Alternative front seats

[land864]

Am looking to replace both front seats in an 85 County.
A mate has an Aerotech seat for his GLW ( good lady wife ) and swears by it , very comfy , lumbar support , armrests etc.
It also has a removable seat squab to access the storage/battery (batteries ) under.

We are having trouble tracking down Aerotech and I think there may have been posts on here or exploroz .

Are there any other manufacturers who make sports/touring seats with removable squabs?

[Chucaro]

call EDS Auto Interiors on (03) 9354 6176 or Fax (03) 9354 6634
Aerotech Australia (http://www.aerotech.com.au)

[SVX37]

Checkout the Recaros also. One of the key reasons I bought the SVX. They are sooooooo comfy!:)

[land864]

Thanks Chucaro and SVX.

Will call.

SV , do the Recaroe have a removable seat squab to suit County under sea5 access?

[SVX37]

Yep - removable seat to access underneath as I have just had dual batteries installed. Whether it fits your County or not I don't know. I am sure there would be an adapter plate but if you are serious, I would ring Recaro and ask them.

Seats are a personal thing. Everyone who has looked at mine and then sat in them comments about how great they are. And when you spend a lot of time in the seat, the initial cost is overshadowed by the benefits IMHO.

Cheers,

[cal415]

i think they are great until you see the price tag ;)

[Roulston]

i think they are great until you see the price tag ;)

They are great, but not worth the OEM price. $13k each from LR if you have the correct VIN, $11k from Recaro. Make the $4k over standard price I paid for the SVX seem down right cheap.

Tony SVX78

[cal415]

I would love a set of them, but at prices like that they can keep them. I got to have a good look at them on the weekend in the SVX that came to maitland show with Davis performance landies, damn nice seats!

[dmdigital]

Given there's been a few wrecked Puma's around (OK, not the SVX's) you may be able to get a couple of the standard new model seats. These have a much higher back than the previous ones. IMO very comfortable.


But I'd still like some Recaros if the weren't so :eek:

[land864]

Thanks for the Aerotech number but that is now a Nursing home or something:eek:
No one knows where to find them.
Got quoted on the Recaros today $ 2135 ea :eek: but this does include Lumbar support and the mounting frame.

[rijidij]

One good thing about Landys is the big flat seat box makes it pretty easy to fit a whole range of seats. In my County I've got some seats from a Nissan sports car ($50 the pair at a garage sale). The bases aren't removable, but they are hinged on the inner side, so if I just lift the console out, the seats tip in to the middle of the vehicle for easy access to the batteries etc.
Have a look around at some modern cars at the wreckers. A lot of standard seats are pretty damn good.

Murray

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/09/752.jpg

[SVX37]

Thanks for the Aerotech number but that is now a Nursing home or something:eek:
No one knows where to find them.
Got quoted on the Recaros today $ 2135 ea :eek: but this does include Lumbar support and the mounting frame.

I think that is reasonable to pay for the quality. Bear in mind, they are not the same as in the SVX. I tried to up spec a Puma and hit road blocks everytime - you just cannot buy the same ones but if you sit in them before you mount them, that is the true test for you.

I sat in the SVX and the base Puma. Those Recaros was one of the main factors in me going that way. Plus a whopping discount helped too! :)

[scott oz]

I seem to recall some time ago that Aerotech either went out and or were not doing the defender seats with movable base. Again by memory the cost was killing them. This was some time ago

I've got a stratos light truck seat in the roof of the house I had in the Disco years ago. It did about 14hrs work as I then sold the Disco. I was going to put it into the Defender but it's to big for the driver seat. The seat has lumber support and is "sprung" to reduce vibration etc. As all Disco's were then its light brown. I think it has one small nick in the side trim about 2" to 3" long.

I haven't looked at it in years. Paid about $1,500 new. So if someone wants’ it $500 and it's yours. Otherwise it’s staying in the roof till I decide to fit it in the back of the110.

