luftpirate

I have an opportunity to pick these seats up at a good discount and am trying to decide if I should go for it or stick it out and try to find some decent factory seats. Seems like it would almost cost more to have my stock seats recovered than go with the Sparcos.

http://www.sparcousa.com/pseats_street.asp?id=645

xsboost90

looks like a nice seat - as long as you dont plan to run harnesses with these you should be fine-at least not 5 pointers. I love my sparco evo.

odurandina

Here's how you do this install:

First, the seats will fit perfectly with some fairly straightforward mods.

Don't buy the Sparco tracks/sliders, since the OEM sliders can easily be modified...

[You will save over 250 dollars]...


Strip your stock seats down to the tracks/sliders... You will likely have extra sheet metal that must be removed.

[this is what i had to do with my Recaro tracks for my 968 and my old electric seats when i tore them down].

Grind them down until they are flat. Reinstall them in the car and measure.

Be careful to make exacting measurements.

Next, make up a geometrical mock up of exactly where the tracks sit on the floor of your car on a sheet of plywood.

Next, weld four 4x5 inch 3/16th sheet metal plates to your tracks not interfering with the sliders,

but locate where they need to be welded by lining them up with the four central contact points on your Sparco seats that can estimated by locking four 2 inch bolts into the seats...

Next, simply cut some 1"x 1/2" square tubing, and lining up the bottome of the seats,

this time without the bolts in place, it will become obvious exactly where the tubing will need to be located and weld them to the tracks.

Find a strip of 1/4" rubber matting to install as gaskets that will seat beween the bottom of your new seats and the tubing now welded on your tracks.

the tubing is so the seats sit at the right hight and everything clears the sliders... the tubing will measure approximately 9 inches long, and the rubber gasket should mimic the tubing and overlap slightly...

The rubber gaskets will allow a firm contact to be created and will absorb shock.

Now lock the bolts back down in the base of the seats and line them up on the tracks/sliders.

Grab a sharpie and trace out the heads of the bolts on the steel plates you welded on earlier...

[you may need to notch in a couple of spots on the tracks to make space, depending...]


Drill your four holes and bolt EVERYTHING to down to the seats.

These bolts are very strong and the gaskets will allow everything to lock down very tight to your new tracks/sliders that are now converted for "Sparco."

The seat belt will anchor easily too. My tracks bolt to the chassis with 6 allen bolts.


The entire build will be very strong.


The OEM sliders glide like they are on air !!!!!!!


Enjoy your new seats on your stock sliders.

./

odurandina

I looked at bolt on Sports Seats from many of top end 911s, etc... I would have prefered them.

But 10-15 thousand dollars for decent seats is ridiculous.

I ended up with a [rare, Jet black on dark grey] version of Sparco's most beautiful Milano Prestige seats for a fraction of that price, [$4,300 total] and they are better than anything Porsche has anyway.


./

luftpirate

Thanks for the write-up. I'm sure it will make more sense once I get the stock sliders off. Maybe Ill pickup some junkyard seats.

m73m95

I know of another 944 with these seats, and the owner loves them. He used the sparco sliders, and they bolted right in. They are the biggest (widest) seat sparco makes, so if you're a big guy then these are the seats for you.

Its very hard to find a good supportive seat in "man" sizes.

I'm going to replace the seats in my car with these as well. Maybe share where you got your discount?

luftpirate

My main concern is not having the seat sit higher than the stock seat, I like them as low to the floor as possible while still retaining the sliders. I like the look of these just for a driver, and if they are wider that means they'll be more comfortable for passengers and trips. Good to know.

vt951

For DE's, would they let you use a seat like this if you used a 6 point harness with the sub straps running under your *** and mounted to the floor behind the seat?

The reason I ask is, I have been thinking about going with a seat like this rather than my fixed back seats with the sub hole. It's just not much fun getting in and out of my car for street use.

odurandina

1" by 1/2" tubing is about the lowest you can go. Try a mock up with that.

vt951: these are the most comfortable seats you may ever sit in.

Ferrari used a fixed back version of the Milano seats in their F-430 track project in Italy --

and they look very comfortable too.


I am fairly sure that the chronos will work great for you bigger guys.



the base of the Sparco seats are very simple structure... so easy to work with.

not like the Recaro system at all.

the rails of the Sparco seats tighten down on the tubing. That is what the rubber gasket is for...

its all very straightforward. the total time was about 3 hours. and some welding...

the Sparco sliders were so expensive that i decided just to go for it... and the result was a 10.0 +


btw... i prefer to darken the Sparco logo with a Sharpie.

./

vt951

Erik, if you get these, please let me know. I'd like to sit in them with my helmet on if you don't mind.

luftpirate

odurandina,
If you have time post us up a underseat snapshot of your setup. It would be much appreciated, I have to decide if its worth the extra trouble. Did you have problems with the tubing collapsing when you tightened your seat bolts? I guess I could weld in a round pipe for the mount points to box it in.

Alan,
Ill let you know, I'm usually down your way a couple times a month.

SeaGull

I have these in my 968. Works good both on track and on the street.
I am tall, 192cm (and wide too), and mounted the seat further back than the original seats. I had to cut the shaft for one of the back levers.

odurandina

your seats look great !!

you got one of the '92 violet cars ?? OEM paint ?? what is the paint called ?? burgundy red ?

I have collected some nice photos of 968s in that color... the Sparco dark grey goes very well with that.

luftpirate

SeaGull those look amazing, like they belong in there.

odurandina

i combined everything i added into a better original writeup...

take your time and everthing will become obvious...

the trickiest part is getting the 4 bolts for the seats located in the "sweet spot" this will take a few minutes...

this is the moment that will determine and proove the mod a complete success.

especially when you ultimately feel the new seats sliding perfectly like they were riding on air.


left my # in your mailbox if you have more questions.