Looking to buy Seats

[Spooks4]

Trying to find any seats that aren’t stock. Thought I post here before I cave and buy sparco sprints from mx5 mania. Sparcos are a bit restrictive so I wanted to see what was available first.

Couple pics for attention. I like the idea of lotus Elise seats as I think they’ll be better for all passenger types. Plus I’ve sat in them before and liked them a lot but I have no idea where to sauce them. Any ideas where to look or how much they’ll cost? Or even if they’re worth it ?


I know the Mazda speed ones are hard to come by but like the lotus ones I feel they’ll be better for everyone (and more comfy for me) once again I have no idea how much I’d be in for or where to find them.



Any help at all would be appreciated lads.

Cheers








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[StanTheMan]

the Mazspoeed seats you post are an excellent touring seat, not a racing seat. feels very solid and seating position is a little higher that stock. They dont come up often. there is a leather p[air up for sale for $3K on Facebook. unsure if they have sold. $2.5K is a more realistic price IMHOin the current market.
a lot of bride seat but unsure how well they fit.

Ive sat in the Elise seats and they are no frills. you'll have a sore back if you drive to Brisbane & back in a weekend. definitely not for touring. Not my cup of tea personally and not judging anyone who likes them horses for courses

mazspeed Tye F in F33nix.jpg

[ManiacLachy]

What are you looking to get out of the seats, and what are you going to be using them for?

If you're tall and you want to get as low as possible, you'll want something more like the the Lotus seats. If you're fairly short and you don't mind sitting even slightly higher than stock, then the Mazdaspeed seats will work. Do you do long cruise drives and want GT comfort, or are you track fiend and need something that will hold you in your seat, or something in between?

I have the Lotus seats, I love them. They sit me low and have some body holding thanks to small stiff bolsters. They are not friendly to large hips (ie, women mostly hate them), they are stiff with little padding and you will feel a lot of what's going on - that might be good or bad depending on what you like. I have dríven them from Brisbane to Newcastle, and then back again.

I've only sat in the Mazdaspeed seats, they were comfortable for me, but sat me way too high. Sparco's were also too high for me, and need to be mounted without rails to get a decent drop. The Sparco's are also very tight with high bolsters, and I wouldn't like them for long drives, but they'd be great for the track.

Lotus seats come up from time to time, keep an eye on Facebook. Check the Lotus groups, those guys will sell them to buy newer aftermarket versions. Expect ~$800-$1k per seat. And you'll have to source NA seat rails and rail adapters (check Flipside Customs). Or you could go straight for the aftermarket versions yourself from Tillet, Corbeau or Luso Motors.

Unfortunately, not a lot of seats will fit the MX-5 at all, the shoulder width is the main limiter, so options can be limited.

[lucmor444]

I love my car make corns seats - JDM goodness made just for the MX5. They come in 2 sizes, regular and large and I fit comfortably in the regular (I'm 185cm and 82kg).

Otherwise consider Lusomotors seats for a number of nice options.

[Lokiel]

Here's my thoughts on aftermarket seats based on experience:

The MazdaSpeed seats are hard to find and you'll need to buy their corresponding seat mounts too because you can't fit them to the OEM slider.
They're a good GT seat in that they're comfy and have good lateral support. I describe them as like sitting in a large baseball mitt.
They're heavy and sit you higher than OEM.
The lateral support is good on the twisty suff and at the track.
The side bolsters are too high for DD, making entry and exit an extra hassle (you'll end up knocking the crap out ot the outside bolster).
The side bolsters aren't high enough for the track, you still need to brace yourself in the seat using one knee against the door and the other on the inside console.
The rear of the seat makes contact with the seatbeat structure so you'll end up with a deep crease ore tear in those corners (unless you're really short and don't have the seat back that far).
Best for long drives.

