I am on the mission for some Golf GTi Mk5 seats, Audi S3 8l seats, or some Golf Mk4 R32 seats.. the standard fabia vrs seats just aren't comfortable enough for me :( any idea on how much its going to cost to get any of these fitted?

I know this seem nuts to many people but my cousin has a golf MK5 Gti and the black leather heated seats are SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD! and the S3 8l seats are amazing too.. and the Mk4 R32 are great for support but I think I have just decided no :p

I know I have read somewhere on another forum that Devonutopia has fitted golf mk5 seats to his car..

..or shall I say.. "The Mongrel" :p

I think Jason had to re-drill the floor pan tbh. Out of those I think the R32 seats would be easiest to get in going from the recent base swapping shenanigans going on here. Or maybe the S3 seats. Either way they'll be pretty weighty! Would be cool having electric adjustment tho

The fabia foam has the metal braces in side the foam, not sure how much larger the middle section is of the base but thecover should fit straight over the other one?

The subframe under the foam on the vrs seats doesnt have that bar welded on like the recaros, it looks exactly same as bog standard fabia one

Also, try just banging a one of your other socket pieces into the bolt, after a bit of knocking should sit tight

Taylor the easiest way will be to fit the S3 `Recaro seats, as the subframes simply unbolt from the, seats will then bolt onto the new Fabia subframes that Recaro sell… they will be best part of £100 each though I recon.

I think Jason had to re-drill the floor pan tbh. Out of those I think the R32 seats would be easiest to get in going from the recent base swapping shenanigans going on here. Or maybe the S3 seats. Either way they'll be pretty weighty! Would be cool having electric adjustment tho

I think I'm more inclined to the S3 seats as they are a tad cheaper than both golfs seats. although as you have seen I am also inclined to just buying an S3.. just weighing up all my options keep the fabia for 2-3 more years or go S3.. ahh the difficulties of life :p

Taylor the easiest way will be to fit the S3 `Recaro seats, as the subframes simply unbolt from the, seats will then bolt onto the new Fabia subframes that Recaro sell… they will be best part of £100 each though I recon.

This is a great help.. this way I will be able to fit them myself and not get ripped off a fortune for it I'll do some more digging but thank you

Capital seating are the ones to talk to, their website isn’t great, but they were by far the cheapest supplier when I bought my subframe from them.

The fabia foam has the metal braces in side the foam, not sure how much larger the middle section is of the base but thecover should fit straight over the other one?

The subframe under the foam on the vrs seats doesnt have that bar welded on like the recaros, it looks exactly same as bog standard fabia one

Also, try just banging a one of your other socket pieces into the bolt, after a bit of knocking should sit tight

Thanks Jon.

Think I'll invest in a junior hacksaw and extract the bolts that way. I'd probably be able to get an M9 spline hammered into the rounded bolts....except my set didn't come with one :( and the M10 is far too big.

I may then also use the hacksaw to chop the braces off the Recaro bases and leave then loose in the foam and pad it out even further with some chopped foam from the donor poo seat.

Who knows

Capital seating are the ones to talk to, their website isn’t great, but they were by far the cheapest supplier when I bought my subframe from them.

I shall enquire.. So it is literally a case of just swapping the subframe and away we go?

I shall enquire.. So it is literally a case of just swapping the subframe and away we go?

Yes it is that simple, the subframes bolt on to the bottom of the Recaro’s with 4 M8 allen head (IIRC) bolts.

BANG and the job is done.

Ok mostly done.

Ok partly done.

Ok just a little bit more done

Knocked o the neighbours garage and he was more than happy to lend me some bits.

1 hacksaw, a leverage screwdriver and a large hammer later and I had a plan.

Essentially saw (or should, that be hack?!) a slot into the bolt head, insert screw driver, hit with Hammer round n a circle to undo.

Simple enough but did take almost an hour to get them out.

You forget how far 360 degree is until sopmethkng only turns 5 at a time.

Bolt out it was a case of remove the foam from the driver seat and away we go.

I have carved the spare Fabia seat base into pieces and filled the gap left by the non existent metal braces and all seems well.

Did a test put back together and they are great.

Have now deconstructed again and brought the bits inside to clean.

Then it'll be a case of waiting for some dry weather to get the drivers seat in then I can actually think about selling all the other bits!

ok this time BANG and the dirt is gone

ok so it hasn't unfaded the red nor do I think they actually look that much cleaner either

but the ex-tshirt/cleaning rag which started pristine white seems to think a load of dirt had been removed!

Am on an early start/early finish for work tomorrow so will hopefully be home in daylight meaning i can call around to my local dealer and pick up some new fixing bolts for the seat runners and then swap the drivers seats!

Pasty,

A couple of questions you may be able to help with.

1) Are the Recaros a lot bigger/wider/heavier than the fabia seats.

2) I know the Recaro seat bases are the same as the fabia except they have the welded metal bolster supports, but underneath how are they attached to the sub frames. Are they both welded? I see in a sub conversation above that Audi S3 recoros are bolted to the sub frames with Allen bolts and wondered if it was the same on these.

Thanks

Sam the vast majority of OE Recaro’s have welded subframes, just like the OE Fabia has, which is why they are not a straightforward swap.

Thanks Gizmo,

Just trying to get the full picture so I can see what all the pitfalls are before I even think about attempting something similar.

Pasty,

A couple of questions you may be able to help with.

1) Are the Recaros a lot bigger/wider/heavier than the fabia seats.

