Passenger seat mod - make it removable and still safe

[figgy]

I am always wishing that I could be driving my Insight when I have to drive the Element because I have too much stuff to fit into the Insight.

Honda had the brilliant idea of making the rear Element seats easily removable and yet safely and securely fixed when in place.

QUESTION:

Has anyone modded their passenger seat to be like the Element seats - in and out on a whim?

QUESTION:

It would be nice to keep the stock seat and just make it removable, but maybe it makes more sense to pull it out entirely and replace it with something else that is an equally good seat?

There should be no compromise in safety for a passenger when the seat is in place, but there should be no seat when cargo space is needed.

Thoughts? Experiments on this?

[b1shmu63]

The seat belt attaches to the seat so you would have to make it quikly detatch from the seat or find another way to attach it to the floor. The seats are really low so welding thicker strips of steel to the underside of the seat rails would probably improve the riding position for most of us anyway. You could use hardened socket heat cap screws on the floor and have the rails keyed so that the seat would fit down on the bolts and then slide forward to lock. A relatively thin guage plate would fit between the seat rails to hold their position with respect to each other. You would then need a really reliable locking pin to quickly lock the seat from sliding back.

A cargo box etc. could use the same attachment points.

Sounds like a cool project.

[Rick Reece]

A better seat design would be if the seat would flod forward and have a hard table like top on the back side. They could even add a cup holder and a laptop plug in point if they really want to excel. Maybe this will be standard in 06. Have fun, RIck

[figgy]

I looked in the service manual last night, and it appears there are just four bolts. Slide the seat back, take two bolts off. Slide it forward, take two bolds off. Remove seat.

It sounds from the manual that Honda ALREADY made it an easy thing to swap in and out!

I'll try it today, maybe it is somehow more complex that the service manual implies.

[figgy]

Well, it is as easy as it appears in the service manual. Takes no time at all. Reverse process just as simple. Unless they had done it with pop out pins, they could not have made it easier. Opens up tons of space and saves weight too...

[b1shmu63]

Five bolts, as you have to remove the seat belt from the seat.

The rear set of bolts are difficult to remove the first time. They have a locking compound on them to prevent vibration from loosening them.

[figgy]

Of course they had to make the seat belt bold head 1mm wider than the others so you have to change out your socket. I wish they made them all the same, then it would save me the 5 seconds for swapping the wrench head.

I wonder if people will now think that the Insight is designed to be a one seater?

[Kevin Dougherty]

Would someone please weigh ths seat?
Thanks

[figgy]

I do not have scale, but I have ordered up a $6 bathroom scale from Amazon.

It isn't really that heavy. Over 15 lbs, less than 40 lbs. How do you like those error bars!

[Seth Dallob]

If it was only a one seater, I wonder if you could drive in the carpool lane by yourself - in California, if the car is full, you can go in:

a motorcycle can go in a carpool lane
a 2 seater can go in a 3+ carpool lane

....

any thoughts?