Seats

Another thing, if you end up prowling junkyards for Miata seats -

They changed the seats from the first generation (NA, 90-98) to the second (NB, 99-05). The later seats are a little taller and more pointy.

The MAZDA MIATA M edition seats are the ones without the integral head rests.  The head rest is on posts that slides into the seats - so easily removed.  Inexpensive recover kits are readily available for them too.  The high back are safer in preventing neck injuries but to me that isn't a concern in a plastic car. Here's example of a 1995 M edition seat. Covers are from Leatherseat.com or Katzkin - they seem to be about $600.

A few years back I chronicled the mods to my cabriolet seats, and it can be found here:

https://www.speedsterowners.com...6#429002478259791936

Beware, that I can say less with more words than most other people this side of Samuel Clemens so it might be a long slog of a read, but it is pretty detailed (and funny, at times) if you wish to tackle that sort of thing.

Here are a couple of the more common seats I see in these cars...

And here is what I would like to have (two pics).

And what GTS Classics has to offer (Solitude).

Just throwing out ideas as I'm a newbie around here.

rpeter12 posted:

i need new seats! I can only spend an hour in my seats (Thunder Ranch Speedster) before I am uncomfortable beyond belief. Any recommendations? Don't care what kind of car they might be from but they have to fit and be comfortable.

My seats are out of a Triumph TR3 & very comfortable!

My hope would be for my interior to look like this...

With these seats in the proper color. For me headrests would be proper.

MaxMartens posted:

My hope would be for my interior to look like this...

With these seats in the proper color. For me headrests would be proper.

 

I have the COUPE above seats, in BORDEAUX/Burgundy leather...and they HURT MY TUSH...not comfy, ALTHOUGH they look GOOD. Ordered custom THICK sheepskin in same color for COOL effect with sun AND some cushioning down "BELOW".

That's a good looking seat. $1400 in leather, 13.5" between the bolsters at your butt.

Unless you weigh under a buck-eighty, it might be a tight squeeze.

I am 170 lbs & the wife is considerably less (did you expect me to say her weight lol?). I can understand good looking seats does not necessarily equal comfort. Ya and the price .....studying up!

Is GTS the closest Recaro type knock off?

Stan Galat posted:

That's a good looking seat. $1400 in leather, 13.5" between the bolsters at your butt.

Unless you weigh under a buck-eighty, it might be a tight squeeze.

6'1" 190 pounds, boney ASS needs some cushioning.....

MaxMartens posted:

I am 170 lbs & the wife is considerably less (did you expect me to say her weight lol?). I can understand good looking seats does not necessarily equal comfort. Ya and the price .....studying up!

Is GTS the closest Recaro type knock off?

lol not if you value your life

I'm 5' 10" and around 205. Regular speedster seats don't work for me either. Going with the roadster seats seems like the best direction for me and my wife.

JiI (Jeff in Illinois) posted:

I'm 5' 10" and around 205. Regular speedster seats don't work for me either. Going with the roadster seats seems like the best direction for me and my wife.

I'm 5'10" &170 (wife is 5'9") and I hope for the 356 to fit decent.

Are these the roadster seats? These seats make the most sense for comfort, although they don't have the aggressive styling like the two slit lowbacks.

MaxMartens posted:

JiI (Jeff in Illinois) posted:

I'm 5' 10" and around 205. Regular speedster seats don't work for me either. Going with the roadster seats seems like the best direction for me and my wife.

I'm 5'10" &170 and I hope for the 356 to fit decent.

Are these the roadster seats? These seats make the most sense for comfort, although they don't have the aggressive styling like the two slit lowbacks.

YES..these are ROADSTER seats but you CAN get them without headrests for a lower look....but if you are 205, the buckets are going to be a "pain in the ass" unless you get them EXTRA STUFFED....

In my opinion you need to try them out at first because some people have different body shapes and longer torso etc etc so trying is the best before dying. 

Those seats are IM roadster... check out Recaro's some models are very thin but have great cushion durometer and I can sit in mine for 12 hours without an issue.

IaM-Ray posted:

In my opinion you need to try them out at first because some people have different body shapes and longer torso etc etc so trying it the best before dying. 

