K11 front seats are awful, A different approach

[Toad]

I am on my third facelift k11 and in my experience all the facelift models have terrible seatbacks some through to the metal as shown here on my latest aquisition, a k11 sport. The bases mark easily and seat covers are not an option here.

I finally decided to source something more hardwearing and stylish. After much research with a tape measure at the scrappies I found a suitable replacement in the form Hyundai Coupe leather semi bucket seats. I was looking at the later more spaceship looking ones but by the time I got back to the yard they had gone. Ebay had a set of the earlier design which looked ok so I snapped them up for £31. Fortunately the dimensions were the same as the later ones.

Just a matter of cutting the seat subframes off both, ground down a few bits and welding the micra lower frame with the mounting feet and slider to the hyundai upper frame with seat on. This keeps the seatbases the same height as the original seats.

Also when fitting the micra seatbelt sockets to the hyundai bases use the micra bolt as it is specific for fitting, the hyundai thread is the same so quite a doddle although you have to grind/file the locating lug pin as the hyundai hole although in the right place is smaller.

Altogether a very pleasing project that took me two evenings work to complete.

Very comfy, hardwraring, supportive and stylish (I think)

 

[Zazee]

Wow these look brilliant!

 

[andy]

looks very nice,

 

[skymera]

Certainly moist for those

 

[Toad]

Certainly moist for those [/quote
Mmmmm, black leather. ;-)

 

[Kaptain Klang]

Looks good. Did you do a walk through on the subframe modification?

 

[Toad]

Looks good. Did you do a walk through on the subframe modification?

I did take some photos Which I can post later although some stages missing bit can give a walk through if I get the chance if you are intetested.
I Sold my celebration which is being collected at the weekend and I'm on a mission to replace cv's and get it perfect for its new master. Got a new sump and cv boots for the sport to fit too which is to be my daily hack as of the weekend so as soon as I get a moment, watch this space.

 

[Toad]

The method I used may not be the best but I wanted a quick operation so here it is.

The Micra seat, all we want is the chassis and seatbelt socket so minimal care is required removing plastics etc.

Unbolt the micra seat from the car, turn the seat upside down and remove the seat base by removing the 4 x 14mm bolts marked in red.

Fold the seat back forward and remove the clips both sides

The seat back can be removed by lifting the hinges off of the base pins with a screwdriver

Unbolt seatbelt socket and keep with the bolt as you will need them later

This is your new seat base, you need to cut/grind any outer metal as indicated in red.

The outer edges of the frame should look something like this from the side.

This is how the chassis should be from above

Apart from the chassis, the seatbelt socket, washers and bolt you can junk the rest of the seat.


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Now to the Coupe seat, Bear in mind all we are intending to do is remove the sliding rails and replace the seatbelt socket. Take care removing plastics etc as we will be reusing them later.

Unscrew the plastic cover with the two screws and remove the seatbelt socket, junk the socket and bolt, keep the cover.

Unbolt the base and remove with the 4 bolts, then carefully remove any plastics, knobs and levers and keep safe.

I removed the loose side of the chassis (The seat base acts as the cross brace member).

This is the removed piece

Everything marked green has to come off, everything blue is to keep. It may look confusing but it looks alot clearer when you see the modified piece below.

The fastest way i found on removing the sliders was to first cut/grind off as much of the locking realse lock mechanism, then slide the slider one way to its maximum travel and cutting the prortuding end off as shown in red. Then slide the slider as far in the opposite direction and cut the other end off as shown again in red. Now by sliding the slider to its maximum travel (A hammer may assist) either way the travel locking rollers will now come out thus releasing the rail.

Grind flat any protrusions on the inner part of the rail holder.

This is how it should look when done, bear in mind the micra chassis will slide inside the inner of the coupe chassis so these inner sides have to be smooth and free of protrusions.

I replaced the arm and tackled the other side still attacked to the seat back (as it was part of the spring mechanism) so I covered the leather with a damp towel. This is how it should look when done. Note the seat base fixings marked in red are the only items to remain on the inner part of the chassis.

Now you have to refit/bolt the seat base onto the base to give it it's shape and rigidity back.

With the seat upside down fit the micra chassis inside the coupe chassis, it is a snug fit and you may have to grind a few bits off of the micra chassis to get the right fit and desired height.

Then its just a case of wrapping the exposed leather/foam with damp towels etc and welding the two chassis together on the outer sides, my mig ran out of gas so I had to go heathen and gasless weld which I hate but when the seat is installed the weld is not visible.

Then it is just a case of fitting the micra seatbelt socket, cutting a small piece off of the plastic shroud and refitting, Then refit the other plastics etc and it should look like this.

Here is the finished item welded and painted, as you can see the micra chassis sits inside the coupe seats rail holders.

