I’ve made posts in Technical Discussion trying to get to the root of my problem, but it wasn’t until my girlfriend joined me in my Fiero for the first time that it occurred to me, my seats are totally ****ed.
For those who haven’t seen it, I’ll put all the info in one place. I bought my Fiero about 320 miles from home, and drove it back. By the next day, my tailbone was so sore that I couldn’t sit. My tailbone had been sore prior to this trip, so I thought my poor flexibility was partly to blame. And, my shot suspension combined with Nashville’s horrid roads was another factor.
But, I’d been using an added cushion in my Fiero, to protect my injured bottom, and the injury had been healing, so today I went without the cushion, and as soon as I sat down I felt the pressure directly on my tailbone. Then, my girlfriend sat in the car and felt the same thing in the passenger seat.
So, this evening, I pulled out my driver’s seat. I can press about a 2 inch indentation in my seat with just the strength of my fist. That means I’m already sitting on the floor before I even start driving. And, every bump I drive over is a direct hit to my tailbone.
I have to assume I’m not the first person to experience this. But, I searched these forums and googled, and what I found was that people take the Fiero seats and put them in other cars, because they find them to be comfortable. Well, the Fiero seats are the single most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever sat on, and I’ve taken multiple 11 hour flights. From what I can tell from the service manual, there’s a wire grate imbedded in the foam seat bottom, and I assume mine’s become detached.
While I like the stock Fiero seats looks, I think I have to replace them with Sunfire seats. If only for my butt.
While I like the stock Fiero seats looks, I think I have to replace them with Sunfire seats. If only for my butt.
If you don't get an answer from a fellow sufferer, what about searching the Forum for other Nashville members? You can send them all a PM and arrange a meet-up with whoever responds and try their seats out, just to confirm that regular Fiero seats would still work for you. It does sound like your seats are toast.
If you don't get an answer from a fellow sufferer, what about searching the Forum for other Nashville members? You can send them all a PM and arrange a meet-up with whoever responds and try their seats out, just to confirm that regular Fiero seats would still work for you. It does sound like your seats are toast.
At least in the short term, I’m gonna hold on to my stock Fiero seats and see if I can revive them. If I can, I’ll put some MrMikes on them.
The seat bottom is a steel frame with an opening in the middle- then foam was bonded to it- this worked for 15-20 years just fine. But after a while the foam starts to sag in the middle. I realized this after taking the seat out to be recovered with a passenger-seat cover. I asked the upholsterer if he could do anything about it. He installed webbing straps across the bottom to support the foam in its original shape. Still good after (at least) 10 years.
The seat bottom is a steel frame with an opening in the middle- then foam was bonded to it- this worked for 15-20 years just fine. But after a while the foam starts to sag in the middle. I realized this after taking the seat out to be recovered with a passenger-seat cover. I asked the upholsterer if he could do anything about it. He installed webbing straps across the bottom to support the foam in its original shape. Still good after (at least) 10 years.
So theoretically, I could just put some webbing across the bottom to hold the foam up?
I don't think I've ever read a post here about anyone's butt hitting the floor, and I've been here a long time.
I was thinking about this. At 240 lbs, I can’t imagine I’m the heaviest person here. And, the bottom foam of the Fiero seats basically sits on the floor. As far as I can tell, there are springs embedded somewhere in the foam, but the thing supporting the weight from the bottom is a piece of fabric so thin that it’s transparent, and every pic I’ve seen of it, it’s broken.
The one thing I can’t figure out. How are both the drivers and passengers seats broken like that?
I’m starting to think I’ll try and repair the seats now instead of getting sunfire seats. At worst, I’ll put nylon webbing on the underside akin to a folding lawn chair. I can just rivet it in.
I was thinking about this. At 240 lbs, I can’t imagine I’m the heaviest person here.
The one thing I can’t figure out. How are both the drivers and passengers seats broken like that?
It's quite possible that in the last 30+ years, there's been a heavy couple who've spent a lot of time in this Fiero... and eventually the seats just gave up the ghost.
The Mr Mikes fix is the thing you need to do. I did it two years ago.
