What class will you run in?

I have seen on an FD where someone cut the floor out and boxed in a section to mount the seat in a little lower.

Another possibility, seat angle.
You might have to get some crazy recline in and a steering wheel boss to bring the wheel closer again. It will take a while to get used to driving like this and visibility can suck with the B pillar right by your head and the cage bars and A pillars ahead. Lotsa mirrors and never race at night?

 

No class... Just track days. I would like to avoid having to fabricate or modify any metal parts too much, though. If I could get within two inches of ***-on-floor that would probably be OK, since I could always recline the seat and use a spacer. I already drive my MR2 with my head near the B pillar. Lol.

Why would an aluminum seat be lower? Just because the way the metal is thinner than FRP?

My Tillet seat would definitely fit but the 30 degree layback is too much (which is one of the reasons I'm so close to the B pillar). I wish it had been more like 18 degrees... It's also pig heavy for being a tiny FRP seat. It also won't hold you during braking unless the shoulder belts (and therefore the lap belts) are nice and tight.

I will be going to the states for a while soon and I figure if I want to bring back a seat as luggage, the Spec Miata seat would be the only thing small enough to take on the plane... lol. I specifically remember the Kirkey 47's box size was too big. I suspect one of the shoulderless seats might fit. I don't like the way that basic Kirkey seats seem to fold enough your sides, though.

 

That combined with the way the seat pan is shaped. My aluminum seat is 1/8" above the carpet, and if you wanted to run it without a seat cover it's the lowest you can get without making changes to the floor of the car.

That being said, it's advisable to run a seat back brace with an aluminum seat, so if you don't have the ability to do that, and it's going to be tough to get back to Japan, then you might have to look elsewhere. An aluminum seat is also your best chance to get a halo or containment seat in the FD too, but it won't just be bolt-in.

If you need a bolt-in solution that's safe, then look for a FIA certified composite to bolt in.

 

How did you mount it? Straight onto the floor? I know how the aluminum seats have flat floor pans but I figure it will have to be tilted back a we but unless you're using a Planted or Wedge-style flat bracket, which wouldn't get you far enough back or low enough.

Right now I could get a Sabelt Titan XL for about $550 but I think it's about an inch too wide in the shoulders. Here are the measurements (it's the GT-140). Any idea if it would fit with mods? I figure it might be too wide on the bottom too.

http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/images...Dimensions.png

To be honest a 17" inch aluminum seat would almost certainly my butt and the car better, but I think this seat has roughly the interior width of my Tillett B6F XL, which fits fine so long as I don't try to use the lap belt holes.

 

Mounted with side mounts. Used Atomic Rex which are great, but hard to get. I'm guessing most other side mounts should work though. The seat has a 20 degree layback from the factory so I was able to mount the pan relatively flat (only 1 hole higher front mount than rear) and keep plenty of room for my legs below the steering wheel (Sparco 330mm) as that was another issue for me to fit.

 

does anyone have back issues who have aftermarket seats? im sure there are some but hopefully someone chimes in. i'd like to get a set of Recaros or similar eventually but it may be sooner than later. my stock seats lack the support in the lower back area and its an issue as I was t-boned recently and have some pain after driving my fd longer than 30 minutes. Any feedback would be great.

 

Oh that sucks!

You are going to have to find the race seat that fits you just right. Once you find that the seat's upport should make it more comfortable than the stock seats.

I guess the most fun way would be to go to a auto-x or race and meet people and ask to sit in peoples race seats on their off sessions so you can be in the seat for extended periods.

Problem is so few seats fit the FD.... chances are low the seat that fits you best fits in the FD.

But... those flat door panels help!

 

The best solution for someone with an injury might be a custom foam insert inside of an aluminum seat (or an FRP seat designed for foam inserts?).

Otherwise it's unlikely that a race seat will be more comfortable than stock seat with some lumbar cushions attached.

 

Otherwise it's unlikely that a race seat will be more comfortable than stock seat with some lumbar cushions attached.

I would have thought so, but a race seat that fits well really supports your body unlike the stock seat.

I was worried on my first road trip in race seats (bride Vios III Japan) because I didn't have any room to wiggle or squirm to get more comfortable the way I have to in stock seats during a road trip.

Turned out I didn't think of the seat again until I was getting out of the car.

7hr trip no problem.

The best solution for someone with an injury might be a custom foam insert inside of an aluminum seat (or an FRP seat designed for foam inserts?).

I don't have experience with this, but since the aluminum seat won't be contoured to fit one's body I would think a cast foam cushion like an open wheel car would be a must.

Garbage bag, expanding foam and sit.

 

That's what I was talking about. The fact that it's not contoured means you could use it as a blank seat to fill with foam.

 

i did get a chance to sit in a spirit r seat at sevenstock this year and it was really comfortable. i dont think id pay the price for those but a set of spgs i could go for. Of course i dont know how id like them on road trips but it seems to me there is something out there that will fit the bill.

 

How much comfort is lost if you reduce the padding from the stock seats?

I only need maybe an inch to sit comfortably in the OEM seats, and I'm quite fond of the color (93 SSM with red interior), so I'm considering cutting the pads down before I jump into aftermarkets.

Alternatively, if there are aftermarket brackets that put the seat closer to the floor, that would probably be fine too. Though I can't imagine you would gain much without losing the slide, given how close they already are.

 

So far it looks like the shoulder wings can't be more than 22" wide, but reading through it doesn't seem like the actual max numbers to look for have been posted.

I'm going to go through the Fits list and see what can be figured out in terms of dimensions to look for. This should also be a new topic since the first post hasn't been updated in forever. Perhaps an admin can sticky a new topic. The first post can be a regular list, or perhaps a hosted file tracking seats, plus the dimensions to look for. That would make this info more easily accessible and more useful.

