Corbeau A4 or GTS II ? Comfortable, heated seat replacements

[r3vmatch]

Hey all,

Has anyone installed Corbeau A4 or GTS II in their Z4/Z4-M?

I'm thinking about replacing the the heated M-sport powered seats in my Z4 3.0si Roadster. I am hoping to find a seat that's heated, has better lumbar support and is cloth. I am NOT tracking my car and I don't need 5-point harness support, more than happy with a manual seat.

I looked into options and the Corbeau A4 has a heated option, inflatable lumbar support, is notably lighter than OE, available in cloth and "seems" like a reasonable choice given my asks.

Should I consider GTS II, other models from Corbeau or seats from other vendors? Scheel-Mann looked like they made good seats but I didn't see heated options.

 

[r3vmatch]

I did come across this forum posting where someone put a slightly different Corbeau (Evolution X) into the Z4 with positive results:

https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1118952

The A4 is on slightly wider at the base (0.25") but the same width at the top (21") which makes me think this might work.

 

[r3vmatch]

I spoke to Corbeau and they also suggested the 'RRX' model (https://corbeau.com/products/rrx?variant=46086882427037) as a good candidate.

My plan is to check out all three seats in person if possible.

I also spent time looking into what it takes to wire the Corbeau heated seats in the Z4 -- my vehicle has heated seats so in theory it's really just the wiring harness work. Corbeau send me a wiring diagram and they include two resistive heaters (four wires) and a 10K ohm thermistor which seems to be what the factory includes in their seats (two heaters, four wires and a thermistor).

So, I think with a donor wiring harness from a seat ala eBay (I won't cut mine!) using the "factory controls" seems very possible.

Corbeau makes an E46 compatible seat bracket so I'd likely go that route.

Hopefully this thread is of interest to more than just me!

 

[Dubbedown]

In terms of confirmed fitment, I know one member installed the Corbeau RRS. And I generally agree re lack of lumbar support - that was my biggest complaint about the M sport seats. The factory non-M seats were better in that regard.

 

[r3vmatch]

Maybe we can get that other member to post a review of the Corbeau RRS?

I found a "local" store (about an hr+) away from me that has many of the Corbeaus I'm interested in, in stock. So I'll make a trip next week and report back.

 

[Dubbedown]

Maybe we can get that other member to post a review of the Corbeau RRS?

I found a "local" store (about an hr+) away from me that has many of the Corbeaus I'm interested in, in stock. So I'll make a trip next week and report back.

He already did on Zpost few years back. I remember because the fitment was spot on.

 

[abar121]

Really interested in this thread as I also have problems with the stock seats and the lack of lumbar support.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

I have a set of Corbeau RBs ready to go into mine, but as ever with seats, they're not terribly straightforward to fit.

The seat base holes are too narrow for the QMS V2 base I have and even mocked up as far back as possible, it's not really far enough back, so I'm back to deliberating about how to mount. It would be easier with sliders as you could of course use them to get the seat further back, perhaps a QMS V1 base with rails would do the trick, it looks to have more holes for narrower bases.

I would like to eliminate the rails to get the seats mounted as low as possible, so will likely use some steel strip between the sides of each base. Just trying to find bases that extend further back.

Mocked up...

 

[Dubbedown]

I have a set of Corbeau RBs ready to go into mine, but as ever with seats, they're not terribly straightforward to fit.

The seat base holes are too narrow for the QMS V2 base I have and even mocked up as far back as possible, it's not really far enough back, so I'm back to deliberating about how to mount. It would be easier with sliders as you could of course use them to get the seat further back, perhaps a QMS V1 base with rails would do the trick, it looks to have more holes for narrower bases.

I would like to eliminate the rails to get the seats mounted as low as possible, so will likely use some steel strip between the sides of each base. Just trying to find bases that extend further back.

Mocked up...

IMG_9277.JPEG

IMG_9281.JPEG

Is that going to rub the door cards?

 

[r3vmatch]

Hi Matt,

Did you measure the "new" base height vs. the old height with the factory seats? That seems REALLY low, can you even see over the hood?

 

[Nick W]

If I needed more support I would take them to a good Upholsterer who could make them fit as requested and not ruin the looks of the car. Only guessing but costs might be similar and fit and functions wouldn't change.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Is that going to rub the door cards?

Close to, but no contact in the mock up, when I do put them in, I'll be trying to get the seat as inboard as possible, will update the thread further in due course.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Hi Matt,

Did you measure the "new" base height vs. the old height with the factory seats? That seems REALLY low, can you even see over the hood?

Pic for comparison...



Without a rail the Corbeaus sit maybe an inch lower, which is what I am hoping to achieve... I'm 6'1 and have a long torso, so with a helmet I need to get as low as possible in the car.
It's relatively easy to raise an aftermarket seat, you could use rails or spacers, it looks like a number of e46 seat bases include some spacing so these could be used.