My stock 996 seats

Hi: I am new to this forum and I can not begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed this forum. Your advice has already saved me lots of money and helped deal with issues regarding my 996. I love this car but ............................; the stock seats for some reason are not very comfortable. Does anyone know how to make these seats more comfortable? I have the seat heaters and the inflatable lumbar support. Again, the inflatable lumbar support actually hurts more than provide comfort. I am planning a Seattle - San Diego road trip with "Priscilla Porsche" and would very much like to improve the seat comfort. Any suggestions will be appreciated. J.C. 2001 Cabriolet P.S. Yes, it's weird but I have always named all my Porsche's. Currently Priscilla Porsche resides along with Polly Porsche in my garage.

Post Pictures of your Seat, then we can help

hey J.C. I'm in Bellevue - as zookie said, post some pics of the seat maybe some basice idea of your size too. (i mean a 150lb 5'5" will yield differant suggestions than a 6'6" 220) as a suggestion have you sat in any other cars and compared to see if there is actually something wrong, a differant seat available (I know Jon in Sammamish has a set of sport seats for sale) and or are there otional seats (ie non-oem) that give you what you need/want/are looking for What color too... IIRC Jon's are grey

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Indeed. I find a GT3 seat very comfortable - but not everyone does.

J.C, 996 had 3 Seat Options:- 1) Comfort Seats, these were standard on Carrera and Boxster and could be optioned with Power, Lumbar, Heat and Lower Height, along a few more Cosmetic Options 2) Sport Seats (many people call these "GT3" seats but they are miss-imformed), these were an Option on Carrera and Boxster and could be optioned same as Comfort Seats. 3) Club Sport Seats AKA GT3 or GT2 Seats, these were Fixed Race Seats in Leather or Nomex. From the sounds if it i think you have the Optional Sport Seats which by many i have been told not Comfortable. You can swap yours out for Normal Comfort Seats... Since Sport Seats are worth more than Comfort seats you can sell yours and Score some Comfort Seats off Ebay or Here for Less and go party with the rest of the Cash...

Had the high shoulder bolstered Sports Seats in my '99 cab for 8 years. Most comfortable seats for my 6' 190# frame ever. The standard seats in wife's Boxster are not bad either. Both much more comfortable than the ones in wife's RX400h Lexus. She, 5'3" slim, agrees as well.

I have heard some complain that the lower lumbar is not good on the Euro's - I didnt find that a problem and my new Sparco EVO's are about the same - I have done some shopping and see for about $20 I can buy lumbar pads and side pads.... might play with a set and fine tune the feel - or get a roll of velcro

As Ed stated I have a set of black w silver stitching heated sport seats for sale in seattle that would be easy to swap out :-)

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Jon: Apparently, I have the standard comfort seats with the heater and the power seat electronics. What are you asking for the sport seats? Do these sport seats have the same electronics as my comfort seats? ................ ie; seat heaters, etc. Many thanks; J.C.

keep in mind if you buy Jon's seats you can sell your old seats to help offset the costs - some people like standard seats

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Thank you for your suggestion. As a matter of fact, I had an inflatable "back saver" in my garage. After an extensive search, I found the darned thing and guess what?? ......................... it works very well. Although it provides tremendous relief for my aching back, it just looks awful. I will use this inflatable lumbar support for the time being, but I am still looking for a more permanent suitable solution. J.C. ..................

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Thank you for your prompt response and your willingness to help me out. Apparently I do have the original "comfort seats". The so called "comfort seats" are not all that comfortable. Eventually, I would like to take "Priscilla Porsche" to the track and I would like to not only improve seat comfort but also find a seat with lateral support as well . I race Formula Fords and my seat is literally molded to my back side. It would be very uncomfortable on a long road trip, however. The Club Sport seats seem to be the one offering the most lateral support but can anyone provide a comment or review in terms of comfort on a long trip. Thank you for your post, images and suggestions. J.C.

PERK - track... I heard that so get hooked up with PCA and PNWR PCA - also register thru motorsportsreg for local days at Pacific (Kent) and Bremerton - this is a great way to have a great time with Priscilla Fed 12th is a skills day - lots of fun - cheap as h&ll !!

Anything other than the "comfort" seats will be discomforting for a long drive. I'm 6'2", 230 lbs, (born in '40) and have driven our '01 R/awd 996 to the east coast and back twice. I Have never had any real complaints about the seats. I do find that I use the seat electrics to change my position from time to time on a longish drive. I'm quite certain that either the sport seats or the "GT3" seats would be super satisfactory for a few trips around Pacific Raceway but to positionally restrictive for long drives, >500 mile/day.

