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Seat Elevation Adjustment

75K views 228 replies 72 participants last post by  Racer Z 
#1 ·
Today I raised the passenger seat up. It was easy for me to do. The only tool I needed was a T40 Torx. Torx was developed for robot assembly many years ago. Yes I spelled Torx correctly. It looks like an eight pointed star drive. I used a 3/8 breaker bar and Torx socket.



I removed the two bolts on the front of the seat rail. Then slid the seat forward and tilted it all the way and removed the two rear seat rail bolts.

There are two electrical connectors under the seat that I could not easily undo so I left the seat in the car and rolled it around gently to get to the side bolts. The seat weighs nothing and was easy to work with alone.



I did one side at a time, removing the three bolts, moving the side bar and replacing the bolts.



There is one locating pin for the seat rail as you put the seat back down and bolt in in. I did the rear bolts first and the front bolts last.

There is no room under the seat for an amp or anything as the seat almost touches the floor. I could not get my hand under it while in the lowest position.

The elevation holes are 3/4 inch apart for a total change of 1 1/2 inch.



The seat at it's lowest elevation.


The seat at it's highest elevation.



The little woman in her newly adjusted seat.



Both seats slide very far forward and the seatback inclines forward as well. She's ready to race now.


I hope she doesn't wreck my ride. I won't love her any less if she does, but I'll be pissed a while. I told her before I bought the Alfa that she needs to take a high speed driving class before she can drive my car. She can use my car in the school. School is in March.
 
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#8 ·
I forgot to mention that this is the 2015 USA LE version which has a few changes from the 2014 Euro version. The seat rail weighs nothing and the seat weighs nothing. Most seats weigh close to 50 pounds (with rail) and this is around 15 pounds. An actual racing seat is 12-15 pounds.
 
#10 ·
Holy sh..,
it´s 4 a.m. here and I just went through "New Posts" on this forum and just read "Seat Ejac.... Adjustment" instead of real thread title...means I´ve to go to bed now ! Lifestyle Manager´s waiting...:angel:

Sorry for that, but conversational therapy may help sometimes...:D
 
#11 ·
Great post, Thank you!

I was just out in my garage a few minutes ago trying to decide if I should take this on or not. You convinced me to go for it.

I need to decide on middle vs. top hole. At 5'7" I can probably do the top hole, but I don't want to make it too hard to get in past the bolster...decisions, decisions.
 
#13 ·
No idea which wire.
If you strap in before you start the motor you don't hear that insane noise. My Abarth makes the same noise, it's just so soft I never noticed it before. LOL

I'm 5-10 and to sit in the passenger seat at it's highest is OK for me. I have plenty of head room and so do my passengers. I feel way to high though as compared to the lowest setting.

I suggest you try the middle elevation first.
 
#19 ·
No idea which wire.
If you strap in before you start the motor you don't hear that insane noise.
I always strap in after I start the engine. Hot climates do that to you...A/C goes on before anything else!

Yesterday I was going to connect my phone to the parrot just sitting in the garage - car off, driver door open - and the obnoxious chime goes on the minute I turn the key. You'd think they would at least have it wait to go off until the engine is started up.

Or just make it less loud... there is a setting for "chime" in the settings menu (accessed via the setting buttons to the left of the steering wheel), but it does not seem to affect the volume of that particular chime.
 
#15 ·
On the track you don't need to see the road from the same viewing angle as on the street. Crosswalks and skateboards don't exist. Sit as low as you can and see over the dash.

My dad is 6-2 and able to sit (high elevation) without being to close to the top. Probably can't wear a helmet though and had to put up the visor just to see normal stuff.
 
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#16 ·
It's very personal how you like to site, the 4C luckily has a good adjustability. I am only 5-10 and like to sit as low as possible always with the steering wheel pulled out towards me as far as possible so I can have my legs in an almost straight position while still having a good angle at my elbow. The pedals are positioned in an upright position so this suits it very well to my liking. I have the steering wheel height set up such that it exactly covers the top of the dials section from a drivers perspective
Willem
 
#21 · (Edited)
Buy the spider! :p
Sorry for that - I cannot be of real assistance. I know that OscarTango wound up offering his car for sale because he could not fit (different issue). Not sure if you've looked at his thread (classified section) - perhaps he found a solution that could help you?
 
#27 ·
Hi all,
I picked my 4C up this week (Red, not a launch edition - but with the Alpine radio, not the Parrot), and after looking on here I decided to see if I could tilt the seats back on the rails using the factory 3 holes as per the pictures on this thread. I went for the back bolt in the factory lowest position, the middle bolt in the middle one, and the front bolt in the highest one. As long as you loosen the rear one to allow it to move forward a few mm - it all lined up and went right in. Wow - what a difference it made! I'm not tall, and now I have some support under my thighs, and can relax a lot more with a little less of that 'constantly leaning forward' feeling.


It took about half an hour per side with my son's help, with a few towels put over the sills to minimise any chance of touching the paint and one person in the car guiding the base out. Underneath the drivers seat you have to unplug the harness, and clip (then replace) a zip-tie holding the wires which live under the passenger seat.


