DIY install aftermarket seats - Corbeau A4 in Mach-E

[dtbaker61]

'Performance' seats change the whole driving experience! no slipping around when cornering hard.

******** DISCLAIMER ***********
this mod is not recommended for daily use, it is for test/track purposes only because there is no Certified floor bracket available at this time, and the aftermarket seats are typically not available with internal side airbags that are in the factory seats. Use aftermarket seats at your own risk in closed course events only...
********************************
*********Alternative ************
Take factory seats to a good Upholstery shop and have them re-foam, sculpt, and re-cover with whatever fabric you want.... This probably will cost about the same as nice aftermarket tuner/race seats, and retain factory seat frame & brackets, adjustment motors and airbag functionality
*********************************

That being said, my reason for trying out some aftermarket seats is mostly because I really dislike the factory seats.... and I didn't even notice that the seats had internal side airbags rather than in the door pillars until I had already ordered and gotten the seats. Had I KNOW what a PIA it is to deal with seat airbags, I probably would have gone with a foam 'sculpt' and re-cover.

I'm not a fan of ActiveX or any other 'leather like' material that is cold in winter, sticky/hot on bare skin in summer, and slippery all the time. I much prefer cloth or micro-suede with lots of side and shoulder bolster. I was tempted to go with fixed buckets, but decided to go with reclinable.... and opted for heated+lumbar support options. In retrospect, with the Corbeau A4, the lumber 'pump' doesn't really improve the fit for me, but I had never sat in any A4 seats, so I didn't know.

The bad news was that Corbeau does NOT have a seat bracket designed/available for the Mach-e.... So I had to fabricate my own prototype for fitment purposes. I would hope that eventually the aftermarket seat mfg will eventually get their hands on a Mach-e to measure... but it could be a while considering how long it took to get one to do a hitch receiver.

The other bad news is that the typical 'tuner' or race seats do not have internal side airbags... which means the airbag system senses that they are missing and throws errors. So, unless you are willing to transplant the airbags, you have to deal with the errors.... and run the risk of problems with Inspections/Insurance and resale of the vehicle unless you put factory seats with side airbags back in.

There are various ways to 'bypass' the side airbag and avoid warning lights. I did a little research on the 'track forums' and found that the seat side airbag connector can be terminated with the proper resistor (2.2 ohm), and if you also transplant the track position sensor to the replacement seat rail, the airbag system will be happy and the warning light will go out, and the remainder of the airbag system should work normally.

The good news is that I was able to fabricate a seat bracket in a couple hours using some heavy duty 'L' feet and extruded 6061 aluminum rails normally used for solar panels that gave me the right height and a little adjustability side to side for fitment. I was able to install the 'slider' right on top for fore/aft adjustment. Even better, the fabricated bracket ends up several pounds lighter than the usual flat steel welded bracket.

Once you have a bracket mounted on the seats, and install an extra seatbelt end.... it is only about a 10 minute job to swap out the seats.... (2) T55 bolts, (2) T50 bolts, and the main wiring harness...

========================================

factory seat = 46.4#
Corbeau A4, w/ slider& bracket = 32.6#

cost for 2 seats w/ heat, lumbar, and microsuede was $1400
brackets cost $15 materials per seat
sliders I think were $40 each after I returned the mustang 2015+ brackets

 

[tmblue]

Shear strength of that Solar mounting stuff? Seats really need to anchored with a material that won't stretch/crack etc.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

To each his own. But, Never in a million years. I’ve put Corbeaus in Fox body Stangs and 4th-Gen F body Camaros that I tracked back in the ‘90s-00s but would never do this to a daily driver that was equipped with side impact airbags in the seats.
And the installs I did came with correct mounting brackets for the application so there weren’t any worries about a potential unintended ejection seat scenario. Be careful man…

 

[DanCoon]

Just a thought... If you're using materials not designed to be installed in a car like that or not placed in their intended configuration, will insurance pay if you get in an accident?

Edit: A quick Google search said that side airbags are mandatory in all vehicles, so I'm almost certain if you remove them, since they are installed in the seats, that insurance wouldn't cover you if you get in an accident.

 

[AzCoronaDog]

Shear strength of that Solar mounting stuff? Seats really need to anchored with a material that won't stretch/crack etc.

I always like when people customize and make a car their own, but this was my first thought too when I saw how this seat bracket was made.

Looks like aluminum to me, and I would question the crash worthiness of that setup. I would humbly suggest using those brackets as a template for someone that can weld up a set using some steel like the 2015 Mustang brackets appear to be.

I have a philosophy about anything that your life may depend on - don't buy a cheap parachute, climbing rope or scuba gear...

 

[Mr.-e]

The rails are engineered to a certain strength. Changing materials is not good.

 

[BalsaDust]

Don't get me wrong, I like the Corbeu seats in some vehicles and I even had them in my Mini (a real one not BMW) but like everyone here suggested they do need to be mounted properly. Additionally modifying or tampering with federally mandated equipment can and will void your vehicle warranty.

Tony

 

[dtbaker61]

Shear strength of that Solar mounting stuff? Seats really need to anchored with a material that won't stretch/crack etc.

