Race seat selection for FD
 

Just to be clear, I'm not looking for sport seats (ala those with recline mechanism).

I want to be able to shoehorn the seats into another car and don't want to build/mount back supports for both.

I'm thinking to go with the FIA homologated shell type vs. metal frame + back support.

Driver is 6-foot plus an inch or two and weight is around 190 pounds.

I fit in the car with helmet, but just by a smidge.

In addition to the better support while cornering, I'd like to drop an inch or two so I'm well below the Kirk rollbar.
It sounds like custom mounting to the floorboards will be in order?

I know that one needs to take some measurements and that the base size as well as shoulder supports plays into if the seats will fit in the car.

It seems like nothing short of an actual test-fit of both driver to seat and seat to car will result in an ideal selection.

Does anyone have current info on a recent install and have some feedback?

I was looking at the Sparco Evo 2 (I don't fit in the regular Evo) or Corbeau FX1.

I'll also want something reasonably comfortable enough that I can drive the car the track (uh oh, comfortable race seat...oxymoron there, no?)

Oh, and for the "cherry on top" -- I'd like the seats to also fit in an M1 Miata. :)

Regards,
--Ashraf

So u quite a big guy hey :D tell me i am like 5 foot, will an fd be too big for me or will i fit nicely, i am assuming because japanese people are generally small that they would have designed it for people of all sizes ? I have never seen a fd in real life, we dont get them here, but I will buy one next year once i am in the UK. :D

Sorry, can't offer help with an FIA seat. My Kirkey required cutting out the rear mounts for the seat, sectioning and straightening the trans tunnel to move the seat inboard (to clear my head from the A pillar bar).

Good luck though.

PaulC

Seems like one of the weak areas for the 3rd Gen. Nobody seems to sell a race seats with mounting brackets for it (at least in the US). Most people seem to make their own. How about one of the 3rd gen shops stepping up and fab'ing some mounts for popular racing seats? Maybe David B. would do it through his widefoot business?

http://images2.fotki.com/v18/photos/...eatrale-vi.jpg
http://images2.fotki.com/v21/photos/...G002001-vi.jpg

japanese seat rails

Corbeau Forza or Forza II. They aren't very expensive $220 per seat plus like $60 or $70 each for the seat brackets. Corbeau makes seat brackets for the FD specifically. This is what I am going to do if anyone would buy my tan seats. If anyone has these post some pics and fitment issues if there are any.

I bought some corbeau seat and their brackets for my miata. The fit was not very good. The FD is even more tight inside than a Miata. I wouldn't be surpised if their seats won't fit right even with their brackets.

Personally, I'd go for the stock '01 Spirit R racing seats.

Based on the info in this thread, I purchused the Corbeau Forza and their bracket. I'll let everyone know how it works.

Mark

I e-mailed Corbeau, and they say to use the Forza (I specified I wanted something that would fit in the FD and Miata, and would be SCCA legal/FIA homologated).

The FX1 is not yet FIA homologated, although it looks like it may be, come the end of the year.

Looks like I've got to put in a back brace to make it a proper installation in any circumstance.

Spirit R's look interesting, but I'm sure they are going to be costly, and probably not FIA homologated.

I'm still looking, and want to do a trial fit before I plunk down several hundred dollars. :)

It looks like a large part of the problem are the shoulder "wings" and interference with the door panels. That rules out any composite seats that won't fit because of this reason, although I understand that an AL seat can be modified (ala Kirkey).

New candidate is the Kirkey Road Race Intermediate (50% cheaper than the full road race version, at around $650 each seat with cover) in the $300 range.

You may want to check with Brad Barber. I think he is/was using a Kirkey in his 3rd gen.
Mark

I have the Corbeau Forza seats with the Corbeau Brackets in my Miata. They barely fit. I can't slide the seat forward and have too fit too for back for my tastes. If you have long legs this wouldn't be a problem.

Also, unless you are thin the normal size Forza seat is really uncomfortable. The wide model won't fit at all.

