Race seat for the ehmm large?

[newdude]

Greetings all,
Was wondering what makes the well proportioned amongst us are using? seems that most seats are made for anorexic midgets.
any help is appreciated

[BadBong]

Hm... Mazdaspeed Seats? (I'm not just saying that because I'm selling mine)

Seriously, I'm no skinny fella myself and I find the Sparcos too tight espeially for daily driving.

I also highly doubt that a wider bucket seat would fit into the mx5 cabin since the sidewall will hit the door trim.

[Bizi]

As an anorexic, emo hairdresser I can't help you with the Big & Tall Race Seat!

Are you looking for a fixed race seat or something like a wide reclining seat? I've seen a few recliners in wider sizes but you will hopefully get some beefy or middle aged racers with some useful info.

From memory, I think the limit is around 21.5" width for the bases, but I'm probably way off. Have you searched the seat threads on the various forums?

btw, how large?

[newdude]

Im after a fixed back type. I use to fit in the old style sparco sprint seat but that was a while ago and im a bit bigger since then. Im 6ft 110kg so not huge huge (watch it! ). Some comfort would be good as it is a daily, probably something with a lower side wall is the way to go.

Those Mazdaspeeds are real nice but i could never justify spending a third of what i paid for the car on seats. Not saying they aint worth that BadBong as im sure someone will pay that for them.

[Lokiel]

Every time I sit in a race seat, even the "wide-ass" ones, I appreciate my MAZDASPEED seats even more since most race seats aren't broad enough across the shoulders for me and I can't sit in them comfortably.

Whatever seat anyone recommends, you really need to sit in it yourself to determine its suitability for your frame.

[deviant]

Im after a fixed back type. I use to fit in the old style sparco sprint seat but that was a while ago and im a bit bigger since then. Im 6ft 110kg so not huge huge (watch it! ). Some comfort would be good as it is a daily, probably something with a lower side wall is the way to go.

Those Mazdaspeeds are real nice but i could never justify spending a third of what i paid for the car on seats. Not saying they aint worth that BadBong as im sure someone will pay that for them.

I am not quite as tall as you but a similar weight. Everyone is different but I got on okay with the Sprint V...I would not be able to do it for a daily though. You do need to be 'snug' in a seat though so you can relax and let it do its job of holding you in.

Try and find someone local to you that stocks the Ultrashield Spec Miata seat or Kirkey seats. They are the aluminium shell seats a similar style to that used in the drag and speedway cars. The Ultrashield Spec Miata seat is ridiculously comfortable. I fit very nicely in the 16in width and that still fits in an MX5 fine. The only problem I could see with them is that they are much deeper than a Sprint seat or lower end bucket seat so using it daily might get to be a pain.

[KIJIMA]

http://www.velo.com.au/seats/

Adrian or Andrew should be able to help you. When they make the seats (Yes, something made in Australia... fancy that!) they can push them out and widen them to suit any frame.

[newdude]

Cheers for all the help guys. The Velos are a good idea seeing i live in Adelaide i can always give them a visit. Might have to go and plant my arse in a whole lot of seats.

[manga_blue]

OBX used to make a widebody copy of a Sparco Sprint V that fits in an MX5. I think it was called the OBX Daytona Wide. Very cheap and lower quality than Sparco but at least with a harness it locks you in place. It bolts onto OEM runners, available from ebay and a few local parts importers.

[deviant]

The problem is that the MX5 is very limiting in what seat you can fit.

One of the best things you can do is make a time to go to a race shop and take your seat out when you get there and then find a few seats you are comfy in and then just drop them in place and see what lets you close the door and where it is rubbing etc.

Note that you can not do this with the passenger side as the transmission tunnel is a different shape. Also note that anything that does not match up to the stock rail will require a custom install of some sort, this can be quite tricky when it comes to getting lower than a stock seat and even trickier if you want to keep a sliding adjuster. This all has a knock on effect with the stock seatbelt as it changes the angles it crosses your body, even just the different seating position of a bucket seat will change this.

Being 'built for comfort' you need to check clearance betwixt thighs and steering wheel, with a race seat your bum sits down in a 'well' in the seat but your legs go up and over the front of the seat, with a Sprint V on stock rails I lost a lot of space between my legs and the steering wheel.

This is a very handy thread: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=368990

[newdude]

Cheers Deviant, interesting point about your legs. My big problem with my legs is that with the normal seat they are splayed out so the left leg touches the transmission tunnel and my right leg touches the door. If i get a seat like the sprint v im afraid its going to way too uncomfortable as my leg will be drawn in. What i need is something like a lotus exige seat but comfortable. Any drop in height would be good case ive developed a callous on my head from hitting the hardtop Im not a tall guy but i wish i was a foot less and probably 20kgs less. sigh

[deviant]

No worries

Yep the Sprint V will keep your legs together in a lady like fashion Some seats have sides that spread as they go towards the front which are much more comfortable. A seat that does that will restrict how far forward it can go as the transmission tunnel bulges out. Some seats are really bad for squeezing your legs in, my last car came with a pair of Cobra Monaco....talk about 'gentlemans pinch'....

On the stock sliders you will at most be an inch-ish lower than stock seats, that is in a Sprint V which does not have any bum padding. Mazda did a pretty good job at getting you as low as possible. Remember that a bucket seat will sit you bolt upright and as mentioned most will have a nice squishy cushion to sit on so this will reduce your head clearance. On most seats the cuchion is just held in with velcro so you could pull it out and make one not as thick.

Have a look through these seats, not cheap but gives you an idea what is available in a road biased bucket seat: http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Performan ... _Back/2011

Cobra do these that are suited to a narrow cockpit fitment. They used to do a version with harness holes in them. Never seen them in an MX5 so I do not know of their suitability. http://www.cobraseats.com/_Roadster-7

One thing I never got around to with my last car is fitting a smaller wheel. It was an 1998 NA LE model so had a MOMO steering wheel I suspect came from a bus. To fix the clearance problems I was looking to fit a 320mm diameter wheel and put an extension on to bring it closer which would also have the effect of moving it upwards slightly. Oh another thought with the leg / wheel clearance is that for the seat to be really comfortable you will need to angle it backwards slightly which will reduce this clearance.

Whatever you do it ends up as a compromise in a road car. You must concentrate on it being safe, the stock seatbelt needs to locate across your body and route through or over the seat without being trapped anywhere.

The motorsport shops should be able to help but you need to be aware of your shoulder position in relation to the harness holes (if you plan on using a harness), your shoulders must not sit above the level of the holes.

Velo seats are worth a look, they are very comfy and can do a custom order and shave the wings down and most of their seats are ADR approved. The aluminium seats I mentioned have a bit of flex in them so you could bend one out and squeeze the wings about. I believe Kirkey will do a completely custom seat to suit you.

[Okibi]

There's a cheap autotechnica seat that also manages to be big enough for ehmm large but small enough to fit the MX-5, looks like they've changed their product line up so I can't give you a model number. These same seats were fitted to the SE drift car and are in Waz man's unbeatable MX-5.

[deviant]

The A1098 is the one in Waz mans car: http://www.autotecnica.com.au/seats.html

Places like Repco and Supercheap often have Autotecnica seats...I think the fixed back ones are only $250 or so.

Jus Jap also do cheapy seats: http://www.justjap.com/store/home.php?cat=282

[deviant]

I got mixed up with usernames...I think Okibi is talking about the car one of the WA club members uses in motorsport events which has a autotechnica seat in it and I thought his username on here is Wazman or something