Questions About Recaro Sportster CS Seats

[Obioban]

Unlikely you’ll be able to hook them up to the oe seat heater wiring— The factory seat heater pad has an integrated thermistor that the control strip expect to see. That’s why I used factory BMW seat heater pads.

[Checkabs]

Hey guys - I need some help with wiring up the AMX heated seat elements on Recaro Sportsters.

Has anyone done it? If so, can you share some pictures or insight?

i just finished installing the BK mounts on the oem sliders and used an e30 window switch to power the seats. Now I’m working on figuring out the wiring from AMX’s heat elements.

They come with 3 exposed wires for slot 23,24,25 - green, blue, brown. I wired them up and the oem heat button lights up for 1-2 seconds and then goes away. The driver side ( Sparco seat currently )just flickers on / off because no wiring is connected on that side yet.

[Gt4]

Finally bought 2 Recaro Sportster CS yesterday, can’t wait to get them!

[usdmej]

Hindsight I would’ve gotten the BK floor mounts.

BK mounts have a decent amount of height built into them. if being low is your ultimate preference, the swiss cheese style floor mounts (VAC, MS) will put you right on the floor. when i had them, even after adding recaro sliders, at 5'10 i sat almost uncomfortably low in the car.

[JeST]

Recaro sportsters cs’s here. Recaro sliders and wedge floor mounts. I’m 5’10 with. 52” chest and my upper back barely squeezes in between the shoulders of the seat. Waist size is a 34 and I fit my lower body in just fine.

I’m kind of regretting the wedge floor mounts because In order to get the head clearance I want the seats have to use the wedges lowest setting. Reason I don’t like this is because the back floor mounts I’d like raised up one notch compared to the front to give myself a more comfortable driving position and not take away head clearance (I’m slicktop/carbon roof).

Hindsight I would’ve gotten the BK floor mounts.

For now my SRS light is on but I plan on coding that out. Weight saving is not “butt noticeable” but lifting the recaro and factory seats back to back, there’s a huge difference in weight.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[usdmej]

The CS isn't super light, but I'm surprised it added up to >50 lbs. Mounts are 3 lbs, sliders are 8 lbs, seat receptacle is... 1 lb? (guessing)

So leather heated CSs are >38 lbs?

... that dampens my enthusiasm for the notion of putting them in the wagon.

Technically side mount seats let you adjust tilt, just not... easily

a leather Recaro CS is 35 pounds on it's own. i can't/won't comment on how much heavier a heated CS is because i've never had/weighed one personally

my CS all bolted together and ready to go in car was just over 50 pounds.

i'm guessing your estimate for sliders mounts and receptacles is off and also doesn't include required hardware

[Obioban]

i don't think any aftermarket seat mount will get you height/tilt function on an E46 M3





you're not going to lose a lot of weight swapping a Sportster CS into your car.

My leather Sportster CS with BK mount/OE seatbelt receptacle/OE slider was 50+ pounds all put together.

The CS isn't super light, but I'm surprised it added up to >50 lbs. Mounts are 3 lbs, sliders are 8 lbs, seat receptacle is... 1 lb? (guessing)

So leather heated CSs are >38 lbs?

... that dampens my enthusiasm for the notion of putting them in the wagon.

Technically side mount seats let you adjust tilt, just not... easily

[usdmej]

I’m assuming these Brey Krause mounts are preferred over the Recaro sliders due to the addition of height and tilt functions?

i don't think any aftermarket seat mount will get you height/tilt function on an E46 M3

They don’t seem that heavy at 3lbs each.

you're not going to lose a lot of weight swapping a Sportster CS into your car.

My leather Sportster CS with BK mount/OE seatbelt receptacle/OE slider was 50+ pounds all put together.

[Obioban]

Thanks for answering. I really hate OEM seats and driving position. I had PP in my first E46 M3 and Z4M Coupe and it was perfect, except during in/out of the car.

I think I will go with leather Pole Position and will do custom M Texture inserts, just bought 7 yards.

Nogaros have easier in/out than PPs, and play nicely with a 3 point seatbelt (unlike the PPs).

[Gt4]

You can make it lower than stock (especially if your stock is a power seat), but nowhere near as low as a side mounted seat.

Thanks for answering. I really hate OEM seats and driving position. I had PP in my first E46 M3 and Z4M Coupe and it was perfect, except during in/out of the car.

I think I will go with leather Pole Position and will do custom M Texture inserts, just bought 7 yards.

[Obioban]

For those with Recaro Sportster, is it possible to sit a bit lower than OEM seats? I am on the fence to buy seats for my E46 M3 and can’t decide between leather Pole Position or CS. I like the Pole Position driving position from previous PP I had but only going to drive my M3 on the street and would prefer recliner seats vs fix race seats.

You can make it lower than stock (especially if your stock is a power seat), but nowhere near as low as a side mounted seat.

[duracellttu]

The seat occupancy sensor is there to make it so the airbag does not deploy if nobody is in the passenger seat, to make crashes cheaper. If you don't have the sensor, and code it off, the airbag will go off every time in an accident (meaning the passenger airbag will have to be replaced).

So, no safety compromised not having the sensor-- just the potential of a more expensive accident.

I didn't do it because the occupancy sensor is failure prone (often an issue in stock seats), and it's not that big of a deal to replace the airbag if it goes off-- didn't want to have to deal with replacing the sensor mat again down the road. So, I just coded off the sensors.

Good to know Obi, thanks.

[Obioban]

Haven’t pulled the trigger on this project yet, but I plan to buy new OEM airbag sensors. Don’t want to compromise safety.

The seat occupancy sensor is there to make it so the airbag does not deploy if nobody is in the passenger seat, to make crashes cheaper. If you don't have the sensor, and code it off, the airbag will go off every time in an accident (meaning the passenger airbag will have to be replaced).

So, no safety compromised not having the sensor-- just the potential of a more expensive accident.

I didn't do it because the occupancy sensor is failure prone (often an issue in stock seats), and it's not that big of a deal to replace the airbag if it goes off-- didn't want to have to deal with replacing the sensor mat again down the road. So, I just coded off the sensor.

[duracellttu]

OP, what are you doing for the airbag sensor? Reuse OEM one from your old seat, buy a new OEM one, etc? Looking to get Sportster CS's soon as well.

Obioban, thanks for sending those links for the brackets. Very helpful.

Haven’t pulled the trigger on this project yet, but I plan to buy new OEM airbag sensors. Don’t want to compromise safety.

[Gt4]

For those with Recaro Sportster, is it possible to sit a bit lower than OEM seats? I am on the fence to buy seats for my E46 M3 and can’t decide between leather Pole Position or CS. I like the Pole Position driving position from previous PP I had but only going to drive my M3 on the street and would prefer recliner seats vs fix race seats.