Seat Rebuild with Kemmler Air2Gel Foam

[TheOtherEric]

Originally Posted by esthi

I used the 3/8" regular density Air2Gel, and then put a 1" layer of regular foam (from JoAnn Fabrics) over the Air2Gel. The seats are much, much better. I can still feel every pavement variation, but my tailbone is much happier.

Note: I also purchased some 1/8" HD Air2Gel, but did not use it. Overall, both types of Air2Gel were much firmer than I expected.

I have to disagree with my wife a bit here. I think the Air2Gel is definitely too firm. It's basically identical to the kitchen comfort/cushion mats that we bought at Wal-Mart for $8 each, except the Air2Gel (regular density 3/8") is a wee bit softer. If it were about 30% softer I think it would be great material.

[KryptonGreen]

Originally Posted by TheOtherEric

I have to disagree with my wife a bit here. I think the Air2Gel is definitely too firm. It's basically identical to the kitchen comfort/cushion mats that we bought at Wal-Mart for $8 each, except the Air2Gel (regular density 3/8") is a wee bit softer. If it were about 30% softer I think it would be great material.

+1 I had to fall back on a 3/4" high density foam (kneeling pad) for the seat bottom.

[Domino]

Can anyone that has done this mod tell me if the original foam that was under the seat pad is reused? Or do you just toss it and use the new stuff? The 2 pieces I'm wondering about are shown in the attached picture.

[Brian 111]

I did not have those pieces of foam on my '05. I'm guessing that you have Probax seats.

BTW, before rebuilding mine with Kemmler's foam, I tried Tempur foam and that foam used in kneeling pads. The Tempur compresses and molds to you, but doesn't have energy absorbing propertied. Tha kneeling pad foam worked much better, but it broke down and became soft after a few months. Your results may vary.

[Domino]

Hi Brian -
I'm pretty sure they're not Probax as it's an early 2005 model and the seats have the bladders. From your first post in this thread you mentioned:

"The bottom cushion had foam that was easy to rip up when separated from the seat, so I used a utility knife to slice it away from the seat shell, almost like scraping a sticker off of the inside of a windshield. I covered the foam with duct tape to keep it from disintegrating (just separating it from the seat made a huge mess) and to give me a stable surface to reattach it to the seat base with tape or glue."

I thought that the blue foam shown in my picture was the one you were talking about but I wasn't sure if you ended up reusing it or not since it sounded like it fell apart on you. The foam on mine came out fairly intact.

Originally Posted by Brian 111

I did not have those pieces of foam on my '05. I'm guessing that you have Probax seats.

[Brian 111]

Domino-

My car was built 5/05, and those pieces of foam were bonded firmly to the seat leather, which was wrapped around the foam. I didn't recognize it, but when I took a peek at my car the foam in your picture looked familiar.

If I were you, I'd reuse it, unless you want to totally re-contour the front half of the seat bottom.

So, what is the leather supported by on your car?

[Keeper]

I used duct tape to resecure that piece of foam to the leather insert. IIRC, the duct also made it easy to use that area for carpet tape if I needed it.

[Brian 111]

That's exactly what I did, but mine was already attached to the leather, which wrapped around the foam 2" on either side.

[Domino]

Hi Brian -
I think I'll re-use as I don't want to re-contour it. The leather seat insert is supported by that blue foam in the picture, but it wasn't firmly bonded. The seat insert came right off of the blue foam when I pulled on it. It stuck pretty well to the seat shell and in the picture you can see the residue there. The thin piece of white foam (also shown in the picture) was under the blue foam but on top of the metal bar.

What wasn't obvious from your original pictures and description was that the 2 pieces of foam that I show were stuck to the bottom of your leather seat pad. Thanks for clarifying.

BTW... I'm installing seat heaters while I'm at it.

Originally Posted by Brian 111

...
If I were you, I'd reuse it, unless you want to totally re-contour the front half of the seat bottom.

So, what is the leather supported by on your car?

[darkSol]

I found that the blue foam peeled, separated and was generally a pain in the arse. I used blue painter tape to hold it all together when I reassembled the seat. I have the base cloth seats though.

[Johnny B]

I ordered the 1/8 Air2Gel HD and the 3/8 AirGel regular. Looking forward to doing this mod.

[VBCARGUY]

Just ordered the gell also. I can't find a decent seat that will work for tall people. Tom at shock tec was extremly helpfull. I will post pics when I install it.

[falcon]

Does anyone know if this foam is like the stuff in Corbin mororcycle seats

[Chococar]

Originally Posted by VBCARGUY

Just ordered the gell also. I can't find a decent seat that will work for tall people. Tom at shock tec was extremly helpfull. I will post pics when I install it.

Have you tried searching for "tall person's seat"?

Thanks,

Joe

[peck555]

Just a bump in the road.