Which aftermarket seats offer the MOST headroom for an FD?
02-18-05, 08:28 PM
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Which aftermarket seats offer the MOST headroom for an FD?
I was initially thinking of corbeaus, but have since read that their brackets actually RAISE the seat position, reducing headroom.
I am about 6'2" and need to fit with a helmet in a '93 touring FD. I really wanted something relatively economical which led me away from the recaros and towards the Corbeaus, until I found out about the fact that their brackets raise the seat.
What about sparcos or brides, or something else I haven't heard of? Headroom is most important, but also comfort and ease of fitment. Adjustable or not, but this is a daily driver so preferably adjustable. Thanks!
I am about 6'2" and need to fit with a helmet in a '93 touring FD. I really wanted something relatively economical which led me away from the recaros and towards the Corbeaus, until I found out about the fact that their brackets raise the seat.
What about sparcos or brides, or something else I haven't heard of? Headroom is most important, but also comfort and ease of fitment. Adjustable or not, but this is a daily driver so preferably adjustable. Thanks!
02-18-05, 09:15 PM
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Well wrote a nice long reply then the thread got moved in the middle dumping it so to sum this up...
Pull the stock seat out and you'll see just how low it is to begin with. You can gain another 0.5-1" of headroom by pulling some of the padding out of the bottom of the stock seat.
Depending on if you need to maintain adjustability you can bolt/weld a seat directly into the floor which eliminates the bracket height. Many of the side mount brackets for race seats though won't fit in a FD so you'll have to figure out how to mount/fab something yourself or have a shop do it for you.
The shoulder area is also very narrow in a FD meaning many of the "race" seats won't fit if you want to close your door or roll up your windows
I researched this quite a bit when I bought my first FD (I'm about 6' and I'm fine until I stick a helmet on) as I like a proper upright driving position.
Pull the stock seat out and you'll see just how low it is to begin with. You can gain another 0.5-1" of headroom by pulling some of the padding out of the bottom of the stock seat.
Depending on if you need to maintain adjustability you can bolt/weld a seat directly into the floor which eliminates the bracket height. Many of the side mount brackets for race seats though won't fit in a FD so you'll have to figure out how to mount/fab something yourself or have a shop do it for you.
The shoulder area is also very narrow in a FD meaning many of the "race" seats won't fit if you want to close your door or roll up your windows
I researched this quite a bit when I bought my first FD (I'm about 6' and I'm fine until I stick a helmet on) as I like a proper upright driving position.
02-18-05, 09:22 PM
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Cool thanks for the reply! So you have enough headroom with the helmet by removing some padding in the stock seats? How much did you take out and is there still enough padding for a comfortable ride?
02-18-05, 09:22 PM
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thanks for the reply! So you have enough headroom with the helmet by removing some padding in the stock seats? How much did you take out and is there still enough padding for a comfortable ride?
02-18-05, 10:31 PM
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You can't get anything 'new' worth sitting on priced lower than Corbeaus. Seat for your $$ nothing really comes close to them. Being that you are in So Cal you should be able to go to a autocross/track day in your area and sit down in some FD with aftermarket seats.
You can search this forum about others pulling padding to get more opinions, the ride is ok until you throw on some 600lb/f springs in the front, put the car on 17"s and drop the front 1.5" too with an increased rebound rate
My car now the seats are too nice to pull padding or anything so I bought a new helmet and adjusted my driving position just a bit.
You can search this forum about others pulling padding to get more opinions, the ride is ok until you throw on some 600lb/f springs in the front, put the car on 17"s and drop the front 1.5" too with an increased rebound rate
My car now the seats are too nice to pull padding or anything so I bought a new helmet and adjusted my driving position just a bit.
02-19-05, 06:32 AM
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Originally Posted by ///M3an Machine
Cool thanks for the reply! So you have enough headroom with the helmet by removing some padding in the stock seats? How much did you take out and is there still enough padding for a comfortable ride?
Took out about .75" off the bottom cushion closer to the back without touching the seat bottom wings as they are upholstered separately if I remember correctly.
The seats look untampered with, which was also a concern for me. However given that you are going deeper down without touching the sides of the seat it makes the seat narrower. So if you're past a size 38-40 pant size you may want to try a "shaved" seat first.
