been considering swapping out the factory bench for a fabricated pair of buckets. Two birds with one stone.
:dance:

[jacabean]

if they are the same set up as what you have they should bolt in easily .

[RedTele58]

I saw the seats on eBay yesterday - they will bolt right up to yours. I don't remember that they had any power options, so it should be a simple swap. Beware of the connections for the airbags. Unplug your battery before you disconnect anything or you will set off the airbag light and have to have them reset.

There is a good guide for swapping seats I've used. I'll try to find it for you.

edit: Here's the link. This shows swapping in GT3 seats, but the electrical connections are the same. The bottom of page 1, page 2 and page 3 are what you need to focus on. Take your time, follow the guide - not that hard to do.

Rennlist Member Gallery :: DIY GT3 Seats Install

Rick

Edit, edit - your plugs will be the same - no worries.

[leftfield6]

Originally Posted by RedTele58

I saw the seats on eBay yesterday - they will bolt right up to yours. I don't remember that they had any power options, so it should be a simple swap. Beware of the connections for the airbags. Unplug your battery before you disconnect anything or you will set off the airbag light and have to have them reset.

There is a good guide for swapping seats I've used. I'll try to find it for you.

My 99 has power seats, and the eBay seats are powered as well. I'm hoping they are the same plugs.

As for the airbag light, well, it's already on. The previous owner installed sheepskins to cover the seat damage, and he admitted to removing the seats to attach the straps underneath the seat. Airbag light came on immediately, and he just never bothered getting it reset.

I pulled the trigger on the eBay seats. The seller dropped the Buy-It-Now price to $550 including shipping, too good a deal to pass up.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by leftfield6

My 99 has power seats, and the eBay seats are powered as well. I'm hoping they are the same plugs.

As for the airbag light, well, it's already on. The previous owner installed sheepskins to cover the seat damage, and he admitted to removing the seats to attach the straps underneath the seat. Airbag light came on immediately, and he just never bothered getting it reset.

Do cars not have to pass a safety inspection before they can be sold/plated? I would have thought an air bag light would prevent a proper safety from being attained? Just curious how it works down south.

[leftfield6]

Originally Posted by Giller

Do cars not have to pass a safety inspection before they can be sold/plated? I would have thought an air bag light would prevent a proper safety from being attained? Just curious how it works down south.

Some states require such an inspection to register and get plates. Virginia is one such state. This car with an airbag light on would not pass inspection there. I'm registering the car in Georgia. Here all I have to do is pass an emissions inspection, which is basically checking for any CEL codes, and doing a visual inspection to see that the cat convertors are still there.

Georgia could not care less about an airbag light. That light will be fixed though, cause it doesn't pass "my inspection". No way I'm okay with a warning light glaring at me.

[RedTele58]

It probably varies from state to state. Here in Oklahoma we don't even have a vehicle inspection program. I am amazed at the junk vehicles that are allowed on the roads. An airbag light wouldn't even get noticed. There is no inspection when a vehicle gets bought/sold.

[thstone]

Here in California all they care about is emissions compliance so a CEL is a big no-no if you're trying to register a vehicle.

If fact, I am surprised that CA hasn't mandated remote satellite reporting of CEL's so they know as soon as you get one and can start sending threatening compliance letters. I'm sure that its coming soon.