GREAT IDEA......ABSOLUTELY the way to go!

Not easy to try out different seats. There are none around here to sit in, and nor are there any 356's real or otherwise around here, other than Barts, who's car I sat in (I liked his seats).

Good thought in theory but hard to apply. Now here in orchard country, there are plenty of different tractors to sit on LOL.  My Kubota seat rules. 

Here is what I'm used to.

I have it on "first-butt" experience that original Porsche 356 Roadster/Coupe seats are good for all day.  8-12 hour driving days will leave your tired, but not Butt-Dead.  Much like the higher-end Recaro touring seats, segments of 2-4 hours are easy and pleasant.  

Speedster seats and many "Recaro-Style" seats, however, simply miss the mark and make you stiff after 1-2 hours in the saddle.  Real Recarros, OTOH, get it right and are like a dream.  Several friends who do the National Hot Rod Show circuit have Racarro Touring seats and regularly do 10-12 hour days.

That's my opinion which, with a couple of added bucks, will get you coffee at Dunkin Donuts.

What is there not to like about these Recaro in my IM ?     They are Buttiful and tested for 12 hour comfort..

Nice IAM. Are those Recaros from Recaro themselves or take outs from another vehicle?

What color is your car? Looks very nice, in and out.

I have always been impressed, whenever I have taken the family to Walt Disney World and had to sit up towards the front of the Disney inter-attraction bus late at night returning to our hotel from the Fireworks extravaganza when, gazing around and wishing those 7 or 9 kids screaming back there in the back of the bus because they are way over-tired weren't there, I happen to look at the bus driver's dash board (not exactly awe-inspiring) and then swing my gaze to the bus-driver's seat - a perfectly proportioned, air-ride Recarro.

Look, next time you're at Disney.  Complement the driver on a great choice of seat.  He or she will appreciate your interest..........trust me.

Those Recarro folks just KNOW seats (and Tushes, too!)

I'm never sure what to make of Gordon's man-crush on Walt Disney, but I always smile when he works a Disney reference in there somewhere.

Regarding seats: there are very, very few seats that are universally liked by everybody who sits in them. Being able to "test sit" seats is unlikely, unless you are at a show where many different types are available to park your keester in.

So, you're left with what LOOKS like it'll work. I personally knew a couple of things about myself and what I wanted. I've got a long torso, and hate not being behind the windshield of my car. This means two things- I'm going to need to sit as close as possible to the floor of the car, and I'm going to need to be tipped back as much as is comfortable to keep my head down. Fortunately for me, I find speedster-style seats to be comfortable, and able to be pitched back like I like. I got the widest seats that would fit in my pan (Fibersteel original-shape shells), and built my own mounts (I got carried away, but you don't have to). The look butch, and I love 'em.

My wife, however, can (mostly) tolerate them, but only for about 2- 4 hrs (on a good day). I've put her there for 8+hrs, and it's not good for our marriage.

I'm shopping for a seat for her. She'd like a headrest, and some real cushioning. She'd like to be able to see over the dashboard. I'm looking at options, and the best thing I can find are OE 356 coupe seats, IM's roadster seats, and Recarros. All are prohibitively expensive at this point in my life.

I'm looking at these. The price is certainly right. If she likes it, I'll rig up a quick-change set-up so that I can tell myself that my pride-n-joy won't be saddled with mismatched seats forever (when I in fact know that they will).

@Stan Galat you should really try mine they are REAL Recaro's that were bought by Henry and recovered in my chosen leather colour for my car, I have a taupe interior with a grey coloured exterior. .  The seats are mounted REALLY low in the car on adjustable tracks and have a headrest and you can sit in them all day.  The seat works really well for me an over 6 foot guy with a very long torso and I am sure the creator at IM can get some made for you too ... By the way the creator at IM nearly needs a cushion to see over the dash ... for me it allows my head to be below the top of the windshield of my roadster. ... just saying... 

Walt before Mickey @Gordon Nichols is a great movie and so is their business model.

Is this thread getting mickey mouse? 

I'm 100% happy with my (ridiculously overpriced) Fibersteel seats, but I need an alternative for my 5'4" wife. We're planning on driving to Asheville, and what I've got will only aggravate her. The choice is to fly her out and back or buy a better (for her) seat and stay in a hotel there and back. 

