Replacing seats

[fooesboy]

Hi all,

I'm new to MX-5 ownership and this forum.
I purchased a 1989 NA6 in January and have been enjoying the great weather and getting to know this fun little car.

I am 6'3 and fit ok behind the wheel but the head rest ends in the middle of my neck. I need to find some high back seats with good side support that will still sit me as low as possible.

I have read that the standard seats sit very low and that a lot of aftermarket seats will be higher. The top of my head just brushed the soft top so I'm keen to keep it low. I have tried the "Foamectomy" on the passengers seat but that has not given any real notiacble gain. I friend has s set of Recaro seats that he got from MX-5 Mart but they rub on the seatbelt pillar when in the most rearwards position.

I would be happy with a fixed back bucket and do not mind paying a bit for quality IF it will fit AND give good head support.

Thanks for your help.

Chris

[siren676]

I'm 6'3" as well, my head would touch the roof if i sat up straight. Just did a foamectomy to the drivers seat and it is a heap better.

You'll probably struggle to find a taller backed seat that will still have you sitting low.

[loveitlow]

Try some Bride low max I find them really good and you can get replicas for a hell of a lot cheaper and they are just as good.

Being a girl the height isnt a issue at all, but with my BF finds the seats a lot better than the factory ones as he isnt rubbing on the roof anymore with his head and he is very probably around your height.

[Angreal]

I'll let you know how the Elise seats fit into the car if you don't mind waiting a year for my answer it won't be in the country until mid-year and I won't be in the country until end of year, maybe 2014...

Try some Bride low max I find them really good and you can get replicas for a hell of a lot cheaper and they are just as good.

Being a girl the height isnt a issue at all, but with my BF finds the seats a lot better than the factory ones as he isnt rubbing on the roof anymore with his head and he is very probably around your height.

I sat in your car briefly and man those seats were tight (reminds me of Austin Powers - Tight like a tiger). Guess it just means I need to keep losing weight

[tomtikki]

I know where your coming from dude.
I'm 6 3" aswell, I had 3 goes at the foamectomy on my seat until I got the height (or lack of it) that I was happy with.
Seat is still padded & comfy but I reckon I've dropped about 50mm.
Maybe just have another go at it.

[fooesboy]

I know where your coming from dude.
I'm 6 3" aswell, I had 3 goes at the foamectomy on my seat until I got the height (or lack of it) that I was happy with.
Seat is still padded & comfy but I reckon I've dropped about 50mm.
Maybe just have another go at it.

The height of the seat is fine, where the problem is:
1) The back of the seat is too low, no head protection in an accedent.
2) The standard seat do not give very much side support

I do like the look of the Elise seats, are they available in NZ?

Cheers,

Chris

[Angreal]

I haven't seen any but surely they'd pop up every now and then. They're a lot more common in the States

[tomtikki]

The height of the seat is fine, where the problem is:
1) The back of the seat is too low, no head protection in an accedent.
2) The standard seat do not give very much side support

Totally agree with you about the lack of side support, I'd love something that holds me in better. Especially now that Ive added sway bars etc.
Ahh little confused on your height statement though.. by doing an aggressive foamectomy your body will sit lower in the seat so the headrest will be higher up your head?
Twas the mean reason why I did it to mine, it felt a dangerous with my head so close to my roll bar, not so worried now I've done it.
-Also I've been watching trademe etc for Elise seats ever since Angreal mentioned them last year - it appears they're like rocking horse shit to get in NZ!

[Bwarp]

Try some Bride low max I find them really good and you can get replicas for a hell of a lot cheaper and they are just as good.

You get what you pay for....

[Angreal]

Totally agree with you about the lack of side support, I'd love something that holds me in better. Especially now that Ive added sway bars etc.
Ahh little confused on your height statement though.. by doing an aggressive foamectomy your body will sit lower in the seat so the headrest will be higher up your head?
Twas the mean reason why I did it to mine, it felt a dangerous with my head so close to my roll bar, not so worried now I've done it.
-Also I've been watching trademe etc for Elise seats ever since Angreal mentioned them last year - it appears they're like rocking horse shit to get in NZ!

Sways make that much difference? I'm hoping to attempt to get my sways in at the same time as the Ohlins which should make the car very track worthy

I bought NB2.5 seats just because the NA headrests are below my neck meaning my head will hit the rollbar if I'm rear ended = not cool. The NB2.5 seats will put something between my head and the bar while I wait for the driver side Elise seat to arrive by wind from Japan

Alternativelly there are these CF Exige style seats http://infinit-fab.com/collections/catalog

[fooesboy]

I have purchased a set of carbon seats from compositeworx.com in Italy. Their prices are very competitive when looking at second hand OEM Lotus Elise seats from the USA (been looking on lotustalk.com) and the postage is only 190.00 euro for 2 seats. All the emails have been answered fast only problem is that they are rather busy and because they make the seats to order there is a 3 week wait before they ship.

I'll post some photos when they arrive (about 4 weeks from now). Hope this info might be of use to someone else...

Chris

[MrGrey]

sounds awesome, I look forward to checking out some pics when they arrive

[Angreal]

Oooh sexy and from Italy

Damn! Even drunk Robert doesn't want to part with that much money for some seats... That's more than I paid for my one way ticket to Europe But I stand by my original comment "Oooh sexy and from Italy"