Corbeau seat bracket issue w/ stock seatbelt.

I'm installing a set of Corbeau seats (GTS IIs, for the curious) in my '04 Xtra Cab with stock buckets, and I'm having a bit of an issue. The Corbeau seat bracket doesn't marry up nicely with the stock seat belt buckle - which is bolted to the seat frame on the stock seats.

Basically, the seat bracket just has a tapped hole on a tab meant for buckle mounting, whereas on the stock seats there's a threaded stud welded to the seat frame with a nut holding the buckle on the frame. So I have a nut from the stock hardware, and no bolt or stud on the new bracket. I picked up some hardware to fit the stock nut, but of course, it doesn't match the tapped threads in the tab on the bracket.

Before I drill out the hole in the bracket (see below), has anyone else out there installed a set of Corbeau's? And how did you address the seatbelts?

Thanks,
Steve




(I suspect since the seatbelt buckle is integral to the seat frame in the 1st Gen, that the bracket is designed to be used with the aftermarket 3-pt seatbelts Corbeau sells.

I did talk to Corbeau this morning, and they assured me that the bracket should be fine with the stock hardware - but since they make brackets for EVERYTHING out there, I can't really fault them for not being able to specifically speak in detail about the Tacoma brackets.)

 

Dang wish I could help you since I myself want these seats also. Keep us posted though I'd like to see what you ended up doing. Good luck.

 

Thanks. It looks like I'll probably have to straighten the bend in the stock seatbelt mounting plate in order to make it work with the Corbeau seat bracket. On the other hand, the Corbeau seatbelts are $80 a piece.

I'm not a fan of messing with seatbelt mounts, which is why I'm checking the collective knowledge before I drop the cash on the replacement belts.

Aside from this, I've been really happy with the seats. Super comfy, and everything else bolted right in, no issues.

 

wish I could help. I'm actually in the process of researching replacement seats myself.

 

Nice bumper!

 

bump, before I give in and order new belts...

 

Nice bumper indeed!

You order the seat belts?

Do you have a write-up of the install and part numbers of what you ordered?

 

I didn't document the install with pictures, but other than the seatbelt issue, they were very straight forward.

The stock seats come right out with 4 bolts; on the driver's seat, you need to disconnect the wire for the seatbelt sensor at the connector located under the seat.

These are the GTSIIs:

http://www.corbeau.com/products/reclining_seats/gts_ii/

Every vendor I looked at online was selling them at MSRP, so I went with 4WP so I could pick them up in Reno.

They are universal fit, but you do need to buy brackets. They sell bucket-specific, and bench-specific brackets, depending on what you're taking out of your truck.

http://www.corbeau.com/service/seat_brackets//
Part #s from the website:

Model Driver Side Passenger Side
TACOMA (BENCH) 95-04 D1102T D1103T
TACOMA (Bucket 60/40) 95-04 E1104T E1105T
TACOMA 05+ E2102T E2103T

The 1st Gen "Bucket 60/40" is what I ordered. On the 4WP website, they are listed as just "60/40", which led to some confusion when ordering, but they do fit fine for replacing stock buckets.

As for the seatbelt buckle issue, I finally decided to just drill out the holes in the Corbeau brackets and buy some hardware to install the stock buckles. I went for the $3 option, instead of the $180 one.

Using a universal bit, I drilled the bracket holes out to 7/16". They were probably 5/8" already, and tapped - probably fine thread. I then bolted the stock seatbelt buckles on their mounts (which have to be removed from the stock seats). I used 7/16", fine thread, 1 1/2" bolts; large flat washers; lock washers; and the stock nut that attached the buckle mount to the stock seat.

Yes, it is SAE definitely SAE hardware on the seatbelts - not Metric. I'm guessing that has to do with NTSB/NHTSA regulations that dictate seatbelt specs in the US.

This fix seems to have worked fine. The only minor difference from stock is that with the hardware installation, the buckles no longer have the 15 degrees, or so, of play that is designed into the stock setup - they're now fixed.

 

Thanks for the reply. It is very much appreciated. Most likely going this route as well. I like the look being close to stock. How is the quality?

 

any pics of them installed?

 

Here you go. I tried taking better pictures this morning, but they actually come out a lot better without a bright, backlit window behind them.



Quality is great. The GTS IIs cradle you in the seatback really well. They're definitely worlds more comfortable than the stock buckets - especially mine which had 130,000 miles.

The thigh bolsters are pretty aggressive, as you can see. It requires some climbing over to get in and out of the seat. The rails on my truck come in handy for this. I definitely had to revise my mount/dismount technique with these seats. I haven't done any wheeling in them yet, but they definitely feel like they'll hold you pretty solid.

My first ride in them, I thought maybe I'd made a mistake going with a seat that was too aggressive. The thigh bolsters definitely let you know they are there, and feel like they may create some uncomfortable pressure points for long hauls. They are definitely breaking in, though. I've had the drivers side in for three weeks now, and the thigh bolsters seem to be conforming to me. If you're a stick figure, they should present no problems - I'm 5'10", 200#. The seat lowers feel like they would be more comfortable if they were tilted up, providing more support under the thighs - my knees hang over a few inches. Further break-in may allow me to sit further back in the seat - we'll see.

What pushed me over the edge to buy new seats was a 3 day drive in the stock seats that left my back destroyed. From purely that standpoint (better seats for my back), I think I would have done better going with some less aggressive seats, like the sport seats or Moab. However, it was hard for me to justify the expense of new seats to myself if they weren't going to be a drastic improvement over stock. Since very few retailers actually carry any seats in stock, I wasn't able to try out these specific seats before I bought them. Because of that, "drastic improvement" in my mind was driven more by look than by feel of the seats. I was able to try similar seats at Summit Racing, and learned that I did not like the feel of racing seats with shoulder bolsters - which I was VERY tempted to buy just on look.

Overall, while I think that the GTS IIs aren't the best daily driver choice, I think they'll be a good compromise between improved comfort over the stock seats, and vastly better support while offroading. I'll report back after I've had a chance to bomb around offroad. They definitely inspire more confidence in mountain twisties.

 

Corbeau Sport

Seat Belt: I had already modified my seat belts to work with my Scion XB seats. So what I did was just swapped them over which worked perfectly. I also hated these Corbeau Sport due to their lack of lumbar support and nut smashing. I also became used to the height of my Scion XB seats. If your GTS-II's are anything like the Sport the foam inserts will fall apart. Just FYI.

Scion XB


I switched back to my Scion XB seats because they are simply well built and comfortable.

 

Well, I guess I've got that to look forward to...

I take it the XB seats don't have the buckle mounted to them like the stock seats do? Where did you mount the buckles?

 

It is in the same location but the seats are thicker and requires a longer bracket.

 

I installed Corbeau LG-1's and had the same issue with the belt hardware. Just go to Home Depot and buy some nice 5/16 short bolts and lock nuts and washers. A 5/16 bolt will go right thru those threaded holes. The prob with the threaded holes is that they are for a very large diameter bolt and you won't find one that size that is short enough that it will not poke the seat. I got zero help from Corbeau.

 

I have Baja Rs's on their brackets. I believe I used a metric bolt anyhow it came out of one of my metric bolt kits. Wasn't a big deal because I also have harnesses. I love my seats only problem so far has been a broken reclining mech but they replaced it for me.

 

You have photos of the LG1? Or any info on these seats, I'm thinking I want the LG1 seats

 

Corbeau LG1 seats fix perfectly in reg cab, replaced the 4Runner seats, install was an hour.

 

What brackets did you use with the Xbox seats? Do they have lumbar adjustment