This installation guide is designed as a guide for fitting an Optimise Automotive SPi or MPi front seat cover kit.

Installing seat covers is very different to installing “nut & bolt” items. There is movement in the materials and as a result, seat covers need to be manipulated, pulled and installed through the fitters touch & feel.

We recommend taking your time, do not rush the process and double check alignment before cutting or glueing anything.

Your Kit - What’s Included:

• 2x replacement seat cushion covers

• 2x replacement seat squab covers

• 2x replacement headrest covers

Tools Needed (Recommended):

• Slot head screwdriver

• Phillips head screwdriver

• Diagonal cutters

• Pin hammer

• Sharp knife

• Hog ring pliers

Preparation & Pre-Installation:

Our SPi and MPi front seat cover kits fit just like the original covers (near enough), so when you remove the original covers from your seats take a good look at how they are installed.

Remember to keep the elastics (from the squab covers), as you will be using them to install your new covers.

Removal:

1. Before you start removing the covers, remove the head rests, remove the tilt handle knob (it simply screws off), remove the reclining handle (using a Phillips head screwdriver) and also remove the headrest plastic fixings (removed by turning them 90 degrees and pulling them out). For reference, you do not need to remove the plastic cowling either side, between the cushion and squab or the side squab seat tilt mechanism handle & cowling.

2. Start by removing the squab cover. First step is to free the J section filler from the J section at the base of the cover, to remove the filler strip prize it out using a slot head screwdriver. With the bottom of the cover now open, reach inside (from behind) and release the hooks on the ends of the elastics (that hold the face of the covers in the grooves, between the bolsters and the face) from the frame.

3. For now, that is all the fixings that need removing and you can start to pull the cover off, by turning it inside out, until you get to the height of the internal fixings. When you get to this point, release the other end of the hooks on the ends of the elastics from the frame (from behind) and feed them through the hole in the foam, to the front. You can then feed the black plastic piece through the diaphragm wires and through the slot in the foam (again from behind).

4. Your can now continue to remove the squad cover, feed the cover around the tilt handle and pull the cover off, over the top of the seat. Finally, remove the elastics from the squab cover by feeding them out of the sleeves and keep them to one side, to reuse.

5. With the squab cover removed you can now remove the cushion cover. Around the edges (so underneath the seat) the cover is held into place using plastic strips/fixings, to remove them, turn the seat upside-down and using a slot head screwdriver, prize the strips along the front and sides out. The rear of the cushion is secured with a different style of plastic fixing, that clips around the tubular frame, to remove it, again prize it off using a slot head screwdriver.

6. With the borders and tabs of the cushion cover released, turn the seat the right way up and remove the foam, from the seat.

7. Then turn the cover inside-out, as this will give you access to the face fixings and you can start to remove the hog rings, using diagonal cutters, that hold the cushion to the foam. With the fixings removed, the cover will be loose and separate from the foam.

8. Finally, you can remove the headrest covers, the head rests are an injection moulded foam and as a result, the covers cannot be “removed” as such. You will need to remove the original cover by cutting off the original piping, using a sharp knife and then cut & peel away the original trimming, so you are basically left with the foam.

9. At this stage, if you have a steamer, you may want to steam your foams. This will puff the foam back up to its original state, creating a better base for your new covers.

10. We would also recommend painting your seat frames legs with black metal paint (such as Hammerite), before installing your new covers.

Installation:

With the old covers removed, you can install your new seat cover kit and essentially, you are now going to reverse the process of removing your old covers, to install your new covers:

1. Start with the cushion cover and with the foam removed from the seat, with the border inside-out, the first step is to install the face fixings. Using hog rings (supplied) and hog ring pliers attach the tie piping strips (sewn into the seat cover) to the metal rods in the foam. For reference, the strips of tie piping replaces the metal rods on the original covers.

2. With the seat cover installed to the face of the cushion, turn the covers border around, so it sits on the foam and then refit the foam to the seat.

3. With the foam installed to the seat, turn the seat upside-down to (so you can access underneath the frame) and starting with the rear tab, attach the tab to the frame using the C clips provided (3 clips per seat, these clips replace the plastic strips on the original covers), they simply push on, with a tight fit. Ensure that you pull the tab nice and tight.

4. Then, starting in the middle of the front and working out around the frame, attach the border to the frame using the metal trim-clips provided (these clips replace the plastic strips on the original covers), you can push and/or hammer the clips on using a pin hammer. Ensure that you pull the cover nice and tight. When you get to it, cut a hole in the cover (using a sharp knife) to feed the tilt pull handle through, double check you have lined it up correctly before cutting the hole.

5. You can now start to install the squab cover, first of all turn the seat the right way around and place a plastic bag over the seat back, this will help you to pull the cover fully down, into the correct position.

6. Before you install the cover, install the elastics into the sleeves (just like the originals) and then turn the cover inside-out, to the seam line on the face, where the plastic pull through fixing is sewn in. You can then place the squab cover over the seat and pull it down, so the shoulders of the seat are tight against the inside of the seat cover. Feed the headrest stalks through the holes in the cover and reinstall the headrest plastic fixings, to help trap the cover in place.

7. Reach inside and remove the plastic bag, by pulling it back over the seat, ensuring that the seat cover remains in place.

8. Next step is to feed the black plastic piece (the fixing that’s attached to the face of the cover) through the slot in the foam and through the diaphragm wires. You can then install the hooks (on the ends of the elastics), feed them through the hole in the foam and attach them to the frame, using the same holes that they were attached to originally.

9. You can then continue to turn the cover around, fitting it neatly on the foam as you go. Once fully fitted, reach inside (from behind) and install the other end of the hooks on the ends of the elastics, feed them through the channel in the foam and attach them to the frame, using the same holes that they were attached to originally.

10. With all the fixings attached, it’s time to fit the cover around the tilt handle, cut a slit in the cover (making sure you cut the slit shorter than the length of the cowling, so it’s hidden when fed around) and feed the cover around the cowling.

11. Finally, with the regards to the squab cover, turn the seat upside-down, and fasten the zips up (these replace the J section & J section filler plastic fixings from the original covers).

12. With the seat trimmed, you can now install your new headrest covers to the headrests. Place a bag over the foam and using a vacuum cleaner suck the air out the bag creating a vacuum, which will shrink the head rest foam. Place the new cover over the head rest and once roughly positioned, remove the vacuum cleaner head, so the foam expands and fills the cover. Trim off the excess plastic bag and the pin the outer cover (stitched face) along the edge, trapping the inside cover underneath.

13. With your new seat covers installed, if you have a steamer, you may want to steam your covers as this will smooth out any imperfections.

Post-Installation:

With your new front seat cover kit now installed, you can reinstall your front seats to your Mini.