Not the most comfortable seats ever...

[mister kevlar]

I did notice in the two elises ive been in that the seats are not comfy, okay before you all hate me with the obvious answer "its a sports car!!" i do see many have upgraded seats in them, i have sat in both leather and the cloth seats..

so any ideas on whats the best way to gp on the seat upgrade path? this will be my main car and the girlfriend whats to be put on insurance to...

[james24]

could always get some nice flowery cushions? they'd be comfier

[B19GRR]

Different spec cars have different seats, S1 111s are supposed to be good as are the 340r seats. S2 seats are pretty good anyway. Lotus offer a retrim service for about £200 per seat and yo can ge them to add more padding then. So if leather takes your fancy you could get a car with cloth seats and get them retrimmed/padded and be laughing!

[DanH]

Just get an S2?

[dragstar]

the s1 111s seats are really comfy. try to get the optional lumbar support as this really is helpful for longer journeys

[Northernboy]

I think it's highly dependent on the shape of your arse. I've done the length of the country in my S1, and got out feeling absolutely fine. I'm 5'10", and weigh 12st 10lb. It's probably true to say that the range of people suited to the S1 seats is quite restricted, though.

[mister kevlar]

As well as comfort the s1 seats even leather arent exactly nice looking! when you look at such a fantastic odd car! you expect better, all that cool alluminium inside and bad looking dodgem car seats aint good!...

Perhaps this was where lotus cut corners in design and costs! i like the reverie seats from what ive seen, although the web pics arent that great also corbeau are obvious choice to!...

Any of you guys out there have any aftermarket seats in your cars?? if so name some names!

[gfun]

The factory built S1 135 had cobra seats fitted. Which were much better (and better to look at) - should think they would be an easy up grade.

[cuzza]

In the S1, the cloth seats have more padding but as they almost all leak, most people go for leather as it doesn't get soggy!!

[Dr Bob]

gfun said:

The factory built S1 135 had cobra seats fitted. Which were much better (and better to look at) - should think they would be an easy up grade.

Sorry to correct you gfun, but they are Corbeau, not cobra, but yes they are an easy upgrade as IIRC they are retrimmed standard seats anyway.

But yes, very comfy.

CH

[DanH]

Bare in mind changing seats etc is expensive and you are unlikely to get the money back when you sell. Buy the car with the right seats in the first place if you haven't already.

[gfun]

Dr Bob said:

gfun said: The factory built S1 135 had cobra seats fitted. Which were much better (and better to look at) - should think they would be an easy up grade. Sorry to correct you gfun, but they are Corbeau, not cobra, but yes they are an easy upgrade as IIRC they are retrimmed standard seats anyway. But yes, very comfy. CH

Stand corrected -

Yes you are right bignins with a C anyway

my explanation is I was sat on them at the time so did not read the lable properley !

[Dr Bob]

No problem,
I only know cos I was seriously considering this...
...then was too broke to do anything about it!

CH

[cinqster]

I tried an S1 135 with the Corbeau seats when I was hunting for my car and I actually found them less comfortable than the stock seats?!

[Johnson77]

Hey guys,

so this is my first post at pistonheads.com!

Like many others of you, the leather seats in my '97 MK 1 are a apin in the a...Has anyone here tried to fit in some Sparco seats? I am a little worried that they don't fit in. I am really interested to buy a pair of nice red Sparcos I just think they look awesome plus if you're on the track sometimes it will definetely be an improvement.

Thanks a lot for your help,

Johnson

[apprentice]

mister kevlar said:

I did notice in the two elises ive been in that the seats are not comfy, okay before you all hate me with the obvious answer "its a sports car!!" i do see many have upgraded seats in them, i have sat in both leather and the cloth seats..

Mister K : my advice is to live with the car for a while before making any decisions about seat changes.

A number of our customers had the same initial thoughts as you - but then subsequently discovered that the seats were extremely supportive even on long runs and the initial numb-bum syndrome experienced when you first get in an Elise soon went!

It's a bit like climbing on a racing bike when you've been out of the saddle for a while!



>> Edited by apprentice on Friday 10th October 09:33

[Arno]

Johnson77 said:

Has anyone here tried to fit in some Sparco seats? I am a little worried that they don't fit in.

Your worry is correct. Normal 'off the shelf' seats don't fit in an Elise as they are too wide.

Even the Lotus Corbeau sport seat only replaces the driver's seat and re-covers the original passenger seat as you can't fit 2 of the Corbeau ones.

Eliseparts sell replacement seats that can be fitted in pairs:

www.eliseparts.com/products_pages/interior/my_bl.htm

Another option is to get the seats re-trimmed and additional padding installed by the factory (eg. have them re-done like the S2 2004 seats). They do a reasonably priced trimming service.

Bye, Arno.

[Johnson77]

Dear Arno,

thanks for your reply...as far as I can remember I have seen a picture of two Corbeau seats fitted in an Elise...anyway, the seats must have really been squeezed into the car, there was absolutely no space at all between them.

So I looked up the dimensions for the Corbeau seats used in the Elise (Pro Sport, www.corbeau.com)...the bottom is 20 inches wide as compared to the Sparco I wanna buy is only 48 cm thus 18.9 inches wide...(Rev, www.sparcousa.com)

God I just wish somebody would tell me "Yes, I have two of those Sparcos fitted and it wasn't any problem at all." I can see myself buying these seats and after trying to fit them into the Elise ending up having two pretty awkward looking seats in my livingroom...

Have a good one,

Johnson

>> Edited by Johnson77 on Friday 10th October 11:11

[fastspider]

My first Elise (98 model S1) gave me numb bum syndrome on long trips. When I specified my second (late 2000 model S1) I upgraded to the Sport 160 seats and I am very happy with them. They adjust on the same rails as the standard seats, whereas the Corbeau racing seats are fixed position (good idea to have them bolted down for racing).

The Sport 160 seats are channelled black fabric with a thick blue alcantara seat pad that makes a huge difference. I've driven 500 miles in a day without discomfort.

[Gfun]

You may like to try - www.europaspares.com

They have one of the best seat ranges around and are happy to discuss fitting seats in to cars as they service the kit industry.

The links to the catalog are at the bottom of the page.