[rick130]

IIRC Aerotech were bought by SAAS (or another manufacturer/supplier) and no longer make a Defender seat.

[jerryd]

My County has Honda Accord seats fitted,(engineer approved) they are really comfy and hinge towards the rear so you have access to storage boxes, battery etc.

Like Murrary's seats, probably didn't cost more than a couple of hundred dollars either :D

Not sure I'd be spending $4k on two seats :o

[Barra1]

IIRC Aerotech were bought by SAAS (or another manufacturer/supplier) and no longer make a Defender seat.

You are right there. I think it was in 2004 (or is that 2003) that Aerotech were bought by SAAS. It must have been a case of "buying out the competition" - Aerotech made a range of seats and their service was excellent.

After purchasing a pair for my first Defender I was more than a little disappointed when the vehicle was "written-off" and destined for the wrecking yard. Fortunately, the insurance company kindly "allowed" me to buy the seats from them before the vehicle was wrecked.

The Aerotechs are a wonderful piece of gear - I have yet to see any up for sale though. However, there must be plenty out there as they told the Defender seats were one of their biggest sellers - which begs the question, "Why did SAAS not continue making the seats".:(

[land864]

Thanks.

Jerry . The whole seat hinges back then? How is it held forward in that case?

Barra1 . Yeah , you'd think there would be heaps out there. Maybe should troll through the Landy and other wreckers a bit more ( is there a landy wrecker besides Blackburn? Anthony Johnson?)

Rij. Which Nissan sports car in particular? Wonder if leather is available?

Scottoz. So that seat does not fit for a County front?

Pete

[cal415]

I have been thinking about D2 leather seats, i miss my old D2... has anyone fitted D2 seats in the defender/county?

[Chucaro]

Thanks for the Aerotech number but that is now a Nursing home or something:eek:
No one knows where to find them.
Got quoted on the Recaros today $ 2135 ea :eek: but this does include Lumbar support and the mounting frame.

Sorry mate, I just try to help.:(
I got the information from HERE (http://www.overlander.com.au/equipment/index/2/16/Aftermarket-car-seat-guide)

[quaddrive]

I have recaro LX-F seats in my 2004 90... fitted to hinging runners from Scheelmann or something like that. Either way they are brilliant. fit in nicely, much more support than horrible std seats, you can still access the seat box-bit more time consuming but no more that 2 mins to get in there,

Great seats!

G

[land864]

No probs Chucaro :)

Thanks for the advice and response anyway. Now we know that Aerotech are no longer in business. May try to track down the old owner!

Pete

[rick130]

I think a company called 'Auto Concepts' in Melbourne own the SAAS name, maybe a lobby campaign for Defender seats based on the old Aerotech design is in order :D

I'm dirty with myself I didn't act sooner, as one of my mates is the internal sales person for a motorsport wholesaler that used to be a major Aerotech dealer. I asked back in '03 or '04 and he could have ordered them but i just didn't have the readies .... :(

<edit> here's their current web address http://www.autoconcepts.com.au/ and a Google cache of their old website http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:z0xr_XmOmbgJ:shopautoconcepts.com/+Autoconcepts&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au&client=firefox-a

[land864]

Great work detective Rick:)

Hold on to your hats boys and girls.
The goss is that Auto Concepts own the rights to Aerotech seats and may be relaunching the brand later this year for only the 4WD market!!

[geckos]

these look alright, these are the ones that hinge.............
Landrover Tuning :: Scheel-mann Seats - Default Store View (http://www.landrovertuning.com.au/shop/default/seats)
they even come in techno
all they're seats can mount onto the hinged runners............
Landrover Tuning :: Super comfortable Sport Seat Scheel-Mann Td5 cover Grey - Interior Defender - Defender - Default Store View (http://www.landrovertuning.com.au/shop/default/defender/interior/sport-seat-scheel-mann.html)
3120 for two and runners
I will be buying a pair upon my return
hope this helps

geck