Cooled Seats

[Canadianwraith]

More manufacturers are making vehicles with a/c in the seats. Has anyone here successfully installed them in a first gen? It does seem like it would be very complicated and not worth the bother as I'm not living in Texas, but if it's somewhat feasible it would be nice to have.

Chuck

[130fe]

I just bought a used set of Recaro Specialists I would love to do this to!

[Jaden Young]

Does such thing exist? I am honestly not aware but I think that's cool.

[srode]

My 2015 Silverado has AC seats, the 2016 model year switched to ventilated seats, no cooling. The AC seats use a peltier cooler that vents out the back of the seat towards the rear seats. The seat surface has some tiny pinholes in it to let air through. Not sure if they made the change to save money or due to complaints / failures, but they work very well.

[protour_chevelle]

My 2015 Silverado has AC seats, the 2016 model year switched to ventilated seats, no cooling. The AC seats use a peltier cooler that vents out the back of the seat towards the rear seats. The seat surface has some tiny pinholes in it to let air through. Not sure if they made the change to save money or due to complaints / failures, but they work very well.
They changed it because of rear passenger complaints. I have a 16 and with the ac seats on, the rear passenger gets pounded with hot air out the vents.

[chuckd71]

Actively cooling the seats would end up producing heat somewhere. Tapping into the AC ducting could potentially be an option, but likely more trouble than it's worth. My ventilated recaros might do something to help dry the seats on a sweaty-back day but of course they provide no legit cooling.

[Canadianwraith]

What I'm getting at is if you hop in a Merc or Porsche the seats are cooled, not ventilated. Very noticeably cool. Has anyone taken seats from one of these vehicles and used them in a first gen? There are some very smart people on this site, wondering about how to hook up to the seat to get them to function. Likely a tall order but if doable would be nice for summer.

[Senek67RS]

What I'm getting at is if you hop in a Merc or Porsche the seats are cooled, not ventilated. Very noticeably cool. Has anyone taken seats from one of these vehicles and used them in a first gen? There are some very smart people on this site, wondering about how to hook up to the seat to get them to function. Likely a tall order but if doable would be nice for summer.


Where there's a wallet, there's a way lol

[Jonathonar89]

This guy I used to be good friends with was working on water cooling his Kirkey seats years ago in a '95 Mustang. I stopped talking to him about 5 years ago so I'm not sure if he ever finished the project.

This would be a cool project to see complete. Always nice to see people pushing the edge on pro-touring. If done on a budget....even better :naughty:

[mikedc]

IMO the most trouble-effective way is probably to swipe some cool air from the rest of the AC system.

Run some hose/ducting from the HVAC system, maybe contained in the center console, and then out under the front seats. The last step of the process (where the air hits the seat vinyl/leather) would be one of the most important parts of it. The air does need to flow so it's going to need an outlet point too.

Done right, this setup might use a noticeable amount of AC air. But that's the point. That is cool air well-spent. Just insulate & seal up the system on the way to the seat vinyl so it's not wasting any of it. And give each bucket a manual shutoff method of some kind.

[Canadianwraith]

I think I may pick up a set of cooled seats to see if there are a/c tubes running into them. My other concern is how to hook up the electrical to make the seats fully functional

[raustinss]

Alot of modern seat do tie into the BCM , something to do with the air bags, weight sensors etc

[Canadianwraith]

Ya I don't think this will be easy Ryan, I'm going to touch base with an electrical engineer to see what I need to do just on that side of the seat.
I do have a set of seats that are heated but I'd like a cold butt too

[raustinss]

Its a super cool ( insert dad joke ?horrible pun ) idea but I don't think it is worth the effort ???? i want to think you could by pass some of the AC thru some custom ducting thru the seat foam and out some perforated leather would be the easiest , again not sure it would be worth it but , don't let me stop you as I'm interested to see how or what you figure out.

[Canadianwraith]

Gotta look into it more but I know Merc S550 have great cooled seats. There has to be a/c lines already running thru to the back and seat area. Should be a feed at the bottom to tap into.

[vette427-sbc]

Gotta look into it more but I know Merc S550 have great cooled seats. There has to be a/c lines already running thru to the back and seat area. Should be a feed at the bottom to tap into.


