s2000 seat install

[lenwardus]

Bought a pair of S2000 seats off of eBay. Cleaning them up now. Checked the forum and
pretty much all of the internet and didn't find any comprehensive write-up in installing
them in an Insight. So will wing it and post info as available.

Did see photos on insightman.com of the blue dash array of the second generation
Insight. Looks much better than the Civic blue dash instruments. Wonder why
Honda didn't something like that in the Insight. For 20K they should have made
the dash and ergonomics better.

[lenwardus]

So far, so good. S2000 seat weighs only 12oz more than insight seat.

[freezin4]

Are you having to moify the tracks, or is it bolting in without mods?

[lenwardus]

Originally Posted by freezin4

Are you having to moify the tracks, or is it bolting in without mods?

The rails on the Insight are 14" wide and on the S2000 16". Length varies on both rails
also front mounts on S2000 are a greater angle. Not even close to matching.
Figured that $360 for the s2000 pair could afford to spend some time and money
to figure out how to attach them by fabricating a frame rather than bend the S2000 rails
and drill holes into the Insight floor.

Took out passenger seat and set in the s2000 seat. Height is good, comfort is good, also
looks good. Just a bit lower.

[lenwardus]

Considering the original MSRP was 20K and the s2000 seat weight difference
is negligable. Honda could have made and aluminum base for the s2000
seats, dropped the weight a bit. Added some new leather colors and
had a much more sporty cabin. After inspecting the Insight seats the
welds and construction appear to be all hand made.


s2000 rail width approx 16" Insight approx 14" photo was cutoff during upload.

[Hybrid-Battery-Repair]

Originally Posted by lenwardus

The rails on the Insight are 14" wide and on the S2000 16". Length varies on both rails
also front mounts on S2000 are a greater angle. Not even close to matching.

Why dont you try to attach the Insight rails and hardware to the S2000 seat? I would imagine a 16" wide metal plate would give you a good mounting surface for the tracks and the seat bottom.

[lenwardus]

I spoke with Wendel at wedgeengineering.net.
He said he has an Insight base and should be able to modify
it to bolt S2000 seats including the rails direct.
That way both sets of seats are unaltered.

He's in Long BEach so not too far to take all the seats
to give it a try.

Will give it try.

[freezin4]

Prior to purchasing my Insight I was anticipating low back pain, thinking the comfort would be similar to what my '88 Civic DX was like. (low seat height.) Now I drive 4 hours one-way RT each weekend, and NEVER had any problems, crediting the well supported seats. (I actually scratched the seat height elevation mod off of my list of things to do to the car.) So, I wonder what the seat height difference will translate to in terms of comfort for you.

I like the perforated leather a lot, but most importantly your reclining handle will be on the correct side.

Have you weighed the seats to see what the difference is?

[budomove]

Originally Posted by freezin4

Have you weighed the seats to see what the difference is?

Originally Posted by lenwardus

So far, so good. S2000 seat weighs only 12oz more than insight seat.

[lenwardus]

[quote="freezin4"]So, I wonder what the seat height difference will translate to in terms of comfort for you.
quote]

I set the s2000 passenger seat into the insight and the height seemed OK but a little low. So with
the bracket it will probably raise it to about the same seat height as stock insight seat.

After inspecting the stock insight seat, it doesn't appear as though much effort was made to
reduce weight. All the metal is steel,steel brackets, steel springs, steel shell. For some reason
I was thinking it might have had some aluminum or plastic and would be pretty light weight.

The weight of the seat could have been dropped by at least 50% and still met safety standards.
So no great loss to replace the seats.

Note: I never felt the stock seats were too uncomfortable to warrant time and expense to
retrofit. However passenger complaint warranted a try. I think you get what I mean.