Does anyone know why the JWC sport seats are only available in Europe and Japan. they are fantastic looking seats.

 

Liability is the main reason. US model mini's have side airbags in the seats as a standard. In europe side airbags are optional, Dealers dont want the risk of being sued by someone who wont take blame for their own actions in the event of an accident.

 

you can get them but it will take time for shipping...I have friends at the dealer so when I ask them these type of questions I get real answers not the kind where they think to them selves...."that's alot of work"

However, it takes months sometimes...I ordered soem stuff and well that was two months ago..it just got here...It's no biggie to me cause I get stuff noone has or is willing to wait for...makes it fun for me...heh heh...

Like prw3 said though...looking at it from the insurance stand point you have to think....IF somethign happend and you got hurt...especially cause you didn't have your air bags installed anymore....you insurance company could say they wouldn't cover you....just a random thought but I don't wanna find out....

 

What a shame....they are really good looking with a lot of functional features. In a car this small I don't think I want to do anything to make it less safe.

 

They are just re-upholstered versions of racing seats that you can buy here in the US, for far less if you want.

And in terms of safety...having a racing seat and presumably harnesses will be much safer then just having a side airbag.

 

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]The only problem with getting a racing seat like sparco or cobra.[/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]Or any other of the makes that you can buy in the us is that you[/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]lose your heated seats.[/size][/font]

 

I have an '04 JCW MCS and asked for months about getting the JCW sport seats. I got the final word that BMW will not export them to the U.S. because of the side airbag issue and possibly risking their excellent crash test rating.

I wasn't concerned about the side airbag and wouldn't take no for an answer. It took a lot of effort, but I finally snagged a pair. I went further and had them slightly customized by adding a red edge binding and perforating the red leather insets. Finally, I had my upholsterer redo the rear seats in red/black leather to "match" the look of the JCW sport seats. I next added the Schroth harnesses, and I must say that I feel very safe being secured in those seats. The looks and compliments I get at car shows and from club members made spending every penny worthwhile. Take a look at my personal gallery on the Mini2 website.

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/persona...ery_11966.html

 

Where and how did you get them

 

you'd probably have to order them directly from john cooper, ship them to the states, and get a kind dealer to delete the airbag light once installed

even if a 4 pt harness makes sense, i wouldn't risk such great looking seats for my own safety... now if i had a car like a celica which doesn't have airbags in the seat then sport seats would be a great idea... but this isnt a celica!

 

Did you get a rare type? the Works badge doesnt appear to be in color, and the harness slot inserts are black on yours instead of silver?

 

I found a source who had one JCW sport seat made for the SEMA shows. These seats are made for BMW by Sparco in Italy. Authorization was obtained to make a mate for the seat so that a pair would be available. They were not sold through a dealer--this was a one time only deal only because my source had the one seat. The source was told no more seats would be exported to the U.S. and mine would be the only pair. They do have the JCW logo embossed in the leather in the upper part of the seat. I ordered extra hides of chili red and black (charcoal) leather to do the rear seats and door panels.

 

In another thread I confirmed that the Sparco Milano Prestige is the same seat with minor **** changes

 

I saw your works logo...it just didnt look like the one on the cooper works page...and their harness slots appear to be silver too

 

They've made at least 3 versions of the JCW sports seat. That's why a picture had to be taken of the one seat that was already made for the SEMA shows to match that seat.

 

I will be getting a pair for my US car as soon as my '05 comes in (in about a month). I am having to sneak some things around to get them. No dealership will ship them to the US, neither will JCW. So I am ordering them in Amsterdam, and having them shipped to my Amsterdam address. I am then going to take them to Schipol airport and ship them to my US address myself.

The seats are nice for a number of reasons. 1) they fit the existing rails in the Mini without having to by retrofit rails. 2) they include the heated seat option. 3) they match the Mini interior colors perfect. 4) the airbag light can be turned off with an update to the Mini computer. You don't need to pull the fuse. The difficulty will be whether I can get a US dealership to update the computer, or if they even have the right hardware/software to do it. So I may be stuck pulling the fuse.

This is the only way I can see getting them into the US. I will see if it works. Hopefully they don't get held up anywhere.

 

The only sticking point for me was the airbag light. Mini dealers will only deactivate the airbag light if you fill out a form and get approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Board. Their form is a pain in the butt and only addresses the front airbags, not side air bags. It wasn't worth the hassle. I found a thread that explains how to do a loop wire with connectors to the airbag light indicator wiring to trick it into thinking it's still hooked up, but I haven't done it yet. Having the airbag light on is just a small nuisance--I'm too busy going through the gears to notice.

 

Some where on here there is a thread where the writer tells how to "fake" the airbag with a resistor from Radio shack. It was a surprisingly low value resistor so it had to have a large wattage to handle the current. As I recall he paralelled several higher ohm lower wattage resistors together to get the right value.

 

They have JCW seats made into chairs in their showroom in the UK. I was able to sit in them and well,........if there was a way to get them I would do so. They look and feel great.

 

So, what is the difference between the JCW seats and the Sparco Milanos that you can get here? Is it strictly upholstery materials and the JCW logos, or are there other differences?

 

Certainly the JCW logo, but also the color choices. If you check the Sparco website, I don't believe they do two tone leather like the JCW seat, and certainly not to match the Mini colors. The Sparco Milano is essentially the same seat, but the point for me was having the red/black leather and also the JCW logo since my car is full-on JCW, including Works tuning kit, door sill plates and badges.

 

The only difference is the upholstery...which you can have custom done at any good automotive upholsterer. Then you could choose any color combo you would like...you could even have them emboss the logo on . I dont know how MROSS got his...but with shipping from the UK and all this may end up being cheaper or atleast close to the price :smile:

And in case anyone is interested in the JCW rear seats, there is a group buy over on mini2.com. You could save a bit of money that way

 

Hmmm...didn't we just have this discussion a few days ago?



Same seat...you can get them now at
http://www.synergymotors.net/ but without the JCW logo.

 

The JCW seats are beautiful, but what is the weight difference between them and the factory cloth seats? Pardon me for being so ****, but weight would be the main factor for me to change seats.

John

 

If you are looking for weight savings, the JCWs are propbably not the best choice...your best bet would be to get bucket seats which are non-reclineable...those only run around 15-19 lbs each . I dont know the weight of the JCWs, but they seem like they would be rather hefty.

 

I wonder if the JCW seat rails are available separately as service parts? We might not be able to get the seats easily, but we might be able to order the rails and bolt 'em to the Sparcos to turn them into drop-in replacements a la the JCW seats.

I understand why they did it, but the fact that MINI corporate wants to keep these seats out of US owners' hands makes them all the more desirable- kinda like the cookie jar put on the top shelf, to keep the kids out of it. As any parent knows, all this tactic accomplishes is the kids learning how to build a better ladder to reach it.