I believe the merc seats have heat exchangers in them, the vents on the rear are the exhaust. You’d be better off plumbing your AC into the ductwork that is build into the seat and ditching the heat exchanger. The other issue with the merc seats is that the position controls are on the door, meaning that the motors and heating elements in the seat are controlled by the canbus. If you’re electrically handy, you could wire in your own switches directly to the motors and heating elements. Plenty of cars from the mid 2000’s that have nice looking high current seat position switches that you could use.

[mikedc]

Are there complications from putting both electric heaters and cooling lines in the seat at once? They have to occupy the same space.

[Canadianwraith]

Chris, thanks for the info. I'm thinking now that it is going to be more work than it's worth

[raustinss]

check out first gen CTSV seats ,they do come heated and cooled , not sure thou about the wiring . I do know same era GTO seats aren't on CAN-BUS

[Canadianwraith]

Thanks Ryan, I'll check it out

[vette427-sbc]

https://youtu.be/J2PWpWp4VAg

This is an aftermarket heating and cooling unit that works similar to the OEM styles with the heat exchanger. Seems somewhat universal, but since the foam doesn’t incorporate the ductwork, I question how comfortable the “ventilation pad” is

[srode]

https://youtu.be/J2PWpWp4VAg

This is an aftermarket heating and cooling unit that works similar to the OEM styles with the heat exchanger. Seems somewhat universal, but since the foam doesn’t incorporate the ductwork, I question how comfortable the “ventilation pad” isWeb search says $2195 installed is the MSRP. I assume that's with the leather cover and cushion which has to be compatible. No vintage cars listed on their web page, but with a new OEM seat it seems very doable. Nice find!

[Canadianwraith]

That is cool (pun yes), but ventilated not cooled. A client just delivered 6 new seats, 2 are black perforated leather buckets. If they don't want them back I'll probably dissect a bit

[vette427-sbc]

That is cool (pun yes), but ventilated not cooled. A client just delivered 6 new seats, 2 are black perforated leather buckets. If they don't want them back I'll probably dissect a bit

The Katskinz unit is blowing cooled air, not just ambient. Best option (IMO) would be to get that unit and hook it up to the ventilation system of the Benz (or whatever seats youre getting)

[Canadianwraith]

I think you are right Chris, don't think I want to spend 2500 on parts for seats tho

[OldTimer]

Have the cooling seats in our Cayenne, I think the seats are a Recaro variant. Boy do I love those seats on a hot summer day trip. Doesn't seem to affect any other cooling or rear passengers. But cool butt breeze is felt in the seat of the pants LOL. Just got me wondering about the Trans Am seats I'm gonna put in the 69 Camaro. Using perforated material in the seat centers and back center panels... but there's not much room to get that cool air from the Vintage Air system thru the console and into the seats. Definitely need a seat with a bit of a pedestal I'd think.

[jetmech442]

I have a set of E60 M5 seats that have yet to go in the cutlass, they are heated but not cooled. I am planning on adding the cooler kit from leatherseats.com as it uses the Peltier cooler and I never have a backseat passenger to worry about lol. Additionally, I am looking to add a small vent under the head rests that directs cool air to the my neck. A lot of electric vehicles are looking to locally optimize comfort by targeting coolers/warmers on the back, thighs and neck to minimize the HVAC load on the battery packs....I'm doing it because I can't find the time/money to buy/install a legit AC. :)

[5spd540]

I found a set of seats I like but don’t know what it will take to get the heat and cool option to work in them. If anyone has any experience in this area please let me know.

[raustinss]

do you want to tell us what the seats are out of lol ... I have been told that alot of modern car seats operate on a can bus system which can really throw a wrench in the plans of making everything operational

[5spd540]

do you want to tell us what the seats are out of lol ... I have been told that alot of modern car seats operate on a can bus system which can really throw a wrench in the plans of making everything operational
The seats I want are out of a 2018 mustang

[raustinss]

pretty sure those seats would be in that same boat of the electronics being canbus controlled , having said that dont let me deter you from trying to make things work for you .

[jetmech442]

The E60 M5 seats are canbus controlled. Also the biggest factor why they aren't in my car yet. To even recline the seat, or adjust position, it sends a K-Can message to an "M" computer, which then says "okie dokie. go ahead and recline the seat", but it send it back on a different Canbus back to the seat. Much effort was put into making it work and I feel like I was close, but they still arn't in the car. :(

I would look into if the seats are can controlled, and if so which parts. You can always run a motor controller to each spliced motor, as well as power on/off for the cooler/heater.

Not trying to discourage you at all, just be aware what you might be getting into.