Solar rails and L feet are designed to withstand huge static load and wind loads, the hardware is stock or larger.The extruded rails are stiffer and stronger than the usual 1/8" flat steel used for aftermarket brackets.... I am comfortable with the materials and fasteners I selected being at least as strong as the typical aftermarket bracket.

The only thing I'm really losing safety-wise is the side airbag.

It would have been nice if the side airbag was in the door pillar instead of the seat back... That would give owners the opportunity to use whatever seats they prefer.

 

[blue92lx]

Everyone here seems quick to overlook the biggest change.

Instead of the Mach E being 4800lbs now his is down to 4786lbs.

 

[MG101]

I'm not trying to hassle just curious how you're tricking the rest of the srs system that the side airbags and occupant detection are still there.

 

[dtbaker61]

I'm not trying to hassle just curious how you're tricking the rest of the srs system that the side airbags and occupant detection are still there.

I've been doing more research on this.... I want to be sure the SRS is all working, except for the side airbag.... It turns out that it may be possible to terminate the side bag plug with a 2.2 ohm resistor as a 'diagnostic', and add the seat position sensor to the seat rail; Ford uses these to control the deployment force of the front airbags according to how close you may have the seat set. With correct termination of the circuit, and position sensor, the system *should* be happy and function normally.

 

[AzCoronaDog]

Solar rails and L feet are designed to withstand hundreds of pounds of static load and wind load. I can tell you for a fact that the structural integrity is stiffer and stronger then the whole rest of the factory seat base that I removed.

The only thing I'm really losing safety-wise is the side airbag

I have never seen these solar rails before, so if you are comfortable with their ability to restrain your seat in a crash, I guess you are good to go.

However, static load is nothing like the loading during an impact, so any chance you have the ability to slam your roof with these solar panel rails installed into a telephone pole at 35mph just to be sure?

But seriously - I am not trying to be argumentative or knock your ingenuity or fabrication skills, I just don't want to see anyone get injured, and this setup does not look strong enough to me. I could very well be wrong, but you are potentially gambling your life on it.

I am guessing those solar components are aluminum? Do you know the grade? I have been around race cars with lots of aluminum components, but they are never just bolted together. I don't think the way the bolts only slide into that rail looks like it would hold up to crash forces. At a minimum, could you at least use a through bolt with a large washer on each end to better distribute the forces and keep the bolts from tearing out?

 

[horsevxi]

Solar rails and L feet are designed to withstand hundreds of pounds of static load and wind load. I can tell you for a fact that the structural integrity is stiffer and stronger then the whole rest of the factory seat base that I removed.

The only thing I'm really losing safety-wise is the side airbag

I read your replies and understand that you are a fellow mechanical engineer with lots of DIY experience, but just to give another opinion...

Typical deceleration during a low speed vehicle accident will exceed 30Gs. Multiply your weight by 30 and that is the load the seat brackets need to support in a mild accident from 35MPH. Solar brackets are meant to hold hundreds of pounds in the vertical direction, not thousands of pounds along a horizontal axis. When comparing aluminum to high strength steel, you need roughly 2.5X the volume of metal to maintain the same strength in the same loading conditions with aluminum. Your L brackets are making a worse loading condition than the lower profile OEM seat rails and there isn't enough material in the 90 degree bend to give the same yield strength as the OEM brackets. You may be fine with your DIY seat mounts, but they are not even close to the strength of the OEM seat rails.

 

[dtbaker61]

I read your replies and understand that you are a fellow mechanical engineer with lots of DIY experience, but just to give another opinion...

Typical deceleration during a low speed vehicle accident will exceed 30Gs. Multiply your weight by 30 and that is the load the seat brackets need to support in a mild accident from 35MPH. Solar brackets are meant to hold hundreds of pounds in the vertical direction, not thousands of pounds along a horizontal axis. When comparing aluminum to high strength steel, you need roughly 2.5X the volume of metal to maintain the same strength in the same loading conditions with aluminum. Your L brackets are making a worse loading condition than the lower profile OEM seat rails and there isn't enough material in the 90 degree bend to give the same yield strength as the OEM brackets. You may be fine with your DIY seat mounts, but they are not even close to the strength of the OEM seat rails.

I actually think that *some* deformation in a crash is a good thing. Anything that deforms absorbs energy, and passes less thru the body. if the L brackets deform a little, it is almost irrelevant since the end of the seatbelt is bolted in shear to the factory hardware in the floor rather than passing thru all the sheet steel of the factory seat.... The actual restraint is not the seat, but the seatbelt bolted directly to a bracket.

For side impact.... yes, I gave up the side airbag. But I do think the side bolsters of the A4 seat would keep me in place WAY better than the factory seat. But diagonal belts are going to be marginally effective in a serious side or rollover crash anyway.

Regardless.... if there were an aftermarket bracket available, I would have bought it rather than spend the time fabricating. If there were 'better' seats available from Ford, I would have considered them..... but there weren't.

So, I thought I'd share my mod.... not saying anybody else has to do it.

Some people scuba dive, skydive, do drugs, or any number of other things I think are unsafe. I choose to 'mod' my vehicles.

 

[SHOK3R]

My guy, this isn’t a mod this is a hack job at best but thank you for sharing.

Sponsored