non m-sport seats, how good/bad are they?

E

enzed4

Veteran
 New Zealand
I've enjoyed the m-sport seats in my E85, but am now looking at an E89 that has the standard 'flat'-looking leather seats.
Can anyone who owns these seats comment on how comfortable they are, and do they hold you OK? I.e. you don't slide around on them due to lack of bolsters?
I don't think it's a deal breaker, but would like to know what I might be in for.
Yes, a test drive will be the best answer, but I'm not in a position to do so just now, and would like the views of those who have been using them for a while.
Thanks.
The ones I'm looking at are heated with electric memory - I think that's standard anyway?
 
I came from standard sports seats in my e85 to M-Sport seats in my e89, and there is a big difference
I’d accepted the standard seats were fine as I knew no difference
The m sport seats are a lot better and would not go back
Much more comfortable and you are held in place especially with the bolster adjustment
 
Phoenixboy said:
I came from standard sports seats in my e85 to M-Sport seats in my e89, and there is a big difference
I’d accepted the standard seats were fine as I knew no difference
The m sport seats are a lot better and would not go back
Much more comfortable and you are held in place especially with the bolster adjustment
Click to expand...

I don’t think the standard sport seats in the e89 are as flat as the e85 versions, I’ve only had the m sport seats in my car’s so don’t know for sure? :?
Rob
 
Mine just has the standard "flat" seats and to be honest, as the driver they are fine. They don't hold me in with the bolsters that much but I don't slide around at all. As a passenger with no steering wheel to hold there is some moving around but not that much. That's all just spirited road driving of course. As for comfort, I do miss having lumbar adjustment but otherwise I have no problems and I find them fine for long journeys i.e. Wokingham to Norwich taking 4 hours without a break and getting out at the end feeling fine.
 
Ive got the standard SE seats in mine (they are heated ones though) when I was looking for the car the mileage, condition and other options (iDrive, pdc etc) outweighed the decision on the seats. Ive been on the outlook for some manual, heated sports seats which Ill retrofit ( a lot easier than retrofitting sat nav and pdc etc I hope)
 
My 20k mile e89 came with sports seats - adjustable bolsters, under-knee extenders, and heated - and it took me months to get them 'right'. In the meantime, they were hard, uncomfortable and annoying.

I think they came right, not only because of adjusting them, but also because their high-quality, very fine-grain, ivory white leather finally softened.

Gliptone leather conditioner contributed to this significantly.

That said, I believe some BMW leathers, especially the coarser grain ones, soften quicker than others and, when they do, sports or not, hold you well.
 
I've had all three types in my E89 1) the cloth seats (pretty rare I think), 2) SE and 3) the sports seats.

It came with cloth seats, and to be fair these were very comfy but I wanted leather so I found some SE ones, only to find that they were nowhere near as supportive. I eventually found some electric/memory/heated sports seats (good deal for £400 I think) and these are so much better. They were hard to fit because my "poverty spec" 2.3iDrive didn't have the loom for these seats, but after some time I worked out how to wire them in and code the car.

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=92671&p=1363305&hilit=loom#p1363305

Wouldn't go back to either now! :thumbsup:
 
Busterboo said:
My 20k mile e89 came with sports seats - adjustable bolsters, under-knee extenders, and heated - and it took me months to get them 'right'. In the meantime, they were hard, uncomfortable and annoying.

I think they came right, not only because of adjusting them, but also because their high-quality, very fine-grain, ivory white leather finally softened.

Gliptone leather conditioner contributed to this significantly.

That said, I believe some BMW leathers, especially the coarser grain ones, soften quicker than others and, when they do, sports or not, hold you well.
Click to expand...

Those aren’t just sports seats Buster, they’re M sport seats :thumbsup:
Rob
 
Mine have lack of lumbar support, which i noticed this evening as i got out and i had back ache.
Needs something down there to push against spine.
 
Smartbear said:
Busterboo said:
Picture, please. :)
Click to expand...
If you have under the knee extending seats they’re M sport versions :thumbsup:
Rob
Click to expand...

