Looking at buying my first Ferrari, settled on a gorgeous 488 with every extra I want, colour options just how I wanted, barely driven. Theres one catch...it has the "standard"/non electric comfort seats. So you can manually move it forwards/backwards and adjust the angle of the backrest only. Why the first owner didnt spec electric is beyond me. I'm not a tall guy, and being my first Ferrari I dont rightly know what "good" visibility is for a car like this. Does anyone know if there are any ways to either fit electric retrospectively (and cost) or fit a manual seat lifter like the race seats have?
that is weird that the first owner didn’t spec them, or that they were not standard in your market like they are here. However, I wouldn’t worry about it. If everything else makes it your dream ferrari then buy it. I can list a lot of things above electric seats that I would miss if they were not on my 488 Edit. Re-read your post and realised you have bought the car and are actually asking about retrofitting electric seats. Everything is possible with $$ these days, but I would suggest you live with it for 6 months before spending the money on changing the seats. When you drive the car the seats are in one position only…
Welcome - my recollection is often the loom is present sticking up through the carpet making the electric seats plug&play - I don't know for this specific model
It is very strange, I have spoken to a lot of main dealerships and they almost never see this, because it wasnt an expensive factory addition to have electric. Thats currently where I am with it, because I spent a long time looking at cars that "almost" worked for me, but didnt tick all the boxes. But, and its a big but, if you cant see out of it well enough, you're not going to enjoy driving it! Constantly worrying about dinging the rims, front/rear, sides on tight corners/parking etc. Literally my only reservation!
My 488 Spider (purchased used, since sold) had manual seats. My only concern about it was resale and I ended up selling it for a little more than I paid for it. Actually living with those seats didn’t bother me one bit. I do think it is odd for someone to order one with manual seats but in truth once you set the seats where you want them it doesn’t much matter Unless you’re gonna have several driffer drivers and passengers
the manual, carbon fiber race seats ($16,000 option) are considered essential for resale in the Ferrari market are these the seats you are referring to? pics might help
I wonder if there are height adjustment brackets - look where the seat mounts to the car. The race seats have these brackets, where you can remove the seat from the car and then put it back at one of 4 different heights. Most people have the dealer perform this work. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
Funny thing about the electric seats is that I ordered my F8s with the Daytona seats and forgot to order the electric part. I honestly don’t miss them at all. I’ve always had them before but without them is no big deal. Knowing what I know now it would not be a dealbreaker. Hope this helps. Best , Kirk.
Find a 488 with electric seats and go sit in it and adjust the seats and then determine if there is some "sweet spot" you are missing out on. As others have commented beforehand, there may be small mechanical tweaks possible with the mounting hardware to improve YOUR (emphasis added) comfort and visibility.
Hi, no the seats are the manual (forwards and back only) daytonas. I have another car I am looking at which has the CF race seats, but WITHOUT a seat lifter. I am also told even if you have the CF race seats, the lifter cannot be retro-fitted.
Sorry to revive this thread but I'm doing a little research about upgrading my seats. Has anyone (458 or 488) been successful at converting their manual seats to electric? I assume there are some harness work that need to be done but it's electrical at the end of the day so a bit of fiddling should get you there
