AORoads

while "ventilated" is better than nothing, it is really not "cooled". I've been in only one car that was actually "cooled" and the rest were "ventilated." but if I got in a hot car, with hot sticky seats, as said above it would take a very long time for the meager air flow fan to cool me off. and that would be after I first stuck to the seats. still, it is better than nothing which is what I have now in my cars.

AFVETTE

I have the RECARO's in my 2011 CTS-V and love them, glad the vette is catching up.

NSC5

I have the ventilated seats in my CTS and they work quite well. With a convertible I could see the desire for actively cooled seats but with an enclosed car the combination of air conditioning (with recirculation enabled if needed when humidity is high) and seat fans does fine.

Peltier devices are fairly power hungry and since they are heat transfer devices (for the cold side to get cold the other side will get hot) they need a heat sink and a cooling fan in addition to the fan needed to circulate air through the seats. All of this adds additional weight making them less suitable for a sports car.

sprtplt

You must be joking. Weight (especially the tiny amount to cool seats) obviously is way down the lists of concerns on the C7.

NSC5

I am definitely not joking and it appears the approach to weight control on the C7 is a bit schizophrenic using expensive materials to save weight in one place and then adding weight elsewhere. A few extra pounds here and a few extra there can and did add up. It is like the guy who gives up cigarettes to save money and increases his drinking instead.

They are very different vehicles but the weight budget during ATS development was closely followed resulting in a 4 door sedan coming it at just over 3,300 pounds. There are a lot of additional creature comforts that could have been added to the C7 and while the weight of each alone would be insignificant in total the gain would be noticeable. I am glad in this case the designers struck a good compromise between comfort and weight gain.

335i

I guarantee you weight was a big concern during C7 development. The engineers would be stupid to not place a strong emphasis on that, considering all the benefits low weight imparts, particularly in a sports car.

The reason the C7 seems to be a bit heavier than the C6 is probably due to crash safety standards. It's been 9 years since a new corvette came out and I would imagine a lot has changed in that time. Crash safety is one of the main reasons cars tend to get heavier with each generation. Also, the weights reported by the magazines are all for 2LT/3LT, which are heavier due to all the features and standard equipment.

Greg00Coupe

As others mentioned fan cool seats do work once the car temperature drops. My issue is they are rather noisy at full blast.

THECORVETTEMANN

We have an INFINITI with "cooled" seats, and the fans are a bit noisy.

Let me state that I HATE leather seats. Give me a cloth material anytime. But, obviously - this is not possible with the C7.

The ventilated seats are better than nothing. I live in Miami, where interiors left in the sun will normally reach 120 degrees or higher. The black steering wheel and leather will be quite hot to the touch.

1. You can offset some of the heat by tinting the windows.

2. Then, use a windsheild shade every time you leave the car.

Mike S

October Car and Driver has an excellent article comparing the C 6 & C 7 seats.

If you receive the digital version, there is a video explanation. Downloaded to the iPad today.

C 7 has two hockey puck sized fans in the seat bottom and one in the seat back. Fans only blow the interior ambient air into the seat. No cooling beyond the interior A/C.

aerocombatpilot

Especially when you take the roof off!

Big Hammer

Page 8-4 in owner book. Vented! RTFB!!

MoabC7

Really? FWIW, it's RTFM not RTFB. RTFT. Seriously, read? You've got to be kidding? Way too hard. (Disclaimer: post said in fun and jest.)

VETJAZZ

themonk

I kinda wish they put the screen up/down button in a less obvious place, I think I will have to look into rewiring the switch and putting a new one in someplace less visible......

who's with me?

rcallen484

Black plasti-dip (gotta match up with rest of dash there) over the script on it. No one will know it is even a switch, much less what it does.