Bloodred

So, I got into my car today, and I heard a loud "pop" as I got into the seat. I then noticed the seat rocks forward and backward easily. I figured one of the bolts must have come loose on the rail, but after looking under the seat I see this (sorry for the crappy pic):



I usually don't buy JDM parts since I feel they're often overpriced, but since seat rails are a safety item I went with the BC Super Low Down rail. I'm pretty disappointed with how small the weld is, now that I look at it. I'm actually surprised it didn't break sooner.

Oh, and before anyone asks, I weigh 175lbs, so putting too much weight on the rail was not the issue. I'm also always very careful about sliding into the seat, so it's not like I jumped on it or something. I'd certainly expect my fiberglass bucket to crack before the damn welds do

I got the rail from Evasive last summer, so I called them and they told me they won't warranty it and I should call Buddy Club. Well, Buddy Club doesn't appear to have a phone number, so I just e-mailed them. Hopefully I'll get a response and they'll replace the rail. This sucks, since the S is my only car and I don't really feel safe driving around with the wobbly broken seat rail.

Has anyone here dealt with Buddy Club before? Any suggestions on what I can do to fix it if they never respond or won't replace it?

tmkpres

I have 3 of the hangers on my specIII exhaust broke off, they said "just take it to a muffler shop, they'll do it for cheap" I was like "WTF whatever and had it rewelded.

All you have to do is take it to a muffler shop also, so they can throw a spot weld for you and you'll be set.

Bloodred

Yeah I emailed BC and they got back to me asking for my invoice. I didn't have it on hand, so I called up Evasive and they sent it to me as a PDF within a minute (thanks Evasive!). I just sent the invoice to BC, we'll see what they say.

I'll probably end up having to get it welded at a muffler shop like you said.

tmkpres

I also had those rails by the way, and I go 250, I wasn't gentle on those things at all I ploped into my car all the time

jeffbrig

I can't believe you're not more outraged at the lack of quality. Those seat rails are one of the things keeping you from eating a mouthful of glass and/or steering wheel in an accident. You should be able to hit that repeatedly with a sledgehammer before the weld fails - think of the stress it would see in a head on collision. IMO, that level of build quality is totally unacceptable on something that's a basic safety item. Maybe I'm overreacting, but there's no way anything from Buddy Club is going in my car after seeing this shoddy manufacturing job.

Nate4635

hmmm...I have the same rails!

did you buy it new? How long have you had it?

Bloodred

Ok, after examining the welds more thoroughly, it's amazing how bad they really are. I'm going to be having these re-welded tomorrow. Buddy Club asked for my invoice, I sent it, and they never responded after that.

I will not be buying any more products from them, and if they give me a replacement I'll take some photos of the welds on it and post them here to see if their quality is consistently this bad or if this was just a one-time thing.

More pics of the welds (again, I apologize for the poor quality but you can see the welds pretty clearly):







As you can see, the plate was attached to the rail by TWO tack welds (no bigger than a dime each). So basically, 8 dime-sized tack welds are all that hold the rail to the floor of the car. Truly unbelievable, and pretty scary.

Too bad I posted this in Parts & Mods, because this deserves some attention. People need to know how dangerous this is...

Bloodred

[QUOTE=Nate4635,May 29 2009, 06:30 PM] hmmm...I have the same rails!

Olegator

This is crazy!
I think more people should be aware of the quality of those seat rails!
This can easily kill someone.....unbelievable..

SgtB

They didn't clean the metal, and welded it way too cold. Probably not even the right filler. That looks like 0 penetration. that weld would have broken in a wreck guaranteed. I'd be furious.

I'd throw it away, but if your dead set on keeping it, I'd grind out every single weld and have them redone.