The original seat is destroying itself, so covering it should fix the issue disappear, right?
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Just a reminder that these cars and parts are closer to being 35 years old than 20.
The SiR seats no matter the manufacturing date and variant are susceptible to the same thing – the bolster tearing. To prove this, please refer to the several marketplace listings I screenshotted and cropped to prove my point.
Apart from the seam tearing and rotting from there, the inner bar is also a fault for eventually pressing against the bolster – which is a problem on the left side of my driver seat.
For the record, I am aware that the bolster is a general weak point for almost all seats – not just the SiR ones – and trying to fix them without reupholstering them is very difficult.
As I’d learn, there actually was an extremely rare option for the European-market VTi to have these same-design seats sold with leather upholstery from the factory – which gives me something to consider, but I like having the car fully original.
In Malaysia, a few companies are selling RECARO bolster covers marketed as protectors. They fit on the LX series for the most part (they’re the most common RECAROs around) with some tailor-made for specific seats (Swift Sport for example).
I bought a single piece to test fit. It sticks on via some form of adhesive tape (though product videos seem to “tuck” it behind the inner padding), and wraps around from the back. As you could tell, it does not fit exactly to the SiR seats, but they fit well enough to do its job.
Its like putting a bandaid on a flesh wound, but without a donor and a readily-available seat cover replacement of factory design, this is my temporary solution. The idea now is to start sourcing for another pair of seats, to replace the driver seat and the passenger seat rail (its rusted).
~Efini
Read more: Feriko: New radio player! Albeit it is cheap…
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