It was a messy job when I did this. I used a Dremel tool with a coarse metal cutter tool to shave out the foam, but I am very happy to have done it. So much so that I may go back to trim out a little more becuase the seat covering still looks unmolested.
David
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02-20-05, 04:06 PM
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I may try the foam cutting, but I'd like to get an aftermarket seat at some point. Is there some way to mount the corbeau on the stock rail, or mount it to the floor to gain some headroom? I don't really know how to do custom fabrication unless it's something relatively simple...
03-25-05, 11:42 PM
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You can try the Sparco Evo's. I'm about 6'2", and I sat in one quite nicely. However, the one that I sat in had some custom-fabbed brackets and sliders, but there was plenty of room for my head and helmet.
03-26-05, 08:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Tim Benton
what about the comfort of the seat after you took some of the foam out?
Tim
Tim
It's important to understand that the bottom cushion trimming does not extend to the side bolsters/wings (at least not in my case). I did not trim these separate bolster cushions in order to minimize any chance of ruining the seats aesthetics (sagging).
Consequently, the seat will feel slightly narrower than it originally did. Therefore to answer your question, the bigger butt you have the tighter you'll find the seat. In the short term this is not perceived as "disconfort", however after a 2 hour road trip getting out is always a relief, at least for my pant size 38 butt.
With that said, I had never found the FD seats very confortable, and I still encourage anyone who is looking for a little headroom to trim the bottom cushion. It remains a non disruptive modification.
David
03-26-05, 09:20 AM
#13
Originally Posted by Rx7@Rocketship.com
Tim,
It's important to understand that the bottom cushion trimming does not extend to the side bolsters/wings (at least not in my case). I did not trim these separate bolster cushions in order to minimize any chance of ruining the seats aesthetics (sagging).
Consequently, the seat will feel slightly narrower than it originally did. Therefore to answer your question, the bigger butt you have the tighter you'll find the seat. In the short term this is not perceived as "disconfort", however after a 2 hour road trip getting out is always a relief, at least for my pant size 38 butt.
With that said, I had never found the FD seats very confortable, and I still encourage anyone who is looking for a little headroom to trim the bottom cushion. It remains a non disruptive modification.
David
It's important to understand that the bottom cushion trimming does not extend to the side bolsters/wings (at least not in my case). I did not trim these separate bolster cushions in order to minimize any chance of ruining the seats aesthetics (sagging).
Consequently, the seat will feel slightly narrower than it originally did. Therefore to answer your question, the bigger butt you have the tighter you'll find the seat. In the short term this is not perceived as "disconfort", however after a 2 hour road trip getting out is always a relief, at least for my pant size 38 butt.
With that said, I had never found the FD seats very confortable, and I still encourage anyone who is looking for a little headroom to trim the bottom cushion. It remains a non disruptive modification.
David
04-01-05, 04:06 AM
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How much height do the stock seat brackets add? Say you take them out and weld the seat to the floor - how much space can you add to your headroom?
04-01-05, 06:00 AM
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Originally Posted by daem0n
How much height do the stock seat brackets add? Say you take them out and weld the seat to the floor - how much space can you add to your headroom?
Bolting a stock seat or racing seat will give you a lot of room, but stock mounting point will be difficult if not impossible to use. I'm not particularly fond of the idea of putting in new holes in the floor board and welding in backing plates, for a street driven car at least.
David
11-09-07, 04:35 PM
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John Dillinger
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http://www.tees-usa.com/seatrail_LowMax_LR.html
LR type or Ro type?? which one will fit perfect for our fd? fellows
LR type or Ro type?? which one will fit perfect for our fd? fellows
11-10-07, 12:01 PM
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John Dillinger
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ok. fellows. for local ppl. whom interested in buying the seat for 3200 dollars ? ( will include the bracket/seat rail. The seat is Gias lowmax with no bride logo on it. ) i might be able to get it if you want the logo. pm me.
01-20-08, 03:09 PM
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Since this is the most relevant thread, I wanted to post a link to the measurement thread I started - I was trying to quantify exactly how much an aftermarket seat will improve headroom with numbers.
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...=1#post7762368
I encourage you to read and if you have aftermarket seats, to measure!
-Bob
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...=1#post7762368
I encourage you to read and if you have aftermarket seats, to measure!
-Bob
