I know that a lot of you in this forum seem to be hardcore brand-name buying enthusiasts, which is cool. But for us broke-*** fools, what's wrong with some seats like these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...33701

I ask this question purely from a FUNCTIONAL aspect. Not brand-name this, or knock-off that. If the **** works, use it - is my philosophy.

Thoughts? Fight clean.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by boostincoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not brand-name this, or knock-off that. If the **** works, use it - is my philosophy. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's a fine philosophy, but it doesn't apply in this case because those seats are technically illegal for road racing no matter how well they might work. Autocrossing class is a different story.

To me, "the **** works" if it's safe (unknown on those seats without knowing who has certified them), comfortable (unknown on these seats until you sit in them) and they're legal (illegal for roadracing purposes in this case).


*edit*

"firm kidney support..." ouch!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by boostincoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know that a lot of you in this forum seem to be hardcore brand-name buying enthusiasts, which is cool. But for us broke-*** fools, what's wrong with some seats like these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...33701

I ask this question purely from a FUNCTIONAL aspect. Not brand-name this, or knock-off that. If the **** works, use it - is my philosophy.

Thoughts? Fight clean. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Those are reclining seats. They aren't racing seats. They probably weigh more than stock seats, and have no safety advantages over the OEM seats. Don't buy them.

EDIT: Plus, I bet they are counterfeit seats. I can't even find a record of Mugen making these seats. The only one they sell that I can find is a $950 fixed back seat. Seeing how much the rest of Mugen stuff costs, I'd have a hard time believing that you could get two Mugen seats for under $300.

 

Yeah, all those seats are knockoffs - every month or so someone on a Nissan board asks about the "Nismo" seats. I don't know why Nismo doesn't go after them.. because Nismo DOES make a reclining seat that's a million times better.

There are even counterfeit Bride seats. It's sad.

I'd pass on these... try to find some used name-brand seats, or maybe just buy Corbeaus (ok, so the cloth sucks... at least the frames are solid). At least buy a KNOWN QUANTITY, y'know? I mean, even if someone said "yeah, I got some eBay generic seats, they're great"... there's no way of knowing which factory in Taiwan made the seats you're getting.

I'm looking for a budget street seat myself... I basically keep hitting eBay and every classifieds site I can find for a used Recaro SRD or Speed. I keep finding them in pairs only... hmph.

 

Now, there are no-name fixed-back buckets, too.

http://www.memoryfab.com/

$420 for a carbon fiber bucket? I dunno...

 

There is a world of difference between a good racing seat and a not-good one - and it has nothing to do with what kind of patch is on it.

Ask the dealer if you can try to break it. Seriously.

You should be able to reef as hard as you can on the back (not just the shoulder bolsters, of course) in any direction, and not have it fail. I can rock the entire car on its springs with my Recaro so I can be confident that it's not going anywhere when I crash it.

Your harnesses won't do you any good if your seat fails. You'll come out

This of course assumes that we are talking about racing seats rather than fashion seats in a street car.

K

 

Looks like some of that chinese counterfeit stuff which is rampant on eBay. As an example, I saw something on 60 minutes about how companies in China are making fake "Calloway" golf clubs and bags, then people are selling them on eBay, sometimes to unsuspecting buyers who think they are getting a great deal on REAL Calloway clubs. The TV show bought some of these items and had them inspected. In the case of the clubs, they were advertised as titanium, but in reality they were cheap steel. The fancy looking golf bags, advertised as genuine leather Calloway, were really cheap vinyl with the Calloway logos.

I think if you buy this fake stuff you are not only supporting these companies who counterfeit, but also the people who make big profits selling this stuff that they buy for next to nothing. If you buy "name brand" stuff on eBay for cheap, I'd always check to make sure it is in fact the real deal.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by boostincoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... what's wrong with some seats like these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...33701

I ask this question purely from a FUNCTIONAL aspect. Not brand-name this, or knock-off that. If the **** works, use it - is my philosophy. </TD></TR></TABLE>

To ask "what's wrong" implies that you/we believe there is something wrong with them. hmmmm.

From a "FUNCTIONAL aspect"... it all really depends on what your function is. Are you driving to and from work?... are you autocrossing?... planning on track days, or road racing? Define what you mean by functional, and we all can give you a better idea on whether these seats would suit your purpose.

... was I nice?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Now, there are no-name fixed-back buckets, too.
http://www.memoryfab.com/

$420 for a carbon fiber bucket? I dunno...

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Even that seat seems illegal. I see no FIA safety patch, thus it does not meat the FIA safety standers.

 

I thought that if it didn't meet the FIA homolugation (sp?) then all you needed to make the seat legal was a seat-back-brace... ??

 

For US club racing that is indeed the case.

K