tpi305

Hello everyone. I've been considering installing 4th gen seats in my 1986 Iroc for a bit now, and after finding that they pretty much seem to bolt right in, it all seems really good to me. Plus, I have a pick-n-pull right around the corner from me, which always seems to have a 4th gen of some type in there.

Even though I'm 18, I already have a bad back lol, so I was wondering- are the 4th gen seats any more supportive? The seats in my car aren't anything special, just stock non-power seats. I'm just curious, because I'd be doing it for more support, not for looks. I'd like to take a road trip in this car, but if I'm in it for over an hour, my back kills me. The Eldorado; well, that thing almost reverses my back damage . The Camaro is just really harsh to me (well I'm use to a cloud) so I'm trying make a change to it I guess. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.

handeyman

There definitely more comfortable than the stock third gen seats... however I wouldn't call them the most comfortable seats in the world, I haven't compared them to Eldorado seats.

tpi305

Oh no no I've had trouble comparing the new Cadillac seats to my Eldorados:

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/dailycap/bilder/80el2.jpg

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/dailycap/bilder/80el1.jpg

Thats my exact car, mine just has factory cast aluminum wheels rather than wire hubcaps.

Thank you very much for the help, that would make this car even more of a pleasure to drive.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

3rd gen sears are "flat boards you sit on"......4th gens seats are "soft cushions you sit IN".

I like the lower seating they provide (i'm 6' 5") and they recline much better, in regards to body position, now they you are sitting lower in the car.

Unless you play with switches a lot, just get manual ones. I put them in, adjusted them, and they haven't changed since. Most I ever do is slide them forward to get into the back floorboard, then slide them back afterwards. What is easy for me, is that ALL THE WAY BACK, is where I need them slid to. No finding the "sweet spot" forwards & backwards after getting in.

FYRCHKN

The thirdgen seats (excluding the optimas) can't even compare to how comfortable the 4th gen seats are....I have the power lumbar leather seats from a 96 T/A and will never go back.

KnottyBuoyz

iTrader: (2)

I luv mine. Much better then the 3rd Gen originals.



These are out of a wrecked '99. Color is a perfect match. Drivers side needed one small mod to make it fit and the passenger side needs the 3rd. Gen seat tracks.

camaronewbie

4th gen seats bolted right into my 1992 RS with no mods at all (except running a wire for the electric driver seat). And as said - maybe not the top of line luxury, but way more comfortable.

*86EYEROK*

I Love mine also. I think there real comfortable.

hedberg667

I have leather GTA seats and i don't think they are that bad. I want ebony 4th gen seats but i can't find any in my price range.

Iroc-zzzz

They make a ton of a difference, at least for me, just put in my ebony 4th gen seats that I bought on ebay about 4 years ago, should have done it earlier. Just had them stored away. They are still in super condition. They were from a 2002 trans am.

BadBowtie88

I had a full set of leather seats from an '02 SS in my '89 IROC and I absolutely loved them. They were full power/lumbar too. Way more comfortable than the thirdgen seats IMO.

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

way better than the third gens.

mtwlkn122

Now I cant speak for the 4th gen seats in a 3rd gen but i know they are more comfortable. As for seats in my car i JUST put in "new" seats from a car a had laying around. They are ebony leather from a 95 Pontiac Bonneville. Well they do fit but not really lol. They dont fold forward like a firebird or camaro seat do but Im 19 and dont have kids or any friends that would fit in the back anyway so I accordingly removed the back seats. Id have to say the seats from the bonne are VERY comfortable. Its like having luxury seats in a sports car lol. Pretty much is exactly what i did. I had to use the third gen seat racks and there were extra holes on the bonne seats that lined up perfectly.

My only complaints on the bonne seats:

-no provision to use the seat belt guide
-a lil too wide which makes it a very tight fit and causes the drivers side to not slide easily
-no provision to fold forward to access the back...i dont use the back seats so it doest matter to me tho.


