DaveTurnerMotorsports

With the price of Sparco, MOMO, and Recaro increasing so much this year, Cobra Seats are looking better and better. They are all either kevlar or carbon fiber (except for the clubman and monaco -- tube frame steel like the Corbeau Forza), which makes them both lighter and stronger than their fiberglass counterparts. And at $150-$1700 LESS than other brands, Cobra is one hell of a deal.

Sparco Evo2 (discontinued as of 12/14) $699
Fiberglass, 19lbs-22lbs depending on prod. date

Cobra Suzuka $689
Kevlar, 15lbs, new style has HANS reinforcement plate at harness slots for shoulder belts.

MOMO Cup $499
Fiberglass, 15lbs, comfortable and light for fiberglass

I would steer clear of the Corbeau tube-frame seats and mounts, as they have proven to not be strong enough in the event of a wreck, especially on a secondary impact.

For reference, I have 30 seats on display on my showroom and I am a Master Distributor for Sparco, MOMO, Cobra, Corbeau, Recaro, and Ultrashield seats and have every model you guys are discussing for easy comparison. I'm in San Diego, and to avoid any finger-pointing about advertising I will just ANSWER any questions about seats without trying to sell you something. Most garage internet companies can beat my pricing anyway (illegally, apart from the manufacturer's legal policies), but we have been solidly in business since 1969 and manufacterers trust us and honor all warranty claims and service.

Fire away with specific questions, especially ones regarding seat weight and actual dimensions, as several manufacturer's web sites have incorrect dimensional information. I probably have them in front of me and can do it old-fashion style-- tape measure and postal scale.

FWIW, I'm 6' and 195lbs with a 34-36 waist. Sparco Evo (discontinued) fits very snugly, Evo2 is good, Evo3 won't even be close to fitting in an FC (its BIIIIG). MOMO Cup and Cup GT are good choices (I like the GT), or for less than $300 the MOMO Start is an excellent fiberglass FIA seat. Anything from Cobra is awesome, and kevlar seats start at less than $600 retail...definitely a good value. I currently fit in "regular size" Cobras since they widened them up for this new production run, and the "GT" widths are pretty big, a good choice for those who are 250lbs +.

Again, not advertising here, just answering questions.

FCNAred

iTrader: (2)

I'm 5'10 like 145lbs, my pro2000 is a little bit loose on me but i daily drive with it so its nice to not have to have my *** clenched while driving. I bought a bride rail but it made the seat sit up superhigh, after hacking it up to basically 4 tabs on sliders, and welding it back together, it sits down low enough that i can clear a helmet. modding the stock sliders would have been cheaper and about the same amount of work.

oakback

With or without sunroof?

I'm 6'4", 178, 33" waist, and my FC has a sunroof. Would anything fit that I could wear a helmet with? Does anything sit lower than the stock seat? With the stock seat, I either have to slouch a lot (knees next to steering wheel) or **** my head to the side (with sunroof open) when wearing a helmet.

RETed

Glad to see ANYONE offering help with seat sizing.

I'm eyeing an EVO2 (changed to EVO L?), but it might be too much of a race seat for a daily driver.
Ingress and egress might cause me to wear the thigh bolsters too quickly or get myself hurt. :P

Do you got pics of the Cobra seats?
I tried to do a web search for your website, but it was down / non-existant at this point in time?


-Ted

DaveTurnerMotorsports

www.CobraSeats.com is the manufacturers site. The Evo2/L is actually one of Sparco's easiest race/street combination seats, as the side bolsters are much lower than say a Pro2000 or a Corsa. The Evo series of seats has recently been discontinued by Sparco, but they may have a new line out shortly (see www.SparcoUSA.com for the current available seats). I still have a few down here, but the offroad guys have been snatching them up because they are comfortable in the Trophy Trucks.

Similar in feel and dimensions to the Evo line is the Cobra Imola, start at $170 less than the Evo and they are Kevlar and FIA approved. Easy ingress/regress, but a little short in the leg padding length. The Suzuka is deeper and with a split thigh pad, but in turn tougher to get in and out of. Still costs less than a fiberglass Evo.

FWIW, when I get my GTUs back from the engine builder after Christmas, a Cobra Suzuka is going in the driver's side, and maybe an Imola on the passenger side (cheaper and light, no passengers anyway but required for the SCCA autocross class we are running it in). Second choice (and if $$ dictates it) is a MOMO Cup GT in the driver's side, but the seat is a little square in feel (but then again so am I) and a MOMO Start in the passenger side.

I try not to advertise online, we're not that kind of shop. www.DaveTurnerMotorsport.com

RETed

Thanx for your quick reply.

