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sport seats don't fit right in 1985 318i

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    sport seats don't fit right in 1985 318i

    I bought a set of nice leather sport seats for my 318 build (keeping the m10, but stroking to 2L, dual dcoe40, cam, pistons, header,4.10 lsd) and i'll be damned they dont fit quite right.

    1) the mounting studs aren't quite long enough. The sports seats have a more complicated slider installed, and the mounting bosses on the rail is longer. I get only about 3/4 of the nut threaded on the front and barely any threads on the back.

    2) when I sit in the car with the seat all the way back I am damn close to the steering wheel. I can make it work, but there's a ton of room between the seat back and the back seat cushion making me think the seat is supposed to go back further.

    Has anyone else run into similar problems?

    jasper

    #2
    I've had no problems when I've used a number of stock comfort and sports seats in my 318i. Mine has 3 studs and 1 bolt per seat .

    Post some photos
    Mtech1 v8 build thread - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413205



    OEM v8 manual chip or dme - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho....php?p=4938827

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      #3
      Originally posted by Jean View Post
      I've had no problems when I've used a number of stock comfort and sports seats in my 318i. Mine has 3 studs and 1 bolt per seat .

      Post some photos
      Thats the weird thing. I've searched and searched, and it never comes up.

      I figured out #2 in the meantime. My seats were in the max up position, which also brings them an inch or more forward. The mechanism is jamming up on me but i managed to free it up on the bench. I'm confident this won't be an issue.

      #1 is for sure an issue though.

      The first pic shows the drivers side rear mounting point for the seat rail. From the bottom to the top of the tube that fits over the stud is 19mm. Add 8mm for the nut and 1 mm for the wavy washer and I need a 28 mm stud to get full thread engagement.

      Problem is that the stud )see pic 2) is only 22.7 mm long. That leaves me a whole 5.3 mm short.

      The standoff part of the tube (the part that stick out below the rail) is 4.5 mm. Plan A is to grind down that standoff so the rail sits flat on the floor, and lose the wavy washer. It's not ideal.

      Plan B is to grind down the stud, drill it out, and use a bolt through the floor. Also not ideal. There are brake line down below, those will have to be moved.

      The front issue is not as bad, The total length of the mounting tube is only 16mm, so I only need 2.3 mm more length. I can file the standoffs down and still have some..well...standoff.

      Yes, the inside rear is a bolt not a stud.

      Can't believe nobody has run into this before.
      Attached Files

      Comment


        #4
        dang stud photo wouldn't load...try again..
        Attached Files

        Comment


          #5
          I had this issue a few years ago as well. Don’t remember exactly what I did to get them to work, just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone
          Byron
          Leichtbau

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by E30SPDFRK View Post
            I had this issue a few years ago as well. Don’t remember exactly what I did to get them to work, just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone
            Thanks man. It does help to know its not just me. Would be useful if you could remember, but it's not like there are a lot of options.

            The studs aren't getting longer, full stop.

            Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

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              #7
              I'm quite sure that drilling out those studs will cause more problems than it fixes
              Seat Shocks....I have passed the baton to John Christy from Ninestitch. Email John or Garrett at ninestitch1@gmail.com

              https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...86#post4944786
              Alice the Time Capsule
              http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=360504
              87 Zinno Cabrio barn find 98k and still smells like a barn. Build thread http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...20#post3455220

              Comment


                #8
                I would grind down the standoff on the seat bracket. It doesn't add anything but height to the seat rails. Take it down to the square metal plate. That should give you 4-5mm.

                Comment


                  #9
                  ^
                  Seat Shocks....I have passed the baton to John Christy from Ninestitch. Email John or Garrett at ninestitch1@gmail.com

                  https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...86#post4944786
                  Alice the Time Capsule
                  http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=360504
                  87 Zinno Cabrio barn find 98k and still smells like a barn. Build thread http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...20#post3455220

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by AndrewBird View Post
                    I would grind down the standoff on the seat bracket. It doesn't add anything but height to the seat rails. Take it down to the square metal plate. That should give you 4-5mm.




                    Yep - I guess it's Plan A. Should be fine, but dang I was surprised when these studs came up short despite every thread on the world wide web saying it was a direct bolt up.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Its an '84-'85 problem, the seat bases on '86+ cars are thicker. I ground down the standoff to fit my sport seats in. if you want to do it with no hassle find the seats out of an '84 325e, they all came with sport seats with the correct thinner base
                      84 325e, Saphirblau Metallic/Houndstooth Sport, OBD-2 M52B28/ zf320

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by yngtmr View Post
                        Its an '84-'85 problem, the seat bases on '86+ cars are thicker. I ground down the standoff to fit my sport seats in. if you want to do it with no hassle find the seats out of an '84 325e, they all came with sport seats with the correct thinner base
                        There it is, confirmation that this is a 84-85 thing. I figured as much.

                        I wonder how the base pads on the early sports seat look though. The taller pad looks to me to be necessary to clear the sliding mechanism. The rails on my old comfort seats are pretty basic.

                        Oh well, whatev. I doubt I will ever see a set around here. Early e30 are getting rare, which is why I am working so hard to rescue my rust free but mechanically tired example.

                        Thanks for the input men. Grinding the standoff is what I'm going to do.

                        Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Had the same issue with installing my 89 comfort seats in my 84 before I sold it. The 84 Sport Seats fit fine in my 89. Caution on grinding down the lower base. On mine it created a clearance issue with carpet and the adjuster did not work properly. I tried pounding out the stud and using a longer bolt, That is a pain also because they are tack welded in place. Also minimal access from under car to reinstall. Find a happy medium when you grind.
                          sigpic
                          Steve Corbett
                          1983 528E Scrapped
                          1983 528E Sold
                          1984 745I
                          1984 325E - Sold
                          1989 325I Bronzit-Sold
                          1989 325I Zinno
                          1988 635CSI

                          Comment


                            #14
                            My driver's seat has the early base, ill get a picture of it, its an entirely different design
                            84 325e, Saphirblau Metallic/Houndstooth Sport, OBD-2 M52B28/ zf320

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Steve Corbett View Post
                              Had the same issue with installing my 89 comfort seats in my 84 before I sold it. The 84 Sport Seats fit fine in my 89. Caution on grinding down the lower base. On mine it created a clearance issue with carpet and the adjuster did not work properly. I tried pounding out the stud and using a longer bolt, That is a pain also because they are tack welded in place. Also minimal access from under car to reinstall. Find a happy medium when you grind.
                              Good info, thanks

                              Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

                              Comment

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