I havn't tried fitting the Forza in my '93 RX7 but I don't know... the RX7 is even more tight inside than the Miata.

Man that would stink. If it doesn't fit, I'm shipping it back. I'll give an update after I receive the seat.
Mark

Recaro SPG in FD
 

Mark,

Yes, please do update us! I'm very curious as I'm looking for seats for my FD also.

Got it tonight. Hopefully I'll install it tomorrow. It has an extra bracket in addition to the replacement base. Hopefully its purpose will be clear when I remove the old seat.

I like my bride zieg IIs... I got a low position seat rail also. Bride themself do not sell the low position seat rail for left side (but for the right), so i had to buy the rail from "arena" (japanese site). I don't have the door panels so the Zieg fits well (actually tight fit). I think zeta IIs fit well with door panels but no low position rails. Bride is now coming out with there 3rd gen of seats.

I'm also about 6'1, so I need to do the same thing. I think a single shell seat bolted to the frame would be the best option, it'll also help with heel-towing! :)

hahahahah, you got money coming out fo your ass SleepR1? :) Seriously, those things are like $3000!

Bride makes special racing seats with less of a shoulder bolster on the side by the door just for FD's. While not as much as the custom recaros, they are also $$$!

Corbeau's seem to be the best bang for your buck, unless you feel inclined to source and ship some used racing seats out of a crashed car from Japan. I hear you can get them for like $80 or so over there! :eek:

Don't buy the Corbeau Forza. I installed it and it did not fit worth a crap. The bracket was a good fit, but the side of the seat keeps the door from closing unless you allow it to put serious pressure on the trim, and the recline angle offsets the lowered seat to actually give less headroom.

BTW: Corbeau told me this setup would not hit the doors. That is why they will be getting them back next week.

Mark

John,

Corbeau did quite a bit of testing for their rails on the 3rd Gen. I believe the final product fits very well (as long as you get a properly sized seat) for the car. I've heard slight complaints about height, but it was quickly remedied by adjusting the amount of washers used.

Granted, the following isn't a racing seat but it gives you an idea about the Corbeau rails:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hreadid=197660

Yep, rails fit great, but the Forza seat did not.

Updates and commentary on prior conversation I just read this morning:

Trial fitting a Forza
I borrowed a friend's uninstalled seat to try and see what the issues are with fitment.

The seat was a Corbeau Forza:
http://www.corbeau.com/brochure/forza.shtml

This is the same one that almost99 has, which he says doesn't fit.

Rant/Aside
I have yet to see a part for a car that doesn't require a BFH to get it in...what is this bolt-in nonsense??? I might as well EXPECT to engineer EVERYTHING myself, and if it does bolt-in, I'll call it a victory and pop open a beverage while relaxing and reveling in the money I've wasted for a perfectly fitting item and the time I saved ;)

Looks like bolt-in seat brackets won't do the trick...
Continuing on...I didn't have the seat rails, but I'm pretty sire if you fabbed a custom mount bracket, then I believe they would fit. I basically dropped the seat on the floorboards and moved it back/forth and observed the changed dimensions of the seat.

Winged things...
I now see why the shoulder wings are such a problem. In my test-fitting, while seated in the car, the wings didn't rub, but that's not to say the seat was mounted corectly, nor was it at the final elevation above the floorboards (didn't really check to see how much raising the seat impacts this.

But they say it fits!
Cross-referencing to the other thread that Mahjik posted about Chuck Westbrook's A4 installation, I noticed the mention of Spencer Bond, who is the same guy from Corbeau that e-mailed me back when I asked. He told me in a one-line reply to my several paragraphs of requirements, to get the Forza. Mmmkay...

Making vroom-vroom noisesl
I wouldn't buy those seats for track usage. Perhaps it is my frame/size, but as I sat in them, they just don't feel as supportive as the Kirkey Intermediate Race seats, which are really deep, and hold me in much tighter. It was also really weird sitting down so low in the car, BUT, I gained the 2" I want from the top of the rollbar. I guess driving takes a little getting used to, but the good part is that my vision with my "chin up" was right out the center of the window, and the A-pillar mounted boost gauge is squarely in my line of sight.

