Rough DIY active seat cooling solution

Hi!

Thought I'd share my just finished cooling solution for a bucket seat in case someone might be inspired by it. Now, this isn't the prettiest way of doing this I'm sure but functional at least.

During this summer's heat wave o'rouge's active cooled seats caught my eye but since I already have a perfectly serviceable Sparco, I started to brainstorm how to turn that into a cool(ed) one. Bit of AliExpress browsing later these were the components I went with:
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A mining rig fan setup with speed controller, a honeycomb seat cushion and a lumbar support. Even as a passive upgrade the cushion and lumbar support were surprisingly good.

Next up it was time to remove the seat fabrics and start drilling:
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As you can see, on the bottom I didn't dare to do a whole cut out as you're basically sitting on the fan - this does reduce the airflow a bit but it's still sufficient. As these fans can be daisy chained, it's a good idea to check the spacing before you start drilling (I just got lucky). Now it was just a matter of attaching the fans in, connecting the cabling and replacing the old cushioning with the honeycomb and the lumbar support.

Couple of more pictures to show these steps:
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As you can see from the pictures, the fibre glass dust will get absolutely everywhere so wear respiratory protection and work in well ventilated area! I do plan on adding fan guards once I finish couple of other things on the seat first, especially with children in house that seat back fan is an accident waiting to happen.

Hopefully this will be of use for some - I've gotten so much help and ideas on this forum that now was perfect time to give something back :)
 
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The lubar support thing makes my back hurt just looking at it. I hate the nerve damage I have post surgery.
Ouch, doesn't sound like fun for sure :( I found that even without medical complications it took a while to dial it it in but now I don't really notice a difference. There are breathable covers for the 'paddles' to soften the feeling but (un)fortunately I've got enough padding of my own :D
 
Ouch, doesn't sound like fun for sure :( I found that even without medical complications it took a while to dial it it in but now I don't really notice a difference. There are breathable covers for the 'paddles' to soften the feeling but (un)fortunately I've got enough padding of my own :D
All that matters is your comfortable for long races. I'm in the middle of building a new rig and got a 2002 Lancer OZ Rally seat. It's super comfy.
 

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