Coupe driver's seat; ideas?
 

Plenty of people have commented on the added support of the coupe's driver's seat. When looking for an 05 6MT, I test drove the coupe first(the only 6MT on the lot), and I didn't remember any specific differences in the seats. However, on Friday, I looked at a used coupe at a local jockey lot and noticed that the driver's seat was indeed significantly different. The seat appears to have extra cushioning in the bottom cushion between the legs. And the sides of the seat appear to have extra bolstering.

I called everythingg35.com on Friday and asked how much a coupe seat would cost. I told him(can't remember the guy's name) that I wanted it for a sedan. He said he didn't know if it would even fit. He said the only way he could tell was to have a coupe and sedan physically available to be taken apart and examined, and the swap actually attempted. Assuming that the attempt was successful, he stated that he could then determine which parts to place on order, as the seat is not available as a single unit. Apparently, the bottom cushion and the seat back are separate pieces, along with any other miscellaneous pieces such as rail mounts and the like.

So, has anyone ever given any thought to replacing the sedan's driver's seat with the coupes? Has it actually been done?

I asked DaveO about this, and his suggestion made me feel exceedingly stupid :): why waste the time/money and possible added weight of the actual coupe seats(they have the fold-down functionality over the sedan), and consult a quality upholsterer. When I read his response, all I thought was "duh".

I highly doubt anyone has first-hand experience with "quality upholsterers" in Birmingham. But can anyone suggest a starting point for actually locating one, and in dealing with one? Specifically, exactly what am I asking the upholsterer to do? Just add extra padding? What types of materials are available for use under the leather/fabric? Etc etc etc?

Hey I totally want to do the same thing! Please post details if you are successful.

For what it's worth, I've have seen oem 350Z seat install's on Japaneese V35 Skyline sites.

FWIW, I agree that this would be a TOTALLY worthwhile mod, as long as the price is within reason. The seat in my '99 BMW 328i (Sport) was just phenomenal. You NEVER felt like you were sliding off during hard cornering. It was pretty "deep" with good support around your thighs and upper body. The Sedan seats are just too soft - they're comfortable when going straight, but offer very little support when turning. -T

You might find the following link useful. ;)

https://g35driver.com/forums/showthr...highlight=seat

350Z seats are out of the question because their floorpan is slightly different. G35 sedan and coupe have identical front floorpan.

Not sure where Dave's getting the weight figures, but the coupe seats are no heavier than the sedans. If anything, they are just a hair lighter due to the absence of the recliner motor(s). The fold forward feature is the nature of a simple manual style recline mechanism without the weight penalty.

It's not so much the cushion's center patch than the entire seat bottom is longer and better supports the thigh w.o. pinching the hamstring. In addition, lateral bolstering is far superior and cups the body better. The added head clearance was almost the best thing for taller drivers to boot.

Buying new may not be the most cost effective approach (assuming high MSRP) however. I'd looking into getting them used from wrecked coupes.