F80 m3 seats into E92 M3

[///MPROVD 131]

Hey so i thought I'd share my latest retrofit project. Couple of my mates have f8X m cars after seeing the seats i wondered if they fit the e92. I couldn't find any info or even pictures on google. After acquiring some from a damaged f80 i got to work trying to fit them. 

At first i was pleased to find they bolted directly in. I swapped the connectors from f80-e92. With only 5 wires(power,canbus,lighting). It was easy to swap. The car did not like the f80 seat module at all and quickly rejected it. Because of the can protocol between the chassis. And with the canbus connection removed the wake up signal was no longer being conveyed and after 10sec the seat shut down. 

Luckily the passenger seat was simply a high current switch. All worked as it should except the heated seats. Using the e92 seat module i use it to simply work the heated seats instead of all other seat functions it used too. 

After playing around it was looking as though it would not be possible aside from a can emulator that would relay the wake up signal. However this isn't easy. I was running out of ideas. I brought a very cheap pair of seats from a x1 at first for parts but then noticed it used the same style of connectors as the f80 but the car was only a 2010. Part of a total fluke i tested the module out and to my surprise it worked. It was enough to makes the seat stay awake however no heated seats because the x1 seats weren't heated. After that i was stoked and immediately sourced the heated version of the same module which worked perfectly. 

Only last remaining problem is because they were from a 4 door the seats do not release forward which is a problem in a 2 door so ill order the parts and try convert them?  

Edited August 25, 2019 by ///MPROVD

[M3AN 4016]

^ nice seats and great work on the mix and match modules!

Yes, you'll need to make them fold and slide forward to get a warrant and tbh, I'm not sure how easy that will be, they often have different frames.

 

Edited November 5, 2018 by M3AN

[Michael. 2313]

Whoa fancy! 

What does the driver seat weigh? 

[///MPROVD 131]

Will see how it go. Can only try so ill just buy one side if it works ill buy the other. I couldnt find anything about conversions even for other models. Didnt actually weigh them lol. If i had to guess id say the f80 seat is lighter 

[///MPROVD 131]

The base frames have different part numbers so theres a good chance id need the bases. However ill pull mine apart and see what i can do with mine. Worse case i could ask my mate if i can pull his apart to see the difference 

[m325i 709]

If f80 can fit into e90, and e90 can fit e46, then f80 fit e46?

[///MPROVD 131]

Im honestly not sure. I have the x1 seats i want to get rid of if you want to use them to test your theory. Ill be pulling all the belt tensioners and electrics off but rest is still intact

[M3AN 4016]

They all "fit" it's just a matter of whether they'll "work". 

 

[allan 295]

Hi not up with the lastest bimmers so bear with me an F80 is a sedan as an E90 is. The e92 is the coupe model what does that relate to in the f series if any.The reason as you have found is the f80 will not have the mechanism to tilt or raise the seat forward. Can you not use the mechanism from the e92 seats.No doubt every thing is electric which adds another complication to it. As Nick has touched on the f80 and e46 have converted a set of e46 Msport sedan seats to fit a Ti by mixing and matching the parts required although these ended up being manual adjusted. As for weight I believe their was some were around 12.kg odd difference between the electric and manual seat. Best of luck with it can be a pain in the you know were let us know how it all turns out. 

[poison605 0]

I also have some to mount on my e92? ?

so that everything works out what I have to buy? x1 parts? My backup seats are electric. the f82 that I bought are electric also, it still has the heating function. the heating my car does not have. Is it possible for everything to work?

 

Thanks

[francoisv 466]

On 11/6/2018 at 2:07 PM, ///MPROVD said:

Im honestly not sure. I have the x1 seats i want to get rid of if you want to use them to test your theory. Ill be pulling all the belt tensioners and electrics off but rest is still intact

Any pics of these seats?

[Sunny5999 3]

Looks BOSS.

[///MPROVD 131]

Hey guys. 

Had alot of people message me regarding this conversion so i thought id write up abit more about it.

This will depend on your car and the options your car has fitted so i can't answer for all.

**Any white E-Chassis seat module will work**

The white seat modules have the same connectors as the F8X and are plug and play. The only thing you have to make sure if you have heated seats you get the module ending "861" so "860" means not heated.

(I did have to code the seat occupancy sensor out as the F8x one is not compatible)  

After that its easy all you need to do is swap the connector from the e9x seats. Using the E9X seat buckle fit it to the F8X seat. Swap the airbag connector from f8x to e9x. The polarity may have to be swapped IIRC as the f8x airbag would cause a fault otherwise. 

Im not going into pin for pin wiring as its very simple but the f8x wire colours are as follows:

Red= power for lumbar/bolster. (I looped this from the power positive as i didnt have this option before). 

Purple= seat light. (I run this off the gearknob lighting) 

Twisted pair= canbus (this will fit in the black power connector of the e92 plug)

Red/brown= positive (also same as e92)

Brown=ground (same as e92) 

Attached is a pic of the e9x power connector with canbus and airbag connector. 

