I have an interesting project that I would like to get some feedback on. I was contemplating how I could install a power front passenger seat in my RX-8. This got me to thinking: The right hand drive (RHD) RX-8 has a power right front seat as the driver's seat on that car is on the right. The seats are identical with the exception of the track mechanism. I was thinking of ordering a RHD right front seat mechanism and installing it in my car so that I would then have a power front passenger seat. Taking the existing seat out and installing the power mechanism does not seem to be too hard to accomplish. All of the controls are on the outboard side of the seat itself, and the look would be absolutely factory-like. The only problem that I foresee is the wiring harnesses for it. I am not sure what wiring would have to be tapped into in order to power up that new seat mechanism. I was thinking of buying the US and Japanese service manuals and comparing the two so that I could see the wiring differences. I am curious what input everyone might have on this. Thanks!

 

Clever!

Hope it work out for you and I am interested as well... if I have a lot of money to waste...

 

yea keep us posted if you go through with it. let us know of some prices cause that would be a great feature to add. good idea JohnMC

 

Please keep everybody posted and please post a step by step proceedure on how you did it and how long it took when you are done.
Thank you.

 

Check underneath the passenger floor carpet..there is most likely a pinout connector already there. Most manufacturers are pretty "standardized" on their parts...meaning the wiring harnesses are probably the same just like the firewall being made to support either RHD or LHD vehicles....the wiring harness is probably the same way...just the parts not used in the LHD are hidden under the carpet...just a thought...

 

Well, that might be true... but on the other hand, car manufacturers usually try to lower their cost to use only what is absolutely necessary. So, if they can shave a few dollars by not including a wiring harness (which they obviously won't need in left-hand-drive cars), then they probably won't install it.
Case in point would be the lack of the wiring in the base or sport package-equipped cars that's needed for the Homelink mirror. I'm sure there are plenty other examples too.

 

So far I am waiting for parts diagrams for the RHD car's right front power seat. I have a feeling that I may have to disassemble the entire seat and replace both the internal recliner mechanism and as well as the lower adjuster mechanism. If they sell the entire seat whole, it would be much easier. The only drawback is that I am sure it would be extremely expensive. Since the seat controls on the RX-8 are on the seat itself, there is no complication with that aspect of the project. From what I can see, the power seat adjuster mechanism is largely self-contained with only a small harness used to provide power to it. What I will probably have to do is remove the existing passenger seat first and fish around for a similar connector harness. If one doesn't exist, a harness will then have to be patched in and run to the main body harness where the driver's seat connects.

 

The passenger seat I would believe have a pressure sensor tied into the SRS - so the passenger airbag deploys only if there is a passenger. System assumes there is a driver.

John

 

JohnMC,

As of about 2 months ago only seat parts are available. I'm wanting to put a power seat on the passenger side also. I did some checking and contacted "Japanparts" (I thind that's the name) on the web. They sent me a schematic parts list.

I also tried to contact Mazda an email and asked how I'd go about getting a right hand drive power seat. I've yet to get a replay. That's about 3 weeks ago.

 

I was able to get an exploded part diagram of the RHD right front seat. Apparently, Mazda does not sell an entire front seat as a replacement part. There are a multitude of parts that make up the seat. Even the adjuster assembly is sold in pieces, not as a whole. I am going to have to do some extensive research to determine which parts are going to be necessary. I don't think there should be any problems obtaining the parts, however. Whenever I need to buy a part for the RX-8 that is either Japanese market only or for the RHD car, I buy it from a dealer in New Zealand. They are quite excellent, professional, and courteous.

 

RH driver seats (and other parts) may be available as salvage from the UK or elsewhere.

This is the link the UK RX-8 Owners: Club.http://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/

Someone in that forum may know about an available seat. I have read several posts there on wrecked RX-8s.

BTW, I load people in and of my back seat, and it easier on the passenger side because I don't have to wait for the power seat to move. Aside from that issue, it would be very nice to have both seats power.