My 3rd Gen Seats are horrible....help!

[mikebeach]

Hi all, Im a Jeep guy converted to Toyotas :) I have 98 SR5 with 181K miles and my seats are absoluetly horrible, not enough lumbar support, the bolsters are getting worn, basically there starting to show the wear of a 181,000 mile vehicle. Has anyone swapped in a toyota based seat into their 3rd gen? The racing/trail seats Ive been researching need $$$ brackets, anyone used the stockbases and modified racings/trail seats to them? I dont want to swap in stock leather seats because I live in AZ and I snowboard 45-50 days in the winter months, so leathers out. Any advice, opinions would be greatly appreciated from you Yota gurus.
Thanks
Mike

[neliconcept]

check out wet okole seat covers, you can actually get lumbar support built into the covers, they are neoprene so with snow melting on them from your down or whatever jacket you have on, it wont do much to em since thats what wetsuits are made of.

shoot that name on google and check the seats out, look good and im about to pull the trigger on some myself.
their are manual seats that have manual lumbar support as well but you have to look, round knob in front of the lowering lever for the seat back.

[xonetruthcrewx]

I have Wet Okoles. They are amazing. 550 bucks for the front and rear though. Thats without the lumbar support option. But like i said, they are amazing. Definitely worth it.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0015.jpg

[mikebeach]

check out wet okole seat covers, you can actually get lumbar support built into the covers, they are neoprene so with snow melting on them from your down or whatever jacket you have on, it wont do much to em since thats what wetsuits are made of.

shoot that name on google and check the seats out, look good and im about to pull the trigger on some myself.
their are manual seats that have manual lumbar support as well but you have to look, round knob in front of the lowering lever for the seat back.

I never thought of getting covers for my seats, much cheaper for the time being and I can upgrade down the road. Ive heard of Wet Okole and remember hearing good things when I owned my Wrangler. I think Im going to go this route first.
Thanks!
Mike

[mikebeach]

I have Wet Okoles. They are amazing. 550 bucks for the front and rear though. Thats without the lumbar support option. But like i said, they are amazing. Definitely worth it.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0015.jpg

Do you feel like they added more support and cushion? If you had to buy them again would get them with the lumbar? Im probably only going to do my front 2 seats for now as my back seats are usually folded down.
Thanks for your guys help
Mike

[MTL_4runner]

I'd do the Wet Okoles too unless you're going to redo your seats in leather instead.
For the active lifestyle (which snowboarding might indicate), the Wet Okoles can't be beat IMHO.

[mikebeach]

I'd do the Wet Okoles too unless you're going to redo your seats in leather instead.
For the active lifestyle (which snowboarding might indicate), the Wet Okoles can't be beat IMHO.

Yeah leather is out just based on the fact that its gets up to 115 here and theyd get beat. After looking at them on their website they cant be beat for the price and after doing some searching people seem to be really satsified with them.
Here goes my steady decline into Modifications :)

[garrett]

how do the wet okoles do in the heat? do you stick to them or do they cause you to sweat more?

[mikebeach]

So Im pretty sure Im going to be ordering these this week, my back is absolutely taking a beating. What color would you guys do with this interior? (I have black Husky liners now)http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/mikebeach/IM000141.jpg
Wet Okole doesnt have a blue that matches, so Im thinking about the same color scheme as the Grey/Black ones above,what do you guys think?
Thanks
Mike

[4RunAmok]

LOL, you and I have the same interior color. Moon Mist they call it.

Sucks because practically no color used these days matches it.

I need to replace my seat as the springs have paid the price supporting my body while wheeling.

[neliconcept]

So Im pretty sure Im going to be ordering these this week, my back is absolutely taking a beating. What color would you guys do with this interior? (I have black Husky liners now)http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/mikebeach/IM000141.jpg
Wet Okole doesnt have a blue that matches, so Im thinking about the same color scheme as the Grey/Black ones above,what do you guys think?
Thanks
Mike


could go blue/black, but id go black/charcoal if i were you.

i plan to do black only or black/red

[mikebeach]

LOL, you and I have the same interior color. Moon Mist they call it.

Sucks because practically no color used these days matches it.

I need to replace my seat as the springs have paid the price supporting my body while wheeling.

Yeah Im not to fond of my interior color... Id love to paint my door panels with that black vinyl paint, they used it on that Horsepower Show, it looked like it worked good.



could go blue/black, but id go black/charcoal if i were you.

i plan to do black only or black/red

Im afraid the blue's they have are too blue for my int. and ext. color, so I think it might look out of place. I think Im going to go neutral and do black/charcoal. I'll be ordering Friday, I will post up pics and my experiences when I get them.
Thanks for the help
Mike

[MTL_4runner]

Too bad they don't have a black and tan or an all black option, but the black and charcoal will look alot better than black and blue with a tan interior IMHO.

[mikebeach]

Too bad they don't have a black and tan or an all black option, but the black and charcoal will look alot better than black and blue with a tan interior IMHO.

They actually do, I found this thread on YT; http://yotatech.com/f2/wet-okoles-3rd-gen-informal-review-73087/
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/mikebeach/DSC01239.jpg
You guys think, all black with blue piping might look good?

[MTL_4runner]

Wow, the all black does look nice.

[Rock Slide]

how do the wet okoles do in the heat? do you stick to them or do they cause you to sweat more?


Since Garrett asked, thought I'd give my .02 on the heat issue. :D

IMO, you do not really "stick" to them, say as oppose to bare legs on leather or vinyl, but they do hold heat in very well. Think about it, if they can keep water from leaking in due to their rubber liner backing, then they will do a good job of holding heat in too. I had a set of W.O.'s ft and rr on an '86 4Runner I used to own. They did provide more padding, but for me, they held in too much heat. I live in B'ham, AL and the summer months here can be almost unbearable (does not help that I'm a "hot-natured" person to begin with). I ran my AC 50% more in the summer months (actually my AC is on most always then, I just ran it on the higher setting more often than the lower setting). In the winter, I ran my heat 25% less. (The added heat was nice in the winter months.) Therefore, for the 2-3yrs I owned the set, I only used them in my 4Runner from October - March. Went stock the rest of the time. Granted a 3rd Gen 4Runner puts out better AC than a 1st Gen, so you may have better luck with them if heat is an issue.

If you do decide to go with the W.O.s, be sure to look into their brand of cleaners and UV protect sprays. These will help keep your covers looking newer longer.

I ended up selling my set (after 2-3yrs of use) for a couple reasons: 1, The heat issue. Just to warm for my liking. 2, I'm such a neat freak, I was always cleaning them. I also tried my best to keep them from getting dirty. (This made no sense, since they were just covers.) and finally 3, found a great deal on some aftermarket racing seats I couldn't pass up.