Heated seats and steering wheels are like peanut butter and jelly. They go so well together. I live 3 miles from work so here in the Michigan winter many times the vehicle isn't even warmed up by the time I get to work. The heated seats and SW I can feel before I get to the end of my street. Love 'em. Oh, I have a turbo too. Winter trifecta perfection!
I was thinking someone should come up with a snow shovel that has a heated handle. 
Heated seats warm ass!
My first car that had them was my Cayman, basically April to November car though. Still it was nice in the spring/fall, but it was also nice when my back was trash.
My Golf has a turbo and heated seats, too bad I cannot drive it in weather under 20* since I still have not figured out the catch can issue.
The Charger has heated and cooled seats. The cooling bit feels awkward...
I never thought I'd use heated seats while on the track, but then I went to a BMW CCA HPDE up at Brainerd back when they use to hold the event the same May weekend as the opening day of fishing season.
It may be telling that group has point by procedures using turn signals so you can leave the windows up and keep your arms inside.
Karacticus said:It may be telling that group has point by procedures using turn signals so you can leave the windows up and keep your arms inside.
I was believing your story until that part.
This has been sitting on a shelf in my garage for 5 years or so. My new Jeep Gladiator has a soft-top and it gets mighty cold inside especially when the wind chill is -45*. I may just have to break this thing open and give it a try once and for all.
So, Miata night is tomorrow. It's still rather chilly here in Florida. The heat hasn't been used in a decade or two. Can the system be trusted?
But it would be nice to see everyone.
Hmmmm.
I'm a fan of heated seats this time of year, but I have zero tolerance for seats with no back heat, or a wholly improper butt/back heat ratio. My ass develops plenty of its own warmth. My back, not so much. Let's put the effort where we need it.
SOME heated seats are great, those in both of my wife's Audis have been terrific - our 2004 Allroad had 6 speed seats, where the newer Allroad only has three, but they are very comfortable.
My MINI's 3 speed heated seats OTOH are pretty miserable. They get warm quickly, then they get hot, then they get even HOTTER till I have to just shut it off......and that takes about 4 blocks from dead cold ( -7* a couple days ago) And that's on the lowest setting!
Both our cars are turbo's and once I'm comfortable that the oil is warmed up some, no question the motor likes that cold air......but that cold kinda saps the power too as everything else is stiff and sluggish.
I think the optimum temp is right around 50* for turbo power and performance.....
GTwannaB said:My 18 year old Subaru warms up and produces heat in about three minutes flat. I don't have a yearning for heated seats today. But a RAV4 rental that produced zero heat for 20 minutes was torture. Do direct injection motors warm up more slowly by design? I would want heated seats in my next family hauler.
The more efficient the engine, the less heat it puts into the coolant.
It could also be the HVAC system. Last week I beat my head against a QX70 (or whatever it was called... Infiniti transverse SUV) that would NOT put out over 120F from the vents, which feels tepid at best. I want to see 160F minimum. Then I noticed that it put out 120F whether the fan was on low, medium, or high. Looked at the HVAC data and the damn thing was limiting air temp to 120F.
Heated seats are awesome all year round. Nothing says decadence (and happy back muscles) like having the seat heater and A/C going on full when it is 90 out.
It's 65 degrees here today in the lovely Mojave Desert.
I talked to my aunt in NYC and she said it was 7 degrees; pretty sure heated seats would be good there.
In reply to MiniDave :
My mini cabrio has two settings HOT and Fricassying Hot.
My heated seat experience is severely limited. I was caught completely off guard one day last week by heated seats in the rear of a coworker's car. I'm looking around trying to figure out why my ass is on fire. Nope cloudy day & car was not parked in such a way that the sun did this. Is something burning in the trunk? I don't smell smoke... Finally asked the driver and everyone starts laughing at me. Heated rear seats was a completely new concept to me and they got me...
We're have an above average Christmas here in Tahoe. We were teaching skiing in TShirts in 50° weather.
I rode in to work yesterday with my landlord in his 3rd gen Taco. Awful excuse for a truck, but the heat is way more powerful than my XJ. My feet were hot after the first 2 miles while in the Jeep I'm still waiting for it 5 miles into my commute.
I would install heated seats, but with headlights and blower fan my voltage drops to 13.25V and I'm scared to add any more load to that system.
Heated steering wheels are gross. Gives the same feeling as sitting down on a freshly warmed public toilet.
In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :
On really hot summer days I secretly turn my wife's seat on high and wait for her to figure it out.
We're closing in on 36 years of marriage so it's the little annoyances we enjoy giving to each other.
buzzboy said:Heated steering wheels are gross. Gives the same feeling as sitting down on a freshly warmed public toilet.
I think you're putting the wrong body parts on the steering wheel...or maybe the toilet.
In reply to preach (dudeist priest) :
I think cooling seats have gotten better–or at least we've gotten more used to them.
At first, yeah, they felt a bit weird.
Now they seem pretty natural. Some are noisier than others, though.
And everyone's checked their tire pressures recently, too?
David S. Wallens said:I think cooling seats have gotten better–or at least we've gotten more used to them...
Or we've getting older... no, you're right, lets go with getting used to them.
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