Need more input installing aftermarket seats

SimplicityFB6

SimplicityFB6

Well-Known Member
101
91
Houston, Tx
Vehicle Model
Civic
Body Style
Si
I'm getting new bucket seats soon. I know I have to remove the seat belt buckles also the wire connector for the seat belt sensor off the stock seats and have them connected so that the Imid warning won't go off to put your seat belt on. Also I know I need to put a resistor on the airbag sensor. Is there anything else I need to do? Would like to get more input from other people who have aftermarket seats. Correct me if I'm wrong from the info above.
Here's a vid I was following with a 2015 Subaru sti it's similar to the 9thgen but uses a different resister.
View: http://youtu.be/FBiQsoGiFXw


eaf9f2b87380244d7530cf7903dbef8c.jpg
 
I've yet to see a single person post their 9th gen with aftermarket seats defeat the imid airbag warning. Please post your results if you really do attempt it. Everyone else has said they're just driving around with the warning light on.
 
Seems to me there was a good thread on why not to get aftermarket seats, IIRC @Nix came up with some very interesting info.
I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just adding some info, on the does and don'ts.......:D
 
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Not sure why you want to remove safety feature from your car. Last time I checked aftermarket seats don't have airbags in them.

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Indeed, it is not recommended to swap out the OEM seats unless this is a dedicated track build. That said, it looks like you are going about it the right way. As far as I know the resistor should be a 2ohm. If the airbag light is showing on the dash then none of the airbags work. Your OEM seat has an airbag in the back/side of it which you will be losing with an aftermarket seat. That is a huge safety consideration. Also using harnesses can be very very dangerous on the street even in a low speed crash.

I know green Takata strap 4 points and recaros look awesome.
4 point harnesses do not keep you in the seat properly and you can and will submarine out from under them. That means getting smooshed into the dash and steering wheel. A full 5-point harness should only be used with a helmet due to the roll cage/harness bar mounting points. The stock seatbelt is really the way to go. The only reason I know this stuff is cause I wanted to do a swap also. It was too much trouble and risk in the end. No one plans on crashing. Just be aware of what you're getting into. Most bolt in harness bars are not strong enough to withstand the forces in most impacts. They bend and break. The 4 point harnesses also tend to "pull" the wrong direction and can cause some bad spinal injuries.

I have not seen anyone post on here that they successfully swapped seats and used a resistor to trick the system. The drivers seat is much easier than the passenger seat. The passenger seat has the weight sensors in it. If you do not address those then you will also have trouble making the system deploy the remaining airbags properly. There is also a seat position sensor in the seat rails that you need to look for. It tells the airbag in the steering wheel how hard to inflate based on how far the seat is from the wheel.

Best of luck if you go forward with the seat swap. Let us know if you get it to work and no airbag light on the iMid. Those other threads should have a collection of the info I have on how to do it.
This one especially:

http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/swapping-seats.13675/
 
I mean, I only park it and show the car, sometimes I take it out at the track and when I take it out for a vittune so this is not my daily driver. Im going to try to use my stock seat belts with the seats. So far I only know 3 9ths personally that have aftermarket seats. Two have airbag lights on and one doesn't. But now I'm having 2nd thoughts.
 
Well, if its mostly a show car and a little track time I would say try and get the airbag light to stay off so the remaining ones work. Also try and use the stock seatbelt if you can when driving to and from places. I know the 4 points look awesome and if you're not DD-ing the car a ton, and I think this is the first time I've ever said this, get the seats you want. Just know what you're getting into and the risks involved.

Schroth make a 3 point harness that works with the lower stock mounting points. If you're not going full roll cage and 5-point, the Schroth 3-point is better than the 4-point harnesses for safety.

https://www.schrothracing.com/tuning/rallye/rallye-3

There is also some good info on there about how to run harnesses and the angles you should take into account when mounting them.

The rallye 3 and rallye 4 both have the ASM feature. That stands for Anti-Sub-Marining. The standard 4 point harnesses you see allow you to slip out the bottom and die. At least these two options mount low enough to the stock points to keep you in the seat in the event of a crash.

If you go for a nice aftermarket seat, look into the schroth harnesses. The rallye series in particular. They come in at least 4 colors.
 
Also consider that non reclining seats will cause injury in the event of a rollover/ roof collapse. The stock seats, and most recline able aftermarket seats are designed to break in this situation allowing you to not be crushed. The key point in all of this is safety systems are designed to work together and changing one piece and not the whole system is risky.
 
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Flightmaster127 said:
Also consider that non reclining seats will cause injury in the event of a rollover/ roof collapse. The stock seats, and most recline able aftermarket seats are designed to break in this situation allowing you to not be crushed. The key point in all of this is safety systems are designed to work together and changing one piece and not the whole system is risky.
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All I've heard/seen on seats is from the safety testers, and the one thing they always say, is some seat failed "because" it reclined/broke in a rear end hit......... I don't know how the seat is going to know the difference between a roll-over or any other cause.......
 
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The aftermarket reclining seats, well some of the cheaper ones, have a tendency to break when hit from behind. The mechanism isn't strong enough.There are a few youtube videos of crash testing with reclining "recaros" or similar seats breaking and folding the passengers.

No one has spent as much time on the safety and engineering of your seat/belt/airbag system as the OEM engineers. They have to pass all those government mandated tests for tons of different scenarios while being comfortable and having a recline/slide feature.

Good racing seats with FIA certification for track days have an expiration date on them if that tells you anything. Seats that expire due to safety concerns if you were to crash. Serious business. And if you think about it, on a racetrack you will never have a head on collision with another car the way you could on the street. Everyone is going the same direction and no one is texting and driving or drunk!
 
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