When I first did this mod, using the factory parts, I thought no-one could ever want more than the minimum adjustment for lumbar support.

But I think that was just a reaction to the flatness (or indeed hollowness) of the seat before - a couple of years on, I have the lumbar adjustment in about the middle of its range.

 

The plastic part does not have a hole, you have to drill it out yourself. Just remove the plastic piece (it's a bit of a pain) and follow the outline. I did this to my CM and it works perfectly.

 

I just did this last night to my wife's '08 MCS with cloth sport seats. The only surprise for me was getting the rear plastic panel off - it is a bit of a challenge (read the write up carefully on that part). You can do the rest from the back of the seat without removing the whole foam assembly, though it helps to pop off the inner side of the cover so you can align the handle screws.

Also, the 52 10 2 752 611 comes as a kit (like others have mentioned). If I was going to do this to another car, I would order two of them and just swap the control to the opposite side on one mat. That way, you have all the screws and extra clips that you need for the install for the price of just the mat (if you get the 52 10 2 752 614 part).

The seats feel better now, but I'll have to wait for a trip to really try them out. My wife set her seat almost immediately to about the middle of the range.

-Charlie

 

It sounds like this now comes as a kit because so many people here have bought the part to retrofit it. Congratulations to so many enthusiastic Americans - I published exactly the same information in two British Mini forums and no-one was interested (all much too busy discussing what wheels or stripe to fit, as far as I can see).

And I guess we should congratulate Mini too, for recognising what's going on and supplying all the little parts needed.

 

I just bought my first Mini Cooper (Laser Blue w/ white top) - it has the sport seats and armrest but no lumbar support.

Saw this thread and the mod and wondered if anyone ran into problems installing/using the adjustment **** and how close it came to the armrest.

Second part to this question .... anyone have second thoughts about the Sport Seats? After a while behind the wheel, they seem a bit constricting and was wondering how long it would be till I was looking for a mod to swap them out!

I love NAM and the amount of information that is available - you all are awesome!

 

No problems here with the factory armrest here (factory installed option, not the larger dealer one).

I feel like the backrest section of the sport seats is too wide, but the seat portion is too narrow (6'2", 210lbs). The seat bottom side bolsters cut into my hips/thighs a bit more than I like. I think every body is a bit different. For reference, my daily driver (the WRX) has very tight and aggressively bolstered Japanese STi seats that I fit great in...

-Charlie

 

I put the lumbar support into my 2010 with sport seats, and it had the factory armrest in it. I didn't encounter any interference issues installing it. I did not find myself adjusting the support very often, so getting around the armrest was not a daily concern. It will probably have to be raised whenever a lumbar adjustment is in order.

I recently upgraded to a 2011 and this was a no-brainer mod. I felt it made a big difference in the 2010 so I'm doing it sooner this time around.

 

Angib - god bless you for creating this thread and for the detailed DIY!!!
Lacning74 - many thanks for adding the information about seats with zippers! My MCS has cloth sport seats with zippers.

I have a "sensitive" back (scoliosis) and after having to sell a car a few years ago because it had fixed/uncomfortable seats, I made a rule not to buy a non-adjustable seat anymore. Unfortunately, I was so excited when I bought my 2010 MCS a couple of weeks ago, that I forgot this rule. The bump in the lower part of the seat killed me. Angib's diagram illustrates it so well!

I just finished the install. Took me 30-40 minutes. Very easy. The only mishap was that I broke the little expanding plastic rivet when I opened it, as I did not read the instructions well. The kit came with some extra (non expanding) rivets, so I used one of them, no big deal.

Suggestion: instead of using a metal clothes hanger to poke a hole from the inside of the seat, you can install the internal part of the **** and put the cloth back. Then, when everything is stretched in its place, you feel the center of the ****, cut the fabric from the outside and insert the ****. Easy.

This thread is GREAT!

 

Hi all! Been reading this string for a while now and finally called Fairfield Mini (CT) Parts dept to get a price and pick their brains. Unfortunately, they were unaware that this part could be used to modify a non lumbar mini and unaware of the NAM Forum as well. Needless to say that was extremely dissappointing - so I wondered:
1) if anyone knows of a Mini dealer in the CT-NY-NJ area that they have dealt with that is familiar with the OEM lumbar part and its use in modifying non-lumbar Mini's.
2) I have a "Justa" w/ cloth, heated sport seats with two zippers on either side of a cloth panel on each seat. I read earlier - " only had to open the zippers and remove the inner plastic support cover" - does this mean that the two zippers were opened and you only had access from either side? I ask, because I see no method to detach the back cloth panel (at the bottom) to flip it out of the way.
3) The Parts Mgr at Fairfield Mini quoted the price of the part (52-10-2-752-611 or 612) at $86. Earlier in this string, 52-10-2-752-614 was mentioned - is this the kit? If so, what is the difference between the two?
I really am interested in this Mod and would love to do it myself. This forum is giving me the confidence to try.
Thanks!

