Wet Okole + Memory Foam Seats & Center Armrest

[pilotart]

Had been spoiled with my 20 year old Turbo-LeBaron's super comfortable seats.

Went to MINI Dealer back in April, when they had a large inventory;
sat in all the interior options and they were all far too firm for me.

My solution was to cover several inches of Memory Foam (http://ezinearticles.com/?Exactly-What-Is-Memory-Foam?&id=453305) with the Wet Okole Seat Kit (http://www.wetokole.com/minif.html).

Also have added (and padded/covered) the European MINI option Center Armrest (http://www.minspeed.net/MAR.htm).

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/gallery/data/500/medium/PICT0008crop.JPG
Below was the passenger seat with Memory Foam:
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/gallery/data/500/PICT00301.jpg
Lighter tan is 4 Lb MF and darker is 5 Lb Memory Foam.
Driver's seat had much more MF that I doubled back
over 3/4 inch tubing below the kneecap area.
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/gallery/data/500/medium/Armrest_Up.JPG
Armrest in 'Up' position, yellow tape over a rubber cork that
is now attached to rear of storage compartment, gives a 'springy'
and higher 'Down' position (had been 'sloped' for a Manual Shift).

You can see one of the pneumatic bulbs for the Lumbar Support
behind the red seat belt latch.

An eight hour driving day after the modification was less tiring
than a three hour drive before. :)

[Sacha]

Nice, that sure looks super comfy :D

[Jared]

holy crap, thats amazing. Hows the fit look in person? i bet its so comfortable huh...

[pilotart]

Looks the same in person as it does in the photos above.

The Memory Foam is extremely compliant to constant pressure, this is what makes it so comfortable
and means that it does not 'push-back' like normal 'Springy Foam' would.

This, combined with the flexability and stretch of the Wet Okole makes it easy to achieve a smooth cover
over just about 'any' amount or shape of Memory Foam.

The lower cover slides under the hard plastic portions at the outer edge of the seat frame and has four straps
to tension across under seat.

The Headrest and Upper 'Slip' Cover's have bound cutouts for Airbags, Headrest Latch and Seatback Release Levers.
they are fastened together at lower edge (inside 'seat-fold' area) with stitched Velcro fastening.

You can order free color samples from Wet Okole, but the material is a very high quality Nylon composite over Neoprene foam,
super comfortable in shorts, feels cool in summer and warm in winter and is a snap to clean. :)

Recall that a lot of the favorable reports that I read about Wet Okole were from Cabrio owners.

I am South Florida based, but if you had to store your MINI in below freezing temperature,
the Memory Foam would be like sitting on a board, for the first few minutes and may reduce the effect of your 'Heated' Seats.

It has been reported that just the Wet Okole covers; do not block the heat from 'Heated' Seats.

[CBR600]

I'd be afraid of falling asleep sitting in something that comfy :D Awesome DIY project tho.

But do you ever feel it's too squishy and you start to sink in at all when you're driving the car hard? That would be my concern.

[Jared]

Did you actually do it yourself or did you take it to an upholstery shop?

[pilotart]

Strictly DYI :)

I did visit a 'custom' Foam Shop for advice and purchase of 40# or so of high quality (4 & 5 lb density) Memory Foam Remenants and an aerosol "Ram-Tack" to put it together.

'SWMBO' had chosen that Camery seen behind the foamed seat strictly for its seat comfort and she now thinks my MINI has far more comfortable seating. :)

[Jared]

All I can say is RESPECT. This takes guts to DIY and you pulled it off perfectly. You should do this for other people for $$ :)

[catseye]

wow! Great idea! We have a '06 Prius, which is a great car, my only complaint is the crappy uncomfortable seating - problem solved!!!! Thanks!

[Konstantinos88]

This is awesome! I'm filing this away for a future mod. I absolutely love your seat covers -- they would perfectly match my Liquid Yellow :) props!!