 

I think part of the problem is the fact that people are using different rails and it sometimes makes a seat fit that wouldn't for someone using different rails, or vice versa. Especially when dealing with a fitment as tight as we're talking about. I believe 22" will fit in some cases. I'm pretty sure that's what the Cobra Suzuka GTs are, but I've seen some that fit without modification and some that need just a little.

 

Well, I test fit the Cobra Suzuka in the driver's side yesterday. No go. Not only does the door not close (the leg bolsters hit the door panel and tranny tunnel), I sit higher than the stock seat. I'm guessing this is because of the rails since Wompa's seat fits just fine. Either way, I'm going to swap them for Imolas and might have to go with different rails since I sit higher with these.

 

I guess I'm just not meant to race this car.

I'm taking the seats back to Wine Country Motorsports in Denver tomorrow and I figured I'd just test out the seat itself in the car without a rail. STILL sits only as low as the stock seat. I don't get much extra room if I lean the seat back really far, which is actually pretty comfortable. Not only that, with the seat all the way back against the bins, the leg bolsters still hit the door panel and the tranny tunnel, even with the tunnel cover removed, and the shoulder bolster also hits the door panel. Regarding headroom, the only way I might fit is taking the foam out of the bottom, but what I would gain would be lost by whatever rail I had, unless I made one specifically for this seat and it really did put it right on the floor. I took measurements of where the bolts are in regards to the bottom of the seat. The front bolts are 1.5" from the bottom, and the rear bolts are 1.75" from the bottom. I'm really just adding those measurements in case I need to come back later and look lol.

Then I sat directly on the floor and actually wasn't far off haha. If I put a couple inches of seat under my butt, then it puts my head too close to the roof to wear a helmet. Maybe the sunroof-less FD would have just enough additional clearance.

I thought about keeping these seats just in case I get another car that they fit in lol. I really love them.

 

Oh, you have a sunroof? Well, there's your problem.

You might have to end up chopping the rear seat mounts off and welding steel plate to the floor. That will get you an inch in the rear (although the seat might be too reclined then.

IIRC Cobra makes multiple thicknesses of seat pad. You might need to get the thinnest one.

 

Measure your hips to see if you can fit in a 16" aluminum seat. If so that's your best chance of fitting. I'm shorter than you but had a sunroof FD previously and that's the only way I could track the car.

I'll be able to have pics of my aluminum seat setup in the new car in a few weeks.

 

Well it certainly doesn't help lol. Honestly though, I know everyone says it takes up so much extra space, but I don't see how it's more than about an inch.

I'm not really looking to modify the floor, I'd rather make some different mounts that drop the seat even more. The ones I have now are still a bit too high. But if I really want to race an FD, I'll just get a non-sunroof model, it makes more sense anyway lol.

I thought about maybe taking the pad out while I'm on track anyway.

I should be able to fit. The Suzuka is 15.75" wide in the hips if I remember right.

 

Every inch matters. A lot. Three inches from the sunroof, seat rail, and seat pads makes the difference between your head hitting the roof during normal driving and being able to drive comfortably with a helmet on.

 

Do any of you guys DD the fixed nonfolding seats? Do you miss tilting much?

 

Yes and no, not really. The benefits of a fixed bucket seat outweighs the downsides so long as it's a good fit for you and your favored driving position. Especially if you drive a headroom-impaired car like an RX7.

Unless you've got a knee injury or something, in which case getting in and out is basically impossible.

 

I returned the Suzukas to the store and brought home an OMP HTE-R XL. They said Miata guys use this seat, so I thought for sure it would fit. Wrong again lol. I tried it in the passenger side and the halo hit the door frame. The rest of the seat might fit, I'm not sure. I'm going to put the tranny tunnel cover back in and then see if there is enough room with the leg bolsters. The shoulder bolsters aren't near as wide. If it weren't for the halo it might actually fit. They said there is another seat, the OMP HTE-R 400 that has a more narrow halo and should fit. I'm contemplating just getting some Recaro SPGs or the Spirit R/RZ Recaros.

 

Yeah what was up with the Recaro SPGs you sat in before? Was it not going to lower you enough?
I'm 6'2", but I have the advantage of not having a sunroof. I sat in some Cobras, it's sad they won't fit

 

I've never sat in Recaros of any type, but I wouldn't mind trying some SPGs. It looks like the regular ones fit, but I'm not sure about the larger versions. Yeah I'm pretty bummed the Cobras didn't fit better. I really liked them, they fit me perfectly.

I fit the OMP HTE-R XL in the driver's side tonight, and it's actually not far off. I'd need to trim the sides just a tad because you have to slam the door, and then it pushes the seat upwards, but trimming the sides should work. The halo still touches the door frame, depending on how far back the seat is and if it's straight up or leaned back. I scooted it forward and leaned it back and it just barely rubbed, although that's with the rear quarter plastics removed so there's more room there. With a smaller halo, or no halo at all, I think this seat might work. If there's a version like that I might go for that one. I also put my helmet on and I have just enough room, and that's with the seat straight up. When it's leaned back I have a little more. The only thing is I won't be able to use the roll bar with these seats, but that's alright. I thought about not installing it anyway. Actually, it'll be a huge PITA to mount this or probably any other seat, to bolt it in. There is barely any space to put bolts in the side. And it's also a PITA to get in and out of the car with this seat lol, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad being bolted in. I might still look into some Recaro seats instead, either SPG or Pole Position. I don't know.

This OMP seat fits me really well too, and the harness holes are in the perfect position, level with my shoulders.