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Hey guys - I did search, but didnt find exactly what I was looking for.
For the OEM recaros - were there two types of rails used? I know people are selling them with tilt/slide rails and slide only rails, but my question is this - are the slide only rails the same one as on my 93 Touring seats, or is there a slide only rail that was offered on the Recaro buckets?
I'm asking because I want a set of Recaros because I need the headroom, and I worry that Recaros without the tilt/slide rails would be higher and that I wouldn't gain as much headroom over the stock seats as I would with the tilt/slide pieces.
lol I'm having a hard time finding them at all - so I'm considering a pair with rails that aren't tilt, but they've been listed here in the classifieds forever and im trying to figure out why they're not selling. Figured it was the rails.
To truly utilize the RZ Recaro seats you will need the tilt rails. Driving comfort and cabin space is optimized greatly with the tilt portion. You will definitely appreciate how good these seats are when you get them into your car with all the right hardware. I'm a 6'1 guy and the car finally does not feel cramped.
I have both rails. The tilt are actually a direct fit onto the stock fd seat rails. I had stock seat rails fit onto cusom tilt rails before finding the original recaro ones... Ill try and take pictures of both versions tonight
I have both rails. The tilt are actually a direct fit onto the stock fd seat rails. I had stock seat rails fit onto cusom tilt rails before finding the original recaro ones... Ill try and take pictures of both versions tonight
That would be f'n fantastic - I know a lot of people are trying to figure this out.
I'll get one up, I won't be able to do a comparison but I'll have a picture of the rail and the mechanism that allows you to tilt. I'll grab it tomorrow sometime, its super late for me at the moment and sorry for the delay!
Okay here we go, I unwrapped the tilt rail that wasn't yet attached to the seat and I hope the quality of the images is okay - I took the pictures using my phone and have yet to clean the rails off before I install them. I didn't get any pictures of the slide function as its pretty standard.
This image is a top down shot, with the lever directly in the middle being the tilt function.
In this image, you can see how the two "pistons" are pulled from their housing when the tilt lever is engaged to the left.
A shot looking down on the entire assembly from the backside
On the large triangular section you can see 3 holes that have been drilled near the top, these are the adjustment points and where the "piston" would sit depending on how far you want to recline.
Last edited by TougeSpirit; 03-24-13 at 06:05 PM.
Reason: Grammar/Comments.
You fit the seats yet? Let us know your impressions. I am particularly interested in headroom with a helmet and how well you fit in the seat compared to stock etc
You fit the seats yet? Let us know your impressions. I am particularly interested in headroom with a helmet and how well you fit in the seat compared to stock etc
They are finally in and have been given enough seat time for a fair review.
Ill start off by saying I personally love them. After having to remove, package and ship my R1 seats to Miami from Canada I couldn't believe how much lighter weight wise these really are and how they really brighten up the interior compared to what was in there before.
Looks and in car fitment:
Overall I am very happy with the look of having fire red seats in my black on black car, it provides a nice contrast yet its still somewhat subtle due to them being located in the interior. After they were installed my first opinion was that the cabin seemed to now look more open, it wasn't a huge change but enough that its a positive difference and that they definitely were in sync with the driver oriented experience mazda intended. I mean its carbon kevlar with fire red fabric, it doesn't get any more unique than that lol. The seat belt shoulder retainers are definitely needed as reaching around was a bit more difficult but once the belt is in its guide, its a perfect setup. The quality of the fabric is comfortable even with shorts on, but just by the feel of it you can tell that it will wear through much faster than the original suede, mesh or leather seats.
Performance and seating fitment:
I'm 5'11 around 170 lbs and the seats fit me great. They do however seem to slide much farther forward than back, but the tilt function might make up for those with lanky arms or additional height/weight lol. I feel extremely planted while driving in the twisty roads nearby (120+ degree turns, sharp down and up hill banked corners etc) compared to the previous seats and its a great improvement. The seats themselves are less padded obviously but a trip to the city is around 35 minutes away and I have no complaints about the comfort so far. My posture is great, probably pretty close to perfect and I prefer to sit straight up on a firm surface to begin with. That being said, I have approximately ~1 1/2 inches from my head to the roof so a helmet may be a tight fit depending on how tall or straight you sit. The seats do seem to have a bit of flex as well, I am able to push the steering wheel and feel the seats bend somewhat depending how hard (I wanted to make sure they were fully bolted in with zero movement). Its not a very big amount at all, but other people have commented that you can feel the seats start to give during high g corners while on the track but again my driving won't take them that far lol.
Final thoughts:
Were they really worth 3k+ ? Yes and no. Yes being that they are unique, rare and perfectly in tune with the interiors layout. No because in the end they are just car seats and your car probably came with a functioning pair already. I've never owned a set of "race" seats so in my opinion they are my favorite mod so far, you get instant satisfaction once you put them in. No having to wait on other parts that are back ordered, no waiting for a dyno day to get full use out of them etc. If you plan to track the seats I would say pass on these and get a set of seats that cost less, that can take the abuse and won't burn as large of a hole in your wallet or leave you disappointed if you being to wear them down like these would. On the other hand if you want perfect fitment, something really unique, a more performance oriented seat over stock and your just plain crazy and willing to spend $3000 on seats, I say go for it - you won't be disappointed.
Where did you find a set for that price? I seem to run into closer to 4k for the red ones when I ponder. 3k is obnoxious but.... maybe I guess. lol. 4k croses the line for me.
Where did you find a set for that price? I seem to run into closer to 4k for the red ones when I ponder. 3k is obnoxious but.... maybe I guess. lol. 4k croses the line for me.
My US passenger / japanese driver had some wear and I got them at a reduced price because of it. I made sure I was able to source recaro fabric just before I purchased them to restore the seat back to new, I got lucky and the rest is history. In my case FDNewbie helped me, you could contact one of the big importers on here
Attached are pictures of my "RZ slider rails" They don't have the tilt function, only a bar in the front to slide. As far as I know these were made for the fd3s platform as indicated by the ID sticker - so i have to disagree with Bryan (pureRx7) that the non tilt rails are from a miata. Ill try and post a full picture of the rail when i get the chance
Weren't the seats made by Recaro for Mazda? I didnt think that you could buy the rails or seats separately at all - hence the limited production numbers. Its just my guess. I also didnt see a Mazda PN on the slide/tilt rails posted above
03-13-13, 03:40 PM
