Permanent removal of rear bench seat proposal...

Trading in my 2010 Prius on a used 2013 or 2014 Nissan Leaf (building a new active/passive solar house--plans available upon request--and putting 240v outlet in garage and letting the sun pay for my driving). Probably used the back seat in my car twice over all that time. In other words, I don't need it.

I've seen the thread where someone removed the rear seats to install seat covers, but I'm thinking of doing this:

1. Remove the seat and back permanently to reduce weight & add storage space (mostly for bicycle to ride back and forth, run errands while vehicle stays at charging station)
2. Storing seats in sealed plastic (could use some tips on this, as they'll likely be in unheated garage in the PNW, where it's cold & damp in winter)
3. Would like to use a 3D printer to make a "shroud" to go over the portion that was covered by the seats

So want to know the following:

1. Is anyone else interested in this, too?
2. Does anyone have the capability of laser scanning the floor for data to "print" cover?
3. Anyone have access to 3D printer for same?
4. Likely manufacturing in two pieces, using the existing bolt hole pattern to attach the new cover (will greatly reduce packaging/shipping costs).
5. Back to question 1, if there is enough interest, let's find an injection shop to mass produce the molds!

Really looking forward to your comments!

healthylaff said:

3. Would like to use a 3D printer to make a "shroud" to go over the portion that was covered by the seats

Click to expand...

Probably easier to use a piece of carpet or towel if needed.

I would probably cut and paint a piece of plywood and use the original bolts to hold it in place, if I was to do something like this. I added a cargo cover, and so far the back has plenty of room for what I need. The rear seat just holds my front window cover, and maybe a few items when running errands.

It would be impractical to 3D print anything as large as what you are talking about. You'd be better off making it out of something else.

I did this over a year ago.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb377/1932highboy/leafseat_zps60d7ade0.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1932highboy said:

I did this over a year ago.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb377/1932highboy/leafseat_zps60d7ade0.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

A '13+ LEAF will look a bit difference since it doesn't have the charger or e-brake hardware right behind the rear seats.

But I can certainly tell you that after pulling most of the rear interior out this weekend just to replace my antenna assembly, that the heaviest parts are the rear seat backs - those weigh a decent amount! The rest isn't so bad - it's mainly the rear seat cushion left which is pretty light. Maybe by pulling seat belt hardware you can save a bit more weight.

No surprise since they are designed to handle rear impact G loads...

drees said:

But I can certainly tell you that after pulling most of the rear interior out this weekend just to replace my antenna assembly, that the heaviest parts are the rear seat backs

Click to expand...

Yes, they are heavy. would be nice to get them on a scale. But seriously, I have weight loss ideas for my Leaf consisting of...

(25lbs) Li-Ion 12V battery
(25lbs) pre 2013 OEM Leaf Hood
(40lbs) back seat and seat backs
(100 lbs) Front seats (Replace with lightweight racing seat/bracket ) adds back 25lbs
(3lbs) Remove rear windshield wiper

Anyway, 168lbs off the car right there. Would have a minor effect on range, small but noticeable effect on acceleration, improved braking and cornering, less body roll, etc.

Prob is I'd have to kill of my wife and kids! Lol. (People, that was a joke)

Seriously tho, I may try yanking the back seats when I get bored and putting them on the scale. A word to the wise to anyone that does this tho, that in many newer cars, disconnecting the seats (when the car is in the "ON" position) that contain airbags causes the ABS light to go on on the dash, and in some cars, you lose the ability to defeat traction control when that happens. So, make sure the car is off when doing so.

Regarding covering up the ugliness left by empty seats, spray on bed-liner from a can may be something to consider. If doing it for weight savings tho, certainly wouldn't want to do anything that would add weight back in to the car in any significant amount.

Insulate for sound because the seats dampen noise.

Oh My God!

remove seats to save weight, laser scanner to make upgrades? man...

You do not need to save weight for anything. The car is practically free to drive.

Scan the floor? Use a tape measure, pencil and some ingenuity dude..

Yeah, unfortunately 3D printing something that big isn't going to be very practical yet. There might be someone online that can do it, but it will be $$. I also think trying to scan/mold to the floor is going to be difficult and a mistake. You want some foam or something in there to insulate sound and thermal. Under the footspace Nissan uses about an inch of molded styrofoam for comparison. Another challenge may be the front support rail for the seat bottom. As I recall it is formed into the body pan, and sticks up 3-4" just behind the front lip of the seat bottom.

There's a number of approaches you could take, but I'd probably start with running something rigid from the back of the seat area to the top of the front support rail. Sheet ABS cut to size might work, or coroplast would be even lighter. Plywood actually gives surprisingly good rigidity for the weight. Then you could either shape block foam or spray foam into the cavity underneath. Spray foam will naturally conform to the lumpy floor, which would make the whole thing more solid. If you laid down plastic wrap on the floor you could keep the spray foam from sticking to the metal and keep the whole unit removable. The foam would serve a double benefit of insulation and supporting the rigid material over the top meaning you could use a thinner / less strong material. This might be key to getting away with the lightweight coroplast. If you want to "finish" the sides you can leave enough overhang of your ABS/coroplast to bend down over the sides and cut to fit. Both should be pretty easy to manually form with heat from a heat gun, or careful use of a blowtorch with a heat spreader. You could do the same with the front (ahead of the support rail) if you want to finish that. Then I'd carpet over the rigid material to blend it in with the rest of the cargo area. You might get enough from the seat backs If you wanted to sacrifice them, or you might be able to find a spare trunk liner from a junkyard.

I'd think that would get you to a fairly tidy, reversible, light solution at a reasonable cost. If you don't care so much about the looks I'd just throw a piece of 1/4" or 3/8" plywood over it and be done. Sanded and/or painted if you want to be "fancy"

Rob

FWIW on the calculator I use a reduction of 100kg (~220 lbs) in a Leaf should improve 0-60mph by ~0.5s, 200kg (~440lbs) is about 0.9s. It slows by about the same when increasing weight, so the perceived acceleration performance would be similar to driving stock w and w/o passengers adding up the equivalent weight.

Weight will mostly dominate acceleration, while CdA will mostly dominate range. That's a big part of why I'm trying to build a "Leaf" with 1/2 the weight and 1/2 the CdA relative to stock

Rob

To reduce road noise after removing the seat with minimal added weight, just fill the back with packing peanuts.

You're welcome.

1932highboy said:

I did this over a year ago.
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb377/1932highboy/leafseat_zps60d7ade0.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

That picture is pretty good (shows how much room you created)--nice! But I'm having a little trouble deciphering what's what...

Obviously, that's the rear cargo cover on...

Is that the bottom seat cushion still in place, or the seatback flipped down?

Now you have me very curious!



http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/1932highboy/media/leafseat_zps60d7ade0.jpg.html

powersurge said:

Oh My God!

remove seats to save weight, laser scanner to make upgrades? man...

You do not need to save weight for anything. The car is practically free to drive.

Scan the floor? Use a tape measure, pencil and some ingenuity dude..

Click to expand...

Really helpful... exactly how did my post keep you from enjoying your day? Here's a suggestion:

Everybody is free to do as they wish until their liberty infringes upon yours. Being an ass is unnecessary--just live your life and I'll live mine. My choices/questions in no way harm you, so just move on.