Seats!

[James Elmer]

Hello All.
Much I as I enjoy almost everything about A110 ownership - the car, engaging with fellow owners, the tips and advice, the modifications to personalise and get the best from the car, the elephant in the room, for me at least (and my wife too) remains: the seats. Whilst the PE seats (the same as the S? The ‘bucket’ seats) are supportive and snug for short journeys and short track sessions, I’m increasingly finding them too tight at the back of the seat to be comfortable on longer track sessions (~40 mins) and long journeys (~3 hours). Is anyone else finding this? Has anyone explored alternatives?
I’m going to take up Charles on his kind offer to have a quick sit in the Legende/ GT seats. I’m also going to Tillett HQ this week to see what they can do.
Any thoughts or ideas appreciated! Thank you.
James.

[Subculture]

Bucket seat comfort across all brands seem to be more closely related to your physical size/shape. For me the buckets were more comfortable and supportive across all journey lengths than the comfort/GT seats. Plenty of others have reported that the GT seats work better for them, but may not provide the support you want on track.

[biggles330d]

Can only say I have buckets in my Pure and they are by far the most comfortable seats in any of our cars. Hold you in but are also cushioned very well. We did thousands of miles in France in July with stretches well over 5 hours on several occasions and not a hint of discomfort. I can appreciate that if you don't fit that well in them though, there's no scope for adjustment where the comfort seats would offer you that.

[7en]

James Elmer said:

Hello All.
Much I as I enjoy almost everything about A110 ownership - the car, engaging with fellow owners, the tips and advice, the modifications to personalise and get the best from the car, the elephant in the room, for me at least (and my wife too) remains: the seats. Whilst the PE seats (the same as the S? The ‘bucket’ seats) are supportive and snug for short journeys and short track sessions, I’m increasingly finding them too tight at the back of the seat to be comfortable on longer track sessions (~40 mins) and long journeys (~3 hours). Is anyone else finding this? Has anyone explored alternatives?
I’m going to take up Charles on his kind offer to have a quick sit in the Legende/ GT seats. I’m also going to Tillett HQ this week to see what they can do.
Any thoughts or ideas appreciated! Thank you.
James.

The buckets are the same in all the cars, apart from the lovely additional microfibre upholstery in the San Remo, Tour De Corse 75 and Enstone Editions.

I wonder where do you find the bucket seats too tight, the kidney bolsters or towards the back of the seat base?

I too absolutely love the A110 yet unfortunately don't find either of the seat options comfortable out of the box, I've currently taken to modification of the buckets, which is already a great improvement. However if that doesn't work out I will try and fit the former Renault Sport go to seats, the Recaro Sportser CS.

Edited by 7en on Tuesday 10th September 21:52

[James Elmer]

Thanks for the all the thoughts/ ideas so far.
The specific issue is how the sides at the very back of the seats squeeze my hips/ backside to the extent that I get aches down my right leg. Same for my wife with both legs.
Please see pictures attached (of the seat..!).
You can see how the front edge is 320 wide (fine) and even at 2/3rds back from the front edge it’s still 320/315mm (fine) but then it tapers to 285/290mm, and it’s the same width at the bottom of the back rest.
I’ve not had the issue in any other cars (including the Cobra Evolution FIA seat in our R53 Mini race car) and I haven’t changed much in shape or size for a few years (thankfully!).
That’s a good call re: Renault RS / Recaro CS seat - I’d like to measure one across the point where I’m having trouble.

[Jacobyte]

You could try Tillett B5 or B6. I had the B6 fitted to a previous car and with the Dinamica inserts and they were perfectly comfortable, even on long road trips with 300 to 500 miles a day. Saved 15Kg over standard too.

[RikkertBiemans]

James Elmer said:

Thanks for the all the thoughts/ ideas so far.
The specific issue is how the sides at the very back of the seats squeeze my hips/ backside to the extent that I get aches down my right leg. Same for my wife with both legs.
Please see pictures attached (of the seat..!).
You can see how the front edge is 320 wide (fine) and even at 2/3rds back from the front edge it’s still 320/315mm (fine) but then it tapers to 285/290mm, and it’s the same width at the bottom of the back rest.
I’ve not had the issue in any other cars (including the Cobra Evolution FIA seat in our R53 Mini race car) and I haven’t changed much in shape or size for a few years (thankfully!).
That’s a good call re: Renault RS / Recaro CS seat - I’d like to measure one across the point where I’m having

Did you already try one of these lend supporting pillows? It would occupy the tight space. These are quite cheap, i would give them a try.

Oh, and even Walter Röhrl uses them 😊

Edited by RikkertBiemans on Monday 12th August 20:51

[James Elmer]

Jacobyte said:

You could try Tillett B5 or B6. I had the B6 fitted to a previous car and with the Dinamica inserts and they were perfectly comfortable, even on long road trips with 300 to 500 miles a day. Saved 15Kg over standard too.

That’s a good shout, thank you. I’ll go to Tillett HQ on Wednesday morning to find out what they suggest.

[James Elmer]

RikkertBiemans said:

Did you already try one of these lend supporting pillows? It would occupy the tight space. These are quite cheap, i would give them a try.

Oh, and even Walter Röhrl uses them ??

