SW Motorsports BMW E46 Seat Side Mounts

From £80.40 Incl. VATFrom £67.00 Excl. VAT

Sw Motorsports BMW E46 Side Mounts by SW Motorsports. Brand: SW Motorsports. Sport Seat Position: RHD Driver Side, RHD Passenger Side. Construction: Steel.

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SKU: SWS-E46-SM Categories: Car Specific Side Mounts, SW Motorsports Seat Mounts, BMW 3 Series (E46) Sport Seat Options, SW Motorsports Car Fitting Frames

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The SW Motorsports BMW E46 Seat Side Mounts, part SWS-E46-SM, bolt to the E46 floor mounting points and provide a driver or passenger side mounting position for a bucket seat. At £67 these are the most affordable SW Motorsports seat fitting hardware for the E46 and the natural starting point if you want to convert the car without committing to a full subframe change.

The E46 3 Series ran from 1998 to 2006 across saloon, coupe, touring and convertible bodies. The floor mounting points are consistent across the range from 316i to M3, which is why SW Motorsports offer a single side mount for the whole chassis. The M3 coupe is the car you see most at circuit days, but budget-conscious builds on 318i and 320i platforms are common in Club Endurance grids where the cheap purchase price of the base car matters more than the engine. Whatever the engine, the E46 floor accepts these side mounts.

The side mounts sit lower than the standard seat base and runner assembly, bringing the bucket seat position closer to the floor. Taller drivers who run into headroom issues with the standard seat sitting high on its runners will notice the difference. The brackets are steel and sold per seat position: driver side and passenger side are separate items, so choose the correct side when ordering.

If you are building from scratch and have not settled on hardware yet, the side mounts are the lower-cost starting point. Check your seat’s hole spacing against the mount before ordering, because not all bucket seats share the same side hole pattern and measurement.

Not sure if these suit your seat and E46 setup? Drop us an email or click to open a chat and we can confirm. Stock is shown live on this page; if you need these for a specific event date, tell us when you order and we will confirm the lead time. You can also call us on 0115 647 8650.

Additional information

Brand	SW Motorsports
Sport Seat Position	RHD Driver Side, RHD Passenger Side
Construction	Steel
Make & model	BMW E46

Seat mounting and fixing points guide

A bucket seat does not bolt to the floor. It bolts to brackets, and those bolt to a car-specific subframe. Getting the fixing type right is what decides whether the parts you order fit together at all.

Two systems, and they are not interchangeable

Type	How common	Where it fixes	What you need
Side mount	212 of our bucket seats	Threaded holes in the sides of the shell	A pair of side mount brackets, then a subframe
Base mount	20 of our bucket seats	Holes through the flat underside of the shell	A base frame or runners, then a subframe

The fixing type is a property of the seat, not a choice you make. Every bucket seat on the site lists it, so check the seat first and then buy the brackets to suit. A side mount seat cannot be base mounted and the reverse is equally true.

The stack, from the top down

Layer	What it is
1. The seat	Side mount or base mount, fixed by the shell
2. Brackets or runners	Side mounts, a base frame, or sliding runners
3. The subframe	Car specific. Bolts to the original seat mounting points
4. The floor	Original captive nuts or reinforced mounting points

Order in this sequenceSeat first, then brackets to suit the seat, then a subframe to suit the car. Buying the subframe first is the usual way people end up with parts that will not talk to each other, because subframes are made for a fixing type.

Choosing side mounts

Once you know the seat is side mount, these are the things that vary.

Option	What we stock	What it changes
Profile	High or low	Low drops the seat as far as it will go. High gives clearance over a tunnel or a wide sill
Mounting holes	3, 4 or 6	How many positions the bracket offers. More holes means more fore, aft and height adjustment
Pattern	A or B	Which hole layout the bracket uses. It has to match the seat, so check the product
Length	350, 380 or 495 mm	The bracket itself. Longer suits a longer shell and gives more adjustment range
Bolt size	M8 or M10	M8 is the common one. Check what your shell is threaded for
Side	RHD driver or passenger	Brackets are handed. Order the right side, or a pair

We do not publish a hole spacing in millimetres, because brackets are sold to a pattern letter rather than to centres and a wrong figure would send you after the wrong part. Match the pattern named on the seat and the bracket, or send us both product links and we will check.

ABE or FIA

Two approval routes and they mean different things. FIA brackets are approved for competition and are what a scrutineer will look for. ABE is a German road approval, which is what you want on a road car where the seat has to be road legal and where an insurer may ask. Our range carries both, and the adapter type is listed on every bracket.

The side mount standard itself is FIA 8854-1998, and you will see it quoted on the competition brackets alongside the seat homologation.

