Installing aftermarket seats.

[vicelore]

Hey guys.

well on the weekend i got bored went shopping for stuff for the zook.

Came home with some racing bucket seats. the old ones in mine had some bad rips.

Tonight im gonna takle gettin the old ones out and try have a look how im goin to go about mounting the new ones.

so i was just after some tips on goin about this ??

iv read all the threads i can find but no one has any pics of the rails being bolted to the seats ?

i think i read that you can get the sliders off the bottom of the origional seat ?? would this just leave me the task of mounting the sliders to my seats safley ??

Cheers guys

[want33s]

It depends on your new seats as to exactly how you mount them.
Did they come with new sliders?
My seats did but I only used the new slide under the drivers seat and kept the Suzi one under the passengers seat.
My setup is almost agricultural but works well. The engineer that did the mod plate said it was more than strong enough.
50X6mm flat bar...

[vicelore]

i got nothing with the seats. which did suprise me a little, but iv never baught any before so didnt know what to expect.

have you got any pic of the underneath of your seats when u screwed the sliders on ?

my main worry is that there isnt much to screw into on the bottom of the seat. from what i can tell ( i only pushed agaist the material to find something solid.) there is only 2 slats ?? on the sides that you can screw ?? into .

[GRPABT1]

Sounds like you bought poxy brand seats. If your car didn't come with adjustable seats ie: the traybacl utes? You should be able to bolt them directly to the floor where the rails would bolt to. But they would need to have enough hight to retain good vision. Otherwise try an sus out the rails that the seat brand sell and use them as a guide where to bolt them on.

[vicelore]

they are autotechnia ones seemed about mid range. i was told i got them below cost at 240$ each due to some scratches..

Are you guys saying that you cant use the suzuki sliders ?

[want33s]

have you got any pic of the underneath of your seats when u screwed the sliders on ?

Sorry thats the only pic I took.

Are you guys saying that you cant use the suzuki sliders ?

I used one of the sliders supplied with the seats on the drivers side because it was easier to fit.
The seat mounts(in the floor) are quite different from drivers to passengers side so your new mounts won't be the same anyway.
You might be able to use the original slides.

[St Jimmy]

I added a plate to the top of my sliders and bolted my seat to the plate. Un bolt your seat off the original mounts an bolt the plate to it then you drill the new holes for your new seats

[vicelore]

I added a plate to the top of my sliders and bolted my seat to the plate. Un bolt your seat off the original mounts an bolt the plate to it then you drill the new holes for your new seats

thats what i thaguht i would have to do.

does the plate just screw into the sides of the seats ?? its just wood that its screws into ?? i tried to look but its all covered with material.

just want to make sure its strong enough.

[St Jimmy]

Their should be holes in the seat all ready just remember to use graded bolts when you put the seat in.

[want33s]

Mine had 8 or 10mm bolt holes in the base (I can't remember which) that were covered by the material.
If you feel around you should find the holes.

[vicelore]

Mine had 8 or 10mm bolt holes in the base (I can't remember which) that were covered by the material.
If you feel around you should find the holes.

ok thanks mate. i probaly never would of know that.

what type of graded bolts are we talking about for this. Just ask for high tensil ?


sorry i dont know much about bolts.

Thanks again guys.

[Gwagensteve]

Tread very carefully with seat mountings- they are a VERY important part of vehicle safety (and legality)

Sierra rails are attached to the seat base with 4 off 6mm bolts.

The spacing of these bolts is critical though. Nothing ties the two rails together except the seat, so when you go to a new seat the spacing will be critical or your rails will no longer fit the floor. This can be difficult to resolve.

The passenger side is a little more complicated as you also have to unhook the tilt/slide handle.

There's no "standard" seat bolt spacing so adapting the sierra rails to the autotechnica seats might be easy.... but it might be hard too. One way to adapt the spacing would be to bolt a plate to the sierra rails that could then have the correct pattern on it. Choice of material is important - you want to avoid materials that might fatigue like common aluminium grades etc.

Bear in mind that suzuki seat rails tend to break in the middle on the drivers side, and the rearmost floor mounts on both the driver and passenger side have a habit of splitting (that is the floor splits)

All hardware will need to be grade 8. Grade 8 hardware has 6 radial bars on the head. Alternatively, you may see 8.8 on the bolt head.

If you choose cap head bolts (that is an allen head bolt) , specify high tensile nd you will normally get "unbrako" brand or similar and these have a higher rating again - "10.9"

As a side note nearly all the bolts in a suzuki are graded with a number system - normally 4, 7, 8, 12. most structural bolts on a suzuki are 7. Seatbelt bolts are 12.




Here's a photo of the seat mounts I made for my 660 car. As utes have no rails the seats are fixed, I used them as the starting point. all the steel is 3mm thick and I made a rigid base to bolt the seats to, as the sparco bolt pattern is about 10mm different to the stock sierra seat. Both driver and passenger mounts are the same in a ute sp I have set the seats at different positions so if a tall driver had to drive my car the seats can be swapped over.

PS I wanted to keep these light as there quite bulky so there's 64 speed holes in each seat base )

Just some info to think on.

Steve.

[vicelore]

Thanks Steve.

thats the exact kind of info i needed.

my plan will be to attach the plates to the bottom of the seat. and leave allot of excess. place it on top of the sliders (whilst they are still attached to the lower runners) and try to mark where the sliders sit on the plate.

remove the seat with plates on and marked. center and cut the plates and drill the plates and trial fit. sound about right ??

maybey get the sliders welded to the plates ??