Edited by RikkertBiemans on Monday 12th August 20:51

Thank you, I will look up details for that. Maybe it might give me some of Walter’s speed too!

[7en]

James Elmer said:

Thanks for the all the thoughts/ ideas so far.
The specific issue is how the sides at the very back of the seats squeeze my hips/ backside to the extent that I get aches down my right leg. Same for my wife with both legs.
Please see pictures attached (of the seat..!).
You can see how the front edge is 320 wide (fine) and even at 2/3rds back from the front edge it’s still 320/315mm (fine) but then it tapers to 285/290mm, and it’s the same width at the bottom of the back rest.
I’ve not had the issue in any other cars (including the Cobra Evolution FIA seat in our R53 Mini race car) and I haven’t changed much in shape or size for a few years (thankfully!).
That’s a good call re: Renault RS / Recaro CS seat - I’d like to measure one across the point where I’m having trouble.

This is the area I also have issue with the buckets, specifically the top of my hip joints push into the shell at the rear where it narrows. Initially this made me sit with my bum slid forward leading to an unsupported lower back. I've now widened the seat shell in this area so I can slide back, when I now initially sit in the bucket it feels very comfy and also sit ~1" lower.

The GT seats are a bit wider, however I still don't feel fully comfortable in them, which is really necessary in such a dynamic car. Interested to see what works for you James, I can measure the Recaro Sportster CS seat base for you as I have a couple in my loft as spares for my Clio RS, however I used the Recaros for years with no issues.

Edited by 7en on Tuesday 10th September 21:45

[croyde]

How did you widen the seat shell?

Just interested cheers

[7en]

croyde said:

How did you widen the seat shell?

Just interested cheers

I sculpted the shell where it was making contact with my hips towards the rear.

It's not something I'd recommend, but I have another set of seats to swap in should the unthinkable happen and I decide to sell.

Edited by 7en on Tuesday 10th September 21:48

[James Elmer]

Hi 7en - thanks for the info and the offer to measure the CS seats - I’d be grateful for the measurements if it’s not too much trouble, please? Thank you.

[7en]

James Elmer said:

Hi 7en - thanks for the info and the offer to measure the CS seats - I’d be grateful for the measurements if it’s not too much trouble, please? Thank you.

I'll grab one out of the loft on the weekend but I think this is correct.



I've looked into it and it would require fairly simple metal plates to attach the Recaro frame to the factory sliders, or to attach Recaro sliders to the car's mounting points. I'm just not sure the seat wouldn't foul the centre console, which will likely depend on how high it sits.

Edited by 7en on Tuesday 13th August 20:19

[James Elmer]

Hi. Thanks for the diagram. 315mm wide seems quite narrow, but around 30mm more which would be helpful and may be just the job! I agree with your concern about it fitting, particularly beside the centre console/beam thing. I guess I’d borrow a CS and do a test swap to see how it goes. I’m hoping that however it ends up, others might benefit from the trail we’re blazing!

[7en]

Yes, it's far too good of a car to give up on over seats. I think the Sportster CS would suit the car very well but will try to make the buckets work if I can.

I do remember measuring the GT seats and the Recaros were a similar size if not slightly smaller, but there's quite tight tolerances even with the factory seats. We'd also have to find a way to attach the seat belt fixings on either side.

[TimRV57]

Great thread and will welcome your insights.

I did bump into someone at Bedford track day last week who mentioned Tillet do have a solution for the A110, I might look into that myself at some point but would definitely be interested what they say if you pop down there.

[7en]

Interesting, the black B10 looks great and would suit the A110 beautifully.

My only concern would be the thin padding, it will help sit much lower which would be a game changer, however I really like the plush padding of the buckets, it's just the shell is too narrow.

[James Elmer]

A quick update. I took up Charles’ kind offer to do a seat trial in his Legende with the comfort seats. I can see them working well as the sides are lower and more cutaway at the critical point for hips, where the seat base meets the seat back. With the addition of back rest adjustment and height adjustment, the signs are looking good. I think they will be good for road trips and general use. Helpfully, Charles has a pair of black (with blue stitching) comfort seats available, having swapped them out for the beautiful Amber comfort seats.
I’m at Tillett HQ tomorrow morning to see what they can do as I’m still interested in a shell seat for track days, which needs to be wider than my PE bucket seat, but supportive for thighs and ribs, without needing harnesses, for track driving.
At the moment my thoughts are:
A110 comfort seats - ideal for general use and road trips; weight is a consideration.
Recaro CS - depending on fit (mounts, rails, simply fitting in the car or not) they could be a good balance between road and track.
Tillett, one of the models they do for road cars - could be a good choice to swap in as a drivers seat for track days and also for Spa, Nür trips with track days as part of those trips.
More on this tomorrow after the trip to Tillett HQ!

[croyde]

Dare I ask your build

I've only tried sitting in the bucket seats in an Alpine so far, test drive tomorrow.

I did instantly find them comfortable but then I only sat in them for 5 mins.

I have Sabelts in my Abarth which are quite narrow but have been fine on a long drive. Think 3 hours is the longest so far.

I'm a slightly flabby, 80kg, 182cms with a 33ins waist.

The Abarth Sabelts backrest is adjustable.