A popular upgrade are the Recaros from an E21 320is. They, too, are
getting harder and harder to find and tend to get snapped up quickly
at boneyards. Some of the late model '02s ('75-'76) had the Recaros
as an option. These seats should be a direct bolt-in replacement.
The cost of them in good condition has slowly crept up in past years...(using
Ebay as an Index). They come in both leather and vinyl.
For more info on the E21 Recaros swap, Keith Kreeger of my2002tii.com
fame has a great writeup on the procedure: Click here
for part 1, and here
for part 2!
Here you can see the driver's seat is sagging slightly...
Repair kits are available
Beautiful, eh? Comfy too! These clearly need some
new webbing under the cushions.
People have noted that they feel "much better than
stock '02 seats... but may not be as comfortable as the e30 sport seats."
A slight drawback is the driver seat is off-center from the steering
wheel by ~1" to 1 1/2" and they are a bit heavier than stockers
at about 45-50 lbs. each.
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| Recaros are available in varying conditions and
colors... like anything else, its just a question of how much you
want to spend. |
Aftermarket and Other OEM Recaros:
Because most Recaros use the same mounting method,
fitting them is easy.
Early-model VW GTI seats are also Recaros and fit fairly easily.
Later VWs use a totally different mounting method, but many things are
possible with some cutting and welding.
e30 Sport Seats:
E30 sports seats are readily available, and are very comfortable. They
can be easily adapted to fit in the '02, but one drawback is that they
sit very high. The images below are from my set-up, so this is first-hand
feedback. (I have since replaced them with an aftermarket set; see below.)
They weigh about 45lbs per side.
Slightly different angles of my former setup.
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This pic illustrates the height difference
between my new R-1 racing seat (driver's side) and the e30
seats (pass side). More on the R-1 installation below.
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The e30 seats are also available in leather, and
in different colors. Don't you just LOVE junkyards?
Other BMW Setups:
Patrik Railo, an ambitious owner in Sweden, has transplanted an entire
e36 M3 interior into his '02. This is not a bolt-in replacement!
More e36 Seats:
e24 Six-Series Seats:
Other OEM Seats:
For some, boneyarding is something they *have* to do, while for others,
boneyards are a great big treasure trove, just waiting to be harvested.
Fortunately for us '02ers, many other makes' seats will fit with,
in many cases, just a little fabrication effort.
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| These Porsche seats required only fabricating some lateral
rails and relocating the mounting holes. |
Many Honda seats mount very similarly to '02 seats, requiring
only relocating the mounting holes. Pic shows early ('89-'93)
Acura Integra seat. |
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Early Integra seats installed
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In case you were wondering, Integra rear
seats will fit, too!
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Honda CRX seat rails are a little narrower
than the '02 mounting brackets, so extra metal strips were
added to extend the width.
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These 1991 CRX seats were supposedly
OEM'd from Recaro
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Prelude seats fit similarly to Integra
seats. Just need to relocate a couple mounting holes.
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Aftermarket Sport Seats:
Knowing that Honda/Integra seats are very compatible
with the '02, I sourced the following R-1 Racing aftermarket seats.
Given the size of the Honda aftermarket, there are a ton of seats
to choose from. I picked the R-1s as they are fairly light (about
32 lbs-- about 10lbs less than the e30 sport seats) and they are
very affordable (similar to a set of nice used E21 Recaros.
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Cloth seats grip you better and the R-1
seat rails are almost identical to the '02 units.
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Here the '02 rail and the nearly identical
R-1 Racing rail are shown. '02 rail is the light-colored one
at the top, and R-1 Racing version is just below it. At the
bottom is the adjustment/slider mechanism that comes with
the seats.
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Bottom of the R-1 Racing seat with rails
and slider mechanisms attached.
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The mounting points on the '02 shell are about 19"
apart, and the R-1 seat rails span approximately 13". Therefore
cross-members are required to adapt the seats. It's just a matter
of drilling a few holes on some stock flat steel or angle-iron,
and then centering the seats in front of the steering wheel, etc.
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The steel crossmembers (1/8"x3"x18.75")
are bolted securely to the stock '02 mounting points with
grade 8 hardware or better. Once the sliders are bolted to
the newly fabbed crossmembers, the seats just bolt to the
sliders.
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The R-1 Racing seats are brand new, fully reclinable
(fore and aft), light-weight, comfy and easy to install.
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Here is the final product installed.
The flash on my camera makes it look gray, but in real life
the color is jet black. E30 sport seat awaits its replacement
on the passenger side.
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Other seats that I have found online are Sparcos,
Corbeaus, and Scheels. They are a little pricey for me: a single
seat costs more than the pair of my R-1s. As with anything else,
however, your own tastes will dictate what you'll be comfortable
with. One suggestion is to actually see the seats in person and
sit down in them to make sure they will suit your backside beyond
how thin your wallet will be once they are purchased.
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Corbeau GTS-II
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Sparco Torino
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As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post
them to the Message Board!
