I plan on swapping over to some nice ebony leather 4th gen seats for my Formula in the spring. My question is, how comfortable are the 4th gen pieces? I mean, are they night-and-day better than a 3rd gen seat, or just a little bit better, or what?

Thanks for your replies.

 

It seems as though I am always answering your posts, but the answer to your question is yes. I installed 4th gen leather seats about a month ago and I love them. They are very comfortable, the lowered me about 2 inches, I am over 6', and I would highly recommended the swap. Easiest swap I ever did, and I painted my seat tracks black while I was doing the swap. Go for it.

 

The Camaro ones are more comfortable than the Firebird ones, but the Firebird ones have a larger bolster that pumps up and keeps you centered in the seat.

 

Yup, go for it. I just replaced my worn-to-hell 3rd gen leather seats this weekend with some leather seats out of a '98 Camaro. Yes, the difference is night and day, to me at least. The back support is great, but yeah the Firebird seats do hold you in better, but only if you're a small person. They felt rather tight and small. I'm a big guy and the Camaro seats feel a little bigger. These seats are the best thing I've swapped into this car so far.

 

I agree. I thought my seats were fine until I put in my 4th gen seats. What a difference. Heck, I even think the new back seats are ever more comfortable......if that's possible.

 

Cool...good to hear that spending the money will yield very noticeable results! Good to know about the differences between Camaro and Firebird units, too.

How much did you guys pay for yours? I just saw what is described as a near-mint set of ebony leather seats from an '02 Camaro, and with shipping they'd cost me between $800-1000. Not in my league right now, but I'm wondering if that's the typical ballpark for a great set?

Lawrence, good to know about the 2" drop. I'm 6'2", so being a little lower down in the seat wouldn't hurt a bit.

 

Hold on to your lugnuts! I paid $60 for a complete set of Gun Metal Gray Leather seats from a 95 Camaro from the local scrap metal place

 

check your bone yards first, and keep in contact w/ them. You can normally pull leather for 100-200 bux from a good yard. My friend pulled my rear leather 4th gens from a maro for free, he woulda got the fronts, but they were bent to hell from the accident (t-bone) rears were perfect. Now im looking for a set of forth gen front ebony T/A seats, anyone know of any.lol....

if you go off ebay, expect 600 bux w/o shipping, from the sponsors (hawks, etc) around 800 w/o shipping.

 

Def. check junkyards., they are common around here at least.

Free is good too though... that's how much mine were

 

I paid $250 for the front set of seats out of a '98 Camaro. They're dark charcoal grey, and the driver's seat is power. I'd say they're a 9.5 on a 1-10 scale. Got 'em locally through a guy in my old car club.

 

Well worth the effort. Bolts right in no problems and VERY comfortable, no comparison to the 3rd Gen Seats. My son and I snagged a complete set of fronts/rears from a local J.Yard for $100 (NOT LEATHER). On a scale of 1-10 they were about a 8.0 as the driver's side is BEGINNING to show a slight bit of wear on the edge.

I also concur... CHECK THE LOCAL J.YARDS.. $800-1000 (even for perfect leather) seems VERY expensive.

Sincerely,
Kurt

 

Well, I paid $500 for the complete set. Black leather seats, driver side power, out of a 02 15k on the clock.

 

I'd really enjoy other peoples' opinions about whether the 4th gen Camaro seat is more comfortable than the 4th gen Firebird pieces. Is it just a matter of the design of the Firebird seats making you feel a little bit squished if you are a bigger person? Are the Firebird seats actually uncomfortable, or just slightly less so than the Camaro pieces?

Also, WRT to the inflatable bolsters...is there an electric pump that operates them, or a hand pump?

If I am going to drop that kind of coin for these things, I would just like to be as well armed with knowledge as possible. Between your help and the stuff in the archives, hopefully I'll be able to make an informed decision.

