Passenger seat bracket

[julius_the_cat]

Problem: The space behind the passenger seat lacks sufficient depth to fit most stereo amplifiers.

Opportunity: There is about 7/8" from the front of passenger seat bracket to where the ridges start on the floor. If the seat was moved forward that 7/8", the space behind the seat would be much more useful (with only a minor reduction in foot room for passengers.)

I am looking for help in fashioning a bracket whose net effect would be to raise the passenger seat about 1/2" and move it forward 7/8". The 1/2" height would allow the seat bracket to rest above the existing bolts into the floor which are 1/4" in height.

Here is a crude drawing of my proposal which would be slightly over 1" in length and just over 1/2" high.
Drawings are neither to scale and nor very good, so let me know if it doesn't make any sense.

This is another crude drawing of the brackets installed.



Any comments appreciated. If it would work, anyone know someone who could make me some of them. Are there any mechanical, safety, liability or other issues? I thought the general forum the best spot for this post, even though the stereo folks are the intended beneficiaries.

[jkolb]

There is a safety issue here, although it may not be too serious. One of the reasons that the passenger seat is not adjustable is to allow for the design of the airbag at a fixed distance from the seat back. Moving the passenger closer to the dash will increase the force of airbag impact on the passenger in the event of a collision. The amount you are moving the seat should not matter significantly, but it is there.

Jerry

[julius_the_cat]

Good point, thanks. Could probably get by with 5/8" of forward gain, which would lessen any effect further. In the nearly two years I have had the car, I have had passengers briefly on three occasions.

[Chris Mackey]

Originally Posted by julius_the_cat

Good point, thanks. Could probably get by with 5/8" of forward gain, which would lessen any effect further. In the nearly two years I have had the car, I have had passengers briefly on three occasions.

Maybe you should just lose the passenger seat altogether?

But back to your plan, the passenger will also sit higher.

I don't know enough about the tub, but I'd be a little worried that this would cause some warping of the aluminum. It may be that the current spots are reinforced, and moving away from those might cause unexpected stress on the tub.

Why not just get a thinner amplifier? Someone makes an amplifier/subwoofer combo that is supposed to fit back there.

I'd like to see a mod to make the passenger seat move like the driver's seat, if for no other reason to be able to fish out debris causing noise down below.

[tesprit]

I have only had my passenger seat out once and I never looked closely at the mounting rails, but it would seem to me that one piece rails on each side would be the way to go. They would make the seat to floor assembly much stronger in the event of an accident and even out the stress to the floor to rail mounts. Do you have a photo of the underside of the removed passenger seat and rails? I could help you design some new rails and even make them for you on my milling machine. Just PM me if you are interested in some assistance.

[julius_the_cat]

Originally Posted by tesprit

I have only had my passenger seat out once and I never looked closely at the mounting rails, but it would seem to me that one piece rails on each side would be the way to go. They would make the seat to floor assembly much stronger in the event of an accident and even out the stress to the floor to rail mounts. Do you have a photo of the underside of the removed passenger seat and rails? I could help you design some new rails and even make them for you on my milling machine. Just PM me if you are interested in some assistance.

I'll pull the seat out and look at it more closely. Thanks very much. I'm just west of Milwaukee so not far either.

[julius_the_cat]

Originally Posted by Chris Mackey

Maybe you should just lose the passenger seat altogether?

I've thought about it, but I bet I could predict my spouse's reaction pretty accurately.

[ChrisB]

Probably more important than sitting 7/8" closer to the airbag is the stress on those new brackets in an accident. The seat belts are mounted to the seat, which in turn is held to the tub by those bolts/brackets. You really don't want any breakage in that area during an accident or you'll be sitting a hell of a lot closer to the airbag than 7/8 of an inch. Just make sure they are strong enough to withstand that kind of force.

[GaryD]

If you already have a specific amp you are trying to get in there this wont help but if not...