The sport seats I have should be plug and play.. they are fully electric and heated. I've been asking $2000 but they havn't sold locally, some people have been wanting me to ship, but thats a pain I dont want to deal with. I'll let them go for $1750. They are in like brand new condition and were taken out at purchase and replaced with the GT3 euros.

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YES!!! I am looking forward to the PCA track days. Previously my Porsche Speedster "wanna be", ......... Polly, did not qualify for the PCA events. "Polly" was crushed!! I took her home and after a 5w50 Mobil One oil change. .................. she felt much better. BTW, "Polly" is much faster than the PCA acceptable 356 types; .... much, much, faster. 2100 cc's make regular 356's seem like being tied to a stump; ............ another non scientific measure of speed. I am currently racing Formula Fords in Conference and I am wondering what it would like to drive a car with fenders around the track. I have never experience racing in the rain at 130 MPH with the luxury of being able to see where I was going. Although I do not anticipate to go as fast as in my Formula Ford, "Priscilla", I am sure, will enjoy it tremendously. Perhaps once I join PCA with "Priscilla" they will allow "Polly" make a "guest appearance" ................... who knows?!! I apologize from being ............ but I still would like to keep my *** from sliding in my 996 seats. J.C. P.S. I will be in Hong Kong or Beijing on Feb. 12th. Here is "Priscilla's" little sister ....... "Polly".

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I am interested. Would it be possible to come and look at them? Where are you located? J.C.

absolutely, Im in Sammamish WA 98075 If you PM me your email I will send some pics.

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Thank you for the advice. You guys are great!!! The sport seats would be a good compromise. I am 6' 2" and 190 lbs. Driving the Pacific Highway to California in my P-car will be fun and the extent of my "road trips" . Traveling to the East Coast and back, ........... TWICE!!! , ....... makes you a better man than I am. I would need a cesarean procedure to remove my "comfort seat" from my backside. IMO; ....................... that's why God invented jets, First Class seats and in flight cocktails. J.C.

I dont think he can PM till he hits 10 posts ? maybe ? so yack it up BTW Polly is drop dead gorgeous !!!

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Jon: I sent you a PM. J.C.

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Thanks. Don't you guys name your Porsches? J.C.

Same here. I went from standard comfort seats with soft leather and full power to the sports seats and find them more supportive... Also my car is named Lorelei....(all my pcar have had names as well Heidi and Gretchen).

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is Carerra taken I did get a second hane wheel barrow once from an older lady. She said it's name has "Henry" I still have that old wheel barrow, and still call it Henry....

I had the "sport seats" in my boxster. i'm about 6' but "husky" and I found those dang shoulder bolsters would cut into me and did't really feel all that more supportive to me than the regular seats. As to why some call them GT3 seats, they were, in the US the standard seat in the 996GT3. If track driving is your ultimate desire, the sport seats don't do nearly as good a job as full on GT3 style seats. Also, the GT3 seats will support the use of a harness.. None of the other seats do.

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Replied..... And my car has a name,,,,, "the 996" :-)

>>Also my car is named Lorelei....(all my pcar have had names as well Heidi and Gretchen)<< LORELEI ??? ................... WAIT A MINUTE!!! I thought the protocol was to issue names to our Porsches all begining with the letter "P" My old 914 was named ........... "Pain In The ***". J.C.

>>If track driving is your ultimate desire, the sport seats don't do nearly as good a job as full on GT3 style seats. Also, the GT3 seats will support the use of a harness.. None of the other seats do.<< Track driving is not my ultimate desire. I want to be comfortable driving my P-car in both, on the track and on our 60 MPH world. I am fortunate enough to afford to race competitively 12 times a year. I am a firm believer that all of us who own Porsche's, or Subarus, should bring out their cars to the track and learn how to drive our cars, ....... the way they were designed to be driven. I feel very strongly that driving on a track in a controlled environment, we will all become better and safer drivers. Take my word, drive your P-car on a track and you will maximize the pleasure of ownership of one the finest automobiles ever built. ................................ it's like having sex without the happy ending!! J.C.

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............................. just thought of something. Would you like to trade your "sport seats" for my "comfort seats"? My "comfort seats" are black and they are almost brand new. You are absolutely correct in regards to the ability to use a harness. Being able to wear a shoulder harness is very important to me. J.C.

i believe sports seat are not fully electric?only partial,and if they are heated thats kind of a rare option,anyway they are amazing ,had mine painted as well,enjoy