Why Seat Mounting Matters: A Quick Look at Hardware Differences

Services @ TS
18 hours ago
2 min read

When installing scheel-mann seats, the type of mount and hardware you use plays a big role in long-term strength and safety. scheel-mann includes high-quality hardware designed for traditional flat-mount applications—but when used with Tolerance Stack mounts, the setup needs to change slightly to take full advantage of our design.

Comparing scheel-mann supplied hardware vs Tolerance Stack supplied hardware when using the Tolerance Stack mounts

Here’s a quick breakdown of the differences shown above:

The Tolerance Stack Setup (Green Panel)

This is how we design our mounts to work—with the scheel-mann seat’s mounting boss (the six round metal posts under each seat) dropping into a precision-cut hole. We supply a custom flange bolt that holds everything together from the top. In this setup, the mount carries the side-to-side forces, not the bolt. That keeps the bolt out of shear and makes the entire connection stronger and more secure.

Standard Flat-Mount Setup (Orange Panel)

This shows a scheel-mann seat mounted to a typical universal or flat-style bracket using the hardware they supply. It’s a solid, proven system that's been in use for years and works great in the right context. However, since the mounting boss can’t drop into a hole, the bolt ends up taking more of the side load, putting it into shear. It works, but it’s not how we design our mounts to function.

What Not To Do (Red Panel)

This setup uses a Tolerance Stack mount but standard scheel-mann bolts. The seat boss drops into the hole correctly, but the bolt isn’t shaped to lock it in place. It might seem like it fits, but without the proper flange bolt, the seat can shift inside the mount. That’s why our hardware is required whenever you're using one of our mounts.

scheel-mann supplied mounting bolt on the left and Tolerance Stack supplied bolt on the right.

Why This Matters. It’s not about one system being "better"—it's about using the right hardware for the mount you’re installing. We build all Tolerance Stack mounts to engage the seat’s boss directly, making the mount itself handle the forces from off-road driving or daily use. It’s a smarter, stronger way to secure the seat—and it only works as designed when paired with our supplied hardware.

Just in case, moving forward all Tolerance Stack seat orders will ship without the standard scheel-mann mounting hardware to eliminate the potential confusion when seats are to be used with any Tolerance Stack mounting kits. When in doubt, follow the kit. We’ve already thought it through.

NOTE: If you are not using a Tolerance Stack designed mount for your install, absolutely use the hardware that scheel-mann supplies with your seat order.