Falken

Hello!

I'm not long from buying a pair of OMP