1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

Seats. FC to FB or other cheap alternative.

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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 11:54 AM
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Seats. FC to FB or other cheap alternative.

Anyone know if FC seats will fit in FB..? They look like they will interchange..
I'm looking for a 'cheap' but nice alternative to my ripped stock seats.

Let me know all of your opinions. I'd like the job to be easy too.

Thanks,
-Cris
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 12:01 PM
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Yes, they will. Its a straight bolt in job
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 12:14 PM
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Not quite perfect bolt in (on passenger side), but pretty damn close.
Very easy upgrade.
My only issue was my FB seats were all black and my FC seats are a mix of light/dark gray.
Way more comfortable and supportive.
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 12:44 PM
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pretty sure you need 1st gen seat rails though

I have grey leather FC seats going in my '79 project
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 12:54 PM
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Do the FC seats sit a bit lower than the S3 FB seats? My SE needs seats recovered/replaced, but I have way less headroom in it than I do in my 83 GS sunroof car. I can easily get a helmet on in the 83, but the 84 requires reclining the seat far beyond what I want, just to have enough room for my head to be able to clear the headliner, even without a helmet......
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 01:07 PM
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Yeah the seats in my FC are insanely comfortable. So i'll probably get a set for my FB next.

Thanks for all the input guyss..
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 01:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Rogue_Wulff
Do the FC seats sit a bit lower than the S3 FB seats? My SE needs seats recovered/replaced, but I have way less headroom in it than I do in my 83 GS sunroof car. I can easily get a helmet on in the 83, but the 84 requires reclining the seat far beyond what I want, just to have enough room for my head to be able to clear the headliner, even without a helmet......
the FC seats do sit lower than the FB seats.
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 01:24 PM
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I have a set of base model S4 seats in mine as well...I guess the previous owner went for the "wollow out the holes so they fit" approach but the seats still sit a bit lower than stock helping my 6'7" frame squeeze into my car better time for a kirkey seat bolted straight to the floor for more headroom.
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 01:27 PM
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Originally Posted by ourxseven
pretty sure you need 1st gen seat rails though

I have grey leather FC seats going in my '79 project
^^^^+1 on that ^^^^
Definitely need the FB seat rails...I had to drill out (elongate) one of the holes...just a bit to get it to fit. Pretty sure there is a write up in the 1GEN archives...just search RX8 seats. I just followed that thread.

And Yes to Rogue.... The FC seats are a tad lower plus mine have a weird tilt mechanism which makes it feel lower...especially if you lean the seats back
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 01:59 PM
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Great news. Well, aside from the lack of brown seats for an FC......
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 02:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Rogue_Wulff
Well, aside from the lack of brown seats for an FC......
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 03:57 PM
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Originally Posted by patmac6075
Not quite perfect bolt in (on passenger side), but pretty damn close.
Very easy upgrade.
I have S5 seats in my 85 GSL-SE and it was the drivers side that needed one hole modified (front right bolt). The passenger side went right in. I used the S5 rails. Seats are a tad lower, and much more comfortable.

Very easy swap.
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Keith13b
I have S5 seats in my 85 GSL-SE and it was the drivers side that needed one hole modified (front right bolt). The passenger side went right in. I used the S5 rails. Seats are a tad lower, and much more comfortable.

Very easy swap.


