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RX8 power seats


richracing

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So I was looking around for different OEM seats that I could use in my '75 280z, and I ran across some RX8 seats for a good price. Only problem is that the driver's seat is power. This would actually be pretty damn cool if I could wire it up and have power/heated seats in my Z. Is there a write up somewhere on wiring power seats? Or can somebody with experience tell me how difficult this would be? Thanks.

Edited by richracing
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  • 4 weeks later...

I have done the swap and my friend has now also done it aswell

Never heard of anyone else with the same seats..we are from Melbourne Australia and believe we are the only people who have done it so far.

 

Very easy swap. Just grind/drill off all the tabs and brackets and your left with flat sliders much like univeral recaro seats etc.

Then all you do is bolt flat steel to the sliders and then make some holes in the flat steel for the floor mounts.

 

I discovered this after looking at the rx8 seats in a friends garage and figured they would work after some measurements.

 

They are a tight squeeze but sit the same height as standard 240z seat. Will post pic tomorrrow.

 

As for seat motors. 3 wires. One constant 12v, ACC, Ground.

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Just as a general tip on retrofitting power seats; if the controls are on the seat, nine times out of ten you can just feed power and ground to the two large wires in the plug and it will work. Most seats have constant power only so you can move them when the car is off.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have done the swap and my friend has now also done it aswell

Never heard of anyone else with the same seats..we are from Melbourne Australia and believe we are the only people who have done it so far.

 

Very easy swap. Just grind/drill off all the tabs and brackets and your left with flat sliders much like univeral recaro seats etc.

Then all you do is bolt flat steel to the sliders and then make some holes in the flat steel for the floor mounts.

 

I discovered this after looking at the rx8 seats in a friends garage and figured they would work after some measurements.

 

They are a tight squeeze but sit the same height as standard 240z seat. Will post pic tomorrrow.

 

As for seat motors. 3 wires. One constant 12v, ACC, Ground.

 

What year rx8 were your seats taken from? I have a chance at some out of a 2006 rx8 GT. Im taking some measurements in my car tomorrow morning and going to look at the seats as well....

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hah, didn't know I wasn't the only one that installed these. They barely fit in the 280zx...I'll probably have to modify the rocker trim (scuff plate?) to fit because of the electronic seat controls. IF they had manual leather seats, I would jump all over those, but I didn't have any luck finding them so just had to play the cards I was dealt. Anyways, the passenger (manual) seat fit like a glove, the driver (electric) took some finess, but was able to get it to work. And yes it was extremely easy wiring up the switches...just 2 powers and a ground, or vice versa. Sorry, I installed these a while back and can't remember the color coding, but I believe they were the only thicker wires in the harness (16 gauge maybe...versus the other 20-22 gauge wires). And yes, I think they compliment the interior very nicely. Keep in mind the car is still being pieced back together so I'm missing trims / panels / etc. Just figured I'd take some pics to show these seats will work, since the topic came up.

 

photo2.jpg

 

photo3.jpg

 

photo4.jpg

 

photo5.jpg

Edited by zeeboost
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Richracing, Candy33, Could you guys also post the pictures of the RX8 and RSX seats fitting in the 280Z into this post I started years ago, it is for the 280Z only as they have the Cat tunnel hump which really limits the seat choices that work with the 240-260Z.

http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/88301-280z-seat-swap-list/

 

Thanks,

Greg

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Hi guys sorry for the delay..only just stumbled back on this thread..seems i didnt have notifications set.

 

Anyway here are some pics. Sorry about the quality/angles etc its what i already had on my phone.

 

They are fitted into a 1973 240z. I believe i was the 1st in Australia to get it done and have since given the idea to a friend who has also fitted them to his 1971 240z with no problems with minimal effort..no swapping rails or anything just grind/cut off all the factory rx8 mounting tabs so that you are left with just the flat sliders and then bolt 2x 1" wide 5 mm thick flat steel bars to the factory rx8 sliders then drill holes in the steel bars to line up with floor and bolt down. As simple as that.

post-18567-0-88884100-1354692513_thumb.jpg

post-18567-0-91522700-1354692551_thumb.jpg

post-18567-0-81351900-1354692580_thumb.jpg

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Forgot to mention mine are 2004 model seats but i believe 2003-2008 are the same..well in Australia at least. Also if using stock seatbelts you will need to modify stock seatbelt buckle by slotting out the hole to accomodate the rx8 bolt which mounts the buckle to the seat.

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  • 3 months later...

Hi guys sorry for the delay..only just stumbled back on this thread..seems i didnt have notifications set.

 

Anyway here are some pics. Sorry about the quality/angles etc its what i already had on my phone.

 

They are fitted into a 1973 240z. I believe i was the 1st in Australia to get it done and have since given the idea to a friend who has also fitted them to his 1971 240z with no problems with minimal effort..no swapping rails or anything just grind/cut off all the factory rx8 mounting tabs so that you are left with just the flat sliders and then bolt 2x 1" wide 5 mm thick flat steel bars to the factory rx8 sliders then drill holes in the steel bars to line up with floor and bolt down. As simple as that.

 I wish I didn't have that stupid hump in the trans tunnel. My RX8 seats will not sit flush because of it. Do you have any install pics ?

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Don't think mine had the hump nor does my friends 71. If they did it doesnt pose a problem for how we mounted it. Most guys just use a peice of wood and a sledge hammer to flatten the hump as seen in a friends 260z with s2000 seats. No pics as its as easy as i explained. Just a peice of flat steel strip bolted to the sliders (once all tabs/brackets have been cut drilled out) and then holes drilled into the flat steel strip that correspond to the floor holes.

 

My edge of the seat bottom (thigh area) sits about 1/2 inch from tunnel.

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Did you cut out the stock floor mounts and bolt to the floor ? I'm considering this but instead of mount to the floor I'll mount it to a straight piece of 2"x3/4" box steel which will replace the bracing part of the stock mount. My seat will be lower which is another objective for me since I'm 6'0 and 255lb.

 

Kinda like this on post #5, the last pic !

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/102861-1972-240z-rb26dett-build/

Edited by Daz
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No i didnt cut the floor at all. Mounted to all original floor mounts. Only the seat rail is modded. Im 5'9 and sits fine for me, its actually a little lower than a stock 240z seat just the backrest is larger and taller.

 

Would be good to mount it to the floor, but one problem i can think off is the handbrake positioning might hit your hip aswell as the trans tunnel being abit wider as you go lower.

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