Now all you need to do is bolt your new seat into the car.

Note; The coupe seats do not fold as flat as the Micra seats so it is a little tighter to get in the back of a 3 door unless you pull the seat forward.
If you have a 5 door this will not be an issue.
The coupe seats slid forward automatically when folded but I cut all of the mechanism out as I needed to lower the seat height or it would have been too high.
Maybe there is a better solution but this works for me.

Food for thought

Toad

 

[funky2nite]

awesome!!

 

[WeepZ]

Wow! They look well suited.

I have to ask, where did you get your steering wheel and color coding done??

 

[Toad]

Wow! They look well suited.

I have to ask, where did you get your steering wheel and color coding done??[/quot

Wow! They look well suited.

I have to ask, where did you get your steering wheel and color coding done??

Thanks, the seats are well comfortable, look amazing and give the car interior that lovely leather smell.

The car is a Micra 1.o Sport, I had been waiting for ages for this one to come up. The interior with the red dash and steering wheel are original factory fit as are the spot lights, The center console was that cheap silver looking one but I found a black one at the scrap yard that i have replaced it with. I have sprayed the centers of the bonnet air intakes to match the interior to which make it a bit different on the outside too. Did the rocker cover too when I put the 1.3 cams in. Just need to tidy the bumpers next,

 

[Sandor]

Thanks, the seats are well comfortable, look amazing and give the car interior that lovely leather smell.

The car is a Micra 1.o Sport, I had been waiting for ages for this one to come up. The interior with the red dash and steering wheel are original factory fit as are the spot lights, The center console was that cheap silver looking one but I found a black one at the scrap yard that i have replaced it with. I have sprayed the centers of the bonnet air intakes to match the interior to which make it a bit different on the outside too. Did the rocker cover too when I put the 1.3 cams in.View attachment 36680 View attachment 36683 Just need to tidy the bumpers next,

Hey Toad! Have you experienced any changes after replacing the 1.0 cams to the 1.3? Im planning to replace the whole engine to 1.3 cause i got a lot of trouble with th 1.0, getting fault code P0171 all the time.....so im tired to find what is the cause of the problem. Bought two complete 1.3 engine with wire loom form a 2000 and a 2001 car.

 

[Toad]

That

Hey Toad! Have you experienced any changes after replacing the 1.0 cams to the 1.3? Im planning to replace the whole engine to 1.3 cause i got a lot of trouble with th 1.0, getting fault code P0171 all the time.....so im tired to find what is the cause of the problem. Bought two complete 1.3 engine with wire loom form a 2000 and a 2001 car.

The1.3 cams have increased power at higher revs and torque throughout the Rev range. If driven hard it pulls and goes faster. Big bonus I found if driven gently not exceeding the speed limit a better mpg. Fully loaded with luggage and 4 bodies on the same journey;
1.0 cams 46mpg
1.3 cams 48mpg
If driven hard you will burn more juice with the 1.3 cams.
That code indicates weak fuel mixture which could be something as simple as a blocked fuel filter or air leak on the inlet side of the engine. Depending on the year (is it dizzy or coilpacks) could be heated oxygen sensor or maf sensor in throttle body. I bought a spare complete t/body to modify from the breakers for 15 quid.
Hope this helps

 

[Sandor]

That

The1.3 cams have increased power at higher revs and torque throughout the Rev range. If driven hard it pulls and goes faster. Big bonus I found if driven gently not exceeding the speed limit a better mpg. Fully loaded with luggage and 4 bodies on the same journey;
1.0 cams 46mpg
1.3 cams 48mpg
If driven hard you will burn more juice with the 1.3 cams.
That code indicates weak fuel mixture which could be something as simple as a blocked fuel filter or air leak on the inlet side of the engine. Depending on the year (is it dizzy or coilpacks) could be heated oxygen sensor or maf sensor in throttle body. I bought a spare complete t/body to modify from the breakers for 15 quid.
Hope this helps

Thanks for reply, mine is a year 2001 with coilpack, same as yours. Have replaced the MAF sensor, and fuel filter, but i still getting that code. I don't really know how to check for an air leak. Im getting tired with it, so i decided to replace the whole engine for the 1.3. Hope it will fit easily.

 

[Toad]

Good luck with the engine swap, seems like a lot of work though.
If you have done the fuel filter and t/body (is the throttle body sealing to the inlet manifold properly) it must be an air leak (from a vacuum pipe or inlet manifold joint to the head) or lambda/oxygen sensor. The sensors are both on the exhaust, one on the cat and one under the car further back, if they are faulty you'll have the same problem with the 1.3 engine if it's a coilpack version.

