[stick]

My driver's side seat is deteriorating a bit on the upper bolster. I am constantly vacuuming up foam dust that is falling out the back of the seat. I remember someone saying that I could do a cheap repair by cutting the foam from a couple of nerf footballs and shaping it to replace the missing foam in the bolster. I have a couple of questions about this: Does it feel original? or does it feel lumpy or harder? And finally, what kind of glue would you use to get it to stay in place?

 

[Opticon]

Hehe, that was me, actually. It's been about a year since I did it and it still feels great, I can barely tell where the old foam ends and the nerf begins! It feels like the stock seat foam should. The hardest part is trimming it to the right shape of the bolster. I used scissors, but an electric carver might be a little easier to use.

Basically you cut the cancerous foam out of the seat in as much of a clean square shape hole as possible. Go ahead and skin the footballs, then cut a similarly shaped square (I guess it would be more of a cube, really) out of the nerf only a little bigger than the whole you made in the seat (the foam is more forgiving if you have too much of it than if you have too little) You will want to make sure it sticks out when you glue it into the seat, and then trim it down to shape. If you trim it down too far, you can always add a small strip to cover it and trim it down again, but the more you do this, the greater the risk of lumpiness. I did repairs on both seats and I found it to be very helpful to have the other seat for reference while shaping the foam.

Now, for adhesive I used Gorilla glue, but I've heard 3M makes a spray adhesive for truck interiors that supposedly works pretty well. I have also heard that rubber contact cement will work, but I somehow doubt it will last as long.

I probably spent about $20 on 1 jar of adhesive and 3 Nerf balls, and with trial and error, about 3 days rebuilding the foam. Seriously the best 20 bucks I've ever invested in my car!

 

[toxiclows]

That is one of the craziest ideas that i have ever heard of. But it sure seems like a good one though... I wonder if one of those " cheeze grater" body work files for knocking down fiberglass would work on the Nerf to allow you to shape it easier. Also how are you recovering it? Are you just using a piece of matching fabric and hand sewing it on. .. Seems like a good idea.

 

[Krix]

i inquired about the nerf ball thing last year. i went a slightly differnt route though. i found a 5'' thick piece of foam at joann fabrics. i did basically the same thing and cut it to fit.

i used 3M spray adhesive for mine, $12 a can but its some strong stuff. i fit the pieces then sprayed them and held them until they were good and strong. I took it one step further by using some scrap fabric i picked up too. I dont remember the length but they were from the middle of the seat, around the bolter around to the back of the seat. i used a few per side like big fabric band-aids.

Spray them down and let them dry and it helps to keep the bolster from ever coming loose and keeps it in the postion i want it.

And for the parts that were cracked but not torn i used some expanding foam stuff i had. spray it in the crack. it expands about 50% and sticks to everything.

 

[WayFastWhitie]

I acutally JUST pulled mine apart today! The seats dont have any tears, but the foam was a little beatdown. I pulled of the cover, and the foam was just split. I just took some spray adhesive in a can, sprayed both pieces, let it tack up. Sprayed them again, and duct-taped them together, next morning there stuck real well.

Its not the EXACT factory shape, but it does look and feel alot nicer then before. Im not too sure how long it will last but i will try the football idea next!

 

[stick]

Mine is missing enough foam that i can feel the metal bars underneath the seat cover... so I think the nerf idea is probably my best option. The last time I had to buy used CRX Si seats in decent shape, they cost me $300 CDN... so I'm much more in favour of the $20 fix.

 

[Krix]

mine was down to metal frame too.

 

[WayFastWhitie]

mine was down to the metal frame, they usually all are.

$300 OMG!!

I paid $70 for 80% 91 Si seats, with no stains/tears. I guess thats a steal!

 

[stick]

mine was down to the metal frame, they usually all are.

$300 OMG!!

I paid $70 for 80% 91 Si seats, with no stains/tears. I guess thats a steal!

Ya, that's an awesome price! These ones were in 95% condition. Very little fading or foam deterioration. That's why I shelled out the $300 for them. *gulp*

 

[Opticon]

I took it one step further by using some scrap fabric i picked up too. I dont remember the length but they were from the middle of the seat, around the bolter around to the back of the seat. i used a few per side like big fabric band-aids.

I did forget to mention this. I used a very thin cotton gauss that I got at the fabric store for that exact reason.

Hey, how does that foam you used feel? My friend told me after my nerf experience that you can buy sheets of automotive foam at some upholstery shops for a reasonable price. Something else to look into maybe.

 

[Krix]

the foam i used was pretty thick so after i put the band aids on it ( as tight as i could get them ) its pretty stiff very similar to oem. the only thing i did wrong was the bottom bolster, i just didnt put enough in to fill it out.

i might got to N11, if your there we can check out each others seat repair.

 

[Opticon]

the foam i used was pretty thick so after i put the band aids on it ( as tight as i could get them ) its pretty stiff very similar to oem. the only thing i did wrong was the bottom bolster, i just didnt put enough in to fill it out.

Yeah, before I glued anything in, I test fitted a couple different sized nerf squares, and I found that the bigger ones (that is, squares bigger than the whole created) provided a more firm feel. It all comes down to trial and error I guess.

i might got to N11, if your there we can check out each others seat repair.

LOL, I would absolutely love to attend, but I would imagine it would take about half of a week for me to drive from Phoenix to Niagra. Not that I wouldn't mind spending that much alone time in my rex to meet all of you guys, but I somehow doubt I could justify spending that much time away from work, school, wife and son to hang out with fellow rexers.

I've promised myself that I would get out there some time, but not this year.

 

[Krix]

crap didnt even look at your location. dont blame you i wouldnt take the trip either, but maybe once. its about 9 hours for me.

 

[Don_the_CDN]

Sticker your gonna hate me... I got 2 JDM Si Seats just lying here in great condition... I haven't decied if they are going to be Office chairs or "spares" for the Leather SiR ones in the car right now. Dude 300$ is too much for Used seats. You can get a 2 sets for that price.

 

[stick]

Dude 300$ is too much for Used seats. You can get a 2 sets for that price.

Not if they are CDM seats in near perfect condition. They're not exactly easy to find in good shape. I found a set that was a 9 out of 10 at the autowreckers, and they wanted $500 CDN for the pair....and they were using the standard pricing that all of the autowreckers now use. Granted, the autowreckers usually charge you twice as much as something is really worth for a lot of high demand items.