hwnd

iTrader: (4)

I bought a pair of Recaro RZ seats from Japan recently - this is the first pair I've kept for myself.

I found the installation rather easy since the chair itself is a bit lighter than the stock R1 seats. The tilt function is nice to have but I found the seat in the first setting to my liking so the tilt probably wont be used.

I'm 5'9" & found the height to be perfect for me but getting in and out is a pain in the butt. I ended up having to slide the seat back all the way to comfortable get in/out.


Lately, the feel..
I'm not really all that impressed with these seats. Truth be told, they are comfortable but thats about it. I was able to move freely in the seat which leads me to believe road/track use would leave me feeling empty handed. Touring use, however, I think it would be fine.

..Are they worth the $2,500? Maybe if you're chasing rare parts but in terms of use - no way.
A buddy of mine summed these up by saying a few things:
btw, these are not full kevlar but only a kevlar backing.

KaiFD3S

iTrader: (37)

Wow, that much money and not even completely Kevlar, guess I made the right choice purchasing the Recaro SPA, very comfy and FIA certified full Kevlar hopefully, LOL and you don't move in the seat whatsover.

hwnd

iTrader: (4)

The movement, for me, is mostly shoulder area - the waist area is alright but the should area is too flat - in fact the R1 seats I have in another FD were tighter feeling than these - this was a back to back test;

Troux

iTrader: (6)

I spent about 1720 (shipping, hardware, mounts included) on a pair of Sparcos that won't let me slip until the car is upside down. I still don't know why these seats are so popular at $3K.

hwnd

iTrader: (4)

Because they're rare.. thats about it. They also add to the clone "factor" a bit.
My car is headed down the path of an RZ copy - these are part of the ticket I'm afraid.

Supernaut

iTrader: (83)

I dunno, I like the seats alot but you are right, in terms of utility, you could probably get more for the buck elsewhere. As has been said, part of the money is for rarity and OEM fitment. We have to remember, these seats were made in 2002. They are old. Much like an FD, part of the price is in rarity.

Bryan Jacobs

iTrader: (66)

I have sometime found that rare parts are rare for a reason......they aren't good and nobody wanted them when they first came out. As previous poster stated rare does not always equal better or quality.

Ceylon

iTrader: (3)

Other than this thread, all I've heard is good things about these seats.
I ordered a set, but they're yet to arrive. Going to recover them in black leather w/red stitch

Shame to hear that they're not so good for track...Maybe I'll get a different seat to swap in for track use...

Thanks for the info

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Those are pretty hefty remarks.
Everyone brings up age regarding the car. The early models are now 18-19yrs old. The RZ seats only came out in late 93 or 94. Since then they were reproduced for the Spirit R.

You have to keep in mind the seat was designed to be an upgrade to the standard seat. It was never meant to be a full out race seat. They had to keep in mind people will want to move around a bit in a street vehicle (reach for things, reverse parking, etc)
If you were strictly going to use the car for racing, then you wouldn't have bothered to get these Recaro's. There are a variety of other seats available for that type of application.

Also they asked Recaro to design a seat that was going to be comfy for the majority of people, while adding additional support from the standard seat. Everyone's body is different. What might feel loose for you would be a perfect fit for someone else.

At 5'9", you're still a little taller than the average height of a Japanese person.
I'm 5'5" and the FD fits me like a glove! Everything is within perfect view, and reach.

I personally would love to have the RZ Recaros. But alas, I don't have that type of coin. My car is strictly a street machine. It has rarely seen the track. Even then, with the standard leather seats, you sit snug and hardly move around. I can imagine the Recaros would be a better fit for someone of my structure.

If you don't like them, please let me know. I might consider taking them off your hands.

ErnieT

iTrader: (2)

$2500 is a good deal. I paid $1500 for a used one, then had to sell it cause it didn't fit! lol...My after market tranny was a tiny bit too wide Awesome seats though.

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

Yup,
RZ's are a compromise... some of what a race seat offers, but streetable. Usually compromises cost money. If you just want a race seat, get some Sparco EVOs or Recaros. If you just want a street seat, get some nice R1 seats.

Hopping in and out of an EVO seat every time isn't something most consumers would deal with.

Supernaut

iTrader: (83)

I don't think they had rz models in 93-94. The SP had recaros but they might not be these.

As for my 2 cents with the seats, I fit very well in them. I do have wide shoulders though. I felt very supported when I sat down, pretty much everywhere.

As for getting in and out, thats exactly what I do but don't you have to do that for all race seats? If you have a clean PS seat, I'll buy it .

Brent Dalton

iTrader: (31)

I've had a few sets of RZ/Spirit R seats come through my hands over the years as well as a few other race seats. I most recently had them in my silver FD that I tracked this past year quite a bit. For reference, I've had a Sparco Evo L, the Recaro RZ's, and a Magnum(not sure on the model, company is from the UK and it is FIA approved) in my silver car in the last year.

I think I took the RZ's for granted. I have currently been looking for/researching a new seat for my new track/race car and I've sat in alot of seats that don't fit... mostly in the shoulder area(seat is too narrow). My needs are a little different than guys that want to drive their cars on the street as I'm looking for a seat that is HANS compatible with the Halo/wings to protect during a side impact.