Comparing seat dimensions
I believe that 22" width of shoulder wings is about the maximum you are going to be able to get into a FD. Any more, especially in a carbon/fiberglass shell-type seat, and you are S.O.L.

The base of the Forza is 20" across, and the seat width is about 16", which is the same as the Kirkey I sat in, but the Kirkey felt more supportive.

Back to the drawing board
I believe that my next move (since the car is now sitting on jackstands for other repairs, ARGH...) is to fabricate mounting structure for the floorboard from courtesy of Home Depot raciing supplies and instead of a "loose" fit of the Forza, attempt a "solid" fit.

I'm also thinking of unbolting the stock sliders and seeing about mounting to an intermediary support to determine if I can retain use of the sliders and retain the extra headroom I gained.

FYI (no pictures yet) - the mount points for the Forza and the stock FD seat are about maybe 1" wider than the FD seat, so you can't just unbolt them and mount them stock sliders to the race seat.

Regards,
--Ashraf

Best and easiest seat install is the Kirkey road race seat (http://www.kirkeyracing.com/page3a.html). Bolts right up to the stock sliders and clears the door panel (barely). Not the lightest seat in the world (~22 lbs) or the most attractive, but very comfortable for my 220 lb. frame.

I'll see if I can dig up some pics.

Gene

PICS Gene!!!

The Kirkey looks like the wings are big enough to fly with! If it drops right in the FD my buddy with the Prelude will shit a solid gold brick:rlaugh: He wants one sooo bad.

I thought there was no way in Hell that seat would fit. Please note which width you're talking about. (though at 220 lb I hope you need a wider one than my 170);)

i have a sparco rev. granted, too small for you, but i love it! i was using it as my everyday driving seat while building my ITS car. i swore i'd put one in whatever car i'm driving. i went to ogracing in manassas, va and got to sit in the whole sparco line. woohoo! good luck!

Yeah, I noticed when I was trying out some Bride seats at the D1 event here in SoCal that a few didn't fit me so well. What are the specs of that seat you have that fits you well? I'll try and see if anyone else makes an equivalent sized seat. Also...how tall are you?

Here you go: http://www.mantissaracing.com/Mantis...ce%20seat.htm.

The width is the 17" and gthere's plenty of headroom for me (5'11"). I've a 35 inch waist and 49 inch chest, so it should fit a fairly beefy person.

Hope this illustrates how nice the seats fit. I can take some more if you need them.

Gene

The link doesn't work, but I found the photos on your site.

Do you think you could squeeze a door bar for the cage past the seat?

Seat Pics

The question is...do you have plenty of headroom (atleast 2") with a helmet on??? I saw atleast 2" because that's how much closer my head would be to the roof than yours ;)

Yes, I've about 2" of headroom with the helmet. Much better than the stock seat.

Gene

Thanks for the info Gene.

The thing is, I'm not quite as stocky as you are, so I would require a 16" seat.

I wonder if the mount point spacing is the same on the 16" and 17" seats?

That way, I wouldn't have to do a custom seat rail, as was done in the install I test-fitted.

I'll be getting a 17" seat for the passenger/instructor side, though, since one can't really pick your instructor all the time. ;)

Tyson - yes, you can, I've seen it done, but it was a custom cage.

I have the NEW(modern look) Kirkey road race intermediate, I like it very much, It has the looks of the expensive Sparcos etc, but like you said is alot less money, I bought mine for ~450 from IO Port complete. I used the Sparco universal double locking (45.00)FIA sliders. It does lack good lumbar support, but that is just a matter of a little closed cell foam properly placed under the cover.
It did require some fabrication to mount the sliders to the seat, but it is in my FC, It accomodates a 5'3"(wife), 5'9", and a 6'1" driver without modding the Tranny tunnel, or cutting the original mounting points out of the car, and our helmets clear my Kirk cage(not by much).
Most people have not been able to clear the cage, and the tunnel, let alone accomadate the range of drivers we have(without doing Pauls mods), so be careful, but in the FC it was a great choice for me. Carl Byck

Ashraf,

As an occasional instructor who isn't tiny, thank you ;)

LOL

PaulC

So what was the verdict on the Forza's? You can get them to fit if you fab a bracket for them and lose the sliding capability? If you use the Corbeau sliders you will break your door panel eventually? These are the seats that I was going to go with. I don't particularly care about the sliding of the seat. I am the only driver of my car and my passengers always leave the seat where it is, all the way back.

