I originally posted this in the interior section of the forum but I didn't get a single reply so am trying here.

I was thinking about getting my 10th anniversary seats reupholstered until i saw some good prices on aftermarket seats on ebay. Question is what fits? I did a search and found a nice thread on seat fitment for FD's but nothing for FC's.

The one' s inn particular I was looking at are:

Bride:

Vios LowMax
Cuga
Digo
Zieg
Gias v1.5
Gias v 2
Zeta
Stradia v2

Recaro:

SR3
Evo Plus (?)
Evo 2 (?)

I am just naming a few here. Just wondering if there is an official list, and yes I did search first.

Zetta

 

I hope you realize that 99% of the seats on ebat at "good prices" are really crappy knockoffs. And Recaro doesnt make "evo plus/2 seats. They made seats for the mitsi lancer evo car, but I believe if it says recaro evo2 then thats just another knock off.

On topic though, I have a discontinued Sparco Rev, it fits well. Most aftermarket seats will fit. You just have to get side mount brackets and sliders

 

My mistake, they are Sparco Evo Plus and not Recaro.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110764908104...#ht_2492wt_966

Says side mounts and sliders included. This mean that all I would have to do is remove the stock seats nd use the existing stock brackets to mount these seats with the included hardware?

 

Just a heads up, those ARE fake Sparcos.They're made out of low quality frp plastic, not carbon fiber. I'd be wary using those since they're, ya know, kinda important safety wise. As far as the slider situation, I was able to mate the Sparco side mounts to the oem sliders.

 

I have a Zeta II drivers seat. Fits fine.

 

Not to sound too naive but I guess these are not authentic too then?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110756162854...#ht_8262wt_966

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110692928780...#ht_4227wt_966

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120658021379...#ht_4268wt_966

 

FC's have plenty of space for aftermarket seats. If you are extreemly tall you may run into issues depending on the slider/mount combo used to mount the aftermarket seat. The cheaper slider/mount combos tend to position the seat higher than stock position. Throw a helmet on and jump into your new aftermarket seat at the track and you may find you don't fit.

 

A legit bride will cost you about that much for just one.

 

Their website is www.batlground.com and it seems legit... I guess I am just hoping ;-)

 

"These BRIDE seats are made by BRIDE Canada and are not made in Japan by Tee's Corp. BRIDE is a legal registered trademark in Taiwan and Canada. These seats are not made in Japan."

This is what it says on the bottom of the auction.

 

All the seats that seller has listed are knock offs. The "Sparco" seats that they say are overseas grey market models are missing a very important safety related label on the back of the seat. They are missing the FIA label, and with out that they can not be used at any real track event. That alone is enough to make me say that the seats are 100% fake and unsafe to use in a vehicle.

Remember this, you don't skimp or cheap out on safety related items.

 

i would say they dont have alot of room, you need the seat to be at just the right angle to feel right, and your knees cant be more then about 9" from the floor otherwise you will be hitting the steering wheel. Too flat of a seat and you will feel like you are propped up in the car

 

So from personal experiences, what are good fitting aftermarket seats?

 

Legit Sparco Rev/Evo fits nicely.
Just don't get fake seats, please. I say that purely from a safety standpoint. No need to risk your life over a couple hundred dollars you couldn't wait to save up.

 

I have no intention of spending a good deal of money modifying my car to install a plastic seat that would rip from*the bracket and project me through the windshield in the event of an accident! LOL! It is just unfortunate because the seats looked authentic to me and were a better alternative than recovering my crappy looking leather seats. The price was right as it seems pointless to me to invest $1500 or $2000 or whatever a pair of real seats cost on a 23 year old car that isn't worth much more than that right now...

What are some recommended stores for a good selection of seats? Also, anyone have any experience reupholstering their seats? Anyone ever deal with www.leatherseats.com?

 

A few people here have used leatherseats.com and I have seen all good reviews from them. That's where I planned on getting some OEM replacement covers from for my restoration. It'd be a good opportunity to also have any foam replaced that may have seen some deformation from age.

 

You could get this for the driver side:
http://www.dezod.com/pd_sparco_fighter.cfm
And this for the passenger:
http://www.dezod.com/pd_sparco_torino_single_seat.cfm
and you've spent $958.
Or buy two of the Speed's and you'll spend $738 on two really well built, NEW, high quality seats.

 

I decided i don't want fakes, but i don't want to spend to much money. My solution is to buy one real Bride seat for the drivers side, cause i don't sit in the passanger seat and i'm not building a show car...

 

That is a decent alternative but personally when I see cars like that it makes me think that they half assed it. It look silly and it is not a show car thing, it just looks cleaner with two identical seats, but that is just my opinion no offense.

 

I've got racetechs in one of my FCs

 

What would be the most important measurements to take into consideration when buying an aftermarket seat (width, height, etc...)?

 

Width probably. Like how wide the wings are so you can make sure the door close.

Height can be adjusted with the seat rails and such.

 

Bride lowmax still no headroom in a vert and im only 5'10"

 

if the cushion itself is thick there is no way to lower that, so height is also important.
What I did was measure the stock seats and go from there.
But again- the ANGLE the seat puts your *** is just as important, some are flatter then others, a flatter seat will give you that feeling you are leaning forward in the seat and reduce headroom. This is more annoying when you are accustomed to the stock FC seats- its really obvious then. If the car is new to you its not as bad

 

The stock seats are bolted to the floor. You can gain maybe a half inch by cutting out the stock mounts and reinforcing the floor, but its not much. Going as low as possible (bolt to floor, no sliders, etc), my Racetech seat only got me about 2 inches of drop which was just enough for me with a helmet on.