 

-

 

It is very easy to do. Look at the post by Lacning74 for information about seats with zippers. Find the zipper ends - they are tucked in there. Then just stick your fingers and flip, like walk0080 said. Then you see a plastic cover. All very easy to do. Also read the document by angib (you will need to remove the plastic rivet correctly, unlike what I did). I paid $75 + tax at Mini of the Main Line in PA.

I can tell you that it's well worth the effort; HUGE improvement in comfort (I use it on the lowest setting - "0" and it flattens the backrest).

 

My dealer (Annapolis) says it's impossible to add lumbar to our leatherette seats. Poppycock. Tried a DIY today,stuffing in a small lumbar and undoing the lower 2 hooks on each side. My thought was that this would soften the lower section, reducing pressure on the coccyx. I figured cutting foam ran the risk of damaging the seat heaters.
This helped, but I'll probably order the OEM parts soon.

 

Did the driver seat Saturday, Sewell did not have the pax side in stock. Using a brake tool to push and pull the wire hooks helped a lot. Sweet spot for me is half a turn to one turn of the ****; wife likes a little more.
It was obvious that the part is reversable between seats, so looks like I can safely order another driver side kit for pax seat.

 

How did you get into the seat to do the rework as the Countryman seat doesn't have the dual zippers ?? The MCS I had was easy with the 2 zippers on each seat..How do I get into the Countryman seat to pull out the old springs and insert the new adjustable spring support ?? Please let me know as I'm ready to do this weekend...Thx

 

Took me about an hour to do one sport leatherette on my 08 MCS. I ordered the parts from Sewell - little under $70. I think this will be a worthy fix!

 

Did the pax seat today, using a driver side kit and switching the cable to the other side.

 

I read through this thread, decided "I gotta do this," looked up the parts on realoem.com, and yesterday stopped by the local dealer to order the parts. I gave the guy at the parts counter the numbers and he printed up the invoice:

part no. Desc List Price
52-10-7-299-941 springs 76.79 122.86
52-10-2-754-765 handle left 14.76 39.85

I said "I don't think so" and left. I'm fine with businesses making a profit, it's required to _stay_ in business, but obscene markups like this? They have a fancy new showroom, I guess they have to pay for it somehow.

I found the same part numbers online at The MINI Part Store for 61.43 and 11.81 respectively. Now I just have to wait for UPS.

 

For my '08 sport seat, I used 52-10-2-752-611. ~$77 and included the **** and everything you need for one seat. It is reversible for the other side as well. sewellparts.com I ordered at the parts counter and they thought I was crazy. 40 minutes and feels pretty good on the lumbar.

 

Yeah I know all the earlier posts say 52-10-2-752-611, but for the 2012 R56LCI realoem.com says that's without the lumbar support, and 52-10-7-299-941 is with. I'll trust that they're right. Looking forward to doing this as my back needs it!

 

After using it a while, I've discovered that more is better. Now, a half turn or so from max seems best. IOW, experiment...

 

I got mine done today. All went well with only a little bleed letting. My only advise is to unhook the bottom hook last and hook the bottom hooks first and don't forget to put the plastic cover back on. I was all done and look down seeing the cover sitting there. No big deal. So glad this thread got started, makes a big difference on the back. Best mod so far.
Thanks to all.

 

Just finished this up. My back says "ahhhh.... that's nice." Took about 45 minutes including juggling the flashlight since the lighting in the garage is lousy. I could do it again in 15 minutes now that I know how it all comes apart. Cloth seats with the zippers and it was pretty easy.

52-10-7-299-941 is the right part for my car, it is the complete kit with the lumbar support, ****, screws, plastic bits, etc. $61.43 from theminipartstore.com, exactly half of what the dealer wanted. I had also ordered the handle for releasing the seatback for getting into the back seat, which was my stupidity for mis-interpreting the drawing on realoem.com. Lesson: don't drink and order parts.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I've updated the PDF document at the beginning of this thread to incorporate the different part numbers.

Mini used to have one part number and when ordering I think the lumbar option was specified separately. Possibly as a result of so many of you guys doing this mod (congratulations!), the with-lumbar part now has its own part number.

In fact there look to be three different sets of part numbers - up to 9/2009, 9/2009-9/2011 and after 9/2011 (see the RealOEM snip below). So it does appear that the safest plan is to tell the parts guy what you want and what car you have and let him/her work out which part to order.

 

It took me about an hour for both sides. Even though I had stuffed a pillow inside the seat before, and it felt good, my wife said she wanted one. So I did both today after ordering them from Sewell.

I was listening to the radio, and then vacuumed the car. By the end, I had run the battery down! I called AAA, and then tried starting the car again. It started up and then I went for a long drive to charge it up. All in all, a good day for the Mini.

 

A few pictures from the process - 2012 R56S with cloth seats. Pull out the plastic trim pin on the inside bottom corner, pull out the tail of the zippers on each side, unzip, unhook the bottom, and this is what you see. The black plastic panel unsnaps at the obvious points on the top and sides to reveal the springs.