Mazdaspeed 3 seats
 

I am wondering if my buddys 2008 mazdaspeed 3 seats will fit in our fcs? he is getting rid of his seats and he wanted to know if I wanted them I told him I need to know if they will fit or what I need to do to have these mazdaspeed 3 seats. Let me know guys!

It won't be a direct bolt-in, but almost any seat will fit with enough work. It will most likely be very difficult.

Search for RX8 seats. The FC (and B) have a lump along the passenger side of the tranny tunnel for I believe the exhaust. The left rail of the passenger seat is therefore higher than the right.

When you install non-FC seats you have to weld up some brackets (on both sides) but the right side passenger seat has to have taller brackets to get the seat level. This results in the passenger seat sitting higher than normal. With RX8 seats in a vert at 5'10" my hair just touches the headliner when in the passenger seat.

I believe Just Startin' had posts showing (or maybe just hinting at) the cutting and welding he did to RX8 seats to get the passenger side OEM level. Your search should find them.

Good luck. If the Speed3 seats are anything like the RX8 seats, your butt and back will thank you for the upgrade.

As vrracing said, it's the passenger seat that will be the toughest, the driver side is flatter/symmetrical.

If you're really contemplating a swap, pull the stock passenger seat out and study the floorpan and the seatbase so you can see what's going on.

are rx8 seats really that comfortable? I find my stock 91 coupe seats to be incredibly comfortable and I had a girl get in my car last night and first thing said were the seats are comfy. I sat in an rx8 r3 and hated the seats. They felt snug, but stiff. Haven't sat in stock rx8 seats though.

If you are tall or bulky you will feel constrained in them

thanks for your guys' input, Ill see what I can do and if i decide to take them and install them ill post picture up of the install. Also last questionL Due to them having the side airbag is there anything I would need to do to the air bags?

I already installed these seats and did a write up on them, its actually pretty simple
You dont need to do anything to the airbags

Well, everyone's butt is different! The R3 was a "high-performance" variant and had Recaros with lots of bolstering that wrap around you. If you don't match the profile for that design you might feel like an overstuffed sausage. My 5'2" wife loved the R3 Recaros. The stock RX8 seats don't have all of that bolstering and so comfortably fit a much broader section of the public. Our stock vert seats are in very good shape but the RX8 seats are just more comfortable. The vert seats might catch up with new bottom cushions.

Mine is a 91 Coupe, fabric with the leather/fake leather w.e on the back side. I loved my brothers Type R Recaros he had in his Civic. Sucked getting in and out though, since it was lowered.

I sat in a brand new Focus ST and hated those seats as well. They feel way too stiff, nothing wrong with the bolsters, just too stiff as a seat. I'm 5'7" and 180lbs. Size 34-36 waist.

the pitch of the MS3 seats is what takes getting used to

your knee will be in the same spot but your butt will not, your butt is a little higher.
For some who have not owned their car a long time it wont be noticeable, but I had my car a LONG time and it took a while to get used to

what is instant though is how nice it felt after a day of driving, realizing you are not sweating in the seat and sliding around and correcting yourself when you come to a stop. They grip nice, feel nice, and look nice

the seats will also not recline as far as they used to due to the heavy side bolsters, at least in a convertible they wont- they hit the seatbelt mechanism

It's worth noting that when it comes to ergonomics, minor differences make all the difference in the world.
A half inch of extra height or an inch difference in reach (say, to the shift lever) can make the car unbearably uncomfortable or a perfect fit.

Seats are tough.
How they feel when first encountered is not a fair example of how they feel over the long haul.
The Recaros I had felt great for about a half hour and then became torture devices.
The CRX seats were wonderful (maybe my favorite OEM seat) but could not be mounted low enough, so the center console armrest (also not stock in my car), door armrest and shift lever not longer "fit" correctly.

The best seats ever were in my Volvo 740 Turbo...didn't feel anything special but you could sit in them for hours without discomfort.