"Couple pics for attention. I like the idea of lotus Elise seats as I think they’ll be better for all passenger types. Plus I’ve sat in them before and liked them a lot but I have no idea where to sauce them. Any ideas where to look or how much they’ll cost? Or even if they’re worth it ?"
First up, you don't want to put any sauce on them!
Very rare and very expensive.
You'll need custom mounts to mount these seats.
If you do get custom mounts, be wary that the OEM seat mount bolts are NOT centred relative to the steering wheel (ie. a driver seat mount built for the US market is NOT going to work and using a US passenger seat mount may not line up proper).
You want these with Probax padding that hasn't aged-to-deterioration.
The initial Lotus seats came with normal foam padding and an inflatable lumbar-support pump.
Later they switched the foam to Probax, same shell, and ditched the inflatable lumbar support which made the seats much more comfortable for long drives.
I have a set of the original seats and found a company in the UK that makes/re-makes the Probax padding - it literally doubled the price of the already expensive seats but did make them MUCH more comfortable (and I still have the inflatable lumbar support).
They tend to come up for sale when Lotus owners upgrade their seats to Tillett seats.
They're a great, light seat and easy to get in and out of.
Lateral support is surprisingly good, much better than OEM.
Low thigh support so you'll be needing to use your knees to stay in the seat.
Unless they have "no hips", most women will not fit/like these.
I'm stocky and do fit back into the seat but find them uncomfortable under my hamstrings.

Corbeau make Lotus seats too (LePro series) which you'll still need brackets for and need to import so these are expensive too.
If you're after new Lotus-style seats, these are your best bet.

Tillet B5 and B8 seats are the go-to seats for Lotus owners upgrading their seats.
I've got a set of B8 seats (wider) on Bride MX-5 NA/NB LowMax mounts (from Japan so they work with RHD) and they fit easily in my NB, plenty of room everywhere and don't contact the rear seatbelt mounts even when slid right back.
This is more of a racing seat which makes entry/exit a hassle (worse than the MazdaSpeed seats).
They're hideously expensive, even just for the shell which is OK for short drives.
They sit you lower than OEM.
The rear and seat padding you can buy from Tillett is hideously expensive and its only a thin layer of foam which Tillet claims makes them much more comfortable for longer drives.
I bought a couple of seat overlays from SuperCheap and they make the seat much more comfortable (and protect the seat from scratches).
At some point I plan to get some custom-padding - it'll be cheaper and better looking than Tillett's.

[rascal]

Don’t get the sparco sprints unless your car is only a track car. They are uncomfortable and annoying to get in/out of all the time. A terrible choice for a DD.

Their main claims to fame is they are cheap and they fit on the factory sliders with (almost) no modifications reqd.

For a road car, almost any other seat would be better..

[greenMachine]

I assume you are looking for touring seats, as none of your pictures shows provision for crutch straps/6-point belts.

Seconding Rascal's comments on Sparco Sprints, they are an OK race seat, but DD use sucks. When I was driving the GM to events it was bearable, and afterwards I would sometimes leave them in for a while where I developed a technique of rolling out of the seat with one hand on the sill. Needless to say that wore badly and the Sprints would be swapped out after a little while. These days with the SE no way is the Sprint staying in the car after an event, I am over that form of entry/exit workout.

If your car is dual duty, I found having the race seats on their own set of seat rails made race prep simple - four bolts undone, seat out, belts in, race seat in, redo the four bolts, job done. This was helped by me being a shorty, and not requiring the seat to be lowered - YMMV.

I suspect that any decent race seat will have the same drawbacks as the Sprint, as holding the driver in place in high G cornering means high sides and high sides means difficult access (and high wear on the sides).

[Spooks4]

the Mazspoeed seats you post are an excellent touring seat, not a racing seat. feels very solid and seating position is a little higher that stock. They dont come up often. there is a leather p[air up for sale for $3K on Facebook. unsure if they have sold. $2.5K is a more realistic price IMHOin the current market.
a lot of bride seat but unsure how well they fit.

Ive sat in the Elise seats and they are no frills. you'll have a sore back if you drive to Brisbane & back in a weekend. definitely not for touring. Not my cup of tea personally and not judging anyone who likes them horses for courses

mazspeed Tye F in F33nix.jpg

Great to know Stan, I’ve only now started to realise how rare both of the sets are and therefore how expensive they are.

