Elise S1 Question - any one near Edinburgh...

[tim0409]

Just a bit of an odd request - I am looking for a new car at the moment and have seen a lovely S1 which is unfortunately down in the South of England. I have a bit of a dodgy lower back and just wondered how comfortable the stock Elise seats are (the one I am looking at has lumber support)?

Bit of a long shot, but is there anyone near Edinburgh with an S1 who would allow me to sit in it for a while.....

Cheers

Tim

[Thorburn]

Try asking on Scottish Elises.

[sl350z]

tim0409 said:

Just a bit of an odd request - I am looking for a new car at the moment and have seen a lovely S1 which is unfortunately down in the South of England. I have a bit of a dodgy lower back and just wondered how comfortable the stock Elise seats are (the one I am looking at has lumber support)?

Bit of a long shot, but is there anyone near Edinburgh with an S1 who would allow me to sit in it for a while.....

Cheers

Tim

Lotus dealer is in edin, go there

[Thorburn]

For what it's worth the standard S1 seats a very sparsely padded. Like sitting on a wooden bench.

111S seats are far nicer, Sport 135 seats have a cushion that's quite comfortable and The 'Skeleton' seats in some Sport 160's have a cushion at the bottom but the back is absolutely rock solid.

Easy to swap in seats from a later variant if needs be though - I have S2 Exige sports seats in mine with Probax.

[douglasgdmw]

Maybe best popping to Murray's and have a chat with Craig (Service manager) and he will let you know what is possible with an S1.

Had S1111S then S2 111R and found the probax seats in the S2 to be very comfortable over long distance.

George

[northwick]

Standard S1 seats are hard. When I drive from Worcester to Huddersfield I get numb bum after an hour or so. Wouldn't fancy a long trek in one if I had a bad back.

[J2LOT]

^ what they said.
The Probax seats in later cars are fantastic - I too have a bad back and find the Europa ( and similarly fitted Elises) are superb place to be once you're in there, getting in involves a learning process but once you learn the entry and exit strategy the seats are really supportive.
Craig at MMC is one of the most helpful people there is for all things Lotus

[Thorburn]

douglasgdmw said:

Maybe best popping to Murray's and have a chat with Craig (Service manager) and he will let you know what is possible with an S1.

Any of the standard seats will bolt in so long as you have the right runners. Chassis mounting points are the same from the S1 right through to the Exige V6 AFAIK.

[thesurfbus]

I have an S1 with standard seats, I am in Rosewell just south of Edinburgh, you are welcome to try them out.
I find the seats are fine for the first hour of driving, but get numb bum on longer journeys.

[fatwomble]

3 hours with standard seats and I was in pain for the same amount of time after I got out. I have a tillett seat in my current S1 and survived the Journey from Southampton to Jedburgh and back on a separate day) with only mild discomfort.

The same trip in a previous car with Corbeau seats was absolutely fine.

[bencollins]

Thorburn said:

For what it's worth the standard S1 seats a very sparsely padded. Like sitting on a wooden bench.
111S seats are far nicer, Sport 135 seats have a cushion that's quite comfortable and The 'Skeleton' seats in some Sport 160's have a cushion at the bottom but the back is absolutely rock solid.
Easy to swap in seats from a later variant if needs be though - I have S2 Exige sports seats in mine with Probax.

Hmmmm are there any short term fixes for this, i.e. sitting on a cushion (no st ).
let it slip to SWMBO that for the same money we could have bought a 2nd gen boxster, which went down VERY badly , im getting nervous about how uncomfy the seats are.
Long term : see there are reverie, corbeau and tillet options plus something even from Lotus.
MAIN Q: The new evora seats are lovely but maybe dont fit (?) theres one on SELOC. I think my ideal would be this for PAX and a fancy carbon one for the driver.
Also fancy those black and white pretty mixed colour jobbies from a Europe - straight bolt in job or new rails and gubbins?
Found some nice ones on ebay, and some not so nice ones.
do these actually fit or does your head poke out through the roof after fitting? They might do for the passenger seat.

This looks nice
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-EXIGE-ELISE-S2-LEA...
and these for £1.1k nice but priceyish
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-ELISE-EXIGE-BLACK-...

Edited by bencollins on Thursday 11th April 21:10

[Thorburn]

bencollins said:

MAIN Q: The new evora seats are lovely but maybe dont fit (?) theres one on SELOC. I think my ideal would be this for PAX and a fancy carbon one for the driver.

Too wide I believe, the Elise seats are very narrow so you won't find much that'll fit in them.

bencollins said:

Also fancy those black and white pretty mixed colour jobbies from a Europe - straight bolt in job or new rails and gubbins?

I believe the Europa seats are Pro-bax and so need the later style runners. Looking on DeRoures Part List seems to confirm this.
You'd be looking at about £165 for a pair of runners: http://www.bell-colvill.co.uk/parts/shop/search_re...

bencollins said:

Found some nice ones on ebay, and some not so nice ones.
do these actually fit or does your head poke out through the roof after fitting? They might do for the passenger seat.

Not a chance. The base of the seat on the standard seats sits lower than the height of the runners as they are side mounted on. You'd sit about a foot higher up in those things! That assumes they'd even fit in terms of width. I've seen plenty of these style seats advertised for the Elise, but I've NEVER seen any fitted to a car.

bencollins said:

This looks nice
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-EXIGE-ELISE-S2-LEA...

That's a Pro-bax seat, so you'd need a new runner to go with it.

bencollins said:

and these for £1.1k nice but priceyish
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-ELISE-EXIGE-BLACK-...

Few people will recommend that seller. They don't look particularly good to me, aren't Pro-bax and are taking the piss on price.

Hangar 111 do some seats based on a modified version of the 340R seat design which will bolt on to the standard runners - sat in one they had on display at the Lotus Festival last year and it seemed very good. Can get them new and trimmed to suit for similar to what they're asking above - http://www.hangar111.com/shop/188-elise-exige-or-3...

[bencollins]

Thorburn said:

comprehensive catalogued answers

Much obliged.
The hangar 111 could be best, trimmed with fake suede in killer whale colours.
Thinking something like this but with grippier alcantara in the posterior zone

Edited by bencollins on Friday 12th April 07:39

[Thorburn]

Pair of Pro-bax seats on SELOC if you're quick. They're very well priced so won't last long!

[bencollins]

Thanks! I spotted those too, they look awesome!
Unfortunately, Im a bit of a girl and have set me heart on black and white ones as I have an almost fully "stormtroopered" car.
Plus Im broke (much more relevant).