kaizmauka

So basically my 01' LS430 has reached almost 285 K miles and the drivers seat is torn up and ugly. Our cars certainly have very comfortable seats, but the reality is that there are much more.expensive higher end luxury cars out there with seats that would likely put our LS430 seats to bed....after browsing North American wrecker inventories I've stumbled across some absolutely over-the-top high end drivers seats going for between 250 and 10,000 USD. Now obviously I'm not looking to drop the value of my car on a front seat, but if I can find a nice pair for under 1000 USD then i'm happy.
Regarding the models/manufacturers I'm considering....so far Bentley and Rolls Royce have caught my attention the most!!!! The latter is over my budget but I have found some killer deals on Bentley Flying Spur seats in beige to match my LS430 interior.
Anyone here heard of folks doing omething like this? Any thoughts on what seat would be badass in an LS430? What would be your dream seat?

kaizmauka

kaizmauka

The seats shown above are from a 2007 Flying Spur and listed for 250!!! Not sure if that is per seat or the pair together but either way seems like a killer deal, don't you think? The question is would they fit...and would the electrical mate with our LS...would airbags be an issue?

Striker223

Audi S8 seats are the best I've use during to date, Bentley is a bit too soft and not supportive enough when you really get into the corners. The S8 is perfectly comfortable and extremely good at holding you in when you start going fast.

You would need to transfer the entire seat control system over or manually send power to each motor for adjustments. I would create a PI based small board to manage the seat via Bluetooth if you want to do this properly.

CA2WALS430

I like the LS seats, but as for "most", I would agree with something European, mostly German or Swedish.

CSA

If it were me, I'd get new OEM seat foams, have a good auto upholstery shop replace/repair the leather, and call it good.

05ls430518

iTrader: (1)

I would personally just pay a well reputable upholstery shop to add more foam/supports whatever you want to make the oem seats custom to your liking that way its 100% plug and play. The downside is it will be around $1000-$4000 depending on area and how crazy you want to go. If you have them take the oem seat apart maybe see about improving/maintenance on the heated/cooled seats as well.

TominPT

I replaced my seat pad with OEM and found it still too firm. If I wanted perfection I would do what 05ls430518 suggests above.

kaizmauka

It seems like having the seats refurbished would be quite expensive...i'm better off just getting brand new seats from a lower mileage wrecked LS!!!
I appreciate the tips but please guys read the title....i am trying to do a seat SWAP not a refurbishment.
For only a few hundred bucks I can have beautiful new seats, but what i need to know is if it will be possible to fit them and safely secure them to the floor. Anyone who has information about how%where to drill and bolt into the floor (if the bolt pattern doesnt match) i need your help!

CSA

If you are not handy, I suspect swapping seats will become an exercise in frustration.

kaizmauka

Are you assuming i'm not "handy" , whatever that could mean...sorry but what's your point?

CSA

You overlook my use of the qualifier "if" in my post. On the other hand, your words: "what i need to know is if it will be possible to fit them and safely secure them to the floor. Anyone who has information about how%where to drill and bolt into the floor (if the bolt pattern doesnt match) i need your help!" Good luck with your project; I hope it works out for you.

kaizmauka

It's all good I don't take offense, admittedly i'm not mechanically inclined or confident in my ability to work on cars but I can't imagine that removing and installing a front seat could present any challenges that couldn't be overcame with a little research and some basic tools.
I have never done this kind of work but I would love to learn and get a better understanding of how our cars work. Sure, it may be frustrating and harder than it sounds but I think it will be a fun project.
Assuming that for most non-lexus model seats the bolt configuration will not match, can you point me in the right direction (other posts, online step-by-step guides) that will explain how our seats are mounted and secured....i anficipate that I will have to modify the floor of the car to support the seats, and I don't have a clue what id be drilling /bolting onto.
If i had more money id pay someone but im forced to do it myself for now, hopefully with the help of some friemds or CL members if anyone reads this and is in the Vancouver area!

BigBoomer

I looked into replacing my LS430 front seats with W220 front seats but there are too many hurdles to get over.
The seats fit into the space and I could make up adapter plates to be able to bolt the seat down, but getting the electrics to work is a nightmare.
There are vast differences in how the 2 seats do the seat controls and after a fair bit of investigation, I gave up.
If the seat just got a 12V supply it would be easy, but so far as I can tell, none of them work like that.

Jabberwock

Unlikely that bolt patterns would be the same, but a good custom auto shop would likely be able to make new seats fit with the required clearances to allow the various electric motors to adjust position. Basic 12 volt power to the seats could also be delivered easily.

Seat position controls, heat, and ventilation (assuming clearance is not an issue) should not be too difficult, assuming position controls are located on the new seats. If position controls are not on the seat (like MB) that increases complexity significantly.

Car seats are very precisely designed and engineered for the exact specific interior dimensions and control (pedals, steering wheel, windshield, etc) layouts within the cabin, my guess is that inserting seats from a different car into the LS430 isn't going to result in it being more comfortable, ...but who knows it may work out great.

The real complexity may be integrating the LS430 electronics and sensors for the seats to match new seats - seat side airbags, maybe belt pretensioners. Airbags in seats and the knee airbags deploying towards the seats are designed for that specific space, may not be an issue but needs to be considered.