Hello all, I'm a bit of a tall guy, and a bit of a cheap bastard. A few weeks ago, I got to test-fit a Lotus Elise and was astonished to find that there was quite a bit of headroom for me (as opposed to the Miata, and to a lesser extent, the MR2..). I hopped back out and noticed how low and thin the seats were, allowing so much headroom for me in such a low car. So, I got to thinking again if an aftermarket seat could allow me (and my helmet) to fit in a Miata, or in general, any car that was not quite tall enough.

The thing is, right now I'm autocrossing an older RX-7, and it would be nice to get my neck straightened and my helmet off the roof in that car too for the remainder of the time I own/drive/autocross the car. So it would be nice if I could put in a (preferrably stock-class legal) aftermarket seat in that, and yet have the capability to pull it out and install it in another vehicle (Miata, etc.) in the future should I decide to stop dumping money down one car hole, and start dumping it down another.

So, in general, is it safe to move/transplant a race/aftermarket seat from one make of car to another? I imagine different mounting brackets/rails/etc. may have to be used, but will cuts/holes/etc. from a previous installation compromise the integrity of the new installation? What other practicalities might put the kibosh on my pinny-pinching fantasy?

...spending some money to put a lower seat (more headroom) into one car isn't so appealing to me, but "making an investment in the potential for headroom in every car I buy in the future" (somewhat of an exaggeration, obviously) isn't such a horrible thing to me.

If it is a doable plan, any recommendations on where to look for stock-legal seats that will give me the best qualities (comfort, grip, and of course headroom.. ease of mounting is in there too, and safety goes without saying..)?

 

For stock class, you can't use any other seat besides the stock seat.

Sorry I can't help you out on the transplantability of a seat as there's just too many variables....seat? next car? rollcage? etc.

 

There is an option for people who are tall that is legal (AFAIK). You can do a very simple modification to the springs under the seat cushion. Many cars such as my Prelude can have the springs reset so they are either lower in the frame or replaced entirely. The covers are not changed in any way at all, unless they need tightened. This mod can be reversed (if you do nothing to the cover).
The question of portability is a good one. However, the way seats are mounted varies to some extent by manufacturer and model (ie.: side or bottom, spacing of the holes, etc). Each car maker has their own way to locate and attach the seat rails. Race cars such as our CRX are a different story entirely. Another thing is that some states frown on a "race seat" in a street machine unless the stock seatbelt units and mounts are fully functional.

 

Hmm.. I had a vague recollection that so long as it was still a reclining seat (with some other restrictions), it was ok. Maybe I was thinking of Street Touring, but I thought it was stock too.. But a neither a Miata nor an RX-7 is elligible for street touring-- so I have no hope of ever owning a stock class Miata? That's kinda depressing in a way..

oh well..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MechE00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">But a neither a Miata nor an RX-7 is elligible for street touring-- so I have no hope of ever owning a stock class Miata? That's kinda depressing in a way.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

STS2 (ST2?) allows 90-97 Miata without the Torsen. Not sure about wankels.

As for seats - sure, you can fab up brackets and rails to mount different seats safely. But, a lot of the time, after you have the seat mounted on custom rails, it's just as tall as an OEM seat (especially true if you need sliding rails).

 

Why not open the top when you're wearing a helmet? Or am I missing something here?

Doesn't STX allow Miatas?

 

Well, my head is uncomfortably pressed against the top even without the helmet on (for all feasible driving positions I've tried), and I can't see owning a car that therefor effectively has _no_ top at all. The RX-7 just has my head in slight contact with the liner (helmet requires me to tilt my head, which is ok for autocross, but I feel it would be unsat. for track days..)

I'll have to look into STX, if that's true.. perhaps that's a quasi-affordable class at a regional-ish level.

 

I really hate to say it, but maybe you need to find a slightly larger car, instead of trying to find ways to fit into a smaller one. No matter how hard you whack it, you can't fit a square peg into a round hole.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MattP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Doesn't STX allow Miatas?</TD></TR></TABLE>No!

If it's an RX7 without a limited slip, it's legal in STS2.

The Miata is a great CSP car, just do that. They're also both in SM2.

There's no reason a big guy can't fit in a Miata with some creativity. I've seen some really tall people get out of those things. CSP and STS2 would give you the options with steering wheel and seat to get it right.

 

lol... this thread is typical of what this site's become lately. Someone asks a quetion and the 30 responses that follow are nothing but off-topic questioning with no useful information


Anyway... a seat, for the most part isn't going to be car-specific. The mounts obviously will be. Mount the seat correctly and you'll gain a ton of headroom - especially if you can do without a slider.

The only catch here is especially small cars, and the miata is one such example. It's my understanding that quite a few aftermarket seats (fixed back) are too wide for the car. Unfortunately, this rules out most of the larger seats which the taller people tend to need in the first place. If the miata is something you definitely need the seat to fit in the future, you might want to start by finding out what will work there.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JeffS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lol... this thread is typical of what this site's become lately. Someone asks a quetion and the 30 responses that follow are nothing but off-topic questioning with no useful information
</TD></TR></TABLE>If there's a fundamental problem with the question to begin with, it needs to be addressed first.

I suggested he give up on Stock if he wants an aftermarket seat.

Seats are seats, all you need is a bracket/brackets to get them in a new car. Whether it'll fit just right is up to you and your tape measure.

 

I gained at least 2-3" of headroom with my aftermarket seat. I custom made the brackets (vs. getting some from wedge) using brackets from a 91 accord. It took a little welding and some cutting of the accord rails to get it to mount in my car, then on the seat, but it's not terribly complicated. You could move it from car to car pretty easily, so long as you didn't mind making new rails all the time, and the seat actually fit in the car.

But it takes me about 5 minutes to take out my stock seat, and put the bucket in for race days. Same applies to the reverse.