Yupp. Exactly what i'ma do.
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Old Dec 21, 2010 | 05:54 PM
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I put s5 vert seats in my sa, and have the head rest speakers working. Don't really care for the shape of the head rests thou.
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Old Dec 24, 2010 | 01:08 AM
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Strange, I could have sworn my first gen seats sat lower than 2nd gen seats I put in...certainly the back of 2nd gen seats is higher, headrest actually sits against the back of my skull as opposed to only reaching my neck. That's for the 2-piece first gen seats, dunno how high the 1-pieces are. They look just as tall if I'm correct?
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Old Dec 24, 2010 | 09:19 AM
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I'm not sure, but my FC seats are insanely low and comfortable. Glad i got rid of my FB seats.
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Old Dec 27, 2010 | 04:00 AM
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Hmmm, could be a US model thing vs RHD models. Perhaps the extra bolstering gave me the feeling of sitting higher? Because looking at the bases side by side it definately doesn't appear that the first gen seats sit higher...but then you're all saying otherwise so I'm probably wrong.
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Old Dec 27, 2010 | 07:40 AM
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Originally Posted by CPekel
Hmmm, could be a US model thing vs RHD models. Perhaps the extra bolstering gave me the feeling of sitting higher? Because looking at the bases side by side it definately doesn't appear that the first gen seats sit higher...but then you're all saying otherwise so I'm probably wrong.
I don't think it's the seats themselves.. It's the mounting brackets that make them feel or truly sit lower. But then again I'm still not sure because I don't have base model FC seats. Base model seats do sit higher I think.
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Old Dec 27, 2010 | 11:00 AM
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From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Originally Posted by CPekel
Strange, I could have sworn my first gen seats sat lower than 2nd gen seats I put in...certainly the back of 2nd gen seats is higher, headrest actually sits against the back of my skull as opposed to only reaching my neck. That's for the 2-piece first gen seats, dunno how high the 1-pieces are. They look just as tall if I'm correct?
It depends on which models of seats you use. The Gxl seats are higher than the base model for example
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Old Dec 27, 2010 | 11:20 AM
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i have maroon T2 Seats in my SE and they are way more comfortable then my FB seats. like stated above, only the right front bolt hole (driver side) had to be modded to get it to fit. the passenger side just bolted right up.
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Old Dec 28, 2010 | 12:32 AM
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Originally Posted by j9fd3s
It depends on which models of seats you use. The Gxl seats are higher than the base model for example
Ahhh. We didn't get all those different model here. Every model released was just labelled 'rx7' (no special badges or the like on the outside), and I think you would tick a sheet for options when ordering the fitout from the dealer. There weren't different types of seats avaliable in each series, only the one type for each series (1,2 or 3) avaliable in 3 different colors (maroon, brown or black (grey on the series 3).

I've sat in S1, 2 and 3 original seats and I'm certain they're all lower than my FC seats. But, like you said, you guys had all sorts of different models in your market and perhaps some variations of the seats you got sit higher than FC seats. Pretty sure it wasn't the case down here.

Always something to learn here!
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Old Dec 28, 2010 | 10:52 PM
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Originally Posted by CPekel
Ahhh. We didn't get all those different model here. Every model released was just labelled 'rx7' (no special badges or the like on the outside), and I think you would tick a sheet for options when ordering the fitout from the dealer. There weren't different types of seats avaliable in each series, only the one type for each series (1,2 or 3) avaliable in 3 different colors (maroon, brown or black (grey on the series 3).

I've sat in S1, 2 and 3 original seats and I'm certain they're all lower than my FC seats. But, like you said, you guys had all sorts of different models in your market and perhaps some variations of the seats you got sit higher than FC seats. Pretty sure it wasn't the case down here.

Always something to learn here!
without making a list, i'm pretty sure we all got the same seat for the 1st gens. except maybe the leather...

the FC's are the same for us, model based, but the base/gxl/and turbo get completely different seats.
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Old Dec 29, 2010 | 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by j9fd3s
without making a list, i'm pretty sure we all got the same seat for the 1st gens. except maybe the leather...

the FC's are the same for us, model based, but the base/gxl/and turbo get completely different seats.
Fair enough. Some of your material trim is quite different though. Seen plenty of Japanese and UK model cars and they look pretty much the same as what we got here. Obviously the RHD vehicles must have a similar set of trim colors + materials.

I've seen US cars (SA's, what we call Series 1's here) with both high back and low back seats. SA's here only came with the one-piece seat. And conversely, I've seen US cars (S2's, the first of your FB's) with 1-piece and 2-piece seats. We were only offered the 2-piece seat.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that your base level and luxury options varied much more than ours did - our cars either fall into Series 1, 2 or 3 and that's pretty much it. You guys have all sorts of different models with options coming and going and then coming back again on later models. Lot more confusing!
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Old Dec 29, 2010 | 10:49 PM
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I had FC seats in my FB for many years, almost a straight bolt in including the rails.

Last edited by Mr rx-7 tt; Dec 29, 2010 at 11:00 PM.
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Old Dec 30, 2010 | 09:22 PM
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How much headroom do you guys think I could gain from a swap like this? I would possibly like to autocross in the future, but I have to lean back with no helmet and with a helmet I can't imagine how far I will have to lean back. Basically I am always on the watch for headroom gainers. Thanks

-Sorry if I kinda jacked the thread here, realized that I jacked it after posting.

Last edited by jpieps; Dec 30, 2010 at 09:25 PM. Reason: Thread -jacking
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