Amps that are behind the passenger seat include:

Lanzar Opti 400 (Truweb's post):
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13336

I have the Lanzar in my car - note that it has to be raised off the floor to go behind the seat as in Truweb's pics - there is a rectangular cut out in the back of the seat (at least in my 05 Elise) which my installer did not realize and had fits trying to figure out how the amp would go in there... You get more space up high rather than at the base as a result.

Audison SRX4
http://www.audison.com/default.asp?lang=eng

Gemini Profile 4
http://www.theautophile.com/products/ProfileFour.html

If one of these will do then you need not mess with the seat.
................... Gary

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by julius_the_cat

I'll pull the seat out and look at it more closely. Thanks very much. I'm just west of Milwaukee so not far either.

I didn't know you were just outside Milwaukee.
I would be happy to work with you on this project and I am sure there is a way to move the seat forward without subjecting the mounting areas of the floor to undue stress while keeping the seat safe. I am also quite sure it could be done without raising the seat up which should help keep the stock appearance and relation to the air bag. When you get the seat out, shoot some photos of the rails/underside of the seat and the floor mounts and email them to me. In the mean time I will take a good look at my car and see if I come up with anything with my seat still installed.

[julius_the_cat]

Originally Posted by GaryD

If you already have a specific amp you are trying to get in there this wont help but if not...

.................. Gary

Amp in my signature is already installed currently behind the driver's seat, but it cost me one click of seat adjustment that I would like back.

[julius_the_cat]

Originally Posted by tesprit

When you get the seat out, shoot some photos of the rails/underside of the seat and the floor mounts and email them to me.

Will do, thanks again.

[julius_the_cat]

Tesprit, I sent you an email.

[julius_the_cat]

My passenger seat is now 3/4" forward and my amp successfully installed behind the passenger seat thanks to Tesprit .

He fashioned two inserts which maintained the correct seat height and gained me the space behind the seat. I was going to paint them black but clearcoated them because they were so pretty, of course you have to know where to look to see them.

Here is the passenger seat position and compared to the drivers side

I couldn't be more pleased with the result. I also learned how to remove the console (to reinforce the shifter - definitely worth the effort), removed the back panel to reroute the power cable from my new Voltphreaks 3lb battery and learned where the fuses are after shorting the accesory outlet. All in all a worthwhile weekend.

[Smoky]

Are these brackets available for purchase? I would also like to relocate my Kenwood Amp/Sub to the passenger side and regain full fwd/rwd motion of the driver seat adjustment.

Julius: How much clearance do you now have between the backside of the passenger seat and the rear wall?

Thx

[darkSol]

Not to threadjack too much but it does apply to the title of the thread...

Does anyone know the exact weight of the stock passenger seat bracket?

The Lotus part that Sector111 sells is 4.75 lbs. but it's for their CF seats.

Thanks!

[julius_the_cat]

Originally Posted by Smoky

Are these brackets available for purchase? I would also like to relocate my Kenwood Amp/Sub to the passenger side and regain full fwd/rwd motion of the driver seat adjustment.

Julius: How much clearance do you now have between the backside of the passenger seat and the rear wall?

Thx

The depth of the space behind the passenger seat depends on where you measure it. My amp is 38mm (1.5"") thick and is mounted with the long axis horizontal and uses the entire width behind the seat. An amp 2" thick would probably fit that way.

There is a recessed space in the center of the seat (easier to see is you look at the driver's side) and if your amp would fit there your would probably have 2.5" of depth available.

All I can say for sure is that I have 3/4" more depth behind the seat than before. I mailed the seat brackets to Tespirt and he made the inserts for me. The inserts can be removed and the seat returned to stock position.

My set of inserts might not fit your car. Tespirt said previously he would consider making other inserts for folks but you would have to get him your seat brackets. Probably best you contact him directly if interested.

[Smoky]

Thx!! Wow.. I never got emailed about this reply. I've been dying to know about this brackets. I'll contact Tesprit and see what can be done. Thx!