I don't think I would fit in the Pro2000, as that seat is pretty narrow on the bottom.
I'm 6'1", 240#, 40" waist right now, and I think I would be snug in the Evo2.
The car is going to be set up for road racing and possibly drifting (if the wallet can handle the tire purchases), but I still want to street it as a daily driver.
Support and fit is first and foremost.
Ease of ingress and egress is next due to the car being a daily driver (you make it sound like this is not that big of a deal though).
I'm willing to pay the big bucks for exotic materials, as a $1,000+ seat does not scare me...but it has to be light.
I weighed the stock seat to be a little over 30 lbs.
I believe the Evo2 was right around 20 lbs.?
I'd pay the money if I can get the seat down under 15 lbs. and possibly down to 10?
So $1,000+ to cut the seat weight in half is worth it in my book.

Yeah, that's the URL I tried.
In fact, I just tried to click it, and it doesn't work.


-Ted

jrx13

iTrader: (3)

Hello Daveturnermotorsports,

Got a quick question. I have an 87 Rx-7 with autopower bolt in roll cage and a cobra suzuka seat. I have mounted the cobra seat brackets to the stock seat mounts/humps on the floor but still have helmet/head issues. It would not fit with the stock sliders. Any advice on how you guys mount the seats in a FC? Do you just live without the sliders? I have heard somepeople cut the stock seat mounts out of the car then bolt the cobra side mounts to the floor?

Thanks for your help,
Jack


As for the website, looks like it is down because I was browsing it ok several days ago.

DaveTurnerMotorsports

Thanks for the heads up on the web site, I am now looking into it. Sorry for the delay. In the mean time, www.SparcoUSA.com , www.MOMOusa.com , www.Recaro-NAO.com , www.CobraSeats.com , www.Corbeau.com are good resources, we should be listed as distributors on each site as well.

Sounds like RETed is looking for a Suzuka GT, runs about $729 and is Kevlar and weighs right around 15-16lbs depending on when it was manufactured. Anything lighter than that in that size, unless it was full carbon-fiber and FIA approved, IMO would not be safe. Remember that the steel side mounts are about 5lbs for the pair, and the Wedge/Sparco/Recaro/MOMO adapter bases (all made by one company in Long Beach, nothing exotic) weigh 7-10lbs also. Aluminum side mounts are 2.5lbs, haven't weighed the Sparco flat sliders (prefered-- double locking and inexpensive....Recaros are good too, but another $30+). The Suzuka GT is available in carbon-fiber, but retails around $1989.00 and has a triple-density foam filler and full-cover Alcantera...very grippy, very light, very durable fabric. But over twice the value? Maybe not........

I don't have my GTUs back yet, looks like we will be using a Flat style direct bolt-in base/adaptor from Wedge first, with flat Sparco sliders, and aluminum side mounts (autocross car, not a full race car, so its okay not to have FIA mounts) and that should be okay for me at 6' with no sunroof in the car. Otherwise it looks like you could fabricate a plate and bolt the flat sliders and side mounts onto the chassis base. We only had the seat out once, then off to the engine shop, I will take a look and photos when the car returns after Christmas.

Jack-- you may need to ditch the sliders. Make distinct holes in the chassis (reinforced with sheet metal, if possible). Most "good" side mounts should have multiple bottom hole locations which should allow you to "move" the seat forward and rear by unbolting.

jrx13

iTrader: (3)

Well if you ever get pics of your setup, I sure would like to see them. Maybe I'll take a few pics and show you what I did so far.

-Jack

andrewb70

Are you using the Corbeau seat mounts?
If you are using the Corbeau mounts, do they position the seat lower then a stock seat?
Do you think the Forza II will fit in the car?

Andrew

EagleScout

I have a Forza II in my 91 with an Autopower cage. I could not use the Corbeau sliders and it required the seat to be mounted to the factory mounting spots with metal plates.

There are issues with the top part of the seat hitting the roll cage.

I'm searching for another wide seat that is shorter. Looking at Kirkey and Ultrashield.

Ray

andrewb70

Ray,

Can you please elaborate on why you could not use the Corbeau sliders? If you have install pictures, that would be very nice.

I plan on having a custom cage built after the seats are installed.

Thanks,
Andrew

EagleScout

I couldn't use the Corbeau sliders due to a height issue. The top corner of the seat would hit the side of the roll bar and the seat would not sit flat. The slider on the Corbeau mounting frame raises the seat about 3/4". Using the mounting frame without the slider allows the seat to fit in, but the seat corner is still compressed by the bar.

I like the Forza II, it's just about 1" to tall.