I will go snap some shots here in a sec and post them so you guys can get an idea of what they look like in the car. Mind you these arent PERFECT condition. They came from a car with 200,xxx miles on it so they have some wear. But they were free and I LOVE the comfort they give me.

mtwlkn122

Ok just got some pictures of it. Interior is a lil dirty as its been raining out and cold and havent gone through and cleaned it in a while but you get the idea....










Let me know what you guys think. I personally really love the way they look in there. My interior was grey so i wasnt sure on what it would look like. But with the black on the dash and such I think it came out very well

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I'm thinking of putting 4th gen seats into my 91 T/A 'vert if I find a pair of cheap ones. Any idea if they made tan leather ones? Since that's the color I have now and I don't wanna change it.

mtwlkn122

Yes they do. Im assuming it was a stock option but im not sure. I know hawks sells them(a lil pricey but nice). I have seen them on a few members cars on here.

HCR13

iTrader: (5)

WOW! mad props to you! I'm glad someone else besides me has seats that aren't original F-body or racing seats!

to the OP, the good thing about the Pull-A-Part is that you can SIT in the seats before you purchase them and just decide for yourself...

mtwlkn122

Thanx man!...i love how comfortable they are. I went for a 2 hour drive the other day when it was nice and was loving every bit of it. It was so comfortable, plus i took the rear seats out and i think these seats are lighter so it made the car feel faster. I was loving every bit of it. Plus the gf said "hun these seats are cute, can we **** in the car now?"...all i was thinking was YESS!!!! lol.

3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

owning a 3rd gens and 4th gens, the 4th gen T/A seats are extremely comfortable IMO. I drove from phoenix AZ to bowling green KY then up to Peoria IL then back to PHX AZ. My *** was comfortable the whole trip! I drove my 3rd gen to from phoenix to vegas and I was uncomfortable about 1 hr into it.

I also have lower back issues from being in a car accident, and I LOVE the lumbar support of the T/A seats, WAY more comfortable to sit in for extended periods.

cliff notes: 4th gen T/A seats > 3rd gen seats.

flcl666

What is a good price for some in excellent condition

flcl666

What is a good price for some

GXP

I have a full set of thirdgen firebird seats from a 91 TA, found a set of graphite leather seats from a 97 TA minus driver seat. It's a world of difference. I didn't bother hooking up the power or anything since I never move the seats, but it is MUCH more comfortable than a third gen. I'm 5'6'', so the more substantial 4th gen seats let me sit a little higher too

Expect to pay out the nose for decent 4th gen seats, especially leather. Full ebony leather sets go for 500-800 on eBay. I got my graphite set (minus driver seat) from Pull a part. Minor marks on them, but no rips, for $97. The employees didn't even know what seats they were when Ibrought them to get priced lol. I'm still holding out for a driver seat if anyone happens to have one...?

GXP

I missed where these seats came from. They look like a Bonneville? Either way, they don't look bad. I was considering getting Grand Am/ Grand Prix leather seats if they'd fit.

Edit: Duh I see your previous post. The only complaint I have is the headrest. It kind of looks out of place, but the rest doesn't look crowded or bad at all.

libolt

I agree with the others regarding 4th gen seats being more comfortable than the 3rd gens. i put cloth 94 TA seats in my 91 and the lumber support definitely helps as I have lower back issues as well. The only minor detail now is that they are a darker gray than the rest of the interior. Hopefully someday I can redo the carpet and the rear seats to more closely match.

TRANSSPORT

I agree, The first thing I did to my car was bought ebony leather seats out of an 01 Camaro ss off Craigslist for $200. The guy lived behind a Custom garage where he worked. Someone brought in the Camaro and he scored the seats for his 1974 Firebird. While the fronts would bolt in easily, he soon realized the rear seats would require too much modification in the gen 2, so he sold them to me. I pulled everything but the drivers seat and installed them in his driveway with a minimum set of tools. The driver seat has rips, but I figured for $200 I was 3/4ths of the way there at a super buy in price. Keep in mind that the rear buckets are just a tad bit smaller than the gen 3's, but the difference is hardly noticeable. I eventually want to replace the fronts with gen 4 Trans Am seats, but am much happier now. I too have a back issue and drive 25 min each way every day to my job. Thanks to the new seats the commute is the best part of my day!