It takes alot to get a race seat to fit the driver in regards to height, distance from pedal/wheel, etc. The RZ seats can be mounted in about 5 minutes. The seats fit me very well. It has sliding rails and the tilt function so getting the driver in the correct position is an easy task. One of my dislikes with the RZ seats is the only harness slots it has are the ones for the shoulders. Not a big deal, you can work around it. As others have said though, these seats are a comprimise. It's not a safety issue as you aren't that deep in the seat. The shoulder and waste on the RZ's fit me very well and once I tighten my harness, I'm very very secure.

As far as being FIA approved, I am unsure, but I doubt it. Seats don't need to be FIA approved unless you are competiing in wheel to wheel racing. That's not to say the RZ's aren't a very safe seat(I obviously trusted them enough on the track with my own life). Recaro is known for making nice seats and it's an OEM seat. That being said, I've never been in the situation where I have tested a set of these seats(very thankful for that.) FIA ratings are only good for 5 years anyways before you have to add a seatback brace. That also only matters if you are racing wheel to wheel.

I've never thought these were that hard to get in or out of. They aren't as deep as a real racing seat.

hwnd

iTrader: (4)

These are good, dont get me wrong. They're just not what some forum vendors and others made them out to be.

yeah they were around back then, at least the mazda parts cat recognizes them that early on.

Everything is always for sale! :-)


Hmm.. a lot to think about on this one. My belts are provisioned for HANS too.. I'm going to install the belts today and ... damn it now that I think about it, my belts are 6pt schroth.

Looks like I'll be rid of these seats unless I can work something out.


oh! as far as buying them without every trying them..
G, you're100% right. I've slightly jaded but I think it's my fault completely for buying into the idea set by some key vendors who hyped a lot of B/S up about parts. They'll do their job for tooling around town and whatnot but these probably are not the seats I'd want when tracking the car - I feel like i'd be slung around a bit.

In terms of my jacket size - I'm roughly between 30R - 40R.. If that gives any indication as to my size.

Brent Dalton

iTrader: (31)

You will have no issues with a harness and these seats as they aren't as deep as a true race seat. Like I said, I ran these in my car with a 6 point harness(and HANS) without issue. The HANS compatible harness's just mean they are 2 inch shoulder straps instead of 3 inch so you don't have harness overlap on your HANS device(overlap is not an issue, just annoys/bothers some). I think these are the best comprimise for a street/track seat. Not to mention you have the ability to retain the stock 3 point seat belt for when you aren't at the track. Best of luck in with the install today!

Brent

BTW, if you are on the east coast, you should come out to VIR in May(see other thread in this section).

hwnd

iTrader: (4)

Mind if I ask about the belt system you used? mine are from schroth (Profi III Formula HANS) and I dont quite understand how you would mount the leg-wrap belts without there being provisions in the seat?

no_more_rice

I just want a new Touring leather seat

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

I think I agree with you HWND. I've sat in 2 sets of these and walked away unimpressed. They certainly are cool looking and rare and expensive but I didn't really get the hype after sitting in them.

Brent Dalton

iTrader: (31)

I see your issue a little more now. The sub belts don't have their own slots on the camlock for that harness, right? I used a G Force 6pt.,mounted the sub straps to the floor with a backing plate. I don't think the buckets on the RZ's are as deep or long as alot of seats and I was able to get my harness where they were suppose to be on my legs by pulling the sub straps in front of the seat. I don't think you would be able to do that with most full race seats. Not the ideal solution for the sub straps, but it would do it's job in the event of an impact. I felt more than safe when everything was cinched down. I'm sure you have already seen this, but just in case and for the sake of others searching in the future its a great read:
http://www.schrothracing.com/docs/Co...structions.pdf

If you are looking for something that is going to see more track than street, it is much cheaper to buy true racing seats. If not, and you have the money, these are an option.

Brent Dalton

iTrader: (31)

Just wanted to add one more thing...

All that being said, it's a compromise once again. I think it's a better solution than the stock belts and the seat is much easier to deal with day to day from a street perspective compared to other race seats, but it's not as safe as a full race seat with a hole for the anti-submarine straps. I've been doing as much research as I can the last year or so as safety has been weighing very heavily on me after having a few incidents happen to others in close proximity to me at the track. It doesn't matter how much money we have invested in our cars in performance modifications, our lives are still worth more than any of our cars. Investing in safety equipment is investing in yourself and worth every penny.

calculon

iTrader: (29)

Do you have a car, or is it just some kind of parts bin?

hwnd

iTrader: (4)

I think it's a rolling parts bin of Japan Goodness.. now lack of a 2001 brake booster. damn it!
maybe i shoulda boxed the parts-bin up and sent it over instead :-)

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

theres a japanese best motoring video ive seen on the internet from the early 90s or sometime around there, definitely before 96.. showing a RZ, looked just like a R1. but it had dark gunmetal/black stock wheels and the recaro bucket seats

recaro rz seats.. yum

JConn2299

Your post is ostensibly about car seats, but I think you've stumbled upon a deeper truth. This is something I learned several years ago. Which is why I buy my girlfriend cubic zirconia instead of diamonds. She can't tell the difference, and she's just as happy.

Gomez

There were three earlier versions of the RZ, all with the black Recaros.

Only the last version, the 2000-2001 Snow White Pearl model, came with the red Recaros.

I've used these seats nearly every day for the last 18 months. Yes, I slide them fully back every time I get in or out of the car. Yes, I re-adjust them forward every time I take the wheel.

No, they are not easy to get in/out of like Camry seats.

Yes, they're worth the dollars. The rails themselves cost $2600USD a pair (from Mazda Japan).