Every day's a school day. Thank you, Rob.

So, now I know I have M sports seats, what do ordinary sports seats look like, please? And are there not-sports-at-all seats, as well?
 
Hi Buster, these are the standard sport seats https://goo.gl/images/2oAXb6
As far as I know, not-sports-at all seats were never an option? :oops:
Rob
 
Smartbear said:
Hi Buster, these are the standard sport seats https://goo.gl/images/2oAXb6
As far as I know, not-sports-at all seats were never an option? :oops:
Rob
Click to expand...
They look like mine except mine are black leather heated electric memory seats.
 
Smartbear said:
Hi Buster, these are the standard sport seats https://goo.gl/images/2oAXb6
As far as I know, not-sports-at all seats were never an option? :oops:
Rob
Click to expand...

Yep sports seats pictured, bolster and knee adjustable are M sport with the lumbar as an option which seems like hens teeth from what I’ve seen, no idea why as they were a cheap option, I didn’t have them on mine as I forgot nd it was too late into the build to add them.... :oops:

I’m with Busterboo on this, the M sport seats from new we’re really hard, so much so I started to hate them, couldn’t get them right despite hours of messing with the adjusters, but this 42k mile car the seats are a different animal, so much softer and comfortable, I really like them. :driving:
 
john-e89 said:
Smartbear said:
Hi Buster, these are the standard sport seats https://goo.gl/images/2oAXb6
As far as I know, not-sports-at all seats were never an option? :oops:
Rob
Click to expand...

Yep sports seats pictured, bolster and knee adjustable are M sport with the lumbar as an option which seems like hens teeth from what I’ve seen, no idea why as they were a cheap option, I didn’t have them on mine as I forgot nd it was too late into the build to add them.... :oops:

I’m with Busterboo on this, the M sport seats from new we’re really hard, so much so I started to hate them, couldn’t get them right despite hours of messing with the adjusters, but this 42k mile car the seats are a different animal, so much softer and comfortable, I really like them. :driving:
Click to expand...

Are you sure it’s not you John? You might have gone soft :P
Rob
 
Thanks for all the replies. Just to be clear, the seats I'm looking at are the same as the ones in the link Rob posted (so are 'sports seats').
I was after a comparison with the 'm-sports' seats, which is what this thread has provided. I'm coming from m-sport seats in my E85, so I know just how nicely they support you.
I have only seen one pair of E89 m-sport seats in 5 years here, so upgrading to them probably won't be an option for me (but never say never...).
I think the consensus is that the sport E89 seats are 'ok' but the m-sports are definitely worth having if you can get them, just as I suspected.
Cheers.
 
enzed4 said:
Thanks for all the replies. Just to be clear, the seats I'm looking at are the same as the ones in the link Rob posted (so are 'sports seats').
I was after a comparison with the 'm-sports' seats, which is what this thread has provided. I'm coming from m-sport seats in my E85, so I know just how nicely they support you.
I have only seen one pair of E89 m-sport seats in 5 years here, so upgrading to them probably won't be an option for me (but never say never...).
I think the consensus is that the sport E89 seats are 'ok' but the m-sports are definitely worth having if you can get them, just as I suspected.
Cheers.
Click to expand...

If it were me there’s no way I’d go for sport seats enzed, simply because seats are probably THE biggest item to get right in a car, after all you spend a long time in them, you wouldn’t have ‘ok ish’ seats in your house right? The seats in my Boxster are THE worst pair of benches, stupidly hard with next to no side support. If I keep it I’ll be putting aftermarket Recaro's in. Look at the pics below, you’re going from one to the other, the sport seats don’t look very supportive do they.

But hey as always that’s just what I think, you may quite rightly think otherwise, just make sure you’re happy before you buy is all I can say. Best of luck. :thumbsup: :driving:
 

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My non-m sports Zed has the pauper specification that has the ‘rare’ inclusion of cloth seats and they are fine. No slip or slide, no heating and are comfortable enough. No complaints :thumbsup:
 
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