[Tambohamilton]

I have an e91 330d in sparkling metallic, with black leather interior/seats. The seats are non-sport, non-heated, non-powered, basic things. I like the finish of the interior/seats, and that they wipe clean (mountain biker + 2yo kid), but I hate sliding out of the seat in corners, sweaty back and butt, burning-hot seats in summer... I want some sport seats, but not sure on material/colour/etc. Budget is as limited as it could be... £200ish max (~$260). Unless I go with black leather front seats, I'd like to replace all seats.

[freakystyly]

Sport seats are a great upgrade, you wont regret it.

Is sport cloth w/ heat and manual adjust even an option?

Alternatively, if you aren't in a rush to replace them, you could potentially dye the pieces to any colour you like.

[4foothill]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

I have an e91 330d in sparkling metallic, with black leather interior/seats. The seats are non-sport, non-heated, non-powered, basic things. I like the finish of the interior/seats, and that they wipe clean (mountain biker + 2yo kid), but I hate sliding out of the seat in corners, sweaty back and butt, burning-hot seats in summer... I want some sport seats, but not sure on material/colour/etc. Budget is as limited as it could be... £200ish max (~$260). Unless I go with black leather front seats, I'd like to replace all seats.

£200 will get you some pretty terrible condition seats, but I assume you plan on selling your current seats? They would go for £200 easy, so your budget is £400... a healthy enough budget. I wouldn't bother with eBay, Facebook groups or breakers have some good prices, just got to be patient.

I'd go with red leather personally. Not really worth sacrificing looks for the 2 weeks of summer we get in the UK.

[E92William]

There currently is a sport package e92 328i with a red interior being sold for 500 around me. Not saying it would work for your car or anything but just a ballpark of where you'll need to be for a nice full interior. The cheapest way to go about what you want is it to just get two seats the same color as your car. When I had my 128i non sport package I realized how crappy the flat base seats are compared to the sport ones

[tlow98]

You allowed me to vote for more than one things so I did.

Best imo: Sport Cloth Front. Rear leather of matching color.

In my mind just do front cloth sport seats and roll on happy as a clam. M3 Speedcloth being the top of the heap. Third place goes to front leather sports.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by 4foothill

£200 will get you some pretty terrible condition seats, but I assume you plan on selling your current seats? They would go for £200 easy, so your budget is £400... a healthy enough budget. I wouldn't bother with eBay, Facebook groups or breakers have some good prices, just got to be patient.

I'd go with red leather personally. Not really worth sacrificing looks for the 2 weeks of summer we get in the UK.

I don't wanna come in here and say "you're never gonna find that" because deals definitely do pop up. However, I've been looking for a clean red interior (much larger budget) for over a year and haven't found one. I've had friends do the same--willing to spend well over 2k on seats and cannot find a good set.

OP--since your car has none of the options, you're probably suffering from the lack of breathability of the leatherette ('sensatec') seats. IMO I'd look for a front pair of M3 seats. I've seen em in okay condition (no rips) for 500 USD or so. After selling your seats you could stay in your budget and have what you need.

[JingChai]

I bought my black sport seat from him and it absolutely has made a difference on how I feel seating in the car especially around corners.

Originally Posted by tlow98

You allowed me to vote for more than one things so I did.

best imo: Sport Cloth Front. Rear leather of matching color.

In my mind just find to front cloth sport seats and roll on happy as a clam. M3 Speedcloth being the top of the heap. Third place goes to front leather sports.

[Tambohamilton]

Thanks for the input everyone! I'm not too fussy about the condition of the seats - my car is far from pristine. However no rips etc is a must.

These popped up yesterday - thoughts?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164374124204

Interesting about avoiding eBay... I dont have a fb account. Any particular breakers I should keep an eye on?

Thanks!

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by JingChai

I bought my black sport seat from him and it absolutely has made a difference on how I feel seating in the car especially around corners.

Jing! So glad you are enjoying it. Changes the feel of the whole car. Rather unbelievable the change. I found in the 'comfort' seat I was bouncing all over the place.

[4foothill]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

I don't wanna come in here and say "you're never gonna find that" because deals definitely do pop up. However, I've been looking for a clean red interior (much larger budget) for over a year and haven't found one. I've had friends do the same--willing to spend well over 2k on seats and cannot find a good set.

OP--since your car has none of the options, you're probably suffering from the lack of breathability of the leatherette ('sensatec') seats. IMO I'd look for a front pair of M3 seats. I've seen em in okay condition (no rips) for 500 USD or so. After selling your seats you could stay in your budget and have what you need.

Maybe e91 are rarer, but there's an ok condition (need some love but no rips) e90 red leather full interior on facebook right now for £300. Some sold for £250 the other day. Maybe not heated or fully electric but we all know aesthetics is more important than comfort.

Are you in the US? 2k could get you fully spec'd m3 red leather seats in the UK - if the ebay prices are anything to go by. Maybe we just right off more cars this side of the world?

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

I don't wanna come in here and say "you're never gonna find that" because deals definitely do pop up. However, I've been looking for a clean red interior (much larger budget) for over a year and haven't found one. I've had friends do the same--willing to spend well over 2k on seats and cannot find a good set.

OP--since your car has none of the options, you're probably suffering from the lack of breathability of the leatherette ('sensatec') seats. IMO I'd look for a front pair of M3 seats. I've seen em in okay condition (no rips) for 500 USD or so. After selling your seats you could stay in your budget and have what you need.

