Upgraded Seats That Play Nice With Sync Controls?

[sadams930]

So I made the mistake of going and driving an X3M the other day and it's caused me a lot of back and forth mental anguish about what to do. I've got an ST that I've only owned for a few months and have already dropped a ton of money into, most of which (10k+) is not going to be recovered if I sell it. Now I can't tell if it's just sunk cost fallacy or what, but I'm trying to make it make sense for me to keep the ST, knowing that the X3M is not much more expensive, but so much better performing with basic mods. I'm running high 11's right now and 3.8 0-60s with what I've got, which is right about where a stock X3M is. I can live with the performance piece, as both vehicles are mighty quick at those numbers.

But what I can't live with is how pathetic this ST driver's seat feels after sitting in the BMWs sport seat. That thing was so supportive yet so much more comfortable, there is no comparison to the crappy massage seat in my ST. So my question is, are there any brands of luxury performance seats that would play nice with the sync controls, ventilation, heating, etc. and just be a plug in play replacement for my current massage seats? I'm sure I could get decent money for the current seats as so many STs have been made without the massage seats for a couple years now. I don't mind spending a couple grand difference if the thing is going to be like the X3M seat and just glue you in there but also be completely comfortable for long drives. I haven't seen anybody who's done this kind of swap yet on here. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Jeppo]

If I were to win the lottery (after having never bought a ticket), I’d probably buy this…

https://www.lethalperformance.com/recaro-ergomed-es-driver-seat-154-20-1540-154-20-1541.html

 

[2020FordRaptor]

First off, the X4M is more than $14k more. No one has upgraded their seats. If you wanted to upgrade to some universal seats you would lose heated, ventilation and messaging features.

 

[sadams930]

First off, the X4M is more than $14k more. No one has upgraded their seats. If you wanted to upgrade to some universal seats you would lose heated, ventilation and messaging features.

Not sure where you got 14k from, I never mentioned prices at all. Nor did I say anything about the X4M, it was the X3M although they are very similar. But they are pretty impressive machines. Same 3.0 liter displacement as our STs, but so much more power and reliability. Getting into the 10s on just a tune and some basic bolt ons with 93 octane is crazy. Our fastest examples of STs on full e50 and every mod we can muster are barely cracking the 10s now.

Either way, I own an ST now, and selling it would be taking about 10k worth of install costs for parts and stereo and throwing it down the drain. Not to mention having to pay to have all the parts taken off for resale and then taking a haircut on selling 2 month old parts for used prices. That's what I get for getting so excited about how fun the ST was to drive that I didn't go home and do my diligence on what else was out there.

I still love my ST. I'm going to put on the superforged brake kit that is heading my way, then get the turbos done, and see how the transmission feels about the power they put out before I decide what to do about possibly building that. Then that should be it for parts until something else becomes available. I'm hoping somebody puts together a big turbo swap and some new stronger internals for the engine to get to those big numbers needed to really push into the 10s on pump gas.

That got a little of the rails here. Those Recaros the other person linked are sweet, they have heating and cooling, but they are 5 grand each. I did call a couple local upholstery shops tonight and I'm supposed to bring my ST in on Thursday and have them see if they can make the cushion more comfortable and the side bolsters more supportive. That would at least get them closer to what the BMW has going for it stock.