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      09-09-2014, 10:14 PM   #1
EdR
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DIY Request: How to remove fold down rear seat backs

Previous M3 versions with fold down rear seat backs had a J type cap in the center. You used a torx head to remove the securing bolt, remove the cap and just lift the seat backs from their cradle and slide the other end out. Simple. My F80 doesn't seem to have this clip and they look non removable, but I doubt it. Has anyone removed their rear fold down's? If so, how'd you go about it?
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      09-26-2014, 06:00 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EdR
Previous M3 versions with fold down rear seat backs had a J type cap in the center. You used a torx head to remove the securing bolt, remove the cap and just lift the seat backs from their cradle and slide the other end out. Simple. My F80 doesn't seem to have this clip and they look non removable, but I doubt it. Has anyone removed their rear fold down's? If so, how'd you go about it?
Thanks
I removed them on f82. I beleive its likely same on the sedan.

Removing the rear seat (top and bottom) saves 40lbs (cloth seats)

I have photos just added to this thread.

tools needed:

T50 torx bit
socket driver
towel

1. pull up and out on seat bottom

2. with seat bottom out place thick towel on center gromet to keep the seat back from touching it.



3. pull up from base of corner seatback cushion on rear passenger side (the part behind the seatbelt) you dont need to remove it completely. you will see the T50 screw holding the outer hinge. remove the screw and pop the seat back outwards.





4. remove drivers side same as passenger. the drivers side passenger seat has the center pin for both seats



5. pop back in the corner cushions

view from rear after complete. this saves 40 lbs and makes a handy bay for transporting track wheels in rear.




aftermath from removing non fixed items plus rear seats.
nice little diet for about 10 minutes of work.

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Last edited by karussell; 10-01-2014 at 09:44 AM..
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      10-01-2014, 08:27 PM   #3
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Great!! Thank you man and also for your excellent and informative posts as well.
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      10-18-2014, 10:02 AM   #4
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I am more interested in this as it sounded great on my e92 m3 once I had the rear fold down seats down or ultimately removed. I could hear the raw exhaust much more
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      10-18-2014, 12:17 PM   #5
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I have no personal experience on removing the rear seats but would like to add a note to anyone who's attempting to remove it to be more careful as the F80 have rear heated seats.
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      10-21-2014, 06:24 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wei718 View Post
I have no personal experience on removing the rear seats but would like to add a note to anyone who's attempting to remove it to be more careful as the F80 have rear heated seats.
good point. i don't have that luxury. when i get one in the shop i will update the thread with disconnecting the heaters.
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      10-21-2014, 06:25 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 8600RPM View Post
I am more interested in this as it sounded great on my e92 m3 once I had the rear fold down seats down or ultimately removed. I could hear the raw exhaust much more
yes it sounded even better on the track! its noticeably quieter with the seats back in it now. good thing this car sees the track often
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      08-12-2019, 02:52 AM   #8
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Karusell how come I can’t see your picture of how to take the back seat out ?
I’m very new to this forum
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      08-19-2019, 07:16 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrm4sw49r View Post
Karusell how come I can’t see your picture of how to take the back seat out ?
I’m very new to this forum
This happens often on older threads and can be due to a number of factors:
  • The photo hosting site no longer exists
  • The person that posted the pictures no longer has an account on the hosting site
  • The person may have removed the photos from their hosting account to save space, not realizing that this will break threads where those pictures were posted

This thread is almost five years old and if you look at karussell's profile, he hasn't posted here since April, so it's unlikely that he'll even see your post.
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      12-21-2021, 09:48 AM   #10
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Removing rear seat F82

Quote:
Originally Posted by karussell View Post
I removed them on f82. I beleive its likely same on the sedan.

Removing the rear seat (top and bottom) saves 40lbs (cloth seats)

I have photos just added to this thread.

tools needed:

T50 torx bit
socket driver
towel

1. pull up and out on seat bottom

2. with seat bottom out place thick towel on center gromet to keep the seat back from touching it.



3. pull up from base of corner seatback cushion on rear passenger side (the part behind the seatbelt) you dont need to remove it completely. you will see the T50 screw holding the outer hinge. remove the screw and pop the seat back outwards.





4. remove drivers side same as passenger. the drivers side passenger seat has the center pin for both seats



5. pop back in the corner cushions

view from rear after complete. this saves 40 lbs and makes a handy bay for transporting track wheels in rear.




aftermath from removing non fixed items plus rear seats.
nice little diet for about 10 minutes of work.

Can you actually remove the rear seat even if NO access to the trunk/boot? I can't get into the trunk as i shut accidentally (or forgot!) when the wiring wasn't back in place and therefore the boot won't unlock. I have undone the 2 torx screws after taking off the side bolsters but it is still locked in place in the centre or middle of the seat within the trunk side of the car. I need to get the seats down in order to pull the lever to open the trunk and am struggling! Thanks if anyone knows
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      08-18-2022, 09:55 PM   #11
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pics and weights

So, I realize there's fairly few people interested in pulling the rear seats of the F8x for weight savings, but I just did it on my '16 F80, and there were a few aspects of the job that slowed me down, so here are some pics... and also documentation of the weight saved.

The seat bottom just pulls up from the front edge... just stick your fingers under it and yank up and a bit forward. One clip per side of the car. If your car has heated rear seats like mine, remember you'll have to disconnect the wiring at the juncture box under the bottom cushion... you'll have to dislodge the wiring from the clips along the edge of the box too:



The first time you do this, you may have trouble finding the T50 star-head bolts. You have to peel back the outermost upper seat back sections to see it...





And for the removal of driver's side (larger) portion of the split seat back, you need to fully dislodge the outer upper seat back cushion to make clearance to angle the seat back hinge post out of the hole attached to the car. There's a rectangular metal wire loop that has to be pulled up and out of the receptacle for it to free the bottom part of the outer seat back cushion. I never figured out how to remove/unclip the top portion of it:



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      08-18-2022, 10:02 PM   #12
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rear seat and trunk floorboard weight savings documentation

Here's the weight savings stuff.

I used a hanging dairy scale to weigh the one-piece rear seat bottom... it's not as accurate as a digital scale, but still good within .15 lb or so. It registered well over 15 1/2 lbs, so I called it 15.5:





The rear seat upper portions, I weighed with a digital shipping scale... the "hold" function allows me to see the weight after I removed the seat back from the platform since it obscures the display:









T50 star head bolts, 2: 2 oz.
Seat bottom: 15.5 lb.
Seat back, large drivers side: 16 lb 9.2 oz.
Seat back, small pass side: 10 lb 7.8 oz.
TOTAL: 42 lb 11 oz. (42.69 lb.)

But wait! There's more!! Easy-button removal of the trunk floor board... no tools required. That 7.4 lb additional savings puts us right over the 50-pound mark for weight removal (unfortunately all over the rear axle, not the front, which would help the handling more).


Last edited by EGbeater; 08-18-2022 at 10:08 PM..
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      08-18-2022, 10:05 PM   #13
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Two pics of the rear seat area with most of the seating cushions removed (note there's still a noise-damping mat under the seat bottom cushion you could easily pull, probably another 12 to 16 ounces there... plus the outer upper seatback sections and seatbelts, likely another 6 or 7 pounds):



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