Supportive Aftermarket Seats

[tr6racer21]

Interested in replacing the current drivers seat in my Dime. I am looking at several of the current offerings from Sparco and Corbeau. I have recently injured my back and full lumbar and bolster support is a major requirement, as well as seat back adjustability. It seems as though Sparco is a step above the Corbeau line. I believe that both lines offer an inflatable lumbar support...Corbeau will install it behind the upright cushion when you order their seats. I believe that Sparco offers Kidney lumbar pads and a foam and air bellows pad that velcro attaches to the seat fabric on the outside. I am 6' 1" and 185, with a 34" waist....so I think a fairly narrow seat would work well. Does anyone have any experience or pictures they could post of Sparco Milano 2's, or the R505....and Corbeau A4, or CR1.....or any of their other offerings that they like and give some pros and cons. I'm not really looking at salvage yard seats at the moment, but that may be an outside possibility.

Thanks

[510wizard]

You also might look at Recaro, I am not familiar with their currant offerings, but the older models had adjustable lumbar support and adjustable backs.

[okayfine]

Sounds like Recaro makes this seat for you:

https://www.recaro-automotive.com/us/pr ... hoped.html

Not the most "bucket" seat of their line, but perhaps the ergonomic features will be more important.

Do you have any semi-local speed shops where you could sit in the various seats? I once had a set of Recaro Sport seats (like the early EVOs) and was disappointed with them.

[bertvorgon]

When choosing seats, I would be aware of a few things.

First, does my butt fit without being loose? If you are just cruising, no problem, but, if you are going to be doing some hard cornering, you do NOT want to slide in the seat, as you will unconsciously hold onto the steering wheel for support, as opposed to just steering the car.

Lumbar support is critical for LONG drives, that keeps the spine in a good position. You can make your own lumbar support if needed.

Lateral support, again, if you are going to corner hard, some sort of support for the upper part of the body is important. But, be careful of seats with straight sides, as you MUST make sure you can swing your elbows, without hitting the side bolsters. I modified my bucket seat specifically to let my elbows clear the bolster.

Thigh support I found is really important, which also goes with seat mounting angle. You do NOT want to be holding your legs up in my opinion, you want your thighs resting on the seat, just back from the bend in the knees. this lets you both avoid fatigue on long drives, and, for competitive purposes, just have to move your lower leg for braking and clutch. I even re-did my seat cushion to lift my thighs just a hair, to give good support.

Seat back angle to steering wheel. You want your elbows slightly bent, NO straight arm stuff, while it may look cool in the movies, it is mechanically inefficient. This is where taking the time to get your seat position correct is important. Our 510's are bad for taller people, who have to sit back to get the arm distance correct, then the pedal stoke can become an issue. Just take the time. You can put a 1" spacer in the steering column, to drop the wheel down, this helps with some angle correction. The clutch stroke is the long one, so your leg distance is kinda governed by by that. I have short legs, so I set my clutch release tight, right at the top.

Seat/lap belt position is critical for safety. The belts should come over your HIP bones, NOT over your stomach, so when looking at seats, specially race seats with openings, try to envision the angle and where the belt will cross your body. If using race belts, the shoulder belts should come over the middle of your shoulders, no neck chafing, and, the curve of the belts down to the back seat area MUST go over the roll bar, or, be mounted to a roll bar HIGHER than your collars bones, other wise you will break both collar bones in an accident. I hate it when I see people driving with belts over their stomach, as that will damage so many internal organs in the event of a frontal impact.

Last but not least, make sure the seat mounting is solid and well constructed!

Some thoughts at any rate.

[KlassicMotion]

If you decide to look at the salvage yards, Subaru WRX and STI seats, around 2005 and up, are similar to what your looking at. I have a 2006 WRX, I'm keeping an eye for a set of those seats for my Dime. The ones I've seen in salvage yards range from about $145-$225.

The Corbeau GTSII is actually very supportive. I've sat in one of those. I was quite surprised at how it hugged me. And, it doesn't look as out of place in a vintage car. That's the other seat I've been considering....

[okayfine]

OP would probably prefer JDM STi seats over the USDM versions. Fit a narrower build. I have a pair in my RS and they definitely fit tighter than the US stuff. That said, the JDM stuff doesn't offer adjustable lumbar, and I'm not sure the US does either. Decent amount of lumbar in the seat already, but may not may not be to the OP's needs.

Kyle, have you looked at BMW E30/E34 seats? They look like they belong in a 510 and are worlds better than the stock stuff:

[tr6racer21]

Great suggestions Dimer's. I hadn't really looked at the Recaro line thinking it was too much for the budget. That Ortho seat looks like the ticket, except for the price tag...$2500....WOW. However, Julian you got me looking at some of their other offerings which might be more in line with the 510 budget. I don't need electric seats...manual adjustment is fine....once you get them in the right position the electrics are not important, and just something else to go wrong. I agree that its also of major importance to be able to "try-on" the seat before purchase...I'll be looking for dealers/speed shops who have Demo's in stock to try out. Keith all great points to keep in mind as I drive the snot out of my street car when I can. The specifics on the Subi, and BMW stuff will help me narrow down the salvage yard stuff...thanks guys...I'll keep you posted on the search. If I go with just the drivers seat I'll have a brand new Corbeau Sport seat for sale soon as thats whats in the Dime right now and definitely too wide for my build, and current maladies. If I can get matching front seats for a decent price then I'll have matching Sport seats for sale.

Chip

[okayfine]

That Ortho seat looks like the ticket, except for the price tag...$2500....WOW.

Yeah, Monte suggested Recaro and I saw you were looking at Milanos which aren't cheap. I knew Recaro made the ortho seat. And, you never know, you might find a used set, or showroom model on closeout.

The specifics on the Subi, and BMW stuff will help me narrow down the salvage yard stuff...

I'd definitely research OEM BMW seats from the '90s, then, since they're made by Recaro and are very similar to Recaro's current Specialist.

[KlassicMotion]

Kyle, have you looked at BMW E30/E34 seats? They look like they belong in a 510 and are worlds better than the stock stuff:

I actually had a set of maroon E30 seats. Mine needed to be re-upholstered, and yes they look the part a 510, and they are comfy and adjustable, but I'm just not keen on the styling. Plus they are on the heavy side.... I may also look into rebuilding my stock seats with better foam and build in some bolstering into the thigh area and kidney area. Right now when I go around a corner I slide right into the door, and my son and his car seat follow me!! Maybe this winter I will spend some time in the upholstery room, and see what I can bang out. I'm thinking about designing something like this:
Unfortunately this doesn't help the O.P. with the needed adjustable lumbar....

[Byron510]

I put 250K on an E30 Recaros seat in my 87 325is. I loved those seats. So much so I bought another set for my car. They ended up in my brothers car when I rebuilt it for him. But they are great seats. OPEN, I'm your height, but tip the scales at 250. I'm not sure if this seat will work for you. If it does, I highly recommend them because they are also narrow enough to keep proper alignment with the steering column and have a low, compact mounting system that easily adapts into the 510 chassis. Most OEM seats available are just too wide these days to properly 510 them in our cars.

Building up the stock seats to perform like any of the mentioned seats above would be not worth while. I looked into this when redoing the seats for the Greg Terry car. There simply is no structure to build of any lateral support in the 510 OEM seat.

Just a few more thoughts.

Byron

[akara]

I used a set of Flofit mustang seats in my car, they are firm and very supportive in the lumbar and adjustable. They are styled like old recaros and I found mine in perfect condition $300 for both.
I have a 34" waist also and love the way these fit.