430 - Sparco aftermarket seat install | FerrariChat

430 Sparco aftermarket seat install

Discussion in '360/430' started by LorenzoR, Mar 17, 2023.

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  1. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    I saw John (colorfull) posted his seat install so I thought I'd post my experience as we pretty much tackled this complete project together. So I started with these old Red Sparco seats with tilt function. They were $600 for both and are very close to oem seats except for carbon backs. I bought standard aftermarket seat rails and bolted them to existing bolt holes in the floor. I then made crossover brackets to go rail to rail. On the back rail I angled up so I can mount the seat belts buckles. That took care of the seat mounting for sliding back and forth. While going thru all this work the seats were getting reupholsterd. The bigger issue was the airbag. After trying a couple different ways to keep the airbag light off and keep the passenger airbag functional, I decided to buy the oem sensor and mount it in its proper location under the seat cushion. Everything works properly. So here are some pics and enjoy. NOTE : In the o mm e pic you can see the height really good. I'd like to thank John (colorfull ) for working together with me. It was a fun but challenging project.
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  2. colorfull

    colorfull Formula 3
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    Sep 12, 2020
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    Franklin Park, New Jersey
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    John Napoli
    Lorenzo - came out awesome! And thank you for posting all the detail!

    The pleasure was all mine
     
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  3. AandSC

    AandSC Formula Junior
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    Dec 12, 2016
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    Jax, FL
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    Allen
    VERY nice! Came out great!

    After seeing John’s and your seats I’m thinking this is going to be like gated conversions…..everyone is going to want these seats.
     
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  4. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    #5 LorenzoR, Mar 17, 2023
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2023
    Thanks, John and I spent many days talking trying to work out the airbag light issue. In the end worked out great just like oem
     
  5. tstuli

    tstuli Formula Junior

    Jun 12, 2018
    380
    NC
    Do all years have the passenger sensor? Mine has the key hole on the side of the dash to enable/disable the passenger airbag. Perhaps they went “higher tech” later on?
     
  6. colorfull

    colorfull Formula 3
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    #7 colorfull, Mar 17, 2023
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2023
    I think we all have that key hole on the end of the dash. That is a manual airbag disable override and is not the same thing.

    The CPOD senses a child presence and automatically disables the airbag under certain weight conditions.

    The legal requirement for CPOD in American cars came into play sometime during the life of the F430 (I think), so it may be that early American F430s don't have it, and no non-American have it.

    There are also 3 different airbag ECUs as a result.

    One way to tell if you have a CPOD is look under your passenger seat for this connector

    Also, if you put something light on your seat (like a bag of groceries) and have seen a light that your airbag turned off, you have one.
     

    Attached Files:

  7. Flea7

    Flea7 Formula 3
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    Feb 25, 2010
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    SKIM
    It sounds like the airbag issues were a pain in the as.s. :D I'm going through the same thing with my 997
    I was lucky with my install that I didn't have those problems. I also custom made my base plate. Unlike Lorenzo and John..... I have a 6 point harness so I had to accommodate the connection for that.

    The seats look great Lorenzo!
     
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  8. BrianNYC14

    BrianNYC14 Formula Junior

    Dec 6, 2014
    761
    North Carolina
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    Brian E
    Very nice great work on this project!
     
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  9. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    Thanks guys appreciate the nice words.
     
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  10. Zack Hawker

    Zack Hawker Karting

    Feb 27, 2018
    132
    Paradise Valley, Az
    Full Name:
    Zack Az Realtor
    If you are open to sharing, what was the cost to get them recovered? Looking into buying similar seats that need recovering. A general idea of cost would be helpful.
     
  11. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    Around 5k give or take. Including You will need 2 or maybe 3 hides at around 500 each
     
  12. CarAholic

    CarAholic Formula Junior

    May 10, 2016
    519
    How much higher do these sit then the factory Daytonas. They look great by the way thanks for doing all the leg work.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  13. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    Here's a good picture of the height of mine. I have it mounted the lowest you could get it and I think it's perfect for the seats I have. Keep in mind before buying seats that all seats have different heights so you have to see how high they measure up. I did extensive research on sparco seat measurements before buying the ones I did
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  14. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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  15. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    I noticed the charts are blurry. I have no idea why but you can Google Sparco seat charts and that will get you there
     
  16. veilstylez

    veilstylez Formula 3
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    Jun 12, 2005
    1,020
    SoCal
    wow seats look awesome
     
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  17. slracing

    slracing Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2011
    438
    Europe
    All org sliders Lorenzo? Thanks for all the details- should be able to fit any seat using this installation procedure.
     
  18. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    My sliders are after market. i went that way because it was a trial and error thing.
     
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  19. you_know_tom

    you_know_tom Rookie
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    Dec 6, 2024
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    Tom Garvey

    Lorenzo, I hate to open up this old thread one more time, but I am installing Recaro Sportster CS with Recaro sliders in my F430. I see in this image that you have the seat belt connector tied off. Did you do anything to wire that back in? Do you have a perpetual seatbelt light on?

    I have a 2006 F430, I haven't gotten to the airbag light yet to see if it's an issue, but it's a great solution you had. My issue is that I don't intend to reupholster the seat.



    [​IMG]
     
  20. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    Hey Tom my apologies for not getting back to you sooner but the seat belt plug off of the stalk is not hooked up because the other end if I'm correct comes from the seat. i do not have a seat belt light on. be careful with that airbag light. i didn't want to take the chance of that light coming on, i wanted the airbag to work and that's I bought the seat sensor... FYI, I'll be posting up soon oem seat tracks for manual seats
     
  21. you_know_tom

    you_know_tom Rookie
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    Dec 6, 2024
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    Hi Lorenzo, I only posted last night but thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. I am concerned about the airbag light, but I haven't gotten that far yet. You're correct; the seat belt harness goes to the seat harness, so there isn't anywhere to put it without the Daytona in the car. It's weird that it doesn't cause the fasten seat belt light to stay illuminated. Assuming that's what it's for..... I put about 40 miles on the car, and I am swapping seats! iewing angle in the Recaro is significantly better.

    Thanks,
    Tom
     
  22. you_know_tom

    you_know_tom Rookie
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    Dec 6, 2024
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    It seems this is accurate. I have a 2006 non-scud F430. I just replaced the seats with Recaro's. It's unusual, my driver's seat had the wiring on the buckle side of the seat belt. The harness being part of the Daytona seat, left me nowhere to attach it once the Daytona was removed. I never got a seat belt light. I found that unusual first. Today, I removed the passenger to install the recaro, expecting the CPOD harness to be there and planning to make accommodations based on this thread, not only was there no CPOD harness, the buckle had no wiring either. No seat belt light and no airbag light illuminated. All worked in my favor but I still found it unusual. Perhaps prior to 2007 they didn't have them.... I don't know for sure but that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
     
  23. nsxbill

    nsxbill Rookie

    Jan 5, 2005
    43
    Atlanta
    #24 nsxbill, Mar 10, 2025
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2025
    Do you know your 2006's assembly number? This might be helpful to figure out where the assembly break-in is for the CPOD harness. The assembly number is on a plate on the frame in the engine bay on LHS near rear and exhaust. Can be viewed from the top if you look closely for it. (EDIT-According to Eurospares the break-in is at Assy #69895)
     
  24. you_know_tom

    you_know_tom Rookie
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    Dec 6, 2024
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    Considering I just spoke with someone who did their 2007 and they didn't have it either, it must be a 2007 cutoff date.
     

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