Installing Focus ST3 full leather Recaros in Fiesta ST

[parapraxis24]

Looks awesome! May have to do this to mine since I hate how dirty the cloth portion of my recaros gets just after a few days...

Tuff Stuff and a soft scrub brush will take care of the cloth part. I spilled coffee on mine the other day, and even after it sitting for nearly a week before I could clean them, Tuff Stuff took it right out no problem. I'll probably clean the rest of the seats then apply some scotch guard so it'll clean up easier next time.

 

[LaVernWinston]

How easy was it to remove the rails from the seats? Are they just bolted on or welded?

 

[bigbrotherjohn]

How easy was it to remove the rails from the seats? Are they just bolted on or welded?

The rails are riveted on, or riveted and welded. I didn't actually remove the rails, I kept the same bottom frame of the seat and moved the Recaro cushions and leather over to that frame.

 

[LaVernWinston]

The rails are riveted on, or riveted and welded. I didn't actually remove the rails, I kept the same bottom frame of the seat and moved the Recaro cushions and leather over to that frame.

Any tips and tricks when it comes to this part? If this is a straight forward swap, you are awesome for finding this.

 

[bigbrotherjohn]

I actually recovered all of my pictures from my phone that I dropped in the water, I will try to upload them soon. The pictures should make it very clear.

But, long story short, the bottom seat frame portion of the Recaros is the same as the non-Recaro seats except for a plastic bolster piece that is riveted on and obviously any difference between the focus vs fiesta mounting rails.

If you have a Recaro from a FoST and a non-Recaro from a FiST you can convert to the Recaro seat with regular hand tools.

 

[caliboy15]

I actually recovered all of my pictures from my phone that I dropped in the water, I will try to upload them soon. The pictures should make it very clear.

But, long story short, the bottom seat frame portion of the Recaros is the same as the non-Recaro seats except for a plastic bolster piece that is riveted on and obviously any difference between the focus vs fiesta mounting rails.

If you have a Recaro from a FoST and a non-Recaro from a FiST you can convert to the Recaro seat with regular hand tools.

thanks for this!

 

[parapraxis24]

Since you've done the work already, and presumably have had a good look around down there. Do you think it possible to only swap the seat bottoms? I'm asking because I'd like to swap them left to right to try and even out the wear on the seats.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Probaholic1]

I'm actually interested to see what you mean by swapping the bottom piece. I'm having a hard time picturing it. Otherwise I'm thinking about getting the Recaros R333

 

[LaVernWinston]

Just got my hands on some FoST recaros for 400 bucks. I can't wait to do this conversion

 

[StayPuft]

So if the passenger pressure sensor doesn't work does that mean the dash airbag won't deploy? If that's the case, without side bags or front bags it just doesn't seem worth the risk. I'll step off my high horse now...

 

[LaVernWinston]

So if the passenger pressure sensor doesn't work does that mean the dash airbag won't deploy? If that's the case, without side bags or front bags it just doesn't seem worth the risk. I'll step off my high horse now...

I'm guessing if the bottom frames are the same, so is the backrest frame. If this is the case, I'm going to completely strip down my standard seats and swap the foam and leather over to the backrest as well (basically reupholster my standard seats completely.) This way, I'll be keeping all stock sensors and airbags.

 

[parapraxis24]

I'm actually interested to see what you mean by swapping the bottom piece. I'm having a hard time picturing it. Otherwise I'm thinking about getting the Recaros R333

The whole bottom of the seat, the part your butt rests on when sitting.

 

[bigbrotherjohn]

The Pressure sensor stays with the bottom of the seat, so it doesnt change and it still works. The pressure sensors in the Recaro seats are also the same anyway.

 

[LaVernWinston]

The Pressure sensor stays with the bottom of the seat, so it doesnt change and it still works. The pressure sensors in the Recaro seats are also the same anyway.

I'm actually tearing into the passenger recaro right now, poking around and making a game plan. I'm almost positive I can get this to work while retaining the stock airbag as well.

 

[bigbrotherjohn]

I'm actually tearing into the passenger recaro right now, poking around and making a game plan. I'm almost positive I can get this to work while retaining the stock airbag as well.

Yes, you definitely can retain the stock seat airbag and also the pressure sensor to make the front airbags work. I just uploaded a bunch of pictures to my original post, check it out and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[LaVernWinston]

Yes, you definitely can retain the stock seat airbag and also the pressure sensor to make the front airbags work. I just uploaded a bunch of pictures to my original post, check it out and let me know if you have any questions.

Did you find a way to remove the recaros plastic bolster thing on the bottom frame. Or does it still hold its shape on the standard frame?

 

[bigbrotherjohn]

Did you find a way to remove the recaros plastic bolster thing on the bottom frame. Or does it still hold its shape on the standard frame?

Yes, I did remove that and swap it to the other seat bottom, I dont know if the bolsters would be as strong without it. I drilled out the aluminium rivets and then bolted it to the existing holes in the non-Recaro seat frame.

 

[LaVernWinston]

Yes, I did remove that and swap it to the other seat bottom, I dont know if the bolsters would be as strong without it. I drilled out the aluminium rivets and then bolted it to the existing holes in the non-Recaro seat frame.

Thanks for the help man. I posted this thread over on the Reddit fiesta st forum. And I'm planning on doing a write up on this as well. I'm so glad you figured this out.

 

[bigbrotherjohn]

Thanks for the help man. I posted this thread over on the Reddit fiesta st forum. And I'm planning on doing a write up on this as well. I'm so glad you figured this out.

Yeah man, no problem, I'm glad I can help, and glad you found a good deal on seats, they look great!

 

[pwhitefist]

Is it possible to swap a passenger st3 seat's bottom and back pieces to the driver side non-recaro base? I found a decent looking one on ebay but it was for passenger only.