Cheers guys

[Gwagensteve]

I wouldn't weld onto the slider if it was me. It probably increases the risk of fatigue and they do that already.

it might be best to use some RHS (rectangular hollow section) across the plate to keep everything rigid and the weight reasonable, or some ribs welded to the plate. A plate isn't very strong in the plane you will be using it in so it will have to be quite thick (I'd say at least 5 mm) to do the job - a 400X400 5mm thick plate will get pretty heavy. That's why mine are very technical - I worked box across the mount to increase rigidity.

Steve.

[grimbo]

I wouldn't weld onto the slider if it was me. It probably increases the risk of fatigue and they do that already.

it might be best to use some RHS (rectangular hollow section) across the plate to keep everything rigid and the weight reasonable, or some ribs welded to the plate. A plate isn't very strong in the plane you will be using it in so it will have to be quite thick (I'd say at least 5 mm) to do the job - a 400X400 5mm thick plate will get pretty heavy. That's why mine are very technical - I worked box across the mount to increase rigidity.

Steve.

no its because you couldn't help yourself

[sanger]

Vicelore be sure to post up how you went installing the seats as i got some for christmas and will be mounting them in the next few weeks. lots of pics and all the details would be appreciated.

Cheers sanger

[vicelore]

Vicelore be sure to post up how you went installing the seats as i got some for christmas and will be mounting them in the next few weeks. lots of pics and all the details would be appreciated.

Cheers sanger

well i had a very nice find i think.

i pulled out the stockies and my new ones fit the used holes EXACTLY!! all i need to do is buy some bolts to match the seats, widen the holes in the sliders a tad and im done.

if you guys are interested the seats i baught are these for 240$ each from autobarn.

Cheers guys and sorry Sanger if i couldnt help hope yours fit too.

PS i can get the measurment off mine if u like.

[Lil'Loki]

I recently put Autotechnica Racing Seats in my Zook. The back rests are wider than the stock Zook seats, you'll probably find that the passenger side seat touches the inside of the targa bar. Yours look slightly different to mine so with luck they don't rub too much when sliding the seat back or forwards.

In regards to the fitting, mine were the same as yours, the holes are the same width apart as the stock seats. You just need to slightly lengthen the holes in the sliders.

I did buy one of the seat rail sets (sold seperately) from Repco and will look into the same set up as as wants33's driver side setup. ATM I'm using stock seat rails for the drivers side, but the 'AT' seats sit a bit too far forward than stock seats (Reason #1 why I'll match wants33's).

(Bear in mind that suzuki seat rails tend to break in the middle on the drivers side, and the rearmost floor mounts on both the driver and passenger side have a habit of splitting (that is the floor splits).

One of my driver's rails has broken in middle as Gwagensteve has mentioned (Reason #2 why I'll match wants33's).

Bought my High Tensile Bolts from Bunnings.

Good luck Darren

[vicelore]

Hey lil Loki

you dont rember what size type the bolts u use where do you ??

i was just goin to take a seat to a bolt shop and ask them to trial. but if i knew then that would save me.

Cheers man.

[MART]

Grade 8 high tensile pan head allen key bolts , they come black , gold or silver , 20 mm long , mounted heaps of seats and they have all been 8mm , but as you say , take it with you , Cheers Paul.

[Lil'Loki]

I'll check and get back to you!

[vicelore]

Grade 8 high tensile pan head allen key bolts , they come black , gold or silver , 20 mm long , mounted heaps of seats and they have all been 8mm , but as you say , take it with you , Cheers Paul.

Thanks man.

[Lil'Loki]

I bought 8x "DANS Bolt and Nut 8.8 High Tensile M8x25" (Don't need the nut though). Couldn't get a 20mm but the longer 25's still fitted.

[Lil'Loki]

Just emailed you a photo of the supplied bolts from the Autotechnica Seat Rail Kit.

Hope this helps!!

[Lil'Loki]

Also just emailed you some pics of how far forward the driver's side seat is situated on the stock suzuki seat rails. Hope you're not 6' tall. I'm 5'11" and it's a squeeze!

[vicelore]

Also just emailed you some pics of how far forward the driver's side seat is situated on the stock suzuki seat rails. Hope you're not 6' tall. I'm 5'11" and it's a squeeze!

thanks man. i should be pretty good im only small but ill see.

Thanks again guys.

[Lil'Loki]

The seats I bought were $360 a pair $180 each from Supercrap. On special the day before for only $300 a pair… Bummer

[vicelore]

Also just emailed you some pics of how far forward the driver's side seat is situated on the stock suzuki seat rails. Hope you're not 6' tall. I'm 5'11" and it's a squeeze!

i had a quick jump in this morning and mine must be spaced back more than yours. i dont think my rails where all the way back and with the holes lined up everything seemed roomy. ill know for sure tonight.

Cheers again.

[vicelore]

well just went down and showed the bolt shop what you guys wrote.

got some SHCS 8x20 ZINC bolts cost me 5 $ so yea all with go in tongiht.

Thanks again guys.

[vicelore]

the SCREWS ARE SOOOO FCKIN HARD TO LINE UP..... been at it all night..

ARRHH