Adjust bolsters for standard seats for more support

[Nipsey]

Like the title says I have been looking at replacement seats or finding sport seats for my 2007 coupe. The thing is I really like the adjustability and heat on the standard seats which I would likely loose with aftermarket. Also I don’t mind the looks of the non-sport seats and the lower portion fits me quite well and is supportive enough. It is the upper half that I am moving all around in. And we all know the sports seats are rarer than hens teeth and fairly expensive.

So having replaced seat covers and foam on a lot of muscle cars years ago I had an idea that there might be a little wiggle room on the foam or event the frame of the seats. What I found was kind of what I was hoping for and that was the foam is on both sides of the framework. In other words there was nearly as much foam on the outer part of the side bolster framework as there was on the seat side. Hopefully a couple pictures will illustrate what I am trying to say. But I have done this on other seats and it holds up and stays in place perfectly. Basically you pull the foam that was outside the frame and let it set on the inside. Thereby increasing the bolster where it actually does some good. Containing your upper body.

I am afraid I haven’t explained it very well hopefully the pictures help.

[Nipsey]

The pictures go before and after on facing the seatback and looking down on the side bolsters as well. The last is just where the foam tucks inside the frame. It is hard to capture how much more the bolsters extend and also how much less they flair out. I think that was a big part of the problem. The bolsters just flared outward immediately instead of staying close together to hold you in place. I really am disappointed that I can’t seem to capture how dramatic the change is in a picture. It is obvious looking at them but I guess the 2 dimensional photo just doesn’t show it. My wife noticed it immediately and said they held her in place a million times better than before.
Sorry for the enormous pictures and lack of step by step instructions. I can try to help anyone out if they are interested in trying it. It does not require removing the seats or any disassembly other than the back cover of the seats and that is just rolling the clip off the frame that holds the cover on.
Also if anyone knows how to trim these massive pictures down to size I would be happy to be educated.

[thrak410]

Thats actually pretty interesting ...

So you take the back of the seat off, the 'unclip' the leather, move the foam from outside to inside, and reclip the leather to the frame?

[Nipsey]

Yes that is pretty much it. The back cover has two press pins on the bottom that you pull out. Then the cover just pulls back and drops down. The leather has a plastic rail that clips onto the seat frame in back. When you twist it out of the rail you can easily see where the foam has at least an inch thickness or more that covers the outer part of the frame. You simply stuff that portion inside the frame back. The only drawback to this is there is a bit of a gap now between the rear cover and the side of the seatback. You could fill that in with some other foam or something before you pull the leather back into place. It is only cosmetic but I can see it might bother some people.
In the end it is a free mod that is reversible if you don’t like it and it does make a big difference. It does help the fit if you slit the foam horizontally at the top and bottom so the foam tucks in neatly and the leather fits smoothly.