WAY more comfy! Way more ass-friendly, the seat back padding is a bit stiffer (probably varies seat to seat) and the lower lumbar support is also WAY better! One thing I should point out that most 348 guys wouldnt realize... The 355 spider seats only have 1 seatback position, it has a release so you can tilt it forward to access the map pockets or stow your roof panel, but there is no angle adjustment. I'm kindof assuming that the reason for this relates somehow to the strength of the seat, due to the integral seat belts. Its not an issue for me, the fixed angle is exactly where i'd want it anyway... but those ghetto brutha's that drive practically laying down would not be pleased! lol
any difference in ride height or leg room from stock seats? I'm 6'3" and losing or gaining even 1" would be big deal either way....
Nah... the 355 seats really arent much different from the 348 seats, the 355 seats have the added inset butt cushion and different (smaller) headrests... other than that, they're virtually identical. Now that you mention it though, there is 1 detail I did forget to mention. If you have a TS, there are those resting tabs in the back for the roof panel to sit in... the location of the seatbelt coil is right in front of it. So, if you run the seat back far enough, the seatbelt coil eventually hits it. I dont believe this limits the seat travel more than the stock seats, but the good side is, it'll prevent you from accidently slamming the seatback into the roof panel if you have it stowed in the back! I'll snap a pic of what i'm talking about, and post it tonight when I get home from work.
Your seats look wonderful! Do you know how much current the seats draw? I am purchasing a pair for my GTS and was thinking about looking for an open fuse slot in the fuse box to tap into & was curious as to how big a fuse I should put in the circuit? Or would I be able to tap into the lighter power as I don't use my lighter? Appreciate any suggestions.
I didnt actually test the current draw, but if I had to make an educated guess, i'd estimate 10-12 amps at most. If you actually have a euro GTS, you dont have the mouse ECU circuit to tap into as I did, the cigarette lighter circuit can definitely sustain the current draw of the seat motors. Even if you did use the lighter, it would be ok, as long as you didnt use the lighter while simultaneously operating the seat(s). Now that I think about it... if you have a GTS, why would you even be doing this seat swap?
I have a 355 GTS and the issue is that the manual tracks are a little flimsy... mechanics, other folks, etc. moving the seat back and forth has made the track a little loose (the seat wiggles back and forth a little in the setting/grove that I like). Moving to electric seats will eliminate the play, I hope. I am going to try to remove the tracks and put them on my OEM seats... if that doesn't work, I might swap out with the spider seats. Thanks!
Ah, silly me.. I just assumed you were trying to do the same swap that I did. You should really fill out your profile, it'll help you get more accurate advice in the future. You are absoultely right about 1 thing though, the power seats are rock-solid, absolutely NO play in the tracks what-so-ever! However, I am 99.7625% sure that the power tracks will not bolt onto your standard original seats.
Do you think the power seats won't bolt on because of the pattern or because of clearance for the motor. If it's because of the bolt pattern, I wonder if it would be easy to create an adapter or drill new holes in the seat bottom? If it's the clearance, I am open to using shims to raise the seats a 1/2" to an 1" off the track to increase clearance. Any other thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!
I'm a little confused by the question, I thought the issue was bolting the standard seat rails to the power spider seats... or vice versa. If that IS the case, read post #12 in this thread. The bolt locations and mounting points for the tracks on the spider seats are fixed and cannot be moved. Also, the bolt holes in the power tracks and standard tracks are in different places, and the power tracks are also longer.
I want to ust the power seat rails on my 355 GTS... and I think you mentioned that the spider seat power rails should bolt right into the car. The decision for me (based on the complications involved) is if I can somehow fit the standard comfort seat to the power rails or do I have to use the spider seats? Does this make more sense? Thanks!
The rails will bolt into the car, but they wont bolt directly to your original NON-spider seats. However, it may be possible to drill new holes in the upper track to match the standard seat bolt locations... unless there is a width issue (distance between the tracks), which I dont know.
does anyone know what was done for shoulder seat belt retractor. It looks like they go down to the back of the seat bottom. So it's not using the center mouse belt unit but what exactly was done here with the belt retractor solution?
It depends on what seats you use. If you use 355 Spider seats the seat belt system is all bolted onto the seat and self contained. Belt coils under the seat and comes up the back and over the shoulder. Easiest solution is to bolt those in and eliminate the 348 mouse system completely. On my car I had already converted to the regular 3 point seat belt system and deleted the mouse system so I used 355B seats. I’ve been planning to do a nice write up on my interior restoration and modification but with everything I have going on work on my 348 stalled out.
Ok yes.... THAT makes sense, where I was confused is when I look at part diagrams it shows same belts for spider and tb, perhaps I need to look at a different section to see that is all. I was looking at the seat section. Thanks!
Yeah... If you're a 348 owner and you have upgraded or modified your soggy stock seat belts, I'd like to see your solution (with photos) too. Thanks!
348 seatbelt mod, there is another one moving the belts to the outside too. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/348-three-point-seat-belt-conversion.420412/