[calves]

worked for me... i usually have my work bag behind my seat, and when it hits the back of my seat as i brake, the bag hits my back (through the seat) much stronger than before... clearly because the metal mesh would have absorbed some of that impact.

otherwise, the seats feel much better, but my left knee is still planted by the door... any fixes for the lower portion?

[farmboy]

This has got to be one of the goofiest mods I have ever heard of, but it definitely makes the seat deeper and holds me better in corners. We'll see about those seems and the wear and tear...

[Beaverboy]

I did this a few weeks ago and immediately reversed it after driving for 30 minutes. Maybe it's my long torso, but all it did was take away all the lumbar support and make my back ache.

[farmboy]

Oddly enough it is fairly comfortable for me and I have a long torso as well. I am 6'2" and only 'tall' shirts fit me. But my back has been partially messed up for a few years and my lower back would hurt a little before the mod as well.

[il09sti]

I just did it and wow! what a difference. The only thing I did different was I only removed the top two clips. I find that leaving the last clip there gives my lower back some support.

[Beaverboy]

Update: Well.. I was wrong... and I may be an idiot.

There are those two smaller wire hooks that connect to the plastic anchors on either side of the wire grid... well, one of mine broke a month ago at an autocross. I went to launch the car and felt a pop. It's been killing my back having that one little wire broken. I opened it up again the other day, having decided to fix it, and ended up disconnecting all the other wires as per the directions.

I may have screwed up before and left the top hooks in.. which would explain why it bothered me so much. I can't imagine why.. but I've been known to do some absent-minded things before.

The seat feels great now... you guys were right. Thanks for the write-up.. sorry about what I said before. It actually feels like I have more lower back support than before.

[GChislett]

Originally Posted by xxINKxx

I came across a post where "GChislett" mentioned a "seat-mod" for the 08's to get more bolster out of them. Nowhere else other then his single post mentioning it have I heard anything about this.

Everyone who has sat in my seats loves them..Even people driving older STi's with the better seats say my 08' seats hold them in better now.

Hahahaha, I just noticed this thread. The only person I've met that hates my seat mod, is my wife... She's 5 foot****all and can barely reach the peddles as it is. I did the passenger seat too and she hates it because she's too low.

I have at least 15,000 kms on the seats after having done the 'seat mod' and there is no signs of wear and tear at all. I had a buddy with an '08 sit in my seats last week. Even without saying anything, he asked if the '09 seats were different. He immediately went home and did the same thing.

I'm an old DSM'r where we used to have, what we called "free mods". ie. stuff you could do to your car for <$50 that would add power, handling or control. I was disappointed when I came to Scooby world and there was no such thing. For example, there was a little restrictor pill in the solenoid of the 2nd generation DSM's that, once removed, added ~10 hp. A drop in K&N added another 10. Change the BOV to a 1st generation, and hold another 2 psi. Manual boost controller, made from $20 Home Depot parts, along with a boost guage and you could litterally just turn up the boost by 4 psi, and not have to worry about tuning, or open loop/closed loop BS. I miss that car, on the days it worked.

I didn't even bother to do a write-up about the seat mod, because it was so simple. And, there's guys with the GD seats that have done it. I assumed it was common knowledge. Eventually, I'll take apart the bottom of the seat and see if there's something that can be done down there as well. That would deserve a write up.

Happy lateral support!

[burnrbr]

I too would like a little more lateral support from the stock seats, but I'm concerned that this seat mod removes too much protection during a rear-end collision. The wires help to transfer the force of a reared impact across your hole back. With them disconnected, it appears the force of impact would concentrated where the upper frame cross bar is located. This doesn't seem good for one's back.

The picture below is of course not our seats, but is does demonstrate the stress point.

[GChislett]

Originally Posted by burnrbr

...I'm concerned that this seat mod removes too much protection during a rear-end collision. The wires help to transfer the force of a reared impact across your hole back. With them disconnected, it appears the force of impact would concentrated where the upper frame cross bar is located. This doesn't seem good for one's back.

Take a bowling ball and drop on those springs in the picture and see what happens to them. Now, take a bowling ball at 40 mph and see what happens to the springs. I doubt those springs will offer any extra support over the material in the seats.

Alternatively, you could put an extension on the "J" hooks, or stretch the springs, but the second option wouldn't be reversible.

[burnrbr]

The spring will give since that is its purpose (which is really good as it lessens the impact), but the fabric of the seat will tear during a large impact as it is not designed to withstand such impact (no Kevlar here). A car's crash test rating is evaluated with the springs/wires in the seats as designed by the manufacturer.

Just as some people don't wear helmets while riding motorcycles, to each their own