Leather seat cooling idea...

[thrawnis]

The Lexus IS250s and IS350s had the option of perforated leather seats that had some sort of cooling capacity. I don't know for sure, but it sounded like the seats might have had fans in them or some air ducting from the vents that were routed into the seat somehow. This seemed to work pretty well when it was warm to keep my back cool.

My car doesn't have normal face/body height rear vents for the rear passengers but it does have vents on the floor beneath the front two seats that blow air. I was wondering if anyone knows if there is some way to route some of that air from the vents underneath the seats into the seatback of the front seats. I could be wrong, but it seems like the front seats are perforated leather which might allow some of the air that was blown into the seatback would be pushed through the perforated holes in the seat.

I was thinking that it I could probably run a small hose or something that fit around the vent and run it up into the seatback somehow. My guess is that there is an opening it something I can make/find there I can run the hose through.

Is this just too much work and not worth the effort? Has someone else tried something like this or found another way to cool the seats?

Thanks!

[thoots]

Well, the following stuff comes to mind:

1. Double-check to see what really comes out of the underseat vents. Do they only work when you've got the airflow set to the floor? And so on. See if it's really ouputting air with the settings you'd want to use.

2. I'd recommend doing more research about how true ventilated seats actually work. How are they actually distributing air through the perforated leather? If you can get some technical insight about that, I think it would help.

3. The main thing that gets to me, though, is how your leather "seat cushions" are built with a layer of padding sewn into them -- probably somewhere between a quarter and a half-inch thick. I sure think that this padding would effectively block any air that you might try to blow through those seat cushion perforations. Thus, my advice for #2, above -- how are they doing this in actual reality?

My general answer to the "hot leather seats" business is simple: Wear long pants. I'd also add that I generally find the best way to maximize the air conditioning is to put it into Max A/C (recirculating), and open the moonroof (if you've got one) just a crack -- open the roof and the inner panel just so you've got them both open just a crack, and that'll really help move the cool air through the car.

For whatever it's worth -- hope this helps!

[thrawnis]

Thoots: Thanks, those are very good points. The cushions will definitely pose a problem depending on their location and thickness.

I am not so worried about burning my legs/skin. When I go on long trips, my back gets a little sweaty as there is no breathing room. Hopefully cooling the seatback will help with that.

The tip about cracking the sunroof is an interesting, I will try that out next time it is really warm outside.

[MAP1234]

I really like your idea if it could work. The only problem I see with hooking it up to the floor vent is that it will not have enough pressure to push through the seat cushion. The vent will simply be blocked and the air will be redistributed to other floor vents. My brother has an IS with the cooled/heated seats and I'm pretty sure the seats have dedicated blowers. In any case, I would REALLY like to know exactly how the cooled seats work. It seems to me that the sport leather in my bro's IS is just about the same as ours. I wonder if IS seats could be retrofitted in the camry =)

[Tobeit]

I would guess that the cooling would work better if you have an air pocket (or well perforated cushion or similar) under the surface to distribute the cool air (like floor heating). This would need to be protected from getting squashed under pressure. Maybe a little suction fan to avoid the air pressure problem as map described above ...just a guess...and whatever you do it will push hot air in the winter through that too - good or bad. Sounds like an interesting but rather difficult project.

Edit: You could create that "airpocket" (and avoid the pressure issue) by using something like a spring cushion insert from a quality chair and use that to replace part of the foam cushion - just thinking loud.

[MAP1234]

Actually, I just talked with my brother about this issue. He says that no air actually gets out from the perferation where pressure is applied. He said that the only places where the air comes out is between and around the legs and back. In any case, I still think you would need a dedicated blower. Silencing a dedicated blower would be tough also.

[workerant]

Turn on the AC and let it cool the car down before you go in and seat? LOL

I did buy one of the car seat pad and it has a fan between the legs to blow that hair into the pad and release through out the entire pad. It works great for awhile but now it's worn out.. I need to find a way to fix it.

[MAP1234]

Originally Posted by TTM77

Turn on the AC and let it cool the car down before you go in and seat? LOL

I did buy one of the car seat pad and it has a fan between the legs to blow that hair into the pad and release through out the entire pad. It works great for awhile but now it's worn out.. I need to find a way to fix it.

That would require waiting.

And honestly, it's not only a matter of how hot the seats are when you get in the car on a hot day... Have you ever been on a long ass road trip in hot/humid states? I hate to say it, but those cooling seats would sure be affective against swamp-ass.

