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I always wanted to have seats with better support than the stock seats in my 2003 Aristo. I like the power seat functions and the comfort of the stock seats but for cornering they leave a lot to be desired.
I have been upgrading the Aristo to make it more current performance wise. Seats are part of the upgrade. I decided to purchase a set of Braum Seats and make a custom mount to keep the stock power functions. The design of the horizontal pleats is similar the stock seats and they look like they belong there... a goal I was going for. Let me know what you think. Drivers Side Passenger Side
Last edited by steamboat1; Apr 4, 2021 at 09:39 AM.
They look amazing. I am jealous. Did you have to do some additional trim work where the plastic fits around the bottom cushion?
One challenge I've had with the stock seat is headroom. Even all the way down, I wish I had more of it. What's your sense of your butt height after swapping to these seats?
Thank you. After removing the seats and disassembling them, I designed and made mounting plates out of 3/16" steel on a waterjet.
I wanted to incorporate the stock plastic trim panels and seat belt locations. I also was able to gain 3" inches of leg room and an extra inch of head room. Next I designed aluminum brackets to mount the seat controls and
the lower front of the panels.
The power seats have forward, back, up and down power controls. Having the power recline function would have required some major seat reconstruction so I opted to have the manual seat recline instead. I have the lever
for the recline come out ot the stock steet belt location. There is a 1.5" gap around the panel and the seat because the Braum seats are not as wide. I used rubber door seal as a panel filler. It is secure and matches the black color nicely but is not perfect. I may design a PCV Filler Panel in the future.
Over all I am pleased with the results. They fit and feel fantastic. Solid mount, no squeaks and work (except for the recline) like the stock seats.
Last edited by steamboat1; Apr 6, 2021 at 05:55 PM.
Excellent question. Allow me a bit of back ground. This is my second Toyota Aristo. My first one is the White one on my Avatar Photo. It was a 2000 Toyota Aristo V300. I unfortunately wrote it off driving over 90mph and rolled it side ways and end over end. I was unscathed and the Air Bags DID NOT deploy! Anyway I was so impressed with the car that I bought this 2003 Black one from the Auctions in Japan and had it imported.
So when I decided I wanted to put these seats in safety was and is very important to me. The Braum Seat has a Steel Tubular Frame and they have done successful crash testing with the seat. The Bracket I designed is 3/16" Steel Plate, very thick and strong. Thicker than the stamped steel used on the stock seat that is bolted to the frame rails in exactly the same way. I am using the stock seat rails and I am using the stock attachment points on the stock rails with the stock hardware. The Braum Seat is bolted to the Steel Plate with its 4 mounting bolts. I am sure this seat is at least as strong and secure as the stock seat. It does not however have Airbags in the seat.
Of course everyone has their own opinion. I am not trying to convince you, just stating that I made them as strong as possible and used the same mounts as the Factory uses for the stock seat.
That looks like a lot of effort and some good tools and craftmanship along the way. The finished product appears of high quality. I'm glad to see you built the solution to not only look and feel good, but to be safe as well. Well done.
It looks like a quality install. Good work. I remember putting a Sparco seat in my old vette and feeling much more connected to the car, so I understand the feeling. But I was in my 20's and went with a cheap model that was barely wide enough, solid with no kind of adjustability, and basic cloth material, and it was a terrible hardship to get in or out. Would be nice to find a happy medium.
G’day mate, great write up excellent job I’m very impressed.
Originally Posted by steamboat1
Thank you. After removing the seats and disassembling them, I designed and made mounting plates out of 3/16" steel on a waterjet.
I wanted to incorporate the stock plastic trim panels and seat belt locations. I also was able to gain 3" inches of leg room and an extra inch of head room. Next I designed aluminum brackets to mount the seat controls and
the lower front of the panels.
The power seats have forward, back, up and down power controls. Having the power recline function would have required some major seat reconstruction so I opted to have the manual seat recline instead. I have the lever
for the recline come out ot the stock steet belt location. There is a 1.5" gap around the panel and the seat because the Braum seats are not as wide. I used rubber door seal as a panel filler. It is secure and matches the black color nicely but is not perfect. I may design a PCV Filler Panel in the future.
