Hyundai Aftermarket - The Foamectomy

In case anyone needed reminding, X3 accent seats f*cking SUCK. Time for a free remedy, shamelessly pillaged from the floral world of the Miata. However, this DIY can be applied to any car that has seats. Interested?

THE FOAMECTOMY

Cliff notes: You cut a bunch of foam out of your stock seats until they are comfortable or you are sitting on the metal frame.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

-A cutting tool: typically people use carving knives or reciprocating saws, but I couldn't get one and used the grinding stone on my dremel. It did the trick.

-Basic socket set, or spanners if you are a masochist

-Screwdrivers and pliers for nasty trim clips

-A good set of sidecutters/mum's garden trimmers

-Cable ties

-Swear words

-2-3 hours the first time you do it

HOW DO I?

(I shall speak in X3 talk because it makes sense within my brain and at least I have relevant pictures.)

-Remove the victim from your car by unbolting the rails from the floor. There are two bolts at the front, and two at the rear. They may be hiding under pop-off trim covers. You will need to slide the seat back and forth to access them. Remove the seat from the car in the forward-folded position for easy handling.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4400.jpg

-Prise off the recliner handle, and unscrew the plastic cover beneath it. Do the same for the seatbelt side. I like to thread everything back in place after removing it because I have bad memory because I have bad memory. There was a mystery cable that terminated on the recliner side, unhook this now. The bolts circled in yellow are to be undone in a sec.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4401.jpg

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4402.jpg

-Gawk at 17 odd years of accumulated human paste, admire the salty taste.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4403.jpg

-Flip the seat onto its side, and unscrew the two 14mm bolts from the recliner side of the seat. Support the back, flip it over and remove the 10mm bolt on the seatbelt side of the seat. You should now have two seat halves.

-Capsize your base and remove the four 12mm bolts holding the rails to the metal base frame. They might not have yellow circles around em IRL though.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4404.jpg

-Bust out the pliers and screwdrivers and cutters, because now we have to remove the four bulldog clips that secure the trim to the seat base. I chose to simply cut the bulldog clips and replace them with cable ties when re-assembling. There are also approximately eight metal tabs that secure the trim to the rim of the frame, they can just bend out of the way. They are hiding in the red zone in the photo above.

-Flip the base upright again, and begin to fold up the trim, but wait! Five more bulldog clips hide on top of the cushion, in the valley above the "L" in the picture, these are really nasty to remove. Get rid of them and remove your cloth facing.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4409.jpg

Isn't it amazing what 17 years of sweaty knees can do to open cell foam?

-Okay, now we have to do the same thing to the backrest. This is a touch easier, there are five bulldog clips at the base of the backrest, then there are a couple more around where your shoulders would rest.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4407.jpg

I couldn't remove the headrest support, so I just folded all of the trim up and over the support like a cape, it posed no hassle to my work.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4408.jpg

I do not negotiate with terrorists.

Lets put some of the seat back together now! Bolt the rails back to the base, and bolt the backrest to the base cushion.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4410.jpg

Sit in the chair, and trace around where your ass and back contact the seat with a magic marker. Another technique is to cross your arms behind your back, and make a mark here. This is the small of your back, and it needs the most support you can offer it. Now for the fun part!

Basically, cut to feel! I did a cautious first run on the base, and took about 1/3rd of an inch off.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4412.jpg

It immediately felt better, so I started cutting more out. The only real advice I can do is to cut the backrest at the same time as you cut the base. I ended up removing about one inch from the base and slightly less from the backrest. It is okay to take out a little more than you would expect as the cloth facing 'smooths out' some of the curves you might cut into the seat. Here are my final cuts before reinstalling the seat.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4413.jpg

Reconstruction is really simple. I simply used zip ties instead of the original bulldog clips, as they aren't being used for anything structural.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4414.jpg

So yeah, it really is that simple! My two test subjects were more than happy, and quite suprised that the seat came from an X3 Accent.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4416.jpg

Like I said earlier, it took me around two hours to complete, doing it for my first time and taking photos. The end result is a perfectly fitted seat with quite good lateral support and, of course, OEM comfort. I haven't had any problems with the foam 'bottoming out' so to speak, even jumping on the seat won't cause any frame contact... there is probably a good 1.5 inches of foam still in the base at its thinnest point. My seat facings didn't even look crinkled/saggy afterwards, which I guess has to do with Hyundai's choice of trim mount locations. Here is the final result.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/q...l/IMG_4417.jpg

I hope you guys enjoyed this DIY. I can't recommend it enough! Free, easy, quick, OEM looks, great fitment... what isn't* there to love?

*Unless you have side airbags, at least disconnect your battery for half an hour before working. I take no responsibility for you blasting off into space.