Tired of Shredded wheat on the floor mats

[fruitmeister420]

I have been cleaning up after my deteriorating seat pads for a while now. I have read up on other peoples efforts to do seat repairs but I can't find any information on suitable replacements for the horsehair pads that Mercedes used.
So I started searching on the net and I think I may give it a try using a foam available herehttp://www.foamforyou.com/Open_Cell_Foam.htm If you scroll down about half way you will see "Multi/Rebounded-Mixed Foam"
Does any one have any thoughts on this? It seems cheap enough that it would be worth a try, and with a life span of 15-16 years I might not have to remove my seats or clean up again for some time to come

[bluetypewriter]

My seats are falling apart too. I'm considering going this route.

http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W123SeatRepair

[fruitmeister420]

Part of the reason I'm looking at this foam is it's high density and the recommendation of it for heavy use. I'm a big guy and car seats have historically not held up well for me. I'm even thinking of re-enforcing the frame while I'm doing this. I've already "noodled" my seats and that helped a lot, but it did little to stop the shredded wheat.

[fred98050]

Originally Posted by fruitmeister420

I have been cleaning up after my deteriorating seat pads for a while now. I have read up on other peoples efforts to do seat repairs but I can't find any information on suitable replacements for the horsehair pads that Mercedes used.
So I started searching on the net and I think I may give it a try using a foam available herehttp://www.foamforyou.com/Open_Cell_Foam.htm If you scroll down about half way you will see "Multi/Rebounded-Mixed Foam"
Does any one have any thoughts on this? It seems cheap enough that it would be worth a try, and with a life span of 15-16 years I might not have to remove my seats or clean up again for some time to come

Ihad the same problem you have. I added some pool noodles and sprayed the seat pads with rubberized 3m compound. Seats feel great and no more mess on the floor.

[charmalu]

some of the 123`s use a molded foam pad instead of the horse hair. my 85 has the foam. find one of these, then maybe add the after mkt foam to it.

Charlie

[vstech]

Originally Posted by fruitmeister420

I have been cleaning up after my deteriorating seat pads for a while now. I have read up on other peoples efforts to do seat repairs but I can't find any information on suitable replacements for the horsehair pads that Mercedes used.
So I started searching on the net and I think I may give it a try using a foam available herehttp://www.foamforyou.com/Open_Cell_Foam.htm If you scroll down about half way you will see "Multi/Rebounded-Mixed Foam"
Does any one have any thoughts on this? It seems cheap enough that it would be worth a try, and with a life span of 15-16 years I might not have to remove my seats or clean up again for some time to come

OUCH! that foam looks TOUGH! I'd think it would be way too firm... have you ever sat on a floor mat? or a kick bag?

[Skid Row Joe]

BMW seems to use a very nice firm foam. Almost too firm. The Japanese cars seem to have it just right, when it comes to seating surfaces - at least the ones I've ridden in.

[JB3]

why don't you go to a yard and find a comfortable seat out of any car, rip it out, and adapt the mounting brackets to it?

Thats been done several times with good results, probably be a lot easier than trying to totally fix the original seat.

Personally, I do not find the older mercedes seats particularly comfortable, I was thinking about doing this with some newer mercedes, or some volvo seats.

[rocky raccoon]

I had the same issue with a W115 and after a lot of searching found there was no good alternative to the MB horsehair. I obtained an OEM bottom and took it to an upholsterer who installed it with reasonable cost. The horsehair in the new bottom felt "rubberized" and looked like it would hold up very well. Made me wonder why I had not done it a lot sooner.

Like the rest of you, my first thought was a dense foam, such as that used in motorcycle saddles. I was talked out of it by the upholsterer who pointed out that ones weight is concentrated in a cycle saddle application whereas weight is distributed more in a car seat. The result would be that the dense foam would seem much harder.

My advice is go with the OE equivalent. The Benz designers know what they are doing.

[andrewjtx]

Originally Posted by rocky raccoon

My advice is go with the OE equivalent. The Benz designers know what they are doing.

This is my plan. I'm saving up for new OE bottom springs (PP4B) and rubberized pads (Gahh). All this when I also have the money to re-dye the pinkamino.