Off main topic: I installed new carpet and eliminated the annoying dip in the passenger floorpan by filling it with padding. Downside is I also eliminated quite a bit of legroom in the process. Are the 4th gen Firebird seats power on the passenger side? If not, has anyone successfully converted a manual passenger seat to power using a power mechanism from the driver's side? Just wondering...

GXP

Looks Nice! My Firebird passenger seat was power with power lumbar, but at the junkyard they charge extra for the motors, and I'm young and short so I don't need them . But I always thought all leather T/A seats had power.

TRANSSPORT

Thanks John, that's welcome news. I will keep that in mind when it's time to upgrade the front pair.

Cudabuck

Great info for a newbie here, thanks all! I am putting a leather set in my 91 RS vert, so I have one quesion. My seatbacks are split, and fold down independently, I am guessing I'm hosed on the ol "swap right over" part huh! The 99 Firebird set has one solid rear seatback panel. It looks like the conversion changed the back panel configuration behind the rear seat. Anyone with any insight on this? Thanks!

Ron U.S.M.C.

Another nice thing about 4th Gen. seats is ,you can have them recovered by "Lethal Interiors".
This is what I'm doing eventually and "Princess" is the one that is responsible for making these. After a good cleaning coming from a pick n pull for $ 40.00 ea.
Just scroll down to seats. = http://www.lethalinteriors.com/

TRANSSPORT

According to this thread : https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/conv...seat-same.html
"Gen 4 seats will fit gen 3 convertibles because they were made from t-top coupes."
Also check out this quote from another thread with links:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/conv...placement.html
"It seems that the biggest concern isn't if it's a vert or not, but whether is the 3rd gen rear seat was originally split or not. If it's split, then there may be an issue dealing with a bar that runs across the driveshaft hump. But that's all covered in the above."

Cudabuck

Wow, this forum is DEEP! Awesome guys, thanks!! Fourth Gen leathers are going in!!

208963

answered a lot of questions I had


thanks

Ron U.S.M.C.

Thanks......

Wife'sCar

iTrader: (1)

Holy crap, 5-800 for ebony leather?? I just scored full set of seats front and back, no tears or anything ebony leather from like an 01 for $45 bucks.









ive also got a black cener console from an 02 and the radio surround from a third gen firebird, i need a lid for the console and ill be installing all that, when i go to do that im going to pull all the seats back out and dye the grey stained carpet black as well.

greenyone

iTrader: (1)

I got a set for $300. So the prices are all over the board for the ebony leather seats. My biggest gripe is that ebony is actually looks like a dark gray. I dyed mine to true black for a better match. %100 better than the stock seats.

TRANSSPORT

I agree. In my case, they match the dark gray of the dash, map pockecket, console, steering wheel, leather shift **** and parking brake etc. You made a great choice for your ride. the black looks awesome in your car.

As for price, IMO $300 is STILL a great deal. When you consider that a great price on a used leather jacket from the 80's averages around $45.00, and a full set of seats = 5 or 6 of them, materialwise, well you get the picture (I have 32 leather jackets).

Wife'scar got a real STEAL! My hat's off to you both!

Wife'sCar

iTrader: (1)

The kicker here is the car they came out of left me scratching my head because they stripped the interior of everything but the carpet and these seats. I cant for the life of me understand why they would take everything but the seats.

I found the car looking for a passenger mirror for wifes sisters car, snagged the seats for my wifes car, so now both my wife and her sister have parts from the same car lol.

Cudabuck

Got my ebony leather trans am seats in today... LOVE it!!