rijowysock

not sure if this is right section to post this in, but..

im more than likely going to get some bride's soon, but between now and then i was thinking if i were to remove the oem leather and foam and actually heat up the bolster frame pieces and bend inwards.. say 5-10 degrees, enough to feel a difference,

was wondering if anyone has done this before..

friend of mine did on 240sx and the seats afterwhich felt amazing (im VERY skinny, 6'2" 160lbs) so i kinda need this cause i slid a lot)


if youve done this, pictures and b4/after thoughts.

my first concern was leather fitting weird but once i redo all the oem clips that hold leather taught.. should be fine, just the "seam" will be more towards back..(maybe actually stop the wear i have now, by hittin another spot.. (i seem to rub the SAME spot everytime i get in.


riley

RadioZero

i have bent seats bolsters inward on some late model GTI's and never needed to heat anything.

take the seats out and rest them on their sides on some towels or cardboard between the seats and concrete and press with your body weight. test fit often by sitting in the seat between press'es.

good luck!

jeggy

i was thinking of taking my seats to an upholstry shop and just have them add some padding on the sides.

rijowysock

anyone else?

i dont wanna lean on em incase i mess something up. i got most the tools to do it properly just unsure if its gon pull leather too much on the bolsters.. or if people have done both sets and regretted one.. or other

ssmAP1

yea my bolster (outter) is actually pounded down from getting in and out. i am going to get both seats re-upholstered. i'd also like to move the bolsters closer together as well. anyone know how much this would run at a shop, the upholstery to my seats and the modification?

rijowysock

u dont need to mod foam or leather..

just heat up the bolster peice w/ torch and use glove or mallet and bend inward.

when u put foam back on itl be in.. and theirs clips that hold the leather taught in the corners.. so u dont have to worry about the corners bowing out or w/e.

i just wanted to see b4 i did incase someone did it and now they cant fit in seat or w/e.

i REALLY wanna pair of old BEAT up stock seats.. leather torn to crap but foam in good condition and have em redone suede ... :-D

Incubus

You don't have to heat the metal until afterwards. This is called annealing, it will (for the most part) reverse any material "damage" you've caused by bending the metal. Now you don't have to worry about touching the hot metal.

The only reason I'd see to heat while bending is to make sure a weld doesn't get damaged.