18-Way Seat Retrofit...

[RetroRed5]

Afternoon all,

New to the club and a 1st time Porsche owner

After spending some time searching the the right spec, I found a GT4 that is pretty close to what I was looking for, but not quite; there are a bunch of tweaks (mainly cosmetic) I intend to make over the coming months, one of which is to change the seats from my current 2-way manual sports/comfort seats to the 18-way seats (or 14-way).

Having spoke to Porsche directly, I discovered this is not available as an approved retrofit and the seats are not available to buy (although Porsche did offer to sell me all the seat components individually but the cost was bonkers, and they said even if I bought all the parts, they would not install them for me).

Anyway, I've got a Porsche parts specialist on the lookout for a mint pair of 18-way's (or 14-ways), but my question is, is it actually even possible to retrofit the 18-ways into a car that never had them from the factory? I've spoken to Porsche as well as to a handful of Porsche specialists and thus far everybody has told me "no, it can't be done".

Of course I know it is possible to bolt the seats into the car, that side of it is very simple (I assume) with just a handful of bolts, but the difficulty is the electrical/coding/memory side of the retrofit?

Has anybody on here done this before and what issues (if any) did you encounter during the process?

Much appreciated

Red.

 

[CDR]

Afternoon,
It is my understanding that Porsche builds the wiring looms for its cars to reflect the options selected, and therefore if 18 way seats weren’t originally selected as an option, the wiring will be be not be in the car to connect the seats.
I selected ambient lighting when I ordered my 2021 GT4, and whilst I have lighting in the footwell and in the overhead console, the lighting in the doors isn’t there. Due to an error when the loom was made, the wiring for the door lighting doesn’t exist, and cannot be retrofitted.

 

[mr pg]

I would add that the 14 ways offer a lot less support so may not be what you’re really after.

 

[RetroRed5]

I would add that the 14 ways offer a lot less support so may not be what you’re really after.

Very true, however, what I need is easy/flexible/repeatable adjustment due to a flakey back; in almost all cars (I currently own and have owned for the past 10 years or more), I find myself forever tweaking the seating position based on how my back is on any given day, just very small adjustments here and there can make a big difference in terms of comfort and doing this with manually adjustable seats is tricky, hence the need for fine-grained electrical adjustment.

I won't be taking the car on track, just weekend cruising and a bit of spirited road driving whenever I get the time, so ease of adjustment rather than grippy support is my main requirement.

Afternoon,
It is my understanding that Porsche builds the wiring looms for its cars to reflect the options selected, and therefore if 18 way seats weren’t originally selected as an option, the wiring will be be not be in the car to connect the seats.
I selected ambient lighting when I ordered my 2021 GT4, and whilst I have lighting in the footwell and in the overhead console, the lighting in the doors isn’t there. Due to an error when the loom was made, the wiring for the door lighting doesn’t exist, and cannot be retrofitted.

Yes, this is what I'm finding from other research I've done, the wiring just isn't there; having said that, there are a lot of very talented folks out there who happen to be Porsche auto-electricians, and so I'm hoping it can be done.

 

[GrahamW]

Perhaps if you have a bad back you're possibly buying the wrong car - just a thought?

 

[RetroRed5]

Perhaps if you have a bad back you're possibly buying the wrong car - just a thought?

Maybe, but I'd like to think that having a bit of a dodgy back doesn't preclude me from being a Porsche owner; anyway, too late now, I've bought it

My back is not permanently bad, I have 2 damaged discs so get lower back issues and sciatica from time to time, consequently, whenever I'm driving anything (I daily a big SUV and also weekend a VW camper) I do find myself making regular minor adjustments to the seating position.

So I'm just looking for ways to maximise comfort and therefore get more enjoyment from the GT4.

 

[GT4_RS]

The best way I found to retrofit the 18 way seats to the GT4RS was to buy a new car and spec the seats. Alternatively, if you can’t buy another car with the required seats you are a bit stuck - assuming you are under Porsche warranty at the moment (as that adds lots of complications).

It should be simple but sadly it just is not.

If not under warranty it can be done but as has been suggested, may involve wiring changes and will (most likely) still require coding the seats to the car by someone with the required software.

Good luck!

 

[RetroRed5]

The best way I found to retrofit the 18 way seats to the GT4RS was to buy a new car and spec the seats. Alternatively, if you can’t buy another car with the required seats you are a bit stuck - assuming you are under Porsche warranty at the moment (as that adds lots of complications).

It should be simple but sadly it just is not.

If not under warranty it can be done but as has been suggested, may involve wiring changes and will (most likely) still require coding the seats to the car by someone with the required software.

Good luck!

Yes, my GT4 is still under warranty, and there is of course no way to spec a new car given the production run ended last year; even if they were still making them, I wouldn't get an allocation from what I understand.

It's looking likely that I am going to have to settle for the 2-ways that came with the car from factory, this being the case, I'll likely enjoy the car for a while but with one eye on the market for that perfect spec should it come along

 

[GT4_RS]

Yes, my GT4 is still under warranty, and there is of course no way to spec a new car given the production run ended last year; even if they were still making them, I wouldn't get an allocation from what I understand.

It's looking likely that I am going to have to settle for the 2-ways that came with the car from factory, this being the case, I'll likely enjoy the car for a while but with one eye on the market for that perfect spec should it come along

Sounds like a plan.

It is frustrating (I know) that such a change can’t be done by the UK dealers. As you know (from Rennlist) there are US dealers who have done the change for customers but these were cases where they wanted the customers LWBs from their GT4 (plus cash) in exchange for installing 18 ways into their car.

As you say, enjoy the current car and I am sure something will become available with the 18 way seats.