Bucket seats? - daily driver

[Gad-Westy]

Morning all. I'm going to get another MX5 NA. It'll be my fourth. I miss having one! What I don't miss is the standard seats which I never find all that comfortable (I've had early cloth, early leather and late cloth, all about the same) and I don't find them all that supportive either.

I'd like something that is comfortable for longer journeys but doesn't make the car a pain in the neck on a daily basis. I want to retain standard seat belts. The drivers seat will need to be on runners still. Thought about Elise seats but I've had an S1 Elise before and the seats weren't that comfortable. Probax ones would be okay but £££££'s.

So, any recommendations? Or do I just stick with standard?

[MX-5 Lazza]

I have Mk3 seats in my Mk2.5. Much more comfortable and with a lot more support, especially at the shoulders where Mk1/2 seats are very lacking. Drivers seat fairly straightforward to fit but passenger side is a bit trickier.

[Gad-Westy]

MX-5 Lazza said:

I have Mk3 seats in my Mk2.5. Much more comfortable and with a lot more support, especially at the shoulders where Mk1/2 seats are very lacking. Drivers seat fairly straightforward to fit but passenger side is a bit trickier.

Interesting. Can you elaborate a little on how they were fitted?

[MX-5 Lazza]

Not a lot as I fitted mine straight to the floor as I'm too tall to fit them to the runners. They are base mounted just like the Mk1/2 seats but the seats and the mounting holes are wider so all you'd need is an adapter plate which you could make for yourself with a bit of sheet metal and a drill.
The passenger side is more difficult as the seats are both the same width but the Mk1/2 passenger seat is actually narrower than the drivers seat to account for a bump in the transmission tunnel for the handbrake. I fitted mine higher to get over this but my Mrs is my usual passenger and she is short enough for that not to be a problem.

[Gad-Westy]

MX-5 Lazza said:

Not a lot as I fitted mine straight to the floor as I'm too tall to fit them to the runners. They are base mounted just like the Mk1/2 seats but the seats and the mounting holes are wider so all you'd need is an adapter plate which you could make for yourself with a bit of sheet metal and a drill.
The passenger side is more difficult as the seats are both the same width but the Mk1/2 passenger seat is actually narrower than the drivers seat to account for a bump in the transmission tunnel for the handbrake. I fitted mine higher to get over this but my Mrs is my usual passenger and she is short enough for that not to be a problem.

Cheers. I assume you find them an improvement over the 2.5 seats?

[MX-5 Lazza]

Definitely. Not really more space but they are more comfortable and have a lot more support.

[anonymous-user]

Have you tried de-foaming the normal seats? Mine's been like that for years and it holds you in place a lot better without being uncomfortable. I removed the seat back centre foam so it lets you sit further back between the side bolsters, then cut the seat squab centre foam down in height so you sit lower and deeper into the seat cushion.

[Gad-Westy]

JimSuperSix said:

Have you tried de-foaming the normal seats? Mine's been like that for years and it holds you in place a lot better without being uncomfortable. I removed the seat back centre foam so it lets you sit further back between the side bolsters, then cut the seat squab centre foam down in height so you sit lower and deeper into the seat cushion.

That's definitely an option, thanks. I've read about this but never tried it. Does it not make the seat cover a little baggy?

And thanks Lazza, too. Need to try and blag a sit in a NC and see what I think.

I just realised yesterday that actual fixed back bucket/race seats might be a non-starter as it would probably prevent me from being able to fit a high back kid's booster seat to the passenger seat which would be a big problem. Up until that realisation, I'd almost talked myself into fitting some Sparco Sprints. They look like an easy fit, comfortable (apparently) and looks like standard seat belt works okay with them. But if I cannot fit a kids seat in the passenger side....

I realise that I could just get myself a drivers seat and leave the passenger seat standard but my OCD would not allow that!