Seats

[meanmx]

Big dog gives a good run down and unless I am mistaken he came back to OE seats. It does say something about aftermarket products. I think leather is overrated and usually inferior for day to day driving. If one does buy an aftermarket seat that wears quickly retrimming whilst not hard to do will probably cost as much as the seats themselves. I imagine that for racing you would not be able to beat a purpose designed seat.

And yet there are others of us that have quite clearly decided to stay with aftermarket. So whats your point?

Ben

[bigdog]

I really like the comfort of my fixed back OBX compared to OEM, but as I said earlier I am a large K9 and I drive around 1000km a week in Marvin with frequent stops, so it really comes down to ease of entry/exit vs seat comfort. One thing I did notice when looking for alternatives was that all the reclining seats I looked at were thicker than the OEM seat in the backrest, meaning I would be closer to the steering wheel (precisely the opposite to what I wanted. Fixed back are much less bulky in this regard, but beware of the back angle - too shallow and you won't have full movement on the rails. Also, most of the really nice seats are too wide at the shoulder and foul on the seat belt tower or door/window. Some of the racers using Velo GP90 seats have cut the fibreglass back to suit and re-attached the covers, but you can't do this with a steel framed seat (most of the cheaper seats like the OBX and Sparco sprints etc) or a fully upholstered fiberglass seat without having it re-upholstered.

If my car was a weekend cruiser or track dog I would definitely have the race seat in it full time.

[marcusus]

I'm a little smaller in stature than you BigDog, so I doubt I'll have many of those issues regarding being too far forward.

When I did a semi trial fit, it seemed like the seat was slightly against the seat belt tower, but nothing moving the seat forward a little bit wouldn't fit. Considering I don't sit with the seat fully back, I don't think I'll have a problem with it, and my passenger (whoever it may be at the time) will just have to put up with it (providing I go ahead and buy these seats). Of course the seat belts had to go over the shoulder bolsters of the seat to be reachable, but that's another compromise that's just going to have to be had for the comfort of nicer seats.

Still umming and ahhing about this. Problem is that if I buy them this weekend, I'd want to get the car to Mania ASAP for them to fab up some rails for me to see if it all fits. If they don't fit, the longer I wait to return the seats, the less chance I'll have of getting my money back. The other issue is that I won't be around the weekend after so that rules that weekend out for doing anything.

[redwards]

Disclaimer: I have bugger-all knowledge of aftermarket seats and fitting them. But here goes...

Have you considered buying universal rails before getting the seats? That way it's (hopefully) a stock seat with stock rails out, rails in, seat in... If this makes it a one day job (?), it'll shorten the time and might solve the returns problem.

Hell, someone might have some rails they can lend you!

[marcusus]

The problem with universal rails is that the distance between the bolts on the seat are not the same as the distance between the bolts that mount on the floorplan. As a result, although the seats may be attatched to universal rails, they won't actually go on the runners when said runners are attached to the floor.

[mx52nv]

The problem with universal rails is that the distance between the bolts on the seat are not the same as the distance between the bolts that mount on the floorplan. As a result, although the seats may be attatched to universal rails, they won't actually go on the runners when said runners are attached to the floor.

Correct

Hence the need for a welding machine or buy off the shelf MX5 seat rails and base frames from Recaro or Bride.

[bigdog]

Remember that any additional tubing will raise the seat in the car - not necessarily desirable. Here are some pics of my OBX and my Cobra seats - OBX bolted directly to the OEM rails and the Cobras on 3mm plates to the OEM rails.
Cobra Monaco S:






OBX:

[marcusus]

As expected, there's a little bit more room to move with fixed back seats. However, the clearances at the shoulder look quite similar to how the seats I was looking at sat in my own car.

I think what I'll do is go to Mania with the measurements of the seat this weekend and see if they reckon they can fit it. If so, I'll head down and hope for the best. I just hope this doesn't turn in to an expensive exercise without any results.