 

[Sandor]

Thanks! No the 1.3 engine is not the coilpack version, as far as i know, they produced only the 1.0 and 1.4 as a coilpack. I will swap the whole complete engine, with its own TB. Hope the downpipe is the same as the 1.0 coilpack's. According to my mechanic friend who has measured the lambda sensors, they are ok.

 

[Toad]

Thanks! No the 1.3 engine is not the coilpack version, as far as i know, the produced only the 1.0 and 1.4 as a coilpack. I will swap the whole complete engine, with its own TB. Hope the downpipe is the same as the 1.0 coilpack's. Accordint to my mechaning friend who has measured the lambda sensors, they are ok.

As far as I am aware the 1.3 and 1.0 exhaust systems are the same for the dizzy versions but the coilpack exhaust is different.

 

[Agent_Sm1th]

Thanks! No the 1.3 engine is not the coilpack version, as far as i know, they produced only the 1.0 and 1.4 as a coilpack. I will swap the whole complete engine, with its own TB. Hope the downpipe is the same as the 1.0 coilpack's. According to my mechanic friend who has measured the lambda sensors, they are ok.

That's a lot of work swapping the coilpack engine to non coilpack. Or have I missed something?

 

[Toad]

Thanks! No the 1.3 engine is not the coilpack version, as far as i know, the produced only the 1.0 and 1.4 as a coilpack. I will swap the whole complete engine, with its own TB. Hope the downpipe is the same as the 1.0 coilpack's. Accordint to my mechaning friend who has measured the lambda sensors, they are ok.

As far as I am aware the 1.3 and 1.0 exhaust systems are the same for the dizzy versions but

That's a lot of work swapping the coilpack engine to non coilpack. Or have I missed something?

I'm not saying it's rocket science but I know the inner drive shafts are bigger on the coilpack version gearboxes, the dizzy ones are smaller and have less splines. The exhausts are different and the ecu may be specific.
What I was getting at was it seems alot of work swapping an engine because you have an eml for weak fuel mixture

 

[Sandor]

No, the original idea is getting a bit more power and torque from the 1.3. Of course im not swapping it only because the fault code I think that 60hp from the coilpack 1.0 is not enough....specially on motorways and with more person in the car. Tha gears in a 1.3 gearbox are different, its longer....so its much better on motorways. As far as i know, for replacing the engine form coilpack to non coilpack, i need both shafts, the wiring loom with ecu, and the levers from gearbox to gear shaft. The only thing im not sure in, is if i must swap the whole wiring loom, or only the part from the engine bay.

 

[frank]

there are a lot of differences on the coilpack models (not the shafts or gearchange tho)
but this thread is way off topic tbh

 

[Magpie42]

Yeah... I came in here to hear about seats...not enjin swapsies....

 

[Sandor]

My bad, sorry lads

 

[Sandor]

there are a lot of differences on the coilpack models (not the shafts or gearchange tho)
but this thread is way off topic tbh

Could you please tell me more about them in private? Ta

 

[Toad]

No, the original idea is getting a bit more power and torque from the 1.3. Of course im not swapping it only because the fault code I think that 60hp from the coilpack 1.0 is not enough....specially on motorways and with more person in the car. Tha gears in a 1.3 gearbox are different, its longer....so its much better on motorways. As far as i know, for replacing the engine form coilpack to non coilpack, i need both shafts, the wiring loom with ecu, and the levers from gearbox to gear shaft. The only thing im not sure in, is if i must swap the whole wiring loom, or only the part from the engine bay.

Ah, ok I get it now.
I mainly use my micra for town commuting so short box is better for me. Since fitting the cams it will reach the limiter in top fully loaded if ragged.
Don't know about the loom, personally unless you've customised the car I'd sell it and get the 1.3/1.4 as it will be a lot less grief and take less time.
I've seen loads of 1.3s with low mileage n 12 months mot going cheap on ebay etc
My 2nd K11 blew its box (CVT) and ended up being replaced with a dizzy facelift.
As a mechanic it was more viable than repair, time and money was the reason.
However you have spare engines and if its only time...
Go for it ;-)

Yes this is the wrong thread to discuss, my bad too Frank.

 

[Sandor]

Since im not living in the UK anymore (was living there for 6 years) getting a car from ebay is not an option for me anymore. And here in Hungary, cars are too expensive. Just for an example, the same 2001 Micra, with 4 airbags, ABS, Servo, air con, electric windows, central lock....etc. here is about 2000 quid or a bit more. Over there is maybe half of that price. And having a monthly wage of around 250 pounds, and getting the same prices for food and basically for everything like over there, is quiet hard to just swap cars (not mentioning the fact that you have to pay around 200 pounds for the government just for the swap, and this is depends on the engine size.) anyway......OFF ends here