Thinking of changing the seats...
Discussion
Hi again everyone,
I am now thinking of changing the seats in my mk1...
I did look at Elise seats as a few people seem to have used these as they are a good fit. My mate has a S1 Elise and having spent hours in the passenger seat on trips round France I am not keen as they really are not very comfortable! I have looked at other seats such as the Cobra Clubman's and Corbeau Forza but cant decide what to go for.
Does anybody have any photos of bucket seats fitted in theirs so I can have a look?
I am also worried that if I fit buckets such as the Clubman's I will have no choice but to fit harnesses as not convinced that normal seatbelts will work, or be particularly safe, when used in conjuction with these sort of seats.
Any thoughts/ advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance, Rich
P.S. another pic of my wheels, so impressed with them wanted to show off the pic one more time!
I am now thinking of changing the seats in my mk1...
I did look at Elise seats as a few people seem to have used these as they are a good fit. My mate has a S1 Elise and having spent hours in the passenger seat on trips round France I am not keen as they really are not very comfortable! I have looked at other seats such as the Cobra Clubman's and Corbeau Forza but cant decide what to go for.
Does anybody have any photos of bucket seats fitted in theirs so I can have a look?
I am also worried that if I fit buckets such as the Clubman's I will have no choice but to fit harnesses as not convinced that normal seatbelts will work, or be particularly safe, when used in conjuction with these sort of seats.
Any thoughts/ advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance, Rich
P.S. another pic of my wheels, so impressed with them wanted to show off the pic one more time!
you can use any bucket seat with the standard harness, i do, i just put it through one of the harness holes with no probs. i have race harnesses too but they aren't good on the road - they will either restrict your movement and therefore vision (i.e. looking out of junctions) or you'll have them done up loose so they won't do much in the way of safety.
i have a sparco corsa drivers and sparco rev passenger. corbeau sprint are fine and i think cobra imola. if you wnt metal framed seats then corbeau forza, sparco sprint also fit.
with a lot of seats however you'll have to bolt them to the floor rather than on the runners as they sit high.
i have a sparco corsa drivers and sparco rev passenger. corbeau sprint are fine and i think cobra imola. if you wnt metal framed seats then corbeau forza, sparco sprint also fit.
with a lot of seats however you'll have to bolt them to the floor rather than on the runners as they sit high.
Edited by skinny on Wednesday 24th September 04:47
Exige/111S/Elise S2 seats have more padding so are much more comfortable than S1 seats (I've had both) but are slightly narrower. This suited me perfectly as I found myself sliding around on S1 leather seats whereas I fit snugly in the leather S2 seats 
Most aftermarket bucket seats will have you sitting no lower or often higher than the stock seats - something to be aware of.
You can't do away with the stock seatbelts on a road car. Harnesses won't be E-marked so they won't be legal for road use - definitely an issue come MOT time.
Most aftermarket bucket seats will have you sitting no lower or often higher than the stock seats - something to be aware of.
You can't do away with the stock seatbelts on a road car. Harnesses won't be E-marked so they won't be legal for road use - definitely an issue come MOT time.
Edited by MX-5 Lazza on Wednesday 24th September 11:14
hcanning said:
MX-5 Lazza said:
You can't do away with the stock seatbelts on a road car. Harnesses won't be E-marked so they won't be legal for road use - definitely an issue come MOT time.
Not strictly true. Plenty of harnesses are "road legal"Edited to add: Yep, just done a quick google - there are indeed plenty of road legal harnesses out there. Ignore me
Edited by MX-5 Lazza on Wednesday 24th September 14:19
MX-5 Lazza said:
hcanning said:
MX-5 Lazza said:
You can't do away with the stock seatbelts on a road car. Harnesses won't be E-marked so they won't be legal for road use - definitely an issue come MOT time.
Not strictly true. Plenty of harnesses are "road legal"Edited to add: Yep, just done a quick google - there are indeed plenty of road legal harnesses out there. Ignore me
Edited by MX-5 Lazza on Wednesday 24th September 14:19
Would love some pics of Elise seats in the MX5 if anyone has any!
Thanks for your comments so far...
I might just 'man up' and go for Elise seats anyway! Although they are not particularly comfortable they seem very popular amongst others that have changed their seats.
How easy are they to fit? I assume they are side-mounted so would it involve fabricating some sort of bracket? Or does anybody know of any MX5-nut that makes them?!!
