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Aftermarket seats
- Thread starter altered
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puff4
Platinum Level Sponsor
Not criticizing (really!), but indeed I'm just wondering... why would one not use the original seats? I find them very comfortable and well designed, and I can't really understand doing all the work to put something else in, when all the parts necessary to restore the original seats are still available. As I say, not criticizing anyone's choice, just wondering why?
socorob
Donation Time
I just picked up some 2001 miata seats. From the side view they are very slim and I'm 6'1 and they almost make it to the top of my head. I haven't mounted them yet but have a picture of what they look like sitting in the car I'll upload when I get home from work. They have nice side bolsters too but are narrow. They also have a low bottom so my head is 2-3 inches lower than when sitting in the giant eclipse seats in there now.
puff4
Platinum Level Sponsor
I just did a rough calculation and it looks like around $668.50 in parts to totally recondition a pair of factory seats (in this case, SV), whereas a pair of Cobra Classic seats would be around $600.00, so yeah, it is cheaper, but not by a whole lot (unless you get the seats on sale).
And moving to Miata or or similar seats makes some sense to me from a safety point of view (headrests), but I still don't get why one would not stick with the originals if you're just going to get shorty seats after all. Besides, the Cobra Classics don't even seem to have a 'recline' feature, do they?
I really like the Alpine seats. I believe they were designed by an aircraft designer and they were pretty unique for their day, as they were adjustable in 3 ways (fore/aft, up/down and rake), which was a big deal back then, and come to think of it even isn't found on a lot of cars today (including the Miata... I know, I have one!).
Guess I'm just too much of a purist.
(One note on the Miata seats, though... they have hollow headrests and you can unzip them and insert small audio speakers if you want to improve your entertainment experience.)
And moving to Miata or or similar seats makes some sense to me from a safety point of view (headrests), but I still don't get why one would not stick with the originals if you're just going to get shorty seats after all. Besides, the Cobra Classics don't even seem to have a 'recline' feature, do they?
I really like the Alpine seats. I believe they were designed by an aircraft designer and they were pretty unique for their day, as they were adjustable in 3 ways (fore/aft, up/down and rake), which was a big deal back then, and come to think of it even isn't found on a lot of cars today (including the Miata... I know, I have one!).
Guess I'm just too much of a purist.
(One note on the Miata seats, though... they have hollow headrests and you can unzip them and insert small audio speakers if you want to improve your entertainment experience.)
RootesRich
Donation Time
Kevin, I broke my back a little over 3 years ago. Once I healed, I was never comfortable in my stock SV's seats despite them being in perfect condition. 45 minutes of driving left me in unbearable pain.
I made adapters to mount Miata seats to the Factory chassis rails. With the Miata seats I have no back pain driving the car and even made the 8 hour road trip to SUNI V with no issues.
I can't (and won't) speak for everyone who changed their seats, but I can say I'm not the only one on the Forum who found the stock seats uncomfortable due to a medical condition.
I would like to caution those thinking of the Miata seat conversion that depending on how you mount them, you may have interference with top of legs and the stock steering wheel. Jim Stone discovered this issue when he mocked up my seat adapters with his stock wheel.
I made adapters to mount Miata seats to the Factory chassis rails. With the Miata seats I have no back pain driving the car and even made the 8 hour road trip to SUNI V with no issues.
I can't (and won't) speak for everyone who changed their seats, but I can say I'm not the only one on the Forum who found the stock seats uncomfortable due to a medical condition.
I would like to caution those thinking of the Miata seat conversion that depending on how you mount them, you may have interference with top of legs and the stock steering wheel. Jim Stone discovered this issue when he mocked up my seat adapters with his stock wheel.
I added headrests from a 90's Chevy pickup to my seats. They serve to raise the shoulder seat belt strap so they serve two safety concerns. In addition, they do not interfere with top lowering or erecting. A local shop added the headrests, rebuilt them (new foam) and made custom covers for about $425.
Yeah, I know. The deal of the century. But check locally, you might find that customizing your seats is an option.
Bill
Yeah, I know. The deal of the century. But check locally, you might find that customizing your seats is an option.
Bill
RootesRich
Donation Time
Sure do. PM me your e-mail address and I'll send them to you.
Yeah, there is quite a story behind them. I told the guy what I wanted, he reached under a bench and pulled them out. Perfect, I don't think a person could design something that looks more in place. Cost: Free. I think he charged me $25 to adapt them to the Alpine seat.
Bill
Besides the headrests, in my mind one reason to go with aftermarket or later seats is that there have been numerous upgrades to car seat safety since the 60's; headrests are only one of them. I have put a lot of time into trying to find the perfect seat for my SIV V6. Perfect for me includes a separate headrest, as I just think it looks better and I like the idea of just pulling them off and still being able to use a tonneau. After several false starts, I think the Mazda M Edition seats will fill the bill. I don't have a photo of them test mounted in my SV, but you can see what they look like here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&vxp=mtr&item=380378883652 I believe these were only offered one year in the US, so they are hard to find, but they do come up. I bought mine on eBay a few months ago for about $250. They will need to be recovered and I haven't decided yet if I will go with these seat covers or have them custom made. I thought they looked very good when I had them in the Alpine and they were more comfortable than the stock ones. As Rich noted, I did have to mount them as close as possible to the floor to keep my thighs from resting on the stock steering wheel, but it can be done with some trial and error and modification of the stock Mazda seat rails.
Just to save someone else from the same blind alleys I explored, my first attempt was a Procar Rally seat. http://www.procarbyscat.com/Products_Rally.asp I really liked this seat and wanted it to work, but it was too large and sat too high for my tastes. However, it might be a good choice if you don't mind that. I have a photo somewhere of one in my SV if anyone wants to see it.
My second attempt was a set of1977 Fiat 124 Spyder seats that I was given. The seats came off a parts car that had sat outside for a while, so they are really beat, but I thought they looked really good in the car. Here is a picture of them sitting in my S3:
I liked the look, but they also too sat too high for my tastes.
The Mazda seats were my third and most likely final attempt and I was able to get them close enough to the floor to be virtually identical to the stock seats. However, for those wanting a headrest with stock seats, there is another option that I went with on my SV. I had a roll bar made for the car about 5 years ago and designed it specifically to allow a headrest to be added. It took me until just recently to have them made, but here are two shots showing them:
The headrests are made out of plywood and foam and held on with muffler clamps. I paid $70 to have covers made for them and am very happy with the result.
Just to save someone else from the same blind alleys I explored, my first attempt was a Procar Rally seat. http://www.procarbyscat.com/Products_Rally.asp I really liked this seat and wanted it to work, but it was too large and sat too high for my tastes. However, it might be a good choice if you don't mind that. I have a photo somewhere of one in my SV if anyone wants to see it.
My second attempt was a set of1977 Fiat 124 Spyder seats that I was given. The seats came off a parts car that had sat outside for a while, so they are really beat, but I thought they looked really good in the car. Here is a picture of them sitting in my S3:
I liked the look, but they also too sat too high for my tastes.
The Mazda seats were my third and most likely final attempt and I was able to get them close enough to the floor to be virtually identical to the stock seats. However, for those wanting a headrest with stock seats, there is another option that I went with on my SV. I had a roll bar made for the car about 5 years ago and designed it specifically to allow a headrest to be added. It took me until just recently to have them made, but here are two shots showing them:
The headrests are made out of plywood and foam and held on with muffler clamps. I paid $70 to have covers made for them and am very happy with the result.