DIY: How to raise your factory seat to improve visibility
 

Been seeing several posts asking how to raise the factory seats, so here it
is. The original idea came from a member "modshack" about 3yrs ago.

I tried it long time ago and gave me great results. here's what i did...


As with any DIY, do at your own risk!!

First go to your local AceHardware.. they seem to have the best selection of loose
metric screws and washers.


You want to get:

a. 2pcs: Grade5 (or 8) metric screw M10x40 or M10x50 1.25pitch (10mm diameter, 40 to 50mm in length)
b. 2pcs: 1" thick wide collars or bunch of large washers that your M10 screws can fit through.
Make sure these are wide collars (spacers) as your seat rails will sit on them.

c. 2pcs: Large washers that your screw can fit through. You will use these above the rails.
d. Assortment of large diameter spacers that your M10 screw can fit through for backup.


I ended up using a box of the large washers you see up at top under the screws.

http://www.the370z.com/members/kench...-32-27-297.jpg


Tools needed: Small flathead screw driver or pick-tool, socket, adapter, and ratchet. Torque wrench (to do 36ft/lbs).



Now onto your car's driver seat:

1) Seat rail mounting bolts are hidden under black plastic caps. Just pop them off with a
small flathead screwdriver or pick-tool. There are 4 of them (2 front, 2 rear).

In this pict you can see the black cap sitting up side down near the screw driver.

http://www.the370z.com/members/kench...-22-34-831.jpg

2) Then loosen the front 2 bolts (dont remove the screws, just loosen real good).

3)Then slide seat forward, remove the 2 black caps and the 2 rear bolts completely.
Keep an eye on how much thread went into the floor so that
when you put your new M10x40 (or M10x50) screw in, you dont go in too deep.
store factory bolts in safe place for when you want to sell the car.

4) Raise the back of the seat and rail off the floor (seat isn't that heavy), and place your
two thick 1" collars(spacers) between the seat rail and the floor. you can easily
do different heights ranging anywhere from 1/4" to about 1-1/4". align the screw
holes so that you can thread your M10x40 (or M10x50) bolt through.

5)Then take the M10x40 (or M10x50) screws you bought, place washers (and spacers if bolt is
too long) and thread it from above the seat rail into the floor.

At this point I recommend you slide your seat back, sit in your seat to see if that's the desired
height. It's better to set it up slightly too high and lower your seat using the seat adjuster.
Obviously if you put too many washers your headrest will hit the ceiling. lol dont do that. :icon17:

Once you got it to where you want it, tighten the screws to 36ft/lbs. if you dont have a torque wrench,
it's tight but not super tight.

http://www.the370z.com/members/kench...23-49-edit.jpg

Here you can see that i used a lot of large washers. The screw i used was M10x50 so it was
a bit on the long side for the added height i wanted. I used washers on top of the rail to compensate the length so i dont
go in too deep into the floor.

Close up:
http://www.the370z.com/members/kench...-23-02-125.jpg


This is what the finished product looks like on the rear 2 screws.

NOTE: Once you place your seat back to your driving position you will not see these
screws or washers so dont worry about the aesthetics.

http://www.the370z.com/members/kench...-23-39-876.jpg


6) Then side your seat back, torque down the 2 front rail bolts to 36ft/lbs.

7) leave the black caps off for now as you will need to retorque all 4 bolts after a few
drives. retorque 3-4 times until they do not loosen anymore.

8) place black caps on the rail bolts and you're done. :p

Depending on the screw you bought, the black caps may not fit over the
screw head.

GL!

7-28-2012: Just a follow up... i took everything apart today as i was working on another
project unrelated to this DIY...

inspected everything for any signs of weird wear. no such thing found after 3yrs. :tup:

About friggin' time you made this post!!!!!!!! Sgheeesh!!!!

;):nutswinger::tup:

lol! :icon17: yah, i got tired writing the same thing over and over via pm's.

Pictures would help. :p

:iagree:



:worthless:

:icon17:

oh man... you guys need piture of screws? lol

If the mods would like the 2 threads from yesterday we wouldn't be having this problem. :icon14:

Hey kenchen, before you take pics, make sure there is a hot babe wearing a mini-skirt sitting down in the seat. That way when you are down there taking pictures of this, you can give us a cheap thrill at the same time. :p

Hey, it's Friday and 4:54, cut me some slack. :wtf2:

Yes sir. :tiphat:

Hmm. This may be option two if I give up for good on the mirror swap -- thanks :tiphat:

added... :ugh2: :icon17:

^ Great writeup, reps your way. :tiphat:

thanks, mr.zforce! :tup:

im glad this is helping people out. :)

:tiphat: Thank you very much! You sir have been repped! (but I forgot to add my name)

np! :tup:

Not to rain on the parade but this mod can potentially cause serious injuries since it compromises the original seat anchor design. In the event of an accident, the seat mounting bolt might shear off. As seen in the original design, linear movement is prevented in two different points. One is the bolt and the other is the guiding pin. It prevents the seat from lifting and also moving forward. The bolt used in this mod is the only anchor point and due to the seat no longer in alignment with the original design, in an frontal accident, the seat might tilt upwards or shear the bolt off.