I discussed the issue of the Forzas not fitting and they claim they have a guy who works there has them with no fitment issues with the brackets. I told them good for him, but they don't fit in my car. They are sending me a Clubman to replace it. I should have it next week. I'll give an update then.

I was looking at Sparco. Anyone know if they Sprint fits in the fd? I guess it would be more of an install because they don't make brackets for our car. I think I may just go with the Corbeau Clubman. I know it will fit since it doesn't have wingy things and they make a bracket for them. almost99: did you get your Clubman's yet?

Not yet. They apparently didn't ship until last Wednesday. Hope to have them by the weekend.

Mark

Does anyone know of a shop in the San Francisco Bay area where I can try sitting in some of these seats?
Thanks!
john

Frey Racing in Fremont, Warm Springs Blvd at Mission Blvd.

PaulC

Thanks ;)

What do you guys think of the Sparco Roadsters? Surely they must fit ok?

I installed the clubman and still had a little rubbing on the lower part of the door and my right leg was pushed against the wheel more than normal. I took the seat out and realized there was a second set of holes on the base that the sliders could bolt to that would allow the seat to sit closer to the center of the car. The base was originally bolted to the sliders when it was shipped to me. It was also labeled "driver". My guess is that Corbeau assembled the bracket set as if it was for a passenger side by mistake. This may make the original Forza seat that I ordered fit, but it was exchanged for the clubman. The clubman no longer interfered with the door, and my right leg had a lot less pressure on the wheel after reassembling the sliders to the base in the correct position.

Anyhow, the clubman did give extra headroom due to the more reclined angle of the back. However it was not enough headroom for me until I removed the velcro seat pad. When I removed it, my shoulders were being pressured by the sides of the seat since the clubman doesn't have the wings, so I'm going to return it. This seat might work if your under 6' 3" and you don't remove the seat pad. Also, the clubman doesn't come with the same certifications that the forza did. Corbeau did not mentioned this to me when the offered this as an alternative.

Mark

I saw Damian's new cym track car he bought from Foko. It has sparco Evo I seats in it . He,( Foko) said they bolted to the stock sliders and he had to fab a bracket for sparco's side mounting plate. He said there is a little rubbing but angleing the seat relieved most of the problems. There is a thread in the third gen section about his new car.( Damian's) Aloha , dave

thats what i'm rockin now:

http://209.177.55.37/images/rx7/index.htm

1 point for bringing thread back from the dead.

Sparco roadsters aren't going to hold you in the car any better than R1 seats.

I've got a Sparco EVO in the car now, wirth a Mitch Piper custom rail It's welded up from a generic Sparco slider and Sparco side mounts.

One important note. Mitch pulled the cover off, and shaved the outer wing (more like just hollowed out the backside) a bit to clear the door. The cover goes back on and still fits... looks like it was made that way. The seat fits and even has just enough room for the seat belt recepticle.

they are better than my leather touring seats, and with the bottom cushions removed, i gained 2 inches of much needed headroom. that was the main reason i did the swap.

Someone just PM'd me regarding the fitment of my Recaros. I had an SPG Pro Racer in my FD. It was a tight squeeze, but they fit. I bought the rails second hand and the only info I could get from the seller was that they're "JDM Super Low."

Pete

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/4701/dscn1030ir1.jpg

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/4130/dscn1031np8.jpg

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/6482/dscn1034fb3.jpg

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/84/dscn1035ak5.jpg