I tried moving the Autopower rollcage mounting and there isn't any adjustment in it. It fits in one spot and only one spot. Without a rollbar, there should not be a problem.

I'm 6' 0", 250# 42" waist, so I need a wide seat. My co-driver son is 5'9", 160#. He sits too far back with the seat permanently fixed, so I have to find a solution for a slider setup.

Ray

EagleScout

It's supposed to warm up over the weekend (defined as over 32), so I can try and get the car out and take some pictures.

DaveTurnerMotorsports

Corbeau sliders are single-locking as well, wouldn't even trust that on a street car...too much risk of breakage, especially on a secondary impact. Corbeau's base/adapters are made by the same company as Recaro, Sparco, Momo (Wedge), should be strong enough for street or race.

Recaro and Sparco make double-locking sliders that are much more resilient, and cost between 50-89 dollars, worth the investment as its the weakest link in the seat mounting system.

Concerned? Buy the cheap Corbeau base/slider set, ditch the sliders, drill new holes on the base and put in the double-locking units. Reinforce as necessary on certain models that use 1/8" steel.

-JW

andrewb70

Pictures would be great!

We are about the same size and I think I will simply permanently mount the seat. I rarely move my seat and noone else drives my car.

Andrew

andrewb70

Thanks for the tip JW!

Andrew

jrx13

iTrader: (3)

Hey Andrew. I hear alot of people having the seat brackets as part of the cage. Since your getting a cage done, you might want to research this instead. I heard it is safer than bolting a seat to the floor because the seat stays with the cage instead of the body of the car in a wreck.

Just my thoughts..
-Jack

Turbo23

iTrader: (4)

im 6'5 260 with a 40-42 waist. I just received my evo2, Its a good fit. It doesnt feel like I have to squeeze in. Its a good support.

andrewb70

Good tip Jack. Thanks!

I am still hoping to see some pictures of the Forza2 or Evo2 installed in an FC.

Thanks,
Andrew

DaveTurnerMotorsports

I was up at my FC over the weekend (engine still not ready to go back in), and removed the seat and did some measurements. Took them back to my shop, and it appears that the most of the "regular" (Evo/Corsa) to "big" (Evo2/Cobra GT-width, MOMO GT-width) seats will fit, at least on the GTUS, with either just the Sparco flat sliders and side mounts directly attached to the chassis. The problem looks like the rear mount holes are wider apart than the front, but measuring the frame rails and blocks that come up from the floor, you could straighten out some lines and either mount side mts to the chassis, or a pair of flat sliders. I won't know for sure until next week when I get the car back, but it looks like this eliminates the need for a steel adapter that bolts to the factory bolt holes (adding weight and height, but a good secure mount utilizing factory-reinforced locations).

Either way, make sure that you use good hardware, don't mount the seat in soft or unreinforced locations, and triple-check your measurements so you're not putting holes all over the place or installing the seat crookedly.

IndyFC

Sorry for the thread diggin but didn't feel the need to make a new thread.

6'3" and 285lbs with 42" waist(for now, NAVY is making me cut down some).

Just wondering what I should look into? I'll probably been down to about 270lbs and a 38" or 40" waist.

Turbo23

iTrader: (4)

sparco evo 2 or referred to as evo L. Its alittle snug, but really not that bad at all, very good support, no need to squeeze. Ive had friend with a 38 that complained, but seriously its a race seat, you dont want a super loose seat

Redshft

iTrader: (1)

Not looking to resurrect and old thread, but I was going to ask some similar questions, and decided not to start a whole new one after I finished reading all of this.

Need a seat for my FC road-racing car. (Customer 10-pt welded in cage.) Car came with an old tube-frame Corbeau seat. Other than being old, I need to replace it because neither my self or my girlfriend (who will co-drive) will fit.

I'm 6", 210lbs and a 36"-38" waist. Judging from the Kirkey seat in my old 240SX race car, I need something like 17.5" to 18" between the bolsters.
The added catch is, my girlfriend has fairly wide hip bones. Will need something like 19" between the bolsters. (Her hips would catch on the Kirkey and not let her actually sit on the seat bottom.)
On top of that, sliders would be nice in order that we can both be comfortable and not have to re-mount the seat between events.

The added wrinkle is, there are no stores in my area to test-fit anything.

So, all of that being said, any suggestions?
I was originally looking at a Corbeau Forza II, but I kind of want to get away from a tube-frame. The FX1 looks like it just might work, and the FX1 Wide certainly will (if it will actually fit in the car.) But, I don't like the sounds of the quality of the Corbeau sliders.

The more I read, the more confused I get.

Any input appreciated.