I did one change I went with heavier straps like you hang a garage door with vs the roll straps.
Also if you need more you can add padding between the straps and seat bottom.
Home Depot has all you need.
I did the fox with plumbers straps today, it didn’t fix the problem. The seat is tolerable, but I went on 3 separate drives totaling roughly 90 minutes and my tailbone is still hitting metal. I started feeling around the material nearest to the seat back, and there’s about 1 1/2” of metal without any padding whatsoever. I now believe that’s what my tailbone is hitting.
I used an old Yoga mat as added padding between the seat and the plumbers straps, so I’m thinking I can use some remaining foam from the Yoga mat to cover up that metal. I’m not sure how it’ll effect the seat’s ability to fold.
The alternative would be to figure out the seat back. I’m guessing if the padding is ripped off that, it’s give me the ability to sit back far enough for my skeleton to impact the seat’s frame.
The frustrating part about all this is not it’s taking me so long to solve, it’s that I’m seemingly the only person who sits upright enough to hit that part of the seat.
I did the fox with plumbers straps today, it didn’t fix the problem. The seat is tolerable, but I went on 3 separate drives totaling roughly 90 minutes and my tailbone is still hitting metal. I started feeling around the material nearest to the seat back, and there’s about 1 1/2” of metal without any padding whatsoever. I now believe that’s what my tailbone is hitting.
I used an old Yoga mat as added padding between the seat and the plumbers straps, so I’m thinking I can use some remaining foam from the Yoga mat to cover up that metal. I’m not sure how it’ll effect the seat’s ability to fold.
The alternative would be to figure out the seat back. I’m guessing if the padding is ripped off that, it’s give me the ability to sit back far enough for my skeleton to impact the seat’s frame.
The frustrating part about all this is not it’s taking me so long to solve, it’s that I’m seemingly the only person who sits upright enough to hit that part of the seat.
It is very possible your seats my be too far gone if the foam is more than just sagging.
Keep in mind too that in a Mr Mikes kit he will have you glue foam on the top of the west before the leather covers are added.
One last thing. If these seats are like new they are not soft. The factor seats are quite firm as are many performance seats. I have my original set and they are still in like new condition and they are firm as the day I bought the car.
. My HHR SS had the GM performance seat option and they were about as firm as my Fiero seats.
One quick note I bought my car new. Yen sagging seats are out of another car to put my leather on since my original seats were like new.
We also just put a 30,000 mile car back on the road and it has pretty firm seats.
[This message has been edited by hyperv6 (edited 05-30-2022).]
...my tailbone is still hitting metal. I started feeling around the material nearest to the seat back, and there’s about 1 1/2” of metal without any padding whatsoever. I now believe that’s what my tailbone is hitting.
The frustrating part about all this is not it’s taking me so long to solve, it’s that I’m seemingly the only person who sits upright enough to hit that part of the seat.
I had a quick look at the driver's seat in my Formula, and the metal bar that I feel is quite a bit back under the back of the seat. I'm wondering if the problem (maybe just one of many) is that the back of your seat has failed, and is allowing your butt/tailbone to move rearward too far and make contact with something that normally is not within reach.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-30-2022).]
I had a quick look at the driver's seat in my Formula, and the metal bar that I feel is quite a bit back under the back of the seat. I'm wondering if the problem (maybe just one of many) is that the back of your seat has failed, and is allowing your butt/tailbone to move rearward too far and make contact with something that normally is not within reach.
I noticed the metal was similar on my passenger's side seat. I'm going to finish my suspension tonight, take it in for an alignment, and next time I have it at home, I'll pull the seat out and do a more thorough inspection. I'll let you know what happens. At this point, I think I should make a Technical Discussion & Questions post that focuses on the seat construction.
To answer your question about guys putting FIERO Seats in other cars, on C3 Corvettes, tall guys use the FIERO seats to get more headroom, not to be comfortable. On my 88 GT the leather seats are ok, but certainly after 30 plus years, the original foam padding has changed. I guess my big butt helps keep my tailbone from hurting.