 

Good Luck

Edited July 20, 2022 by ///MPROVD

[///MPROVD 131]

Update, ive found the difference in passenger/driver seat modules. They dont appear to be different like i initially thought. What differentiates the modules is the ground connection on pin 2 of the X1816 connector (diagram attached). For us rhd owners the passenger module would have the ground connection in pin 2 and the drivers would not. 

I found without the ground on pin 2 the drivers heated seat button would operate both seat heaters via canbus. Once pin 2 was added the passenger button worked as is should.

[Iry-Gp 0]

This looks great. I would like to fit these seats to an e46 M3.

Any Idea on what do i need to do to get them to work ?

Can you please assist with the Wiring diagram for the Plug on the front seat of an E46 M3 Cabriolet. (attached pic)

Red / Brown stripe = Positive
Brown = Negative (Ground)
Brown / Black Stripe = ?
Blue = ?
White / Red stripe = ?
Twisted yellow pair = ?

[langsbr 0]

Did you have to swap the seat belt to the E92 reel to get it to work with the new seats?

[[email protected] 0]

Hi, Thanks for the thread and write up. helped quite a bit whilst doing this on my e90. The Driver seat worked marvelously after the connector and module swap, the one issue I have is the passenger seat. It seems to be dead and the occupancy/air bag light came up. I swapped the module from my e90 seat, however it was different from the driver module, it was a small black module with only 3 connectors. I do have OEM heated and electric seats so not sure why the module is different. Did you end up purchasing one extra driver seat module, if so what was the changes you made to make the car understand that is a pass and not Driver module? Could you help me out with the pin out for the pass side, perhaps an image of the underside of your pass seat connector?

Thanks in advance, appreciate the help

[///MPROVD 131]

On 11/18/2020 at 7:35 AM, [email protected] said:

Hi, Thanks for the thread and write up. helped quite a bit whilst doing this on my e90. The Driver seat worked marvelously after the connector and module swap, the one issue I have is the passenger seat. It seems to be dead and the occupancy/air bag light came up. I swapped the module from my e90 seat, however it was different from the driver module, it was a small black module with only 3 connectors. I do have OEM heated and electric seats so not sure why the module is different. Did you end up purchasing one extra driver seat module, if so what was the changes you made to make the car understand that is a pass and not Driver module? Could you help me out with the pin out for the pass side, perhaps an image of the underside of your pass seat connector?

Thanks in advance, appreciate the help

The 3 plug module is only for the heated seat. 

Question is what type of module did your F8x passenger seat have from factory? This is important. Was it a larger box like the drivers side? 

[[email protected] 0]

3 hours ago, ///MPROVD said:

The 3 plug module is only for the heated seat. 

Question is what type of module did your F8x passenger seat have from factory? This is important. Was it a larger box like the drivers side? 

Both sides were heated, with the large module on the F80 seats. On the oem e90 seats, also heated however like i mentioned, driver side was direct swap, passenger had small black module, so not all f80 plugs could plug into it, only 3

[///MPROVD 131]

Ok you need to find another white module for the passenger seat. And re-wire it the same as you did for the drivers seat.

 

The heated seat should still work but via canbus (assuming the chassis is wired with can). As mentioned above the occupancy sensor will have to be disconnected and coded out of the airbag module. 

[[email protected] 0]

18 minutes ago, ///MPROVD said:

Ok you need to find another white module for the passenger seat. And re-wire it the same as you did for the drivers seat.

 

The heated seat should still work but via canbus (assuming the chassis is wired with can). As mentioned above the occupancy sensor will have to be disconnected and coded out of the airbag module. 

Ok, so the white module is not passenger or driver specific? (Meaning, pressing the heated button on the driver won’t kick on both seats) Simply getting another of the same part number on the driver side, wiring, and coding out occupancy sensor + activ head restraints should get it to 100%?

thanks for the helpful information btw!

[///MPROVD 131]

As mentioned in the update above the way the modules are differentiated by the ground connection to the module (as per wiring diagram)

Yeap coding out the sensor and if you have active head restraint do that as well. Dont connect the f80 occupancy sensor to the e90. 

[Mikenike 0]

Mprovd message me at 8329229795 or [email protected] please. Trying to fit f80 seats 

[Gammi 0]

Hi I’m fitting the same seats can u send me some pictures if you have of any of the wiring as I’m fitting them in an e90

[Mesut55 0]

Salut,

J'ai un cabriolet E46, j'aimerais ajouter uniquement le chauffe-nuque en faisant un découpage du siège. 

Est ce réalisable? Connexion? Codage?

Voici les pièces jointes que j'aimerais rajouter.

Merci pour votre aide

Mesut

Hi,

 I have an E46 convertible, I would like to add only the neck warmer by making a cutout of the seat

 Is this achievable?  Login?  Coding

 Here are the attachments that I would like to add

 Thanks for your help

 Mesut

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Mesut55