dlhoovler
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport 6MT
The manual cloth seats in my GTI have, in my opinion, been lacking in lumbar support. The maximum setting just got them to the minimum acceptable level for me. So, based on some MK5 or MK6 threads, I added some foam between the lumbar mechanism and the seat foam.
I used part of this set of interlocking foam mats from Harbor Freight. As I recall, the set was about $8.
I cut a rectangle of foam 10"x6". That's just slightly smaller than the lumbar mechanism, so it allows for a little adjustment. The foam is about 1/2" thick.
I raised the seat to its maximum height and tilted the backrest as far forward as it would go. Then I used plastic trim tools to undo the seat cover. It uses a plastic C-channel on one side of a seam, and a plastic piece on the other side that folds back on itself as it locks into the C-channel. It's a bit hard to describe but reasonably simple when you have the parts in hand. There are seams at the bottom of the backrest and on either side of the pocket on the rear of the seat.
Under the cover, there's a thin foam/plastic layer held in with two plastic push fasteners. I managed to break the heads off both, but I don't think they're critical.
Then under the foam cover is the plastic frame of the lumbar mechanism.
The new foam slides in between the plastic frame and the seat foam pad.
Then I just buttoned everything back up. You wouldn't think 1/2" of foam would make much difference, but it's very noticeable on a quick test. Now the minimum setting is about the same as the old maximum setting, and max is at the top end of how much support I'd likely want. Much improved for $8 and a half hour of work!
I used part of this set of interlocking foam mats from Harbor Freight. As I recall, the set was about $8.
I cut a rectangle of foam 10"x6". That's just slightly smaller than the lumbar mechanism, so it allows for a little adjustment. The foam is about 1/2" thick.
I raised the seat to its maximum height and tilted the backrest as far forward as it would go. Then I used plastic trim tools to undo the seat cover. It uses a plastic C-channel on one side of a seam, and a plastic piece on the other side that folds back on itself as it locks into the C-channel. It's a bit hard to describe but reasonably simple when you have the parts in hand. There are seams at the bottom of the backrest and on either side of the pocket on the rear of the seat.
Under the cover, there's a thin foam/plastic layer held in with two plastic push fasteners. I managed to break the heads off both, but I don't think they're critical.
Then under the foam cover is the plastic frame of the lumbar mechanism.
The new foam slides in between the plastic frame and the seat foam pad.
Then I just buttoned everything back up. You wouldn't think 1/2" of foam would make much difference, but it's very noticeable on a quick test. Now the minimum setting is about the same as the old maximum setting, and max is at the top end of how much support I'd likely want. Much improved for $8 and a half hour of work!
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