Best horsehair pads?

[George Davis]

My drivers seat horsehair pad is hard as a rock and my delicate derriere can't take it any more.  The pad is (I think) a reproduction and is not up to original comfort standards.

Can anyone tell me who supplies horsehair pads that are as good as the originals?

Thanks!

George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[Douglas]

Is there such a thing as a repro hosehair pad? As far as I know, the OEM pad is the only one available. Yours is probably just old & dried out.

OEM pads are still available & under $100.

Douglas Kim
New York, NY
280 SL #016220

[n/a]

I have seen pads from 4 different MB suppliers: GAHH, Bud's Benz, World Upholstery, and K&K Manufacturing. All of these pads look completely  identical, all have the exact same tiny "Hecho en Mexico" tag. I suspect a single textile plant in Mexico is suppling these pads to all the primary american resellers.

Mike McMahon, Baltimore MD
1970 280SL 4-speed manual
olive green ext, bamboo int

[George Davis]

Douglas and Mike,

thank you for your replies.  The horsehair pad in question was bought new 2 years ago, complete with Hecho en Mexico tag.

If that's as good as it gets, I'm going to look for some other sort of pad.  I'd welcome any suggestions.

Thanks again!

George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[ted280sl]

George,
  It would be hard to miss a horse hair pad which is old and dried out. If it does not crumble in your hands it is not dried out. I put a thin layer of upholstery padding on top of my horse hair pads and I am very happy with the results.
Ted 1969 280SL w/ soft seats

[tuultyme]

Ted
Was it any harder to put the new seat cover over the new horse hair and the extra padding?  I really like the extra firmness of the new pads and seats but than again I have not taken the car on any extended drives since replacing the interior.  I was going to put in an inflatable lumbar support but I already spent enough on the interior.

Bruce; 268Blaugrun(green) 1970 280SL; IL

[ted280sl]

Bruce,
  The seat covers slip over the padding, horse hair pad and the spring base. It is necessary to compress the spring base in order to get the seat cover on. The thickness of the additional padding I added was not substantial and did not make it any more difficult to put the covers back on. I have put the covers on by myself and I have done it with assistance. It is easier to put the covers on if someone is helping you by compressing the spring base.

[George Davis]

Update:  I contacted SLS in Germany and inquired about their horsehair pads.  They replied that their pads are genuine MB parts, made in Germany.  They had 1 in stock, 97.50 Euros; it's on it's way.  I'll try to post the result after installing and test-driving it.  They seem to only have pads for later cars, not sure what/where the breakpoint is.



George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[n/a]

Hello George
 Try Better cars Nr fort myers on the road to sanibel, florida ask
for the owner James.
if no luck there send me an E.mail and I'll try over here in the U.K
a dealership in Bournemouth called Jacksons there good and well priced.

 Best of Luck
 Pagoda Red (Redmond Kelly)

red kelly

[rwmastel]

George,

Why not just buy one from an MB Dealer?  I got mine from Tom Hanson.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[Cees Klumper]

Van Dijk lists a set (back + bottom) for around Euro 200 per seat, which is just about what DC charges.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[George Davis]

Red and Rodd,

thanks for the suggestions.  I ordered the pad from SLS and it's on its way.  I'll try to keep these other options in mind next time!

George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[Douglas]

Related question: Are the upper pads (and the covering as well, for that matter) interchangeable?

I know the L&R bottoms are a different shape, but can you swap the backs if you transfer over the corresponding tilt mechanism?

Douglas Kim
New York, NY
280 SL #016220

[hauser]

Gahh also sells a rubberized seat pad. Could this be a substitute for the horse hair pads?

1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[Cees Klumper]

I was thinking the same thing yesterday - could pads of another material not potentially be better than original horse hair? Then - could one not cut their own from base material for, say, 1/3 of the dealer cost?
I know this is not for the purist, but the same applies to electronic ignition ($120) vs installing a replacement factory transitorized module (several hundred $), which many don't mind.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[rwmastel]

Cees,

I don't think one could cut their own seat pad as they are so "3-dimensional".  That is, they wrap around the seat frame.  I guess the very resoruceful person could take a new one, make a mould from it, and start producing identically moulded rubber or foam pads.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[George Davis]

Update and verdict:

On Saturday I replaced my Made in Mexico repro seat pad with the genuine MB article and drove the car on Sunday.  The improvement was immediately noticable, and after an hour of driving I was still pretty comfortable.  With the repro seat pad I'd be feeling a fair amount of discomfort in an hour.

My conclusion is to avoid the repro pads, which seem to be what many of the aftermarket parts suppliers are selling in the US.  Get the MB pads.  I got mine from SLS in Germany, but an MB dealership or Tom Hanson might be better choices in the US to avoid the shipping charge.

Regarding some of the other discussions:

I think it would be hard to make your own seat pad out of some other material, though not necessarily impossible if you're determined and have the right tools for cutting and shaping foam.  If you try this, you want a pretty firm foam to match the firmness of the original horsehair.  Getting the shape and thickness right will be difficult, and it's probably better to just buy the correct pad.

To clarify terminology, I think the terms "seat pad", "horsehair pad", "rubberized pad" all refer to the same thing.  The pad looks like a bunch of stringy material (like horsehair) that has been coated with rubber, packed together, and formed into the proper shape.  Don't know if horsehair is really used, that term may just be a holdover from the good olde days.

Hope this is useful to someone!



George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[hauser]

George I am glad to hear you have solved this "mystery." I for one am very happy to know these differences. Through this quest for a better seat you answered many of my questions. Thank you George for your excellent efforts.

1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[n/a]

Very interesting! While I am reasonably satisfied with my new pads, I was not aware that some vendors provide a Mexican product when genuine M-B pads still exist, apparently at very similar cost differential.

Clearly GAHH/Buds/K&K/WorldUphostery make a large profit on the HechoEnMexico product (mine were $500 for the full set). I sure hope future buyers will either demand the real M-B pads or negotiate lower prices for the Mexican pads.


Mike McMahon, Baltimore MD
1970 280SL 4-speed manual
olive green ext, bamboo int

[Douglas]

I think pads are available from Millers for $95 each. I don't know which variety they are.

Douglas Kim
New York, NY
280 SL #016220