Car specific mounts

Some brackets are made for one car rather than for one seat. We carry those from PCI Racing, Cybul, Cobra and SW Motorsports, covering the BMW E46 and E63, the Mazda MX-5 NA and NB, the Mini R53 and R56 and the Toyota GR Yaris. They combine the bracket and the subframe into one part, which usually gets the seat lower than a generic pair and takes fewer bolts to fit.

If your car is on that list, look there first. If it is not, you want generic side mounts plus a car-specific subframe from our fitting equipment range.

Things worth checking before you order

Brackets are handed

Driver side and passenger side brackets are not the same part. On a right hand drive car the driver side is the one with the handbrake and the transmission tunnel to clear. Most are sold as a pair, but where they are sold singly the side is listed.

Bolts are not always included

Some brackets come with the M8 bolts and some do not. It is listed on the product under M8 Bolt Options. Worth a glance, because it is annoying to have everything else on the bench.

Height and headroom

A low profile bracket gets you as far down as the parts allow, which matters in a car with a cage and a helmet. A high profile lifts you to clear a wide sill or a tunnel. If you are tall, or you are fitting a cage, start low and work up.

Send us the seat and the carThe seat you have chosen and the car it is going in. We will tell you which brackets and which subframe, and whether a car-specific mount would do the job better. Call 0115 989 3488 or email Sales@GSMPerformance.co.uk.

All figures read from our own product data across the side mount categories, checked 2 August 2026. Fixing type counts are across the bucket seat range on the same date.

Have you written anything related to this?
Yes: SW Motorsports BMW Roll Cages Updated is worth a read before you order.

Will this fit my car?
This frame is made for the BMW E46. Chassis code and years matter more than the badge, as floor pans change between generations, so if your car sits near a changeover year, send us the registration and we will confirm before you order.

Which seats does it take?
Check the bolt pattern in the specification against your seat. If your seat is not listed, tell us what you run and we will confirm the fit.

Do I keep fore-and-aft adjustment?
Only with a sliding runner between the frame and the seat, which is a separate part on SW frames. If more than one person drives the car, budget for the runner. Our guide to sliding runners explains the options and widths.

Is this for the driver or passenger side?
Both sides are available on this listing, pick driver or passenger side at the point of order (sides listed are for right-hand-drive cars). Left-hand-drive car? Ask us, as the sides swap over and availability varies by model.

Availability

Seat mounts are produced in batches, cages are made to order

SW Motorsports seat mounts are produced in batches and we take deliveries weekly, so those are generally available for quick dispatch.

Their roll cages are a different matter. Each one is made to order here in the UK, and production currently takes 6 to 8 weeks from the day you order.

Before you order a cage

Made to order means our special order and roll cage cancellation terms apply once production starts. Tell us the car and the class you run in, and we will confirm the specification and the current lead time first.

In-store displays:

We have a premium range of over 125 seats from brands including: Bimarco, Cobra, Corbeau, Sparco, OMP, Recaro, GP-Race, and Bride to name just a few brands we work with.

Alongside this, we also stock and display HANS devices, harnesses, race-wear, race-suits, FIA helmets and various other safety equipment. If you are looking to visit us to see and try any particular seat or product, please contact us in advance and we’ll be happy to help.

In-Store appointments:

Due to the specialist nature of our services, we do ask that you please contact us in advance to book an appointment. We have multiple slots available each day including selected availability at the weekend.

Working by appointment allows us to dedicate our time with you and provide a personal and professional service. We’ll always ensure you leave with the right equipment for your needs.

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How it works at GSM SportSeats4U

1Add the product to your basket and go to checkout as normal.
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Your questions, answered by Klarna

Klarna is available to UK residents aged 18 and over. Subject to status. Terms and conditions and late fees apply. Klarna Financial Services UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Full details at klarna.com/uk. Every way you can pay with us is on our payment and finance page, or call 0115 647 8650 and we will talk it through.

Fast delivery lead times:

If you require fast delivery, please contact us in advance of ordering and we’ll happily check stock allocation and availability for you. We carry a large amount of stock at our showroom and across multiple distribution hubs. This allows us to provide immediate dispatch across a huge number of brands from Corbeau and Cobra through to Sparco and OMP. (Does not apply to all items)

Due to the niche market we work in, some products are custom hand made to order, or special order from manufacturers like PCI Racing and Planted Technology. If you want to know how fast a product will be dispatched. Simply drop us a message through our Contact us form.

Addtional lead time notes:

Quick dispatch: Stocked products are dispatched within 24-48 hours with Parcel Force.
Sparco roll cages: We can only deliver these to a registered (LTD) company address.
In-store collection: Please contact us in advance to book an in-store collection appointment.

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