On that note, the bolt use in these mounting points are designed to meet certain shearing strength. I doubt any hardware store bolt can meet these criteria. With that, if there is a serious injury due to the seat coming off the mounting point, I doubt the insurer will take kindly to the mod.

I do noticed the warning and this is definitely a do it at your own peril scenario.

:iagree:

Not really a safe thing to do, but hey, we all think accidents will never happen to us.

I wash just thinking about this, the original screws could of been made harder than the screws you buy at the hardware store. As you said it could potentially shier off during an accident.

that guiding pin is there for assembly process for proper orientation.

if you look at racing seat rails, no such pin exists. but yah, do at your own risk. :)

maybe in your case since you are a big guy, the floor might peel up with the seat in an event of a crash. :tup:

To do or not to do.........:ugh2:

dont do it if you're uncomfortable.

forgot to mention this and i will update the DIY, but use Grade5 or Grade8 screws/bolts for this DIY.

Grade5: most automotive applications - unless numerically stamped, has these lines on the bolt head that looks like a "Y."

Grade8: automotive/tractor use for heavy duty - has more lines and looks like a astrisk mark. I use this type for when i need to replace bolts for suspension work. This is what I used in my car.

Grade2: commonly used for house hold (soft) - has no marking on the bolt head.

here's a nice pictorial link:
eBay Guides - Just what is a grade 5 or grade 8 bolt

I would say to go with grade 8 bolts.

But in the event of an accident?

Isn't your seatbelts and airbag supposed to keep you in place to certain degree?

I don't see an issue but to use stronger bolts But thats just me.

Again do it at your own risk :ugh2:

yep, the seat is very solid. one wouldn't notice it had spacers on the rail at all. frankly, the bolt breaking is the least of my worries. the bolt i bought from Acehardware has a stamp "8.8".

another member posted that the bolt would shear off.. "shearing off" is the wrong terminology in this case as the seat will not be sliding forward. the rear part of the rail would pull up in the event of a forward impact crash as the seat rail pivots at the front mounting bolt. i believe front anchors are on an angle for this purpose. the rear bolt is there to anchor the seat in up/down movement, not forward/aft.

just put pillow on the seat...no mod necessary..lol

:icon18: is that wat you do? lol obviously you dont know anything about vehicle feedback, but hey if it works for you. :icon17:

ok guys, i think ive posted enough regarding this mod. unless you have specific questions, dont post.

Im a little late to the party, but just FYI "8.8" bolts ARE NOT as strong as grade 8. More like grade 5. If it were me, I would replace those with grade 8 bolts. As far as grade 8 bolts shearing, all I can say is that is what was recomended for mounting the corbeaus in my 240z and spacers were also involved. Of course this is still at your own risk.

yep, class 8.8 is about SAE Grade5, but that's plenty strong for this application imho. that is why i posted Grade5 in the DIY since most folks are more familiar with SAE J429. (or maybe ASTM? then A449). Grade8 would be a class 10.9 which is for heavy duty work.

How short are you ladies that need this mod? I think this is a dangerous mod. Stacking washers??? I believe you could come up with a better rig than that if it is absolutely necessary.

4' 9"ish

I wish the pictures were still up

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

http://www.the370z.com/members/ghaza...-seat-jack.jpg

Problem solved.

Two month bump since I'm going to make Ms. Pint do this mod today. She doesn't know it yet, but we're meeting at Lowe's for a cruise and will be going inside first :tup:

I'll make sure we get some pictures. Mr. Kenchan does not realize not everyone is as smart, able, and confident as him :icon17:

hey just for reference here's a good link with the bolt strength descriptions for your reference:

Nuts and Bolts

the DIY did have pictures at one time... but something happened 3months ago i deleted everything. :icon17: if i can find some picts i will post them up again later.

I just need to go to Breed's. They have anything I could possibly need in a store about 1/10th the size of the Lowe's we went to. It's amazing :tup:

Might as well help me install hood struts while you're at it. :p

Don't forget the plastidip :icon17:

:tup:

We still don't know much about Kenchan but after this DIY we know you are short.:roflpuke2: