okie08vette

I found some high density foam at a furniture shop and though I could just put more foam in with JW's rebuilt kit but when I got into it the additional foam would not work. Just get the rebuild kit and it will make a huge difference. The jute pad is a must it stops the form from getting cut into by the springs. This kit makes a huge difference.

jamier2

Ordered a pair. I'll have my interior out to do some insulation and stuff, might as well get this done too.

cheakster

Replacing seat leather, just noticed the bolster "tears" starting
...orders up!

Thanks!

CHUXDRM

Both of my outside bolters (driver and passenger) are flat and showing wrinkles, thinking of getting your repair kit. If I do need to replace original foam, do you also provide that?

JW Motorsports

Sorry we do not. Those you can find at any of the GM suppliers on here or your local dealer.

CHUXDRM

Thanks. I think I'll start by ordering your kits, then see what I get into when I get them apart.

Purdue

How much are the seat cushions? Need one for passenger seat (I have heated seats). My seat has a deep impression and its very uncomfortable to sit on.

Do you have any of the kits in stock?

Purdue

Order placed!

Also, thanks to Mike W. at GmPartsDirect.com for helping me with my seat pad order.

RussM05

I had the same experience until I installed the seat kit.

The center section sagged so much, it pinched my hips something awful. I was in pain after only 15 minutes. I thought, what the he!! is the matter with the seat?

Then I did some research here on the forum and saw a lot of guys had installed the kit and it fixed not only the sagging in the middle, but also returned the outside bolsters to their originally position. When I pulled the seat apart, I was shocked when I removed the foam and saw how torn up the bolster was. The center wires had sliced into the foam and bolster foam has nothing to support it from below. The bolster was torn where it sat on the seat frame. What a terrible design by GM/Lear! There is a big gap between the seat frame and the center support wires.

Everytime I take a trip in my car, I thank the guy who came up with the kit. Brilliant idea and cheap, too.

JW Motorsports

These make great gifts! In stock ready to ship to you fast.

gsflyer2011

The stitching was coming loose on my driver seat buttom at only 2000 miles. I took the seat off and took it to the dealer (I did not want them stratching the door panels and sills) and the replacement after the fact looked horrible. They said it will fill in with time. Yeah, right!. It was loose ill fitting and flat. I played around with it for few hours and brought it to almost 80% but still not happy with it. I hope this kit will fill it out a bit so I am going to take a chance and order one right now.

JCtx

So another POS design that would have cost $0.50 for GM to fix. And not even fixed it on 2012s? Geez; unbelievable. Anyway, own a '12 GS here with the alcantara inserts (3K miles so far), and was wondering if this issue is more prevalent with heavier folks. I'm only 160#, and the CE doesn't have any leather (at least all bolsters are vinyl, which might be actually good, since Vette's leather is crap anyway), meaning vinyl deforms less. I don't want to tear my new car apart now, but already bookmarked this thread since I use my seat all the way down, and feels somewhat hard. I'm afraid the seat bottom won't look like factory once I mess with it. Just like GSflyer, I had another car's seat cushion taken apart due to a malfunctioning airbag sensor, and looked like crap afterwards, even after summoning a professional upholstery shop. Seems like the Vette seat cushion is easier to deal with. Have a good one.

Purdue

I ordered the parts to fix my seat (hope to get to it this week) a few weeks ago.

Don't think weight has anything to do with it. I weigh 170lbs and my seat looks like the damn invisible man is sitting in it. I've driven it once in the past 3 weeks because it so uncomfortable. I just need to find out how much of a pain it will be to deal with the heat seater pad once the seat is taken apart.

RussM05

The seat heater pad is glued to the top of the foam. The leather seat bottom skin is velcro'd to the foam. If you try to separate the leather skin from the foam, you may tear the foam, so don't try it. You don't mess with the heaters at all other than unplugging it from the wiring harness.

The detailed instructions with photos are included with the kit and once you start the project you see how it goes comes apart. Pretty straight forward. Some of the best instructions I've ever seen. Nothing to be scared about.

All the C6 seats from 2005- 2013 are the same except there is a little more foam on the bolsters on the 2013 seats. They did not address the center wires cutting the foam nor the lack of support under the bolsters. They look nicer...and they are...but the support structure is the same. Eventually, the bolsters foam will tear and the bolsters will flatten out. And the center area will droop and look baggy.

CO Lightfoot

Seat removal & disassembly video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=oF7ZpMP_4CQ

The most difficult part for me was removing the recline lever. Some tips:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-p...r-removal.html

gsflyer2011

Browsing the forum under this subject I learned one more tip that I'd like to share with you all. The seat frame edges are very sharp and abrasive and over time they will again possibly cut into the foam cushion, especially on the drivers exit side. Some people have used a plastic tubing, splited it, installed it over the sharp edges. I personally found that the tubing made the area too large (the smallest tubing I had that would fit) which may alter the shape of the seat cushion as I did not want the area too built up. Than the cushion will not slide all the way down or sit kind of funny. Playing with lot of materials and foams I had, I finally settled on a 3/4 inch two sided tape (left the top protective film on) than for additional strength and security I put a layer of duct tape on it. It looks great and feels solid. The two sided tape provides just the right amount of give and build up, and additionally secured with the duct tape it will never move or stick to the cushion in the future. I really think this mod will eliminate any chance of foam being cut by the seat frame ever. Why the heck not I thought, I have the seat apart, I might as well do it.

10 days now...still waiting for the new seat cushion, the cover and the heat pad from the dealer under warranty....

JCtx

Was surprised to see that the leatherseats.com video didn't address the problem this thread is all about. Have a few installation questions:

- Has anybody done this to his 2012 seats yet? Don't want to deal with replacing the foam, so thinking of doing this as a preventive measure, now that I have a little over 3K miles.

- With no damaged foam (or very little), I was thinking of just attaching the jute to the frame and call it a day. Or is the nylon needed too? If so, it can also be attached under the jute, right? Don't want to mess with gluing anything, nor do I feel there's a need for that. Plus if we want the springs not to damage the jute over time as well, the nylon has to go at the very bottom IMO. Comments welcome.

- Is there a need to add any foam to the 2012 seats? Besides being relatively light (160#), I always lever myself in and out of the seats, so I won't wear the bolsters down over time. And I don't want them any firmer than they already are, since they're borderline uncomfortable against my left thigh when my foot rests on the dead pedal.

- Is there a better way to remove the reclining lever than what the video shows yanking on the lever outward to push the clip down? Somebody mentioned a 'crochet' needle (I have a pick slimmer than that), but how the heck do you pull the clip since you'd have to turn the pick to grab the clip? We'd probably break the thin plastic next to the slot to slide the clip, no? Clip is rather close, so no space to pull it before the pick touches the plastic.

- Is there an easier way to pull the yellow connector that the guy in the video pushes the seat against the seat console to remove it? I'd prefer not to recline the seat against the console at all if possible.

- Finally, can zip ties apply the same pressure as those 'hog rings'? Maybe that's why the cushions don't look factory after reinstallation???

Thanks gang.

gsflyer2011

I personally cannot answer questions 1-3 but for the rest;

4-Removing the reclining lever is not that hard, hold a flashlight to the slit, you will see the one edge of the retaining clip (on either side) and push that out with a very thin bladed instrument (I used a thin stake knife with a sharp point..) to pop the clip off. You do have to wiggle the handle as it is a tight fit. But comes off with no damage.

5-Make sure you first put the seat all the way up before taking out the bolts. Still there is no room under there to remove the connectors without pulling the seat off the bolts and tilting it towards the console as much as you need to but it does not damage the console as the side of the seat is heavily bolstered. I have now removed the driver seat 2 times, I do not even have to take the roof off for it. Make sure you protect the door sill and the plastic trim around the carpets with lot of towels or an big old thick comforter in my case.

6-In my humble opinion, the zip ties apply better pressure as you can make them tighter and more secure. With Hog rings there is always going to be some slack. Also zip ties will not cut/chew into the material or the foam like the rings. Thicker material and more surface contact area and less movement. The ones supplied with the kit and what I like using is the 8 inch double lock cable zip ties. Nice and strong.

I also just removed the airbag fuse, not the battery cable, but one must wait at least 60 seconds after either method as the bags are designed to retain power for that long in the case of an accident.

Good luck JC!

joec

In post # 98 that video clearly shows them adding the jute pad towards the end... I'm gonna order up a couple of sets but won't do it till the spring time... To cold to freeze my a$$ off so they'll stay until then.. I also have to order some a new seat bottom and middle seat back as I got them really dirty from doing work at my sons house the last 9 months... Anyone ever buy them from GM??

thanks,
/jc

NevadaVette

You might want to consider selling a light weight hog ring kit consisting of the pliers and a supply of hog rings. There are light use consumer models that can be sold at a profit for around $10.