Seat advice

[talonation777]

Hey guys, I've been away from the forum for awhile, just like to say I'm glad to see that everythings still up and running. I hope I'm posting in the appropriate forum.

With that said...Heres what I need a hand with. I'm looking to buy aftermarket seats becasue my stock seats have seen better days and I think its time for a change. My dilemma is this, do I spring for two aftermarket seats, or just buy the one? If anyone is running on aftermarket racing seat, with a stock passenger, please post pics and help me make my decision.

Also, if anyone has a better idea as to what I should do, let me know. If anyone can recommend a seat at a fair price or a shop that carries seats at a good price, I would appriciate it. I'm looking to go with a sparco seat, either a torino or EVO. Please help me and my interior out. Thanks guys. Glad to be back!

 

[SAKONE]

The seats you mentioned are nice, but what are you planning to do in regards of driving. The EVO isn't reclinable and I really don't want to be stuck in traffic in that but would like it better if it were on a track. My seat reclines, it's a lot better than the stock leather seats I had. I bought it because it didn't have a hump in the front part of the seat, which I like that way. It's not a race car so I don't need any certified race type stuff, just good enough to hold me in and not break away. I didn't buy a passenger seat because I really don't care about the passenger seat. I'm the one who needs the support the the person next to me. Aesthetically some people bug me about it, but if I could just remove the passenger seat all together I would. Also it's an extra cost that I'd rather spend on other car parts. Plus it gives me a place to mount my video camera.

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[azkikr10]

my seats were torn to shit so i got these http://www.apexmotorsports.com/specials.html

 

[talonation777]

Thanks alot for the advice and pictures. I've been told that buckets aren't the best for a daily driver. I can't really comment as I've never drove with buckets. I do find that its more versitile to have reclinable seats which is why I've geared toward the torino. Please keep the advice and pictures coming. Thanks again for the replies.

 

[azkikr10]

I like these seats better than my stock ones and they fully recline. i just dont know how long they will last

 

[Ludachris]

Unless you have passengers in the back or you're the type that needs to lay down while you're driving, a fixed seat isn't that bad. I drove the car to a track day which was 2.5 hours away and it wasn't uncomfortable, except of course for the lack of A/C which I pulled out last year. If you think about it, fixed seats are made to keep you in the correct driving position, as they're made for racing and should be comfortable for driving extended periods of time. Not to mention they're about 25-30% lighter than a reclining seat .

I ended up going with the Recaro Pole Positions, similar pricing to a comparable Sparco seat and it's homologated for racing use, so I won't have to get another one if (when) I get into racing. Then again, not all people are into doing track days like me. If I had to go with a reclining seat I'd probably go with the Torinos. You can probably find a good deal on a used one out there due to the popularity of that seat.

 

[jtmcinder]

My advice:

Do not buy a seat unless you have tried it. And I don't mean you sat in one for ten seconds at some point when you weighed twenty pounds more or less than what you weigh now.

If you don't need easy assess to the rear-seat area, get a fixed-back.

- Jtoby

ps. anyone in PA who has a sub-34" waist and wants a flip-forward, send me a PM

 

[cait sith]

I run a Bride Zeta III type L (It's for longer torsoed drivers). It's more in line for thinner build drivers which makes it nice for me. Fabric is a bit of a bi*** to keep clean, but that's only because I bought it in red, not black.

I've put 10k+ miles on my fixed back seat and it's still very comfortable, even on long drives, but I'm a sucker for having a seat that hugs you more than a laz-E-boy. The only issue with a fixed back is that if you're tall, you're going to probably have to get an aftermarket steering wheel. After installing my seat, the stock school bus wheel was touching my thighs all the time. A dished momo fixed that up easily enough.

You can see a picture of it in my gallery.

Bride also makes seat rails that are 100% bolt on to our cars, which is nice, but you might have to wait a little while for them to get fabbed up.

They are expensive, but no more than a Recaro.

There are also a number of other seats on the market like Charge Speed, Buddy Club (good if you're a smaller guy), etc, but their materials might not be as resistant to fade.

 

[bhop]

My advice:

Do not buy a seat unless you have tried it. And I don't mean you sat in one for ten seconds at some point when you weighed twenty pounds more or less than what you weigh now.

That's easier said than done.

 

[redeclipse7782]

These look nice, does anyone have them?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ECLI...ewItemQQcategoryZ33701QQitemZ8077061963QQrdZ1

 

[Ludachris]

These look nice, does anyone have them?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ECLI...ewItemQQcategoryZ33701QQitemZ8077061963QQrdZ1

If you're going to be doing any type of racing or high performance driving of any kind, I'd be leary of a no-name seat. I'm usually not a brand name guy all the time but seats are a little more important than say, a CD changer or a muffler. I don't like messing around with safety. That's just me though.

 

[jtmcinder]

People who look at leather "racing" seats are not likely to be actual racers, Chris.

And I was serious about going and sitting in the seats before buying, regardless of how difficult this might be. The seat is the single most important component of making the car easy to drive, albeit closely followed by the steering wheel (size and position). There are great stories from professionals who went from mid-pack to winning after changing their seat.

- Jtoby

 

[Ludachris]

People who look at leather "racing" seats are not likely to be actual racers, Chris.

You're probably right.

 

[cait sith]

These look nice, does anyone have them?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ECLI...ewItemQQcategoryZ33701QQitemZ8077061963QQrdZ1

Absolute cheap chinese garbage.

You might as well have a seat made out of boiled ramen noodles. Pretty much all those ebay chinese reclinable seats are junk. That includes those "ralliart" ones too... Like Ralliart actually makes seats.. haha.

Seats, harnesses, suspension components, are three things I wouldn't cheap out on.

 

[bhop]

People who look at leather "racing" seats are not likely to be actual racers, Chris.

And I was serious about going and sitting in the seats before buying, regardless of how difficult this might be. The seat is the single most important component of making the car easy to drive, albeit closely followed by the steering wheel (size and position). There are great stories from professionals who went from mid-pack to winning after changing their seat.

- Jtoby

I can agree with your thinking and wouldn't want to buy a seat without sitting in it first myself, but most of the time this just isn't a possibility. I only know of one store that even has racing seats on display and they're up high where you can't even sit in them. I suppose if you have friends with racing seats, you could try theirs out, but I only know a couple guys with aftermarket seats.

 

[SAKONE]

You have to try the seat out. That's why I bought mine, because of the 'no hump up front' thing I don't like while driving.Another popular seat company makes mine for JIC, because I had to check if these were just another outsourced to some low-grade manufacturer. I've sat in only a couple of "ebay" seats but they didn't fit well or some things weren't as nice as it should be. Spend some more money and get sparcos, and get some matching rails.

Autobacs let's you sit in the seats which is cool. Too bad your not in SoCal.

 

[jtmcinder]

I only know of one store that even has racing seats on display and they're up high where you can't even sit in them.

Oh, com'on. If they want your business, they'll get them down for you. If they won't, then they are probably crap, anyway.

- Jtoby

 

[ashylarry]

If I was to switch back to reclinable this is what I would get. http://www.racing-seats-usa.com/20901.html

They look good in black and are priced as a pair. About as much as one of those Sparco seats. I looked into Sparco and it would cost you about 1k for just one seat, brackert, and harness.