I’ll be doing mostly daily driving so I need to find something with a good in between. I’ve sat in the Elise seats before and loved them. My main issue is height. I am 6,2 and have found my posture is terrible since owning the car for the last 6 years. I refuse to sell the car something has to be done about the seats.


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[Spooks4]

What are you looking to get out of the seats, and what are you going to be using them for?

If you're tall and you want to get as low as possible, you'll want something more like the the Lotus seats. If you're fairly short and you don't mind sitting even slightly higher than stock, then the Mazdaspeed seats will work. Do you do long cruise drives and want GT comfort, or are you track fiend and need something that will hold you in your seat, or something in between?

I have the Lotus seats, I love them. They sit me low and have some body holding thanks to small stiff bolsters. They are not friendly to large hips (ie, women mostly hate them), they are stiff with little padding and you will feel a lot of what's going on - that might be good or bad depending on what you like. I have dríven them from Brisbane to Newcastle, and then back again.

I've only sat in the Mazdaspeed seats, they were comfortable for me, but sat me way too high. Sparco's were also too high for me, and need to be mounted without rails to get a decent drop. The Sparco's are also very tight with high bolsters, and I wouldn't like them for long drives, but they'd be great for the track.

Lotus seats come up from time to time, keep an eye on Facebook. Check the Lotus groups, those guys will sell them to buy newer aftermarket versions. Expect ~$800-$1k per seat. And you'll have to source NA seat rails and rail adapters (check Flipside Customs). Or you could go straight for the aftermarket versions yourself from Tillet, Corbeau or Luso Motors.

Unfortunately, not a lot of seats will fit the MX-5 at all, the shoulder width is the main limiter, so options can be limited.

Looking for mainly height man. Trying to drop myself down a bit. I’ve felt the lotus seats before and enjoyed them. I’m not thrilled with the price which is why I was considering going sparco’s. I’ll have a look at the new ones in the mean time. They honestly seem like the best of both worlds at this point.

Thanks for the info


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[Spooks4]

I love my car make corns seats - JDM goodness made just for the MX5. They come in 2 sizes, regular and large and I fit comfortably in the regular (I'm 185cm and 82kg).

Otherwise consider Lusomotors seats for a number of nice options.

Yeah korns are the dream but I’m not sure I can justify the price right now. I have gotten in contact with the guy that ships them direct from korns and he said I’m looking at least 3k for both and maybe rails with months of shipping.

I’ll try my luck with the lotus seats first I think and see how we go.

Thanks for the input.


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[Spooks4]

Here's my thoughts on aftermarket seats based on experience:

The MazdaSpeed seats are hard to find and you'll need to buy their corresponding seat mounts too because you can't fit them to the OEM slider.
They're a good GT seat in that they're comfy and have good lateral support. I describe them as like sitting in a large baseball mitt.
They're heavy and sit you higher than OEM.
The lateral support is good on the twisty suff and at the track.
The side bolsters are too high for DD, making entry and exit an extra hassle (you'll end up knocking the crap out ot the outside bolster).
The side bolsters aren't high enough for the track, you still need to brace yourself in the seat using one knee against the door and the other on the inside console.
The rear of the seat makes contact with the seatbeat structure so you'll end up with a deep crease ore tear in those corners (unless you're really short and don't have the seat back that far).
Best for long drives.

"Couple pics for attention. I like the idea of lotus Elise seats as I think they’ll be better for all passenger types. Plus I’ve sat in them before and liked them a lot but I have no idea where to sauce them. Any ideas where to look or how much they’ll cost? Or even if they’re worth it ?"
First up, you don't want to put any sauce on them!
Very rare and very expensive.
You'll need custom mounts to mount these seats.
If you do get custom mounts, be wary that the OEM seat mount bolts are NOT centred relative to the steering wheel (ie. a driver seat mount built for the US market is NOT going to work and using a US passenger seat mount may not line up proper).
You want these with Probax padding that hasn't aged-to-deterioration.
The initial Lotus seats came with normal foam padding and an inflatable lumbar-support pump.
Later they switched the foam to Probax, same shell, and ditched the inflatable lumbar support which made the seats much more comfortable for long drives.
I have a set of the original seats and found a company in the UK that makes/re-makes the Probax padding - it literally doubled the price of the already expensive seats but did make them MUCH more comfortable (and I still have the inflatable lumbar support).
They tend to come up for sale when Lotus owners upgrade their seats to Tillett seats.
They're a great, light seat and easy to get in and out of.
Lateral support is surprisingly good, much better than OEM.
Low thigh support so you'll be needing to use your knees to stay in the seat.
Unless they have "no hips", most women will not fit/like these.
I'm stocky and do fit back into the seat but find them uncomfortable under my hamstrings.

