School me on fixed bucket seats and mounting solutions!

[T-Rex]

You are the MAN! Thank you, this is just what I was looking for my situation! I wasnt even aware of the ABE/TUV versions were for road car and 3 point use, they seem to be perfect for my application! And extra thanks for the ebay vendor link since they're not available in the US (surprising considering we're usually wider lol). I'm eyeing the black velour pair he has, price is very reasonable too even with shipping from Germany!

So I can get the BK fixed mounts for the driver, but for the passenger are the BK 'Seats mount to OEM slider' so that I can mount a seat and still retain power sliding? Dont care for powered or manual, just want to be able to slide the passenger for rear seat access and convenience. I was considering the VAC seat mount kit w/ slider for just the passenger for this reason (even though its quite pricey IMO).

Finally got some photos for you - ignore the mess in the back seat.

[BigRussia]

Finally got some photos for you - ignore the mess in the back seat.

That looks really good, thanks for that! I was having a hard time finding manual E46 oem sliders and was considering keeping my powered sliders and going this route, rather than the direct-to-floor fix mounts.

I finally got a lead on a set of used manual OEM sliders, but wanted to ask the forum: are the sedan manual seat sliders the same as the coupes? These sliders I'm about to buy are from a sedan, and just want to make sure they'll bolt into my M3 coupe before buying.

[Obioban]

The sedan sliders are actually better for this purpose— they have lap belt mounts on both sides, whereas the coupe have them on the inside only.

[BigRussia]

The sedan sliders are actually better for this purpose— they have lap belt mounts on both sides, whereas the coupe have them on the inside only.

Interesting, Ok awesome looks like I can pull the trigger then on these OEM sedan sliders.

Apologies for continuous questions but just for clarity; the BK mounts for OEM sliders also have the mounting point for the factory 3point receptacle/tensioner no? I figured I'd be bolting them on there (like how it would bolt on the BK direct to floor version mounts).

[Obioban]

Interesting, Ok awesome looks like I can pull the trigger then on these OEM sedan sliders.

Apologies for continuous questions but just for clarity; the BK mounts for OEM sliders also have the mounting point for the factory 3point receptacle/tensioner no? I figured I'd be bolting them on there (like how it would bolt on the BK direct to floor version mounts).

The factory receiver actually bolts to the slider, not the seat— so you’ll still use the stock mounting location for it If you use the Bk slider mounts.

[BigRussia]

The factory receiver actually bolts to the slider, not the seat— so you’ll still use the stock mounting location for it If you use the Bk slider mounts.

Doh, yeah makes sense! Silly question on my part, apologies as I dont have the car with me and couldn't stroll into the garage to check it before asking haha.

[empty]

The sedan sliders are actually better for this purpose— they have lap belt mounts on both sides, whereas the coupe have them on the inside only.

I used sedan power sliders for this setup, works great.


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[BigRussia]

Hey all, a quick update. I ended up buying the Recaro PP ABE from the German eBay seller (came in less than 2 weeks!), along w/ a pair of BK mounts (R-9220/9221) to use with my oem power sliders.

I started the install finally today, but ran into a problem. Neither my new Recaros or the BK mount kits came with the actual seat hardware/bolts to install them to the mounts. Each seat needs 4 bolts, does anyone know where I can buy these online, or what their size and length is to maybe buy from ACE Hardware? Thanks!

[bigjae46]

Hey all, a quick update. I ended up buying the Recaro PP ABE from the German eBay seller (came in less than 2 weeks!), along w/ a pair of BK mounts (R-9220/9221) to use with my oem power sliders.

I started the install finally today, but ran into a problem. Neither my new Recaros or the BK mount kits came with the actual seat hardware/bolts to install them to the mounts. Each seat needs 4 bolts, does anyone know where I can buy these online, or what their size and length is to maybe buy from ACE Hardware? Thanks!

McMaster-Carr

You NEED grade 8 or class 10.9 hardware. Usually 3/8" or M8 fasteners. By grade 8 or class 10.9...the bolts AND nuts AND washers need to all be grade 8 or class 10.9.

[slavik1988]

Hey all, a quick update. I ended up buying the Recaro PP ABE from the German eBay seller (came in less than 2 weeks!), along w/ a pair of BK mounts (R-9220/9221) to use with my oem power sliders.

I started the install finally today, but ran into a problem. Neither my new Recaros or the BK mount kits came with the actual seat hardware/bolts to install them to the mounts. Each seat needs 4 bolts, does anyone know where I can buy these online, or what their size and length is to maybe buy from ACE Hardware? Thanks!

Damn,

I wish I got the ABE seats as well. I got the regular PPs here in the states. I ended up running the center rear seat belt buckle as a solution for now. Running the Recaro sliders and Macht Schnell floor mounts.

Edit: Even with sliders, it will be a pain to get something in the rear seat. I put my sons car seat through the trunk. LOL!

[bigjae46]

Here is what to look for when it comes to fasteners. It is important!