Over all I am pleased with the results. They fit and feel fantastic. Solid mount, no squeaks and work (except for the recline) like the stock seats.
Hey mate I have purchased very similar seats to your Braum seats (think they’re a copy) and I was going to just buy an aftermarket bracket and rails but then saw this awesome post where you’ve adapted your new seats to the factory rails, while being able to keep most functions, this is really great work…
I am wondering if you have anymore info or pictures of the process of what you did? I am also unsure as photos are hard to see what you did with the seat belt mount point on the door side of the seat, did you keep the stock seatbelt mounting points or did you change it somehow? I ask because I went to weld up my own budget brackets and realised due to the way the seat belt is attached to the door side of the seat itself and does t simply have mounting points on the top and bottom of the door pillar and only has a buckle mounted to the seat rail.
so what I’m asking is did you keep the seatbelt exactly as it was previously where it has the belt buckle receptacle on one side of the seat and the bottom bolt point attached to the outside of the seat and not changed it’s location to Somewhere else like on the door pillar?
I hope I’m making sense with this question lol, I just knew with my own brackets I was going to have a left and right bolt tab location one for the receptacle and one for the seatbelt attachment.
this is different to the mounting brackets you can buy online which only have a mount tab for the receptacle on the inner side of the seat rail but no tab on the outer side to bolt the bottom part of the belt to. So I don’t know what people are meant to do in this situation where does the seat belt get bolted to if there is no mount point on the outer side of the rail?
if you can assist me in any way what so ever in getting my seats retrofitted to the stock seat rails with functionality I’d be super thankful.
my email is dgtrowbridge88@hotmail.com if you could email me with any info you’d make my life much easier lol
I do have more photos that I'll send you. The seat belts are mounted in the stock locations on the seat. I simply made a mount on my bracket for the seat belt.
Thank you. After removing the seats and disassembling them, I designed and made mounting plates out of 3/16" steel on a waterjet.
I wanted to incorporate the stock plastic trim panels and seat belt locations. I also was able to gain 3" inches of leg room and an extra inch of head room. Next I designed aluminum brackets to mount the seat controls and
the lower front of the panels.
The power seats have forward, back, up and down power controls. Having the power recline function would have required some major seat reconstruction so I opted to have the manual seat recline instead. I have the lever
for the recline come out ot the stock steet belt location. There is a 1.5" gap around the panel and the seat because the Braum seats are not as wide. I used rubber door seal as a panel filler. It is secure and matches the black color nicely but is not perfect. I may design a PCV Filler Panel in the future.
Over all I am pleased with the results. They fit and feel fantastic. Solid mount, no squeaks and work (except for the recline) like the stock seats.
Looks amazing. I have a 2013 lexus gs350 and I am constantly rubbing my head against the head liner because of my height and tall upper body. Do you think it's possible to modify my specific cars seat to sit lower? I have searched many forums and haven't seen anyone do anything near what you've done here. I'd I could get even 2 inches lower then I'd be happy.
Yes, I wanted more headroom and legroom as well. The seat design is already 3 inches lower than stock. I also moved the seat back 2 inches on the stock rails. The result is that I have all the room needed. I even have to move the seat forward and up slightly, and I am almost 6'3".
Yes, I wanted more headroom and legroom as well. The seat design is already 3 inches lower than stock. I also moved the seat back 2 inches on the stock rails. The result is that I have all the room needed. I even have to move the seat forward and up slightly, and I am almost 6'3".
do you think I'd be able to lower my stock 2013 seat like you did with your second gen seat here if I took it apart and copied your method? Or would I need to attach an aftermarket seat like yours to the stock base like you did. I'd prefer to keep my stock seat if possible. Very interested in doing this since I am scraping the headliner of my car unfortunately.
Unfortunately, it will not work with the stock seats. You will either have to take the seat to an upholstery shop and have the seat cushion height reduced or buy after-market seats.
New Seats
