The old 996 "seat swap" 997 challenge....and it's mysteries!

Hi, I am aware that this has been done/documented before but I never really found a 100% clear yes/no or how-to-install when it comes to fitment and installing more recent OEM seats in a 996. I am looking for a nice replacement for my current stock 996 Turbo "comfort" seats, which I find pretty uncomfortable on longer drives. Would like to be seated a little bit lower and the bolsters could be a little wider for my frame, so my back would be more IN the seat iso against the bolsters. My current seats (see below) have heating, memory and two electric buttons: one for up-down and front-back, and one button to recline but no lumbar: I don't want to run in to fitment problems or other snags with frames, or having to fabricate a lot of metal/wiring if not needed, that is why I am giving OEM a try first. As much plug and play as possible is the main goal, I could always look at aftermarket later on but suspect more complications as per my lengthy research..... The first option is advertised as a " 996 GT3/Turbo seat, not sure if that is even a correct description? Controls: The second seat I am interested in is advertised as a 997 Turbo seat: Which of these two seats would be the most straightforward and uncomplicated swap with my car, based on work required to get all the electric controls to function without any issues? To retain heated seats would be great, memory as well but not paramount. Any mods needed for brackets, runners etc? Thanks for chiming in, looking to hear from those who went the same route!

they are both a direct swap but the 996 Turbo seat is easier to do 997 generation seats is where Porsche discovered multi way adjustment Whilst they are a straight fit, the electronics need some tinkering. If you have the full beans 997 seats with memory, heat, lumbar, etc. the electronics are a major obstacle. None of the plugs of the 996 match the 997. Plus the 997 has an air bag so you have to be sure not to include it in any live wiring or best remove it. I would suggest a set of Heated 996 WING BACK Sports Seats with lumber support

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from the interweb https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/782177-997-seats-in-a-996-a-2.html#post18420852 So dporto started this all for me 3 years ago. Been looking to swap from the gray lounge chairs to Recaro Sportster, 996 sport or 997 sport. dporto made the swap and posted how he did what so many of us wished we could. I just couldnt quite wrap my head around the slickest way to do the wiring. I have a simple 2-way seat, so I figured I could do this without frying stuff. Absolutely no way Id consider doing a power seat swap. Makes me pucker just thinking of how that adventure to Futilityville would end: Large garage fire, divorce, institutional care. Oh, and I needed to find a seat set. I like the looks of the 997 sport seats. Really like them. But I worried the newer Recaro style would be, well, too modern looking for a relatively spartan 996 interior. The 996 sport seats look ok, but guessed theyd be too much like the comfort seat padding with some wings. The newer Recaros are very nice as well. Lots of $$$ these days. Turned out I found some black 997 manual sports from a wrecked Cayman. The only difference from 997 to 987 is the seat back control button. And the price was wicked good. The light bulb went on for me when I saw the 997 seat connector and Petza914 posted a photo of the pin layout for the power and ground in another thread. Easy! dporto really did a great service for me with his posts. The hard part for me was determining wire gauge and how I was going to locate and wire the seat in my car. Im only hitting highlights for my 2-way install and adding some part numbers to add to the plethora of previous posts on the interweb to help the next person spend less time staring at stuff, like I did. And again, huge props to dporto and the brave few whove accomplished this. The pictures should be very helpful for the next person. Part numbers are found in the captions. I cannibalized the 996 seat connector. Slide out the airbag wire then twist and remove the connector from the 996 seat bottom and clip the power and ground wires to your desired length, leaving pins in place. Or, you can order the 996 connector shells, the little covers and pins to make a new set for the 997 seats (easiest). Making two jumper sets, like I have in picture #4 is simple and would cost $40 shipped from AutoAtlanta, is the boss solution for any manual 996 to 997 swap. I kept the driver 997 belt and tied it to bottom of seat. Youll understand why when you see that connector. The brown ground is always at the top, closest to the bottom of the seat. Reuse the 996 belt receivers. No need to worry about seat bags. Zero electrical connection. I like the hook ends on the seat back buttons. But, those are pretty simple to change, if you want. If you can find the parts and make the connector look just like mine, before you touch a wrench, I could see this whole swap taking no more than 3 hours. Worth all the effort! I used an Extend-a-Seat with the 996 chairs. Not needed anymore. The seat is lower, but more supportive. The backrest shell color is a darn good match for Seal Gray. I also replaced the back seat cushions with some black leather ones. No more sea of gray! 1. Brown ground is top bullet pin 2. Pin (x4) 99965257122, Connector box (x2) 99965018040 A. Connector at end of belt/bag wires. B. This cover is a pry-n-slide in direction of yellow arrows. Lid (x2) 99965296040 C. Mount for seat connector is same for 997, just different color. A. Airbag/belt wire connector easily slides out laterally. No pin keepers to find. B. There may be a couple of spots you might try to mount a second connector. All depends on how you decide to configure. This is all you need for a 2-way seat. Brown ground connects to yellow 997 connector at 9 marked above the spade connector housing. The red power is on lower row at 4 position. 997 seat connector mounting bracket. Insert on diagonal and twist. I left additional length of wires to allow room for twistingeasier to remove later without ripping out my work. 997 mount plate blue, 996 gray A. Seat adjust handle side. B. I tied the driver 997 connector under the seat, with the seat belt (bagged). Plenty of room. C. Driver seat/bag wire (997) runs into an evil tangle of wires and pins. From this: To this:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/box_997_seats/box_997_seats.htm