Easy fix, and now it feels like a much more natural seating position. You can't have the seat at maximum tilt and put it all the way back now though - so maybe it's not a fix if you're near 2m tall.


Cheers.
 
#34 ·
My 4C is currently at the dealer for some warranty items and I asked that they raise the drivers seat. They informed me that this is not a warranty item and that they would need to charge me. This contradicts some of the information I've read on the forum. Does anyone have documented confirmation that this is actually a warranty item? Thanks.
 
#38 ·
In dealing with 3 different dealers before I bought my car, each 3 said adjusting the seats is a free service and can be done at any Alfa dealer. My last visit to a local Alfa dealer for a rattle I almost had them adjust my seat and they said it was also a complimentary service. Now, if you try and get them to change the seat every other week that's going to be an issue- but I'm sure the first adjustment should be on the house according to the various people I've talked to.

If they won't do it and you aren't local to another dealer, then I'd probably just pay the fee to adjust it if the seats bugging you. I actually didn't like my seat and the position when I first got the car, but now I've grown to like it and it doesn't bother me anymore.
 
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#40 ·
Thanks for your responses. I purchased my 4C in another state and it is the local dealer (1 of 1) that says that they can't do a seat adjustment under warranty. I'll see if they'll consider doing it on a complimentary basis. If nothing else, their response and manner will serve as a measure of their approach to customer service and building a loyal clientele. Ordinarily I'd do the adjustment myself, but I just had hand surgery. Thanks again.
 
#41 ·
Has anyone taken the seats completely out and tried to fully disassemble them? I'm going to be shipping some seats across the US and am hoping that the cushions/covers can be fully removed from the frame without damage. It would certainly be easier and cheaper to ship the bits instead of the whole assembly.
 
#43 ·
As D-day approaches I travelled down to my dealer for a seat fitting today. I was happy with the lowest setting apart from the lack of tilt of the seat squab. I felt there was no thigh support at all in the current position. I was told there is no adjustability of the seat base angle. What I'm asking is,'Is this correct?' My next questions are,'Has anyone else felt that the seat is a little too flat on the lowest setting?' and 'Do the other higher settings alter the seat base angle?' Or is it just a case of getting the height right and adjust to the car over time. Opinions sought.
 
#44 ·
"seat squab" = seat pan - the bit you sit on, I assume?

The bottom part of the seat remains fixed, and in the same orientation at all 3 height settings.

I seem to recall someone playing with shims under the seat rails (think it was actually at my suggestion at the time), but good luck finding the posts. I couldn't (yet). I doubt that a dealership would do this for you, but it probably isn't a hard DIY, if a small adjustment is all that is required.
 
#45 ·
The seat bottom can be adjusted if you don't mind drilling the frame's mounting holes oversized. The back goes in the lowest position. Middle goes in the middle position. Front goes in the highest. I did this on my passenger seat, and plan on doing it to my drivers seat whenever that arrived.

In the alternative, you can also angle the seat without drilling, but it's practically impossible to get the middle bolt in.
 
#46 ·
Revandspark changed the seat angle of his seat by doing what Darth said. I got to sit in it. Felt good to me actually. But it may be a case of 'time will tell' as it could become uncomfortable on a 300 mile run.

I'd experiment shims between the floor and the seat rail. This way you have adjustability. And you can return it to a stock, unmodified condition later.

There's also this thing called liability. If the seat should fail in a crash, who is liable? Alfa Romeo? Or the person who drilled holes in the car?
 
#47 ·
Thanks for the responses fellas. Looks like a case of seeing how it feels after a few long drives then attempting an adjustment if necessary. I know it's hard to believe 4Canada, but Aussies speak a dialect closer to the Queens English than you might expect.
 
#48 ·
I know it's hard to believe 4Canada, but Aussies speak a dialect closer to the Queens English than you might expect.
Right.

Some yobbo's go to the bottle-o and get a roadie , but finish their turps by the time they stop at the serv-o and get out for a sticky beak in thongs, maybe have time for a bonza chook (unles they are vego's), before running to the dunny...

Fair dinkum

:wink2:
 
#50 ·
I managed to angle my seat without any drilling. I took the seat out per the first post and then removed the front and middle bolts. I loosened the rear one on the seat and adjusted the angle to suit. I left the rear bolt loose while I inserted the middle bolt partway and then put in the front bolt. I had to put a little pressure on the front edge of the seat to get the front bolt to line up but not much. The holes in the frame of mine were slightly oblong which allowed this method to work so YMMV. The seat is now significantly more comfortable for my 6'1" frame and reminds me more of the seating position in the newer Boxsters.
 
#51 ·
I did the same as Ded, raised the front of the drivers seat to the middle mountng position while the rear remains on the lowest mounting point.
I can now see the instruments, the seat back isn't so upright that I feel like driving Quasimodo's car. And my squab supports my thighs nicely.
All in all, it transformed an uncomfortable driving position into something that's not that bad at all.
 
#54 ·
Enzo,

Did you drill a new hole for the middle bolt, or did you leave it out?

I'm thinking about trying this and initially was going to do the same set up as you (front on middle setting and rear on lowest) but I'd rather not drill any holes. But I am worried using the highest setting in front might be too much of a tilt.
 
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