Stan...Local shop and have  removable memory foam cushion(s)  made.

Well for me gentlemen, I am shopping a replica 356 coupe. I am not trying to reinvent the seat. And hopefully I will make a sensible and cost effective decision (other than the madness of buying one of these cars to start with ).

It will be one of these three for me.

Max,

I suggest that you try out all the seats you are considering.  Don't just sit then get back up, unless you can tell quickly that it won't work for you.  Sit in it a while, and, as Stan suggested above, if you have a right-seater you want to travel with, have her sit in one also.  That feeling of inclusion will pay dividends down the road.

Like buying a mattress. You have to lay on one for a bit to see if it works. Unfortunately, NOBODY makes a quality mattress these days.

MaxMartens posted:

Well for me gentlemen, I am shopping a replica 356 coupe. I am not trying to reinvent the seat. And hopefully I will make a sensible and cost effective decision (other than the madness of buying one of these cars to start with ).

It will be one of these three for me.

Max,

You may not want to reinvent the seat, but option 1 and 3 are going to set you back at least $3000 for a pair. Option 2 is considerably less money if you can find something you like from one of the builders. If not, Fibersteel stands ready to lighten you by $2500 or so.

You may just want to think about this a bit.

Revisiting Seats!!!

I was studying up seats two years ago lol. Two years before receipt of my car. Crazy.    

So... our seats turn out to be not bad! We have done longs days, 200 mile days, which is long from breakfast to lunch, touring & then heading back home.

But(t)!... I/we want more. A head rest. For safety and when your tired and want to lay your head back.

I think I will revisit the GTS/Classiccarseats.com seats. Expensive yes. ...In a cheap-ish replica car I will still be thousands ahead of a real 356, which I could not swap seats out anyway. The roadster seat to me IMO, are like bench seats or big old pillow seats, not representing a 'sport car', more resembling a 'touring car' if you follow. Probably comfy though. Also, I like low, as the current seats put us. Keeping an outlaw or wannabe race car look.

The Monte Carlo & Solitude seats will be studied carefully. If I remember correctly (when does that happen lol), they can do custom widths. Anyway, back to looking over seats, for sometime next year. 

Any more advice??

What I have now and working fairly well (we are slender).

Solitude?

Monte Carlo?

Recaro... Monte-Ray,  12 hour seats without any issues.

IaM-Ray posted:

Recaro... Monte-Ray,  12 hour seats without any issues.

@IaM-Ray How’s the side to side? I guess cushion great since your feeling good after 12 hour drive 👍

There are some models that provide a lot more lateral support but make eggress and ingress a lot more difficult I feel these are a good compromise.   Now if I was in a 904 or spyder maybe a more bolstered seat would be required. 

GTS classic seats are doing my seats, door cards and transmission tunnel.   They are making me custom seats based on the Monte Carlo seat.  They will be in flying buttress style for my Alfa Giulia GT.  Max do you want the seats that recline? Or just more comfortable fixed seats?

Recaros are awesome if you can get a high-quality upholstery shop to redo them like Ray's IM.  

IM's guy in Vancouver might be able to be found and commissioned to do it.  I mean the US $ is so good it might be advantageous IMO. 

Marty Grzynkowicz posted:

GTS classic seats are doing my seats, door cards and transmission tunnel.   They are making me custom seats based on the Monte Carlo seat.  They will be in flying buttress style for my Alfa Giulia GT.  Max do you want the seats that recline? Or just more comfortable fixed seats?

Reclining is my preference, probably the Monte Carlo. I am glad to hear, Marty, that you are using GTS. First first hand experience I have ever run into. I will be glad to hear of your experience. Friendly chap as I remember.

My hopeful build style will be similar to my current seats, pictured above. Smooth leather edges, perforated leather centers (horizontally pleated) & dark blue piping. Not sure on headrest shape yet (probably the round/oval ones). I hope to have the seats the same height as my current ones, before the headrest. The goal being, the headrests barely, or not at all, showing above the window line. Don't know how custom they go on builds.

The wife has given the OK! 

I would not rule out any seats, without doing some research and sitting in some to try out the fit to your body.  Just saying.