Corbeau make Lotus seats too (LePro series) which you'll still need brackets for and need to import so these are expensive too.
If you're after new Lotus-style seats, these are your best bet.

Tillet B5 and B8 seats are the go-to seats for Lotus owners upgrading their seats.
I've got a set of B8 seats (wider) on Bride MX-5 NA/NB LowMax mounts (from Japan so they work with RHD) and they fit easily in my NB, plenty of room everywhere and don't contact the rear seatbelt mounts even when slid right back.
This is more of a racing seat which makes entry/exit a hassle (worse than the MazdaSpeed seats).
They're hideously expensive, even just for the shell which is OK for short drives.
They sit you lower than OEM.
The rear and seat padding you can buy from Tillett is hideously expensive and its only a thin layer of foam which Tillet claims makes them much more comfortable for longer drives.
I bought a couple of seat overlays from SuperCheap and they make the seat much more comfortable (and protect the seat from scratches).
At some point I plan to get some custom-padding - it'll be cheaper and better looking than Tillett's.

I’ve been stung by the auto correct once again. I think all of the replies have helped me lean towards the lotus seats. I agree I’m looking for them to fit “all passenger types” worse comes to worse I can leave the stock passenger side in. Goofy as that may look I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Appreciate the write-up. Glad to see the forum community is still strong and informative.

I have some lotus friends (who just sold their Exige’s for ND mx5s) who might have a few contacts in the lotus circle. I might be able to grab a bargain.

I’ve been quoted 2.5k for 2 lotus seats. One guy offering rails. The other without (but his seats are leather)

Once again I feel like they’re ticking all boxes at this stage.

Thanks again for the reply. You’ve really helped me make a decision.


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[Spooks4]

Don’t get the sparco sprints unless your car is only a track car. They are uncomfortable and annoying to get in/out of all the time. A terrible choice for a DD.

Their main claims to fame is they are cheap and they fit on the factory sliders with (almost) no modifications reqd.

For a road car, almost any other seat would be better..

Good to know. That was my thought originally. The price was the only real selling point for me but I think I’ll be looking at some lotus seats in the near future.

Thanks for the reply mate.


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[Spooks4]

Just looked at corbeau’s website. Looks like I’m in for at least 2k for the seats before shipping.

These are brand new and even have a more modern look to them so given that the ones in Aus are 2.5 k with rails unless I find absolute bargain these might be a good choice.





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[ManiacLachy]

Corbeau are a good option, and new is definitely better than used. I beleive Corbeau's head rest is a little lower than the original Lotus seats, so check that if it's something you care about (how close is your head to the rollbar?)

I think the guy asking $2.5k is asking a bit high, personally. Depending on the condition you could throw him an offer.

I really like the look of the Lusso Motors, and I would probably go with them if I were to buy new (and I've considered it many times). Lusso also make mounts for their seats into MX-5s, so it's a good one-stop-shop. Check them out on Facebook and their website.
https://www.facebook.com/LusoMotors
https://lusomotors.com/

I love my car make corns seats - JDM goodness made just for the MX5. They come in 2 sizes, regular and large and I fit comfortably in the regular (I'm 185cm and 82kg).

Otherwise consider Lusomotors seats for a number of nice options.

I didn't know the Car Make Corns seats were that accommodating. I thought they were pretty much exclusively for the shorter smaller person typical of Japan. They are good looking seats!

[Spooks4]

My lotus friend got back to me. There’s a series 1 lotus pair for sale in cairns for $1000

Considering securing them and re upholstering them.

Not sure how much it’ll cost but it might save me some cash and get a nice colour/ material that works with the car because at the moment they aren’t very nice looking.


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