In the meantime, who else has any seat fitment stories? The more I know the better.

[Sasso]

uneven passenger and driver seat is hardcore! Go for a proper bucket seat, toughen up Marcus.

[marcusus]

uneven passenger and driver seat is hardcore!

It also begs attention. I'm all about being sly

[Red 2f MX5]

If you want a Cobra or Sparco seat PM me and i will look after you with a good price.

I sell all the safety equipment for race cars out of our shop. Same type of gear as Revolution Racegear.

Always look after fellow MX5 owners.

In Melbourne on Tuesday but back in the shop Wednesday morning.

Located in Brookvale on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

Cheers
Brett

[irwin83r]

hey marcus have you sat in my standard seat with the foam remolded (chopped out)

it was hell comfy and made a decent difference too its "huggieness" its out of my car at the moment.. so if you want to borrow it and see what its like your more than welcome to test run it for awhile before you moddify yours.. or we could sell your drivers seat and my old passengers seat as a good 2nd hand leather nb8a set and split the cash

[marcusus]

OK, so ran out of time this weekend past to do anything, and I'm out for basically the next two weeks (snow mission anyone? ). Looks like I'll just have to wait it out a little bit longer.

If you want a Cobra or Sparco seat PM me and i will look after you with a good price.

Cool, will keep it in mind when I get back on the hunt again. Have you got anything I can have a look at and have a sit in? Gotta make sure I like how I sit in it first

hey marcus have you sat in my standard seat with the foam remolded (chopped out)

it was hell comfy and made a decent difference too its "huggieness" its out of my car at the moment.. so if you want to borrow it and see what its like your more than welcome to test run it for awhile before you moddify yours.. or we could sell your drivers seat and my old passengers seat as a good 2nd hand leather nb8a set and split the cash

I had a sit in it when we put the super streets in, but not for an actual drive. Might be worth giving it a shot just for the sake of argument. I don't know about combining my drivers seat and your passenger seat though, since my seats are cloth. I think it'd be a bit tough getting someone to buy a leather passenger seat and a cloth leather one

[irwin83r]

OK, so ran out of time this weekend past to do anything, and I'm out for basically the next two weeks (snow mission anyone? ). Looks like I'll just have to wait it out a little bit longer.

If you want a Cobra or Sparco seat PM me and i will look after you with a good price.

Cool, will keep it in mind when I get back on the hunt again. Have you got anything I can have a look at and have a sit in? Gotta make sure I like how I sit in it first

hey marcus have you sat in my standard seat with the foam remolded (chopped out)

it was hell comfy and made a decent difference too its "huggieness" its out of my car at the moment.. so if you want to borrow it and see what its like your more than welcome to test run it for awhile before you moddify yours.. or we could sell your drivers seat and my old passengers seat as a good 2nd hand leather nb8a set and split the cash

I had a sit in it when we put the super streets in, but not for an actual drive. Might be worth giving it a shot just for the sake of argument. I don't know about combining my drivers seat and your passenger seat though, since my seats are cloth. I think it'd be a bit tough getting someone to buy a leather passenger seat and a cloth leather one

good point my friend.

yeah well feel free to borrow my seats (even both if you want a cheap leather upgrade) to see how you like the modded foam.. theres more foam to take out then just what i have too so you could probably take it further again..

[hot rod]

Some more info on the OBX range.

http://www.alldayperformance.com.au/category73_1.htm



OBX Sports Seats

Australian Auto Accessories, established 1963, offers a complete line of
aftermarket fixed and recliner seats.Each OBX Seat is individually hand-made,
offering great styling, exceptional comfort and orthopaedic design. There is a
variety of styles to suit most requirements at affordable prices.

OBX Seats, as supplied by Australian Auto Accessories, meet and exceed
the requirements of ADR 3/01 & ADR 22/00.

Extra cloth also available - trick out the whole interior of your car.