As I continue to go down the rabbit hole of weight reduction/track-inspired modifications... bucket seats were next up on the list.
With a budget of $1,000 shipped for a pair of seats and hardware to mount them, I started my search. Ideally, that price would include sliders because other people drive my car and a fixed seat would be inconvenient. I didn’t want fancy, reclining seats because I'm doing this to save weight. I was tempted to go with a pair of cheap NRG seats from eBay, but decided against it. Buying the cheapest possible safety equipment doesn't seem like a good idea.
That's when I stumbled on Corbeau's website and found some attractive, affordable options. I narrowed it down to their FX1 Pro seats for $339 each and E92 (E8X/E9X) brackets with sliders for $119 each. Quality, name brand stuff totaling up to $916, just within my budget!
A few days later and I had a package waiting at home.
Out with the old...
Seat installed on bracket and buckle swapped over...
All done!
I will admit, these seats are pretty comfortable for being a race seat. If I were taking the car on a cross-country road trip, I’d prefer the stock seats… but when will I be taking this car on a cross-country road trip? I’m much happier that my body isn’t flopping around when I’m ripping around the track!
I ordered a pair of 8″ seatbelt extenders so I could snake the belt through the seat. This allows me to buckle up within the seat instead of over the top of the seat.
Surprisingly, the stock seats weigh a massive 59.6 lbs! For comparison, the FX1 Pro and bracket weigh 27.4 lbs. That’s a difference of 32.2 lbs, bringing the total weight loss to 64.4 lbs for the front seats. I’ll take it! I also previously removed the rear seats, which saved about 55 lbs.
Next up; a carbon fiber sunroof delete and carbon fiber door panels!
Oh wait... airbag lights...
I used the ProTool app by BimmerGeeks to get rid of these error codes. Simply connect an Android tablet to your car with a K+DCAN cable and OTG adapter, open up ProTools and go to work!
Under the “Safety” section > MRS – Airbag > Coding > Standard, we must deactivate the following options.
- Seat Mat Sensor (OC3_1)
- Driver Seat Position Sensor (SPSF_1_CD)
- Left-Side Airbag (SIDEBAG_LINKS_1)
- Passenger Seat Position Sensor (SPSBF_1)
- Right-Side Airbag (SIDEBAG_RECHTS_1)
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