Swapping Comfort seats for Sports Seats - rails question

Hi :bye: I have bought a set of hardback sports seats to go in my 2003 Targa, to replace its (partially electric) comfort seats, and have a question re the seat base height and potentially swapping the base frames over. I note from the options label (and also the price list from 2003) that my Targa comes with lower seat bases as standard. I assume this is either a means to partially offset the higher COG caused by all the glass in the roof and/or give the driver more headroom. Lowered seat bases appears to have been an optional extra for other 'regular' 996.2s in 2003. As I like having my seat at its lowest setting, I'm keen to know if this means the sports seats will sit higher at their lowest level and if it easy (ish) to swap the base frame/rails over between the comfort and sports seats? The sports seats might already be on lower bases - is there a way of checking this (a part no. perhaps)? The other reason I am considering swapping the rails is because I'm not sure one of the hydraulic pistons (for the height adjustment) is working on one of the sports seats. Can you swap these pistons over or is it better/easier to swap the whole base/frame over? Am planning to get heated seat elements installed so could be a case of killing two birds with one stone... Infrasilver - I recall you saying you saying you put sports seats in your Targa - did you notice any change in the lowest seat height before and after? Many thanks in advance :thumbs:

Hi, you can swap the bases and backs easy enough, they have a few bolts either torx 45 or splines?? the thing to be aware of is the motors and memory function on the seats, you may need to post a pic of both sets of seats. The rams can sometimes stick, as they don't move a lot once in your preferred position. you may need to lift and lower the seats a few times to see. This might be a pointer that yours may have a height adjustment with an electric motor? a few of us on here have had these seats fully stripped, one thing i see is a lot of the parts can be swapped over. It also looks like the LH/RH parts can be swapped as they arent sided. You could possibly put the hardbacks and outer seat leather onto your original seats

That's really helpful info, thank you. Both sets of seats are only part-electric (electric seat back fore aft and nothing else) so hopefully no compatibility issues there - am hoping it's just 'plug and play'. When I get the seats stripped for seat heating I can hopefully use the best bits from each.

I just straight swapped mine, they were both just basic function seats so didn't need anything doing. One thing I did do was swap the seat backs over, drivers side to passenger side, so that the previous drivers outer bolster was now the inner bolster for the passenger side, they weren't particularly worn but the inner's were obviously better that the outer's.

Thanks that's good to know and a great idea swapping the seat backs over. :thumb: The leather on mine is black so a bit (a lot) easier to treat the wear and cracking - I got some stuff off eBay which did a really good job with minimal effort (before and after pics attached). However it's not just the leather of course, it's the foam underneath so a good idea to even the wear up, as my drivers seat gets most of the use. The passenger side sports seat I have is almost new. The drivers side needs a little TLC on the leather but nothing major.

I was going to do a post on this at some stage. Its quite a rabbit hole you are going down. This is all as I understand it having done this myself. The Targa has the 'XSU' option seat bases as standard. There are also 'XSU' seat backs and centres with different part no.s for heated seats(i don't know if the backs were standard parts on the targa). I believe the non foam parts are the same. I retro fitted these to my C4S as I am tall. These are different foam options and sit lower and further back into the seat. The leather coverings will not fit properly after this and need to be picked apart and resown by an expert.

The difference in foams is quite subtle but it produces quite a marked change in seating position. Part no.s for sport back seats with heating. 99652153505 99652153900 99652152501 You sit lower and deeper in the seat, more in rather than on the seat base. This has the effect of making the seat back longer. You also sit further into the seat back with the feeling of more side support lower down. This has the effect of making the seat cushion seem a lottle longer. I always had the feeling that the seatback came across my shoulder blades and pushed me forward so my head was quite a distance from the head rest. Now as my shoulder blade sit further back and a little lower, with the thicker headrest it is much closer. Cost wise it was About 750GBP for the foams and 750GBP labour to take apart all the stitching pull tight and resew. They did this using all the original top holes and pulling the leather underneath. The leather around the headrest is very tight. so much so that the embossed badge is less noticeable. Would I do it again, yes absolutely. The wife thinks its better and my Porsche friend can not believe what a difference its made.

Just for information today I took a picture of what I did with my heated seat button. There is not a lot of space behind this panel and I wished the switches were oval to match the rest of the interior but as you don't see them there it doesn't really matter.

mine that i did were pretty much the same location, they heat up very well definitely exceeded my expectations!

