Guys, I have had my 2008 A3 S Line since last April. I generally love the car except for the leather sport seats. They are just plain uncomfortable and cheap. I have an urS6 with fantastic sport seats, and my wife's 07 A4 2.0 normal seats are great compares to these lame A3 seats. Incidently I do know good supportive seats as I have a couple of old 911s with good sport seats and have bought Sparcos EVOs for my PCA racecar. My complaint is that the thigh support is too binding, padding is really thin and the butt very tight. I am average sized guy too. I am not sure how to fix this situation, short of finding some S4 seats in the same color as my interior (highly unlikely) and doing a swap.
Anybody else have issue with the A3 sport seats?

 

Alright - another antique Porschephile! I've been obsessed since I went for a ride in a new Convertible D in 1960 with my Uncle. Current rides are '73 2.8 RSR replica (track), '74 Euro Carrera, '77 Turbo - and trying hard to buy a really original '68 912 soft window Targa here in town.
Anyway, you're right - the seats pretty much suck compared to what I'm used to - the only plus is that they're not hard to get in and out of. Any already engineered and fitted replacements are damned expensive, and I'm pretty sure that the bracketing is different from other Audi's.
If I ever have time for another project, I might fit up one of my old Recaros on the driver's side- problem is, I've got tan interior; extremely hard to match. And then there's the airbag thing

 

I tend to agree they are not the most comfortable seats i have ever sat in, but i actually have become pretty used to them now and i kinda like them, and hey they sure beat the hell out of an 1997 Mazda protege 3 seats (parents car a while back) hated that thing!

 

I think my 08 A3 Sline seats are the worst seats I have ever sat in.. My 01 B5 S4 had awesome seats, my A3 is soo uncomfortable I hate driving the car..

I have been shopping for seats to replace the factory seats but have not found a set I like that I know will fit.

I almost bought a set of 911 GT3 seats but they did not recline and I do think I would like them after a long drive..
I've had my car for 5 months and have almost 10,000 miles on it..
So, I hate them too!!!!

 

i have premium seats in grey if you want to trade?

 

Asked the exact same question over on http://forums.audiworld.com/a3/msgs/110513.phtml

Got some more encouraging replies there, but it is a problem (at least for me). I don't find the seats to be of poor quality, just a bit narrow. I saw where hesaputz replied, and based of some of the fantastic responses I've had from him on other subjects, if he hasn't solved it we may have a problem... Other posts I've seen have suggested having upholstery modifications, but really... I test drove a non S-line and don't remember any problems, but that was just a test drive. Got a great deal on my current one out of Texas, and immediately set off on a trip from the dealer there back to VA when I noticed I was moving around trying to get comfortable. Not overly painful, but a nusiance that makes me think about it waaay too much. Has anyone made any successful mods?

 

Well I went to the other Audi forum and sure enough I feel better now that I am not alone in this problem. This lousy sport seat problem does not have a simple solution. What I have done to mitigate the seat position is move my seat way back and drive straight leg and straight arm, and in this position, the drive is less uncomfortable. These seats are not going to break in over time as someone on the other forum suggested, as they have to be fiberglass shells, similar to competition race seats. Getting TT or S3/S4 might be the best alternative. Ranting to the local Audi dealers gets no sympathy, at least not for me. I ran into a good friend last weekend, who just bought 09 A3 2.0 Sline Quattro, (>$40K) and asked me what I thought of the seats,.....

 

One of the guys on Fourtitude installed S4 seats in his - bought them used, made adapters, got the airbags, power, and heaters all working. Looked like a lot of work the DIY he published.
Recaro makes an airbag seat and rail adapters if you've got 3.5k or so to part with. The Sparco Milano and Milano Prestige look like nice fits dimensionally, but again, bags o' bucks by the time you're done.
We regularly put non airbag racing seats and steering wheels in Porsches, but it's not difficult to do a work around on the airbag warning. Does anyone have knowledge about doing this on CAN bus? I might just make bracketry, and put in a spare Recaro or Scheel if I can kill the warning.

 

I saw some nice leather VW GTI seats recently on Craigslist from a 2005. Aside from the obnoxious GTI embroidary, these things should bolt up as our A3s are the same platform, right? No air bags on the GTI seats so it would be air bag light warning h*ll probably though, and I already conceded on TPMS warning lights after two weeks. Oh these modern cars...

 

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