It was time to get rid of the stock seats. So I decided to go with factory RS4 Recaro seats instead of Recaro Style Toplines. I wanted the airbags and the cost was a tad more, but I also got the rear seats to match. The biggest hassle was shipping from Germany and dealing with the freight forwarder.

So I drove down to Compton to a massive warehouse where the seats were. Huge place with pallets from all over the world i.e. China.

I already had received all the miscellaneous parts from Carson @ Riverside (thanks to Ram @ autospeed too), but here's the list:

(qty 1) 443-803-241
(qty 1) 443-803-242 are the two brackets to be welded in.

(qty 2) 435-881-203-A are the plastic pieces that sit on top of the brackets and buffer the seat rail from the bracket.

(qty 2) 893-881-203
(qty 2) 893-881-203-A. These are the plastic pieces that slide in the rails at the back of the seat These are optional to replace, but they do wear over time so it's a good idea.

(qty 2) 171-881-229-B lockpin.
(qty 2) 113-881-275-C spring for the lockpin.
(qty 2) 8D0-881-295 buffer.
(qty 2) 321-881-177 spring.
(qty 2) 1H0-881-287 spring.

So last night I finally started the installation. First I removed the stock seats and lifted up the carpet. Passenger side first in case I screw something up.

I then sanded the paint off the areas that needed to be welded.

It's easy to align the bracket to the body with the two alignment holes. I used two 5/16 screws as pins. They are NOT securing the bracket and are only used for alignment.

Time to weld.

Time to prime.

Time to install. Looks like I'm missing a plastic cover and a metal tab to hide the mechanism.

Time to admire.

Rears too. These were an easy drop-in with no mods.

By the way, I weighed both front seats. Stock (no seat heaters) = 59.8 lb. RS4 (with seat heaters) = 59.7 lb.