Grade 2 - its what you get at Home Depot in the bulk bins.

Here is a grade 5...3 marks on the head of the bolt.



Grade 8 (what you want) has 6 marks on top.



For metric bolts, you have Class 8.8 which is like grade 5 and Class 10.9 which is similar to grade 8.

Any washer or bolt should match in grade and material.

[BigRussia]

Here is what to look for when it comes to fasteners. It is important!

Grade 2 - its what you get at Home Depot in the bulk bins.

Here is a grade 5...3 marks on the head of the bolt.



Grade 8 (what you want) has 6 marks on top.



For metric bolts, you have Class 8.8 which is like grade 5 and Class 10.9 which is similar to grade 8.

Any washer or bolt should match in grade and material.

Man awesome info thank you! Yeah I wanted to make sure I get hardware that is rated for automotive safety in event of a crash but I had no idea what to even look for. Thank you for schooling me and the pics are super helpful to identify! I'll start searching on McMaster-Carr now, seems the recaro's use M8 bolts.

[Obioban]

Damn,

I wish I got the ABE seats as well. I got the regular PPs here in the states. I ended up running the center rear seat belt buckle as a solution for now. Running the Recaro sliders and Macht Schnell floor mounts.

Edit: Even with sliders, it will be a pain to get something in the rear seat. I put my sons car seat through the trunk. LOL!

it looks like you're overly reclined. The headrests should be ~vertical for a proper seating position. Make that change and you'll gain better back seat access as a perk.

[bigjae46]

Man awesome info thank you! Yeah I wanted to make sure I get hardware that is rated for automotive safety in event of a crash but I had no idea what to even look for. Thank you for schooling me and the pics are super helpful to identify! I'll start searching on McMaster-Carr now, seems the recaro's use M8 bolts.

Yeah, that’s normal. Get a class 10.9 M8 bolt. You can use a grade 8 washer which is similar to class 10.9. A 3/8” grade 8 washer is gonna be a lot easier to find than a class 10.9 washer.


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[BigRussia]

Following up with my results to help out anyone who might be doing this same install in the future, can use this thread as reference. Ill put pics, links, and wiring info in this post.

I was able to finish up the install of the PP ABEs w/ BK mounts and OEM power sliders. I am extremely pleased with everything! The seats feel fantastic and are actually quite comfortable, I no longer fall out of my seat during spirited driving and can actually feel what the car is doing during hard cornering. The ABE versions are definitely the move for a street car retaining the functionality and convenience of the factory 3 point belt; the receiver fits through the inboard hole perfectly and they even have elastic straps to hold it up, so it doesn't jam into your hips when getting in. And the BK mounts with the power sliders is icing on the cake, and perfect for a street car. I wish I had bought this setup earlier! I'm also going to be hitting a HPDE at the end of the month to truly test out the seats.

First, pics of the completed install:


Some info on the install:

For the wiring I ended up cutting the power and lower rail motor connectors off the seat harnesses to use for wiring up the E30 switch. Luckily, I was able to find two used E30 window switch wiring harnesses on eBay, so I was able to use the E30 window connector for the switch rather than having to directly wire to the switches pins. Also bought 2 new aftermarket non illuminated switches from pelicanparts.com. ($15 each, they actually ended up sending me 4 so have 2 extras, if anyone needs let me know)
https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...-367-373-A-INT
I then crimped the E30 wiring harness with the power and rail motor connectors and wrapped it up with OEM style Tesa fabric tape (amazon link for fabric tape below)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(passenger side pictured, the drivers side had a couple extra wires and different harnesses. Same concept, the extra wires I believe are for seat memory which you wont need anymore so can ignore or snip off like I did)



For the Recaro seat bolts I went with 20mm length Zinc Yellow-Chromate Plated Class 10.9 Steel M8 × 1.25 mm bolts from McMaster-Carr from bigjae46 recommendation. 20mm was the perfect length for my application and I used the included 2mm BK spacers between the mounts and seat.
https://www.mcmaster.com/metric-clas.../length~20-mm/
I forgot the washers so just got some zinc yellow chromate grade 8 ones on Amazon. Both the bolts and washers came next day surprisingly quick.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Lastly I now have the airbag fault light on the cluster, due to the passenger occupancy sensor. I have been attempting to disable it with NCS Expert, specifically by disabling the ERKENNUNG_SITZBELEGUNG_2 (= Occupancy Sensor 2) value in the ABG module, but no such luck I get an error when writing the .man file back to the ABG module and the airbag fault light remains on.
If anyone can advise me how to disable the airbag sensor in NCS I would greatly appreciate it! Worse case i guess I can buy a sensor bypass on ebay.. but not sure about those.

Hope this helps someone else in the future, I was kind of stumped with the wiring even though BK does an excellent job providing instructions for the mounts install and wiring, but Im just a wiring novice!

Thanks again for everyone in this thread for all the help and advice!