2) I know the Recaro seat bases are the same as the fabia except they have the welded metal bolster supports, but underneath how are they attached to the sub frames. Are they both welded? I see in a sub conversation above that Audi S3 recoros are bolted to the sub frames with Allen bolts and wondered if it was the same on these.

Thanks

1 - the seats are just better

the side bolsters on the back rests are much larger plus there is adjustable lumbar/lower back support

the bases are wider and the bolsters bigger (althoguh may suffer without the metal bracing - although you could remove the Golf ones from the bases and insert loose int eh foam if you really wanted to)

2 - I'll take you some pictures tonight but yes while the bases (the butt shaped bits) are 95% the same (minus the welded support bars v loose support bars and some minor changes) the underneaths an absolutely nothing a like.

While the Fabia seats slide on 2 removable runners (1 each side) the Golf runners are built into the shell of the car with a large central support on the base.

The runner bits are then welded to the base and the whole thing is one huge unit.

I, like you, had thought it could be simplified by unbolting the bases from the frames sawpping and bolting back together.

Unfortunately there is no way of separating the two parts though hence having to swap the foam from base to base!

That said luckily the bolt holes on the rear back rests are exactly the same so all you need to do is unbolt and bolt the other base.

Thanks Gizmo,

Just trying to get the full picture so I can see what all the pitfalls are before I even think about attempting something similar.

The pitfalls are minimal.

You really do just need to remove the foam from a Fabia seat base, put the new one on and swap the matching backs across.

You genuinely could have it done in an afternoon if you wanted.

As said many times though to get matching the rears is a different beast entirely.

Although that said I haven't yet pulled a Fabia rear bench apart but assume it could be fudged pretty easily and (am hoping) sorted properly by a professional for a small sum.

ok so i apologise now for these images there are a mix of flash and no flash so they are a bit all over the place

So the tops of the bases are almost the same

so that is looking from the back forward, the Golf ones on the left has the extra bolsters bars, and an extra rise between your legs (oooh matron) which i made up for with a bit of extra foam under the Recaro foam when put on the Fabia base.

The rest is largely similar with some extra holes and welds on the Golf base.

when flipped over you can see just how different they are and how different the runner systems in the 2 cars are

and unfortunately both runner systems are welded to the base.

As you say about if there were some bolts you could undo and swap this'd be the easiest job ever!!

so once those were taken I then set about putting the seats back together

Recaro base foam on the Fabia base

seat back then bolted into place

2 bolts on the seat back and job done

then came the trickiest bit for today putting the trim back on

this is only tricky because the retaining plastic edging on the Golf material is different to the Fabia stuff.

The Fabia is thick at the top to hold it into the metal slots and then thin at the bottom to allow the plastic trim to also tuck into the metal slot clamping the whole lot nicely in place.

On the Golf stuff its thick and both top and bottom meaning you can't get the trim into the slot.

However with a bit of light persuasion i was able to get the screws to line up, clamping the trim tight and hiding the exposed Golf material edges

Only issue was the front section which due to the warping of the side parts wouldn't fit 100%

It will stay in place but it is incredibly eager to pop out on the top corner in front of the height adjustment handle :S

Then i thought well i've come this far and who really needs daylight!

side by side

i left the airbag plug for the Recaros attached just in case i sell them at a later date and the recipient has airbags (unlike me)

I just tied it up to the underside of the Fabia base

if i can take a side by side picture that meant the VRS seat was out and i could slot the Recaro in

Again apologies for the pics I'll try to get some in day light tomorrow

only fly in the ointment today is that i may have cross threaded one of the front bolt holes so at present the seat is only held in with 3 bolts.

I was going to remove the seat and thread the bolt in when it was easier to access but in all honesty after a 5am start today i simply couldn't be bothered!

I'll sort it at the weekend. In daylight!

Thats as far as i can get now until i either swap my VRS interior for a standard one to dismember or sell and buy some done standard pieces

Over the moon so far on how it look so far and at how easy the whole process has been!

Thanks for the updated photos. I like the confidence that it could be done in an afternoon. With the progress so far, you have 99% convinced me to give it a go. I do wonder about the rears but like you say a professional may be able to sort it.

Enjoying the progress I shall keep watching and learning. Good job!

Having bought the donor drivers seat i had something to experiment with so am now confident on the fronts.

As i don't have a donor set of rears yet I can't really give you any help on that.

I do really think that you could just pull both lots apart, put the Golf foam on the Fabia base and pull the material tight over the top.

It'd be a bit of a bodge and might need some serious double sided tap/hot glue gun work underneath but I'm sure it'd pass - i can't remember the last time i had any rear passengers!

I'll keep everyone updated as work progresses on mine once i get some donors.

I'd be more than happy to offer some sort of fitting advice service if people wanted my help

Looking good, suit the Fabia.

Bit of a loaded question. When you are complete, will you still have a sellable set of vrs cloth seats? Possibly jumping the gun, but mind is thinking of contingency plans before a decision is made

that's the plan Iann

I assumed that it'd be easier to sell complete seats than it would be to try to shift a set of VRS seat foam and material without the metal parts.

Plan is to either swap the whole VRS kit & caboodle with a non VRS owner or VRS owner with knackered bits plus cash my way

or sell the whole lot complete to whoever wants it (or worst case sell individually) and then buy a set of standards from a scrappy to act as donors

Looks good!

With regards to the rears, are you a perfectionist Mr Pasty?