PR7nDFuRT6ija3glzsC6Uw by Nick Goodess , on Flickr

It looks like we used the same kits :thumb:

Drac - really interesting and informative posts on the lower seats, thank you Until now, I didn't realise how Porsche effected the XSU option - I had previously assumed it was by way of an adapted seat frame and/or runners, now I know it's the foams they used. The comfort seats in mine are super comfortable and supportive, particularly the bases. When I had a C4S with comfort seats I could not get comfortable - it felt I couldn't sit far enough back. I had thought it was due to full electric adjustment and or perhaps the ruffled leather. The options list (excerpt attached) shows the XSU option provides deeper bases and taller seat backs, but your excellent description and photos show it is more than just those two things. I might be able to get away with keeping my comfort seat bases and adding the sports seats back rests to them - we will see. I don't really have the appetite to drop £1500 on them right now, especially after forking out for the PCCM Plus recently... Your seats look absolutely beautiful though - both before and after - so it's money well spent - I love the colour combination :thumb:

Infrasilver and NickyG - thanks for posting your heated seat switch locations - great minds clearly think alike :thumbs: From my research, I think that type of switch is pretty generic and I've seen it used with the Waeco kits and others. There are quite a few different heated seat kits on eBay and Amazon and I was going crazy reading the reviews (they go from 5* excellent to 1* and it will cause your car to catch fire!!!). This was one of the reasons I was thinking of going down the Waeco route. NickyG - if you can remember the kit you bought or share the eBay link that would be very helpful but no prob if not Finally, I agree it's a shame the switches aren't oval like the other 996 switches - I was thinking of installing my switches in the centre tunnel (where the rear electric window switches are in the cabs (or seat heaters in 986s) but the coupes and Targas have blank switches instead. I was thinking of either: drilling a circular hole in the blank switches and fitting the round switch in the gap; or fabricating an oval surround to the round switch and then fit it in the oval hole. The upsides of that would be no new holes, putting two blank switches to use and that I could see and control the passenger seat heating. Nice idea in principle but would probably look 'challenging' in practice...

i just searched Waeco and found them on ebay? The 996 heated seat switches are quite complex as they also have twin settings and need a control unit to operate. fitting the switches in the centre is do-able but means feeding wiring into the area. the only real option for me was to fit them there and everything lifts out easier. i did consider hiding them in the cubby in the armrest, also thought about the factory location on the batwing. I originally wired them into the main seat power, they are more than up to the job. however i wouldn't have the seats on full and adjust the back rest just so i didnt overload the circuit. I had to look at my old ohms law/ watts triangle to work out the power, even then we were no where near the fuse rating. The only issue was that its permanent live and i left mine on and it drained the battery to the point it was unrecoverable!! if you are going to give them a go, order a hog ring kit and take your time. the centre back rest and the base are heated and the waeco carbon elements can be cut as long as you dont cut the strips along the edge. These work very well and are on a par with genuine ones, the porsche ones are a copper wire element and use more amps. here you see the area where the backrest element goes oQoXs2aHTs6700ds0aycpg by Nick Goodess , on Flickr hog ring and pliers in action: 8AD5uPF2T020DXa5yE3IUA by Nick Goodess , on Flickr feed the base element into the shapes of teh seat base: Av4ETYZDRhKEubKgDzVBjQ by Nick Goodess , on Flickr dont cut the edge of the element, the centre areas are fine: xmHtjn0gTVSOtfrOva0wUA by Nick Goodess , on Flickr dont get worried that you might see your seats like this: 56752039516__C518972F-98B9-4F78-8FC6-DEA2004CB1C4 by Nick Goodess , on Flickr The cats are interested in my efforts: BB660C88-D984-4722-A3E0-042B4EF9D70C by Nick Goodess , on Flickr

Thanks Nicky - really helpful instructions and pictures. Good advice also about the switches: I will probably end up keeping it simple and wiring it as you and Infrasilver have done. As regards the elements themselves, I think I have got myself confused: I thought you had bought non-branded heated seat elements off eBay, not Waeco ones. As you rate yours highly, I was therefore keen to know if you could remember what type they are. One of the things I've read from reviews about Waeco kits is they can take a while to heat up, and you say yours heat up quickly. However, when using Amazon in particular, I do appreciate that there are lies, damn lies and online reviews..! On Amazon, there are a glut of element kits from China that use the same switches as yours and Infrasilver's (so either they are a generic part or the manufacturer has copied them). Thanks again