I recently changed my " comfort " seats in my 996 to a pair of Boxster 986 Boxster winged sports seats and the difference is night and day. More lateral support, firmer as they are from a 2004 car and my 996 is a 99. Most importantly was how low i now sit. Straight swap apart from changing the position of a pin in the elec box.

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So the 996 Sport Seats would be a direct swap, without having to tinker with electronics/connectors etc, basically plug and play?

@poppopbangbang has Boxster / cayman seats in his 996. What is the difference between normal and sports 996 seats? I have a 996.2 with fore / aft adjustment on a manual lever and the backrest is electronic. They are hardback. What do I have? I find them reasonable for comfort and lateral support but find they induce a bit of ache at the sides - lower ribs even when not pushing on!

Only one of the black side levers does anything (backrest angle)

997 seats all day long, one of the best upgrades you can do in a 996

I went for 997 full electric ones. I cheated and swapped the drivers seat switch for a land rover one which does not need an ecu. The standard 997 full electric one has a module/ecu that is tedious to sort. It can be done though. Changing the switch and removing the air bag was a doddle. Looks pretty much oe and all the seat adjustment works.

I followed the Rennlist instructions for my 997 seats, the simpler 2 way adjustable ones. Pretty simple electrics and the seats are so much better than the 996 ones. The only issue is that the heated seat elements are NOT an easy swap. I've not yet wired them back in but I've not really missed them over the winter, mainly as the car has been in the garage more than being on the road!

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It's pretty straight forwards when you get into it, I've got my 997 ones heated on the OE switchgear. Just need to remove the relay/ loom off the 996 seats and transfer onto the 997. I've done just under 900 miles over the weekend and they were on most of the time, most welcome haha

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Hi guys, will use either 986 or 996 Sport seats to replace my current 996 Comfort seats. I decided to go the same route as Skoosh did, found some clean 986 Sport seats. My current 996 Comfort seats have heating, memory and two electric levers: one for up-down/front-back, and one lever to recline but no lumbar. The Boxster Sportseats I found also have heating and two levers and one handle in the front: the handle seems to operate front/back over the sliders. Is one electric lever for reclining the seat back and the other lever for up/down travel? If these two seat types are the same as in Skoosh's swap, is that a straightforward plug and play or is there still (electric/wiring) tinkering to be done? Hope to hear from you, many thanks!!!

Isnt the vertical lever electric for seat back tilt and the horizontal one merely a lever to manually adjust the base height/ angle..? Mine's the same. Nice seats by the way.