After all, I think this would be an awesome DYI if anybody can figure out how the real deal actually works.

[workerant]

Originally Posted by MAP1234

That would require waiting.

And honestly, it's not only a matter of how hot the seats are when you get in the car on a hot day... Have you ever been on a long ass road trip in hot/humid states? I hate to say it, but those cooling seats would sure be affective against swamp-ass.

After all, I think this would be an awesome DYI if anybody can figure out how the real deal actually works.

That was the MAIN reason I bought that pad. It blow the air in and release it through your entire body including your butt. But after the many "sitting" it kinda destroy the tubes inside.. Anyway, I'll find a way to fix it.

[Netforcer]

A lot of high end cars have cooled seats and it's been around for more than a decade, research Audi, BMW, and Lincoln's seats... even Lexus has them

Just do a research on how they function... we might even be able to swap ES seats

[akira751]

Originally Posted by Netforcer

A lot of high end cars have cooled seats and it's been around for more than a decade, research Audi, BMW, and Lincoln's seats... even Lexus has them

Just do a research on how they function... we might even be able to swap ES seats

Makes you wonder if you can mod a Avalon LTD seat.

[thoots]

Originally Posted by MAP1234

Actually, I just talked with my brother about this issue. He says that no air actually gets out from the perferation where pressure is applied. He said that the only places where the air comes out is between and around the legs and back. In any case, I still think you would need a dedicated blower. Silencing a dedicated blower would be tough also.

Well, this is interesting news.

OK, so forget all about "getting air through the perforations." All you want is to grab that under-seat vent air, and get it to blow somewhere around your lower back. Sounds like a piece of cake:

Think in terms of a duct-tape kludge. Get duct tape and a couple of rubber or similar tubes. Use the duct tape to more or less close up the under-seat vents, with the two tubes going through it, and perhaps even stuck well down into the under-seat vent innards. Then, just work the other end of those tubes up through and/or around the back of the seat, kind of like sticking them up through the gap between the "seat cushion" and the "seat back." Whatever works / looks halfway OK / and so on. Heck, you could give something like that a shot!

Going beyond that, I'd suggest looking into that under-seat vent --- can you pop off the actual "vent piece" we can see, and get directly into whatever tubing supplies that thing? You might be able to do something far more elegant with that than my duct-tape suggestion. Also, just think in terms of getting some airflow around the bottom back of the seat, SOMEWHERE -- like pushing it up between the plastic pieces that go around the seat cushions, and the seat itself. If you can find some rubber or similar tubes that actually match your interior color halfway well, it might not look bad at all. And/or, you could probably route the tubes around so that they would be pretty well hidden from view.

Another idea? Think in terms of a "soaker hose." Just get one tube, seal it up at the far end, and lay it in the gap between the seat back and the seat cushion. Poke holes along the area that'll be in that gap. Neato!

And so on -- hope that gives you some ideas!

[thoots]

Hmmm. And then, there's always Google:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/s...ief-190908.php

http://www.amazon.com/Heating-Coolin.../dp/B000K3GBFA

Shoot, even the "chillow" would really freeze your buns:

http://www.chillow.com/chillow.html

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/seatvenheats.html

http://www.seatcomfort.com/seat-cooler.htm

Bear in mind that this thing is available at a lot of different sites -- check for prices, shipping policies, etc.:

http://www.atrendyhome.com/cocarse12v.html

Hee hee! Found this thing during my search:

http://www.atrendyhome.com/hetose.html



Here's another Chllow product -- looks to be bigger, better:

http://www.atrendyhome.com/chillow-plus.html

http://www.comforthouse.com/summerseat.html

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/thcosecu.html

http://www.brucemedical.com/aircisecu.html

And so on.....

[workerant]

Originally Posted by thoots

Hmmm. And then, there's always Google:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/s...ief-190908.php

Hey.. that is the exact website that I ordered mine. Wow.. talk about price increase. I bought mine only $15 include shipping.

The reason why I removed it is because there has been powder coming out of it and it become uneven. I knew something is wrong and removed it. Just today I finally take a much closer look at it and see the problem. It seem the pad is made of 2 layers and separated by a cheap foam. Over time and with use this foam become powdery and I guess a few of them broke inside which cause the uneven.

PS: The fan is noisy and at times it touches the plastic cover and create even more noise. A little shifting of the fan and it's back to it's original noise.