I might just 'man up' and go for Elise seats anyway! Although they are not particularly comfortable they seem very popular amongst others that have changed their seats.
How easy are they to fit? I assume they are side-mounted so would it involve fabricating some sort of bracket? Or does anybody know of any MX5-nut that makes them?!!
zac510 said:
Here's my thread about seats:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
There are pics of my S2 seats on that thread http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I'll see if I can find some fitting instructions somewhere...
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w316/maz8062/IM...
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w316/maz8062/IM...
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w316/maz8062/IM...
I sit about 3 inch lower in the seats and they weigh 7.5kg including the runners - stock seats weigh 15kg with runners so you'll be adding lightness. Lazza has a great write up on fitting the seats so best to liase with him if you do decide to fit.
I once compared my elise seats to the RS-LTD Carbon Kevlar seats and whilst the RS seats were more comfortable they were heavier and seated about 2" higher. Once you experience the lower seating position in the 5 it may be difficult to go back to stock...it's that good.
Good luck
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w316/maz8062/IM...
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w316/maz8062/IM...
I sit about 3 inch lower in the seats and they weigh 7.5kg including the runners - stock seats weigh 15kg with runners so you'll be adding lightness. Lazza has a great write up on fitting the seats so best to liase with him if you do decide to fit.
I once compared my elise seats to the RS-LTD Carbon Kevlar seats and whilst the RS seats were more comfortable they were heavier and seated about 2" higher. Once you experience the lower seating position in the 5 it may be difficult to go back to stock...it's that good.
Good luck
Edited by maz8062 on Thursday 25th September 09:37
I thought I had done a better write up somewhere but if I did I can't find it now.
Here is the initial write-up. It's a fairly interesting thread if you can be bothered to read the whole thing.
I changed the flimsy aluminium rear strap for a perforated steel strap as you can see in this thread which is much sturdier and look much better too.
Kev's fitting is probably a bit sturdier again and possibly a bit lower too but does involve butchering Elise runners and the seats being in a fixed position...
Here is the initial write-up. It's a fairly interesting thread if you can be bothered to read the whole thing.
I changed the flimsy aluminium rear strap for a perforated steel strap as you can see in this thread which is much sturdier and look much better too.
Kev's fitting is probably a bit sturdier again and possibly a bit lower too but does involve butchering Elise runners and the seats being in a fixed position...
MX-5 Lazza said:
zac510 said:
Here's my thread about seats:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
There are pics of my S2 seats on that thread http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I'll see if I can find some fitting instructions somewhere...
but are pretty much the same as the S2 seats ,if you do find them a bit hard to sit on you can have the seat cushion remade with thicker foam My car came with a Recaro Profi SPG in place of the driver's seat, on the standard MX-5 runners. It had to go as it was a little narrow for my arse and it didn't go far enough back for my long legs...
Shame, it looked the business and was comfortable on the cheek that I could get in it
Still got it if you're interested...
Shame, it looked the business and was comfortable on the cheek that I could get in it
Still got it if you're interested...
Decided to go for a little bit of comfort and went for some Sparco sprints....weigh 7.5kg so a bit lighter than the standard seats and look the part!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Giving the guy £170 for them but they come with some custom-made subframes for a mini so I'll try and sell those on eBay to get some of my money back.
They are the exact same seat that are being fitted to this mk2 in this very comprehensive fitting guide...
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/158355/4
I'll let everyone know how I get on! I'll post some pics when it's all done.
And also a heads-up..... if anybody is in the market for some mint mk1 seats from a UK 1.6i (1993) then let me know! Was going to keep them in case I ever sell the car but they'll only sit in the shed and get damp so might as well find them a loving home!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Giving the guy £170 for them but they come with some custom-made subframes for a mini so I'll try and sell those on eBay to get some of my money back.
They are the exact same seat that are being fitted to this mk2 in this very comprehensive fitting guide...
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/158355/4
I'll let everyone know how I get on! I'll post some pics when it's all done.
And also a heads-up..... if anybody is in the market for some mint mk1 seats from a UK 1.6i (1993) then let me know! Was going to keep them in case I ever sell the car but they'll only sit in the shed and get damp so might as well find them a loving home!
Edited by ricksaxby on Friday 26th September 19:40
Gassing Station | Mazda MX5/Roadster/Miata | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff