Seats

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 11:57 pm

OK, I'm sick of the stock NB8A seats. Nowhere near enough grip when on the track, and they're not exactly comfortable as a daily drive seat either due to the lack of back support.

What I'm after is not a race seat. I want a good compromise between daily drive and sporting. Something along the lines of what all the sports saloons have these days ie bucketish without being all bucket, reclineable, and comfortable. I'd be looking to buy two as well, since I don't believe in having mismatching seats. It'd be nice if it was in leather. It'd be extra nice if I could choose the colour of the leather. It'd be super extra nice if I could choose the type of leather on the sections of the seat that I want (suede anyone?).

So yes, these are some fairly stringent 'guidelines' to the type of seat I'm after. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Alex · Postby **Alex** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:14 am

try out the NB8B seats I would say, and go for cloth not leather if you don't want to slide everywhere

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 3:00 pm

SM wrote:try out the NB8B seats I would say, and go for cloth not leather if you don't want to slide everywhere

I tried NB8B seats, and although they're good, they're not quite what I'm after. Although they hold you better, I figure I can still get something better holding. I figure if I'm going to upgrade my seats, I may as well do it properly.

I don't mind the slide of leather, which is why I want them. Yes I know it will be interesting on the track, but I'm hoping that the seats themselves will hold me in place reasonably well. In the end, the track is a bit of fun. The car is a daily drive for 99% of the time.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 5:33 pm

I think this is harder than it might appear. Racing seats are obviously procurable but not necessarily good for day to day use. Looking for another seat may entail some problems in getting rails etc to fit as well as width height etc. Another option might be to go and see a trimmer and have your existing seats made more comfortable/ suitable for your purpose. I am guessing that your physical build is an issue since the seats are not exactly ample and seat height will have to be considered. If you go that route you can probably retain the same or matching trim and not have to modify the passenger seat.

meanmx · Postby **meanmx** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 6:18 pm

Actually I believe this is quite an easy one to answer. I have a set of adr approved recaro knockoffs which are supremely comfotable in day to day driving and also superb in holding on to you during cornering. Basically for your day to day driving you want to steer more towards reclinable bucket seats as they hold you in but the sides aren't to high that you can't get out easily. The only issue you might have is whether you can get leather or not. The cheaper seats tend to have the fabric wear fast but if you put up with that for a while then you can recover them in leather to your hearts content. Just for the record, I have been to Sydney and back in them a couple of times and arrive feeling fairly rested. Not to say that you should get knockoffs like mine but that style of seat is what you should be looking for

Ben

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:15 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:Another option might be to go and see a trimmer and have your existing seats made more comfortable/ suitable for your purpose. I am guessing that your physical build is an issue since the seats are not exactly ample and seat height will have to be considered. If you go that route you can probably retain the same or matching trim and not have to modify the passenger seat.

I've thought about the trimming option, but in the end, it won't really do the job. After all, if the seat was comfortable to begin with, I would've gone down that route already. This also contributes towards me not wanting NB8B seats. If I get NB8Bs in leather, chances are I won't like the trim style they're in, and if I get them in cloth, then I'm doubling up on costs so I may as well just buy a completely aftermarket set.

My physical build isn't a problem in the NA's

The problem is Mazda made the NB8A seats wider to accomodate the fatter American, whereas I'm usual asian size. That means the old seats fit me quite well. I've thought about downgrading as well, but my mentality is "why put something older in my car and have to pay money for it as well".

The only reason I want to do the passenger seat is really more for matching purposes. It's one thing to have a side mount MX5 plus number plate bracket. It's another to have two completely different seats when driving around every day

meanmx wrote:Actually I believe this is quite an easy one to answer. I have a set of adr approved recaro knockoffs which are supremely comfotable in day to day driving and also superb in holding on to you during cornering. Basically for your day to day driving you want to steer more towards reclinable bucket seats as they hold you in but the sides aren't to high that you can't get out easily. The only issue you might have is whether you can get leather or not. The cheaper seats tend to have the fabric wear fast but if you put up with that for a while then you can recover them in leather to your hearts content. Just for the record, I have been to Sydney and back in them a couple of times and arrive feeling fairly rested. Not to say that you should get knockoffs like mine but that style of seat is what you should be looking for

Ben

That sounds like a good option. I don't really care if they are or aren't real Recaros. The end result is whether or not I'm comfortable and whether or not they suit my "form vs function" questions. If the seats are cheap enough, it might be easy to get them retrimmed once I get sick of cloth (if I do at all).

Where abouts did you find them from Ben?

meanmx · Postby **meanmx** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:07 pm

Crap, I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that as I can't remember

. All I know was that the place was in Geelong. I paid $150 each for them and they were adr approved. Shouldn't be to hard to pick up something similar, just make sure you don't pay too much. They really are brilliant for the money and I had the option of Bride, Sparco or Recaro replicas. Have fun finding some and if I remember the name of the place I will let you know

Ben

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 1:42 am

Wow! That's ridiculously cheap. I'll have to go trawling and see if I can dig up something similar in Sydney.

RG.net · Postby **RG.net** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 6:31 pm

just jap in kirrawee have these seats in red black or black leather, iirc they are $400 for cloth and $500 for leather per pair.

www.justjap.com

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 7:13 pm

^^^
Thanks for that. Might have to give them a call when I get a chance and have a chat to them about it all.

Anyone else have any similar websites that do <brand name> styled seats?

RG.net · Postby **RG.net** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 7:41 pm

they have heaps of styles on their site, just give it a quick look

i'm pretty sure they have
sparco
recaro
bride
sparco fixed

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:14 am

MXHEVN wrote:they have heaps of styles on their site, just give it a quick look

Yeah, I did that once you provided the link.

My question was more about other website similar to Just Jap that sell similar seats, not what type of seats Just Jap sell.

While I'm at it, does anyone happen to know where I can find the stock seat rail measurements? I've noticed on some of the seats on Just Jap that they have the measurements of the seats (or rather rails) for sale, so it'd be nice to see how they compare to the seats (and rails) in the '5.

wun911 · Postby **wun911** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:09 pm

For those with fixed back, whats that like for daily driving?

Can fixed back be ADR / CAMS aproved?

For those that have the cloth ones, is it easy enough the remove the cloth before track day for a wash?

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:27 pm

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/FORZA-Reclining- ... otohosting

These are Autobarn jobbies which I 'kind' of like - I think the new retail is only a little higher. You can buy a leather version. Don't think they will fit into a 5 though?