Jaguar S-Type R seats in my LS

HyeLifeLS

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
5,143
Reaction score
31
Location
Long Beach
Hi everyone,

I had been messing around with this idea for a while now and then decided to find some good S-type R or 2004 and up XJR seats. That was a lot harder than I thought, took me maybe 6 months to find a car with grey seats that was getting parted and had seats in good condition. Got the front and back seats out and brought em home.

I thought since the S-Type and LS share platforms, seats will be direct swap, but for once in my life (;)) I was wrong. Not only the wiring harnesses are completely different on the front seats but also the mounting points on the rails, their lenth and width.

Thankfully my dad is very good at that stuff so he broke down all the 100 wires that are in STR seats and found the few power wires that power the multiple motors and rewired everything using the LS' harnesses. The airbag looks very similar to the one in the LS, with the same mounting location, but different part number, so I swapped the airbags from the old seats.

My dad modified the rails and mounted the mounts from the old seats onto the new seats and the seats were ready to go in.

Sorry I don't have too much details about the wiring or the exact dimensions on the mounting points, but the important thing is that it is possible to put them into the LS.

For me the benefits are huge as I always thought the seats in the LS are very average. Now I have 16 way power adjustable seats, the heating is not connected yet as my car didnt have one originally, but it is planned. The seats also are full leather I believe nappa leather or something really nice. Even the rear pocket is leather.

Now onto the rear seats, I didn't use em yet as the buttom part of the seat fits in the original location but is short and leaved the edges by the doors empty. The back folding part fits and comes with adjustable headrests and ski pass. I haven't put in on yet, not aure if I will because, the locks on the car that hold the seats upright are different and also I would not have rear cupholders anymore as the cupholers for the STR' rear seat are in the buttom part.

The comfort of the seats is amazing, the feel almost as good as my CL600 seats, also they are very sporty and hold you in place firmly. The back part is taller so it gives you more shoulder support and the buttom part adjusts separately from the seat to give more support for the knees. And they have power headrests! Also the overall seat travel back and forth is a lot longer, so for taller drivers the seat goes back almost all the way to the back seat.

Video on YouTube



Highly recommend to everyone.

IMG_1124.JPG


IMG_1096.JPG


IMG_0641.JPG


IMG_1121.JPG


IMG_1128.PNG


IMG_1119.JPG
 
Last edited:
well done, always wondered about this. I am surprised they dont just bolt in. Glad you were able to figure it out.

Shoot me your dads address and Ill ship a set out to him :D
 
Very nice. Yes, the LS seats sure could have been made more comfortable. Too bad they weren't just a direct swap to do.
 
Yes, sucks they weren't bolt ons and the rear buttom one doesn't fit, cause the leather quality is very nice. The stock rear seat in my LS is like new so that's ok.
 
That was fast! I just deleted that question, noticed the thread's subject mentioning S-Type. Thanks.
 
Awesome man! Good to see you're still rolling around! Car looks good as ever!

As a side note, man has this place dropped off!!o_O
 
If only an S-Type R was easy to find parts for. Looks like a nice seat upgrade for sure!

I've seen people take a drivers seat and adapt it to fit the passengers side so you get all the adjustments over there. First time I've seen a transplant though :)
 
If only an S-Type R was easy to find parts for. Looks like a nice seat upgrade for sure!

I've seen people take a drivers seat and adapt it to fit the passengers side so you get all the adjustments over there. First time I've seen a transplant though :)

Yea, turned out fantastic!

I really wanted to get an S-Type R, drove few, not bad at all, but couple of weeks ago picked up an 04 E55 instead, oh man so much car and I really missed that Supercharged AMG V8.

I might sell it though to make few dollars in it, cause I got a good deal on it.

IMG_1280.JPG
 
Looks nice. The surface of my seats are a little bit worn out. Wondering if I can find some substitute in good condition from a old car field.
 
I wonder if an XF seat would fit within reason.
 
I wonder if an XF seat would fit within reason.

I am sure they can be fitted, but the only one that looks good is the XFR seats. The stock XF seats look really flat. I had found some XFR seats that are the same as the XFR-S seats but they were black, $200 each in fantastic shape.
 
Very nice, great work. Those seats look pretty good, I'll have to add this to the list.
 
i think this is a great idea, my 2002 is not big on comfort. i was wondering if the seats could be redone with more padding or i had to by new or used and transplant as you did. they look really nice
 
I wonder if the XJR rear seat bottom would fit better, since it's slightly wider inside
 
Hi everyone,

Great idea and great execution on a difficult job. I've been thinking of replacing my front seats too, I also have a 2001. Did they make Type Rs prior to 2004? Wonder if so would those seats fit easier than the beauties you got.
I am even considering putting some Recaros in.
 
I am even considering putting some Recaros in.

while I do love the Recaro's in my other car, I don't know if I would want them in my Lincoln. They do great job of holding you in place in a car like the ST where the suspension is tight as hell and it would be bouncing you around otherwise. the stiffer ride and lighter weight makes the ST a lot easier to throw around throw hard in to corners but they do have some draw backs, such as most people over average size tend to find them uncomfortable and their stiffness is not suited for longer drives. in the ST, the Recaro's help to make the car feel better than a regular Focus, but in the LS, I feel like it would take away a lot of what makes a Lincoln a Lincoln. unless of course, you went with something like Cadillac's version as they are a whole lot more comfortable than any of ford's Recaro seats.
 
while I do love the Recaro's in my other car, I don't know if I would want them in my Lincoln. They do great job of holding you in place in a car like the ST where the suspension is tight as hell and it would be bouncing you around otherwise. the stiffer ride and lighter weight makes the ST a lot easier to throw around throw hard in to corners but they do have some draw backs, such as most people over average size tend to find them uncomfortable and their stiffness is not suited for longer drives. in the ST, the Recaro's help to make the car feel better than a regular Focus, but in the LS, I feel like it would take away a lot of what makes a Lincoln a Lincoln. unless of course, you went with something like Cadillac's version as they are a whole lot more comfortable than any of ford's Recaro seats.

Thanks for all this. I would definitely prefer the STypeR seats, Recaro being backup. I think the manual LS I would put them in may be a stiff rider cause I'm also loading it with a set of Stance coil-overs. So we'll see. Will keep my eyes open for wrecked STypes.
Happy fourth.
 

Members online

Back
Top