Question for Kuhl Carbon:

[Mike97ZJ]

I saw in another post that you are an engineer.

Not sure if this falls in your area of expertise or not, but I figured your bound to know more on this subject than I do.

I was wondering if you'd care to give me your opinion on these aftermarket seat heaters I found.

Out of the 3 factory options my Jeep does NOT have, heated seats are one of them. I'm tired of freezing my arse off on the cold leather everyday.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sports-imports/afcarseathea.html

They also have these, which are said to be GM liscensed. Have any idea of what that means? I'm thinking it's the same design GM uses in it's cars? If so, that's a good thing. I had a friend with a 2K TrailBlazer with heated seats, and those things would COOK you if you left them on too long.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sports-imports/heatelcarsea.html


Thanks alot. I really appreciate any info you can give me.

[Mike97ZJ]

I saw in another post that you are an engineer.

Not sure if this falls in your area of expertise or not, but I figured your bound to know more on this subject than I do.

I was wondering if you'd care to give me your opinion on these aftermarket seat heaters I found.

Out of the 3 factory options my Jeep does NOT have, heated seats are one of them. I'm tired of freezing my arse off on the cold leather everyday.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sports-imports/afcarseathea.html

They also have these, which are said to be GM liscensed. Have any idea of what that means? I'm thinking it's the same design GM uses in it's cars? If so, that's a good thing. I had a friend with a 2K TrailBlazer with heated seats, and those things would COOK you if you left them on too long.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sports-imports/heatelcarsea.html


Thanks alot. I really appreciate any info you can give me.

[Kühl Carbon]

This seems to be a good aftermarket add on for cold buns. I have had custom interiors added to several of my vehicles ... as a matter of fact, my current vehicle is the only thing I have owned in the last 20 years that has retained it's factory interior. Any reputable trim shop should be able to disassemble your seats, install the heaters, and reassemble them in a couple of hours, tops. No unstitching or restitching should be required.

Most good trim shops have a good source for bun warmers if you live in the ice belt like I do. Most of them do a pretty decent job of heating and are good from a durability standpoint too. Most of them are OEM suppliers ... a company won't usually just go out and say "We are gonna make some aftermarket bun warmers". Development costs would be too high ... unless some OEM has already paid you to develop them and you are simply gonna retrofit the same unit into other vehicles.

GM bun warmers do indeed seem to get excessively hot. What the second link you posted may mean though, is the interface is based on a GM harness and connector. Your H2 would have come with all the wiring for bun warmers, just not the heating elements and the switch. Most OEMs do this to keep costs down. It is cheaper to give everyone the same wiring harness as opposed to sequencing two different ones into the plant .... seems strange I know.

I hope this answers your question.

Founding member of the "No Hummer Krew"

[Mike97ZJ]

Thanks alot for the info.

I think I'll give these a shot.

Do you think there is any real difference between the carbon fiber ones and the pre-cut GM licensed ones?

I'm leaning towards the GM ones just because they are pre-cut.

I'll actually be installing these in my 97 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has the power front seats already, so they should be easy enough to hook up.

I should join your "No Hummer Krew" because I don't have one either, lol.

Thanks again for the info.

1997 Grand Cherokee TSi
It's got some lift, skids, and rock rails, among other things.

[Kühl Carbon]

Well, without looking into it further, I am thinking that the difference would lie in the electrical interface somehow. A quote from the second site:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>If your car seats are electric you already have a power source under your seat for these seat heaters and it comes with a 24" (600mm) Power Lead to splice into the Seat Harness<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Both sites posted temperatures and are the same ... in these cases I just go with my gut feel ... especially on the net. If you have a good feeling about the "GM Authorized" ones, get those. If you get the others and something goes wrong you will always wonder.

I couldn't find anything from a technical standpoint to choose one over the other.

The "Krew" is always looking for new members http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif . just put a line in your sig http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif .

Founding member of the "No Hummer Krew"

[Mike97ZJ]

Okay. Once again, thanks alot for the info.

1997 Grand Cherokee TSi
It's got some lift, skids, and rock rails, among other things.

*member of the "No Hummer Krew"*

[Steve R]

Mike....how about throwing some tire info at us? MTR's look sweet....any thoughts??

[Mike97ZJ]

Actually, I already did, a few days back. I guessed you missed the post.

http://www.elcova.com/groupee/forums?a=tpc&s=2826088551&f=6706011751&m=4506094002

In a nutshell, I like 'em!

Eventually I'd like to get a set for my Jeep.

Also, they are standard equipment on the
Rubicon. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Let me know if you want me to dig up more info. TONS of Jeep guys are running these, so there's tons of info on those boards that I can post links to.

1997 Grand Cherokee TSi
It's got some lift, skids, and rock rails, among other things.

*member of the "No Hummer Krew"*

[This message was edited by Mike97ZJ on January 14, 2003 at 02:25 PM.]