It's Dakota leather...no other options though! FG89708

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Thanks for the input everyone! I'm not too fussy about the condition of the seats - my car is far from pristine. However no rips etc is a must.

These popped up yesterday - thoughts?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164374124204

Interesting about avoiding eBay... I dont have a fb account. Any particular breakers I should keep an eye on?

Thanks!

I would love that set up for my wagon. Sadly, with the kiddo, leather is probably the easiest to keep looking nice over time.

I know the M3 speedcloth looks pretty ratty is most cases I’ve seen.

It’s probably worth making a FB account just for the marketplace...

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by 4foothill

Maybe e91 are rarer, but there's an ok condition (need some love but no rips) e90 red leather full interior on facebook right now for £300. Some sold for £250 the other day. Maybe not heated or fully electric but we all know aesthetics is more important than comfort.

Are you in the US? 2k could get you fully spec'd m3 red leather seats in the UK - if the ebay prices are anything to go by. Maybe we just right off more cars this side of the world?

Yes I'm in US, mostly looking within the country since I can't imagine shipping a full interior from Europe would be remotely practical

And yes, I've been a little picky-looking for heated as a must, LCI and powered as a strong preference. There's a super duper mint, 12k mile e92 m3 interior in black local to me. From what I can tell it's been FS since 5/2019 and the thread was last bumped by the OP a week ago. Always in the back of my mind to pick it up but I'd rather have red ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

It's Dakota leather...no other options though! FG89708

Good to know! The Novillo on M3 seats is quite an upgrade, though--just something to keep in mind

[Tambohamilton]

Yep, I'd definitely go for M3 seats if any came up in my price range

[Smgs1992]

Originally Posted by 4foothill

Maybe e91 are rarer, but there's an ok condition (need some love but no rips) e90 red leather full interior on facebook right now for £300. Some sold for £250 the other day. Maybe not heated or fully electric but we all know aesthetics is more important than comfort.

Are you in the US? 2k could get you fully spec'd m3 red leather seats in the UK - if the ebay prices are anything to go by. Maybe we just right off more cars this side of the world?

Are they really that cheap over there? I’ve been offered $1800usd for my coral red E92 msport seats and door cards.

[Tambohamilton]

That'd be somewhere around £400-600 over here, possibly more or less depending on condition...strikes me as pretty cheap!

This is why I'm not even factoring the sale of my seats into my budget; I'd get *maybe* £150 for them, minus fees, etc etc.

[4foothill]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

That'd be somewhere around £400-600 over here, possibly more or less depending on condition...strikes me as pretty cheap!

This is why I'm not even factoring the sale of my seats into my budget; I'd get *maybe* £150 for them, minus fees, etc etc.

Someone is selling what looks like the Alcantra cloth seats (see attached pic) for £100 on the "BMW E9X Owners Club UK - E90 E91 E92 E93" facebook group in case you're interested and near Norwich.

[Tambohamilton]

Thanks for the heads-up. I'm nowhere near Norwich though, so I'll probably have to pass on these. Also they must be e90 seats and mine's an e91, so only the fronts would be useful.

The price is right though! I might see if I can get them shipped...

[STooK]

Wow, didn't even know sport seats came in cloth but there's no way I'd put cloth in my BMW (M's included).

I used to have the non sport seats in my 335 years back and it sucked. Sport dakota seats are a big step up but if you can swing it I'd try to get M3 seats. The leather feels much nicer on the M seats and they're getting cheaper especially for a regular black seat.

[Tambohamilton]

Yeah, I think I'll end up with black leather sport seat (as per the majority so far), but I'm also keeping an eye on m3 ones just in case a cheap pair come up - I might get lucky since I'm not so concerned by finish/appearance.

While the breathability of cloth is tempting, I think it would be pretty weird to have one thing in the front and another in the rear. Also, I have no desire to change all the door cards etc...

[Tambohamilton]

Option #6... Half-leather seats from an e87? According to a few posts, they should bolt up and plug in the same as an e90/91 seat. And they're generally cheaper on eBay at least. My partner's e81 has them, and they're rather nice I think. (NB: e81,82,92,93 seats (the folding ones) all have the bottom end of the seat belt attached to a rail on the chassis, not the seat base itself like the e87,90,91).

That brings me onto another question; my current seats are all manual, non-heated; nothing on them requires power except airbags and seatbelt pretensioners. Are there any wires in the existing connector(s) capable of providing power for the sport seat bolsters? Do all e9xs have the wiring in place for heated seats, maybe, and I can just tap in or rewire the plugs? Hopefully someone here can just tell me, so I don't need to actually use my hands and brain to find out

[SMazza]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Yeah, I think I'll end up with black leather sport seat (as per the majority so far), but I'm also keeping an eye on m3 ones just in case a cheap pair come up - I might get lucky since I'm not so concerned by finish/appearance.

While the breathability of cloth is tempting, I think it would be pretty weird to have one thing in the front and another in the rear. Also, I have no desire to change all the door cards etc...

I like cloth and leather, but don't enjoy pleather (Sensatec, MB-Tex, V-Tex, etc.). I have the Dakota leather seats in my sedan and I think they are really nice. They don't feel sweaty to me. My AC works well, so that helps too.