Sometimes we forget that the inside of our cars are as important as the outside. As handling and acceleration increases, so is the need to keep our posterior planted in the seat. For show goers, an interior that reflects the style of your car is as important as the outside. After all, we spend all our time inside our cars. Case in point, our 2016 EcoBoost Mustang.
TMI Products got their start building Volkswagen door panels in their family garage in Torrance, California. Now located in a gigantic building in Corona, California, TMI is well known in the aftermarket for making everything from seat re-upholster kits to door panels, and even headliners. All seat kits from shelf stock to custom are hand stitched to perfection here in the USA.
TMI offers interior components for every generation Mustang except 1974-1978. Newest to the market is their line of S550 replacement seat covers, which are optioned with and without airbag provisions. Two styling options are available; the Sport-R and Sport-VXR. The Sport-VXR is TMI’s more aggressive seat design with an inlay of stainless grommets and accent stitching on the black suede. Grommets are available in gold, silver, or black with black, white, red, blue, or gray stitching.
The Sport-R seats that we selected, are optioned with the ability to accept the factory air bags. These covers are constructed with black vinyl with black suede inserts. TMI’s blue stitching option fit perfectly with our Mustang’s Deep Impact Blue color. All 2015-2017 seats come with new foam for a more aggressive fit while still being comfortable for daily driving. A headrest insert converts the seat backs into a one-piece design. If your 2015-2017 Mustang came with factory air conditioned seats, that option will be eliminated with TMI’s new covers.
Best part of all, if either of these options aren’t up to your standards, TMI offers a seat customizer (LINK: http://www.tmiproducts.com/customseats/custom-seats.html) that allows you to build seats with thousands of combinations. TMI will even send material samples to make sure everything matches before building your seat cover combination.
1. The factory seats served their purpose, but didn’t bring the excitement we were looking for. Plus, we required something with additional bolstering.
2. Both front seats are held in place by four Torx bolts and a pair of wiring connectors. Removal is simple and painless.
3. The seat plastics must be removed before the covers can come off. The seat back adjuster is held in with push clips while a range of Philips screws and Torx bolts hold on the rest of the plastic. Be careful because there’s a lot of electronics in these seats!
4. Two Torx bolts on the side help separate the back from the seat.
5. Black clips hold the seat cover and foam on all four corners of the frame. A flathead screwdriver comes in handy for removing these.
6. With the clips removed, everything comes off in one piece.
7. TMI’s lower foam is placed on the seat frame and then the cover is pulled around and connected in the same fashion as the factory seat.
8. It’s worth the $20 investment for Hog Ring pliers to make removing the seat back covers a lot easier.
9. Since the seat design eliminates the headrest, TMI includes a fabricated brace that sides into the factory headrest frame.
10. The headrest support will be placed into the foam and guided into place. It’s important that the foam cleanly wraps around the rear seat fold lever as well.
11. The easiest way to install the seatback covers is to flip them inside out and then unravel it from the top down.
12. With the rear seat pocket and plastic surround installed around the seat pull lever, it’s time to finish the front seat assembly!
13. The difference between the factory and TMI Sport-R seats are pretty amazing and will kick up our S550s interior with a much sportier look.
14. The seat bottom is removed with quick release tabs and four bracket bolts hold the rear portion to the seatback. Using the fold down mechanism from the trunk will release the seatback from the frame. The rear seat bottom fabric is removed in the same fashion as the front seats.
15. TMI’s rear seat covers install on the factory foam. The bottom cover uses clips that are guided through the bottom of the frame as well as the perimeter.
16. Both rear seatbacks are very easy to assemble; one clip on the bottom of the seat and pull the fabric up. Same method applies here – invert the upper seat covers and roll them onto the frame.
17. Matched to the front seat styling, TMI’s Sport-R rear seat covers use black vinyl, suede inserts, and blue stitching. Now your third and fourth passenger can ride in style.
18. With our sexy rear seats bolted back in place, all we needed to do was reinstall the front seats! Expect to spend between 4-6 hours installing the complete kit.
19. You would almost think you’re in a six-figure exotic car with how good the TMI seat upgrade looks. Not only does it look good, but the additional bolstering will keep us in place when it’s time to hit the curves!
Source
- TMI Products – http://www.tmiproducts.com/
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