 

I've got leather seats from an '01 TA and I find them quite comfortable especially compared to 3rd gen seats. Mine are power lumbar,bolster and drivers side tracks. They should come with motors under both seats,drivers side has the power tracks and the passenger side has the lumbar/bolster pump. They both get power and ground from the same connection on the drivers seat.

 

4th gen leather is really a treat after 3rd gen cloth. And mine are fully adjustable

 

I have replaced my seats with black leather from a 1998 Firebird (not sure if it was a TA, bought on ebay). I had purchased a pair of Camaro leather seats that i thought were gray but turned out tan. I found the Firebird seats to be more comfortable than the Camaro seats. I am 6'-1" and 240 pounds for reference sake. By the way, my wife preferred the Firebird seats as well and she is much smaller!

 

When I bought my car (for $1..haHA!) someone had already awapped in 4th gen seats. They sit very low, but feel great. I'm 6'4" and when I sit in my friend's Camaro of the same year with the stock seats, it doesn't feel as good.

 

I bought a full set of black ebony leather, electric seats on Ebay for $600.00. They came out of a 02 Trans Am and replaced my ripped and torn cloth seats in my 89 IROC.

The difference in comfort and appearance was like night and day.

 

damn, i can't see myself spending that much on seats, when i could just buy seat covers and save the money and put it towards those aluminum heads that have been mocking me for years now... they do make factory'ish seat covers, for our cars somewhere, don't they?

 

Yeah for a few hundred. Otherwise you get those paper thin, saggy seat covers with Type R racing on them.

 

What 4th gen seats did you install? Did you use the tracks that came on the seats, or your original tracks? I'm wondering if they sit lower because of the seats or because of the tracks.

 

I installed seats from a 95 Camaro and I used my old seat tracks. I think the seats are actually lower but I could be wrong.

 

Are the 3rd gen GTA seats just as good or better than the 4th gen trans am seats?

 

Well worth the time to do it.
You sitting down.......

I paid $238 for EVERYTHING out of a 97 TA.
Dash,console,door panels,and front and rear seats.
That was with the gauges,harness,switches.

 

I paid $700 (of of ebay) for a set of leather ebony 02 SS seats, definently the best looking seats imo

 

the GTA seats shouldn't be any better than the 4th gen trans am seats, as they're essentially the same seat (minus headrest and trim differences.) The biggest improvement you'll find between the 4th gen seats and the GTA seats is the 4th gen seats will be roughly ten years newer, with firmer foam, and tighter leather. They should essentially be what your GTA seats were, when your car was new.

 

I paid 800 for '02 ebony TA seats....full power, and I love em. Only thing I dont like about leather though is that it'll either be too cold, or too hot....next time I get seats they will be suede

 

Can someone post some good photos and sketches or instructions on the wiring and hose routing of the 4th gen seat install. I am putting 2002 TA black leather seats into my 3rd gen. I have electric seat driver side. I am installing seats with lumbar on both sides and electric driver. Just need the voices of experience to help with the lumbar routing and the electrical connections.

 

I'm considering buying some grey leather seats from a 1997 4th gen firebird, but they don't have the power lumbar stuff. Are they still very comfortable compared to the power lumbar ones?
Thanks.

 

WOW, this thread is 8 years old. For a second I thought Bull was back!

There's not much difference in comfort between the base seats and Ultima (lumbar) seats. I don't even use the lumbar adjustment in my '02, it hurts my back. The inflatable side bolsters are nice on twisty roads though, and I will say that the Ultima seats look a LOT nicer than the base seats. Lots of "bigger" drivers don't like the Ultima seats as they can be confining depending on your size. I'm 5 ft 10 in/140 lbs and I find them very comfortable.

 

Yeah I've been using TGO ever since I got my firebird like 3 years ago, but I haven't actually needed to message anybody yet because all of the questions have already been asked lol! However this thread was one that was the most similar to what I wanted to find out so I posed that here. Is there a better way or place to post random questions here?
Also I appreciate the input. Im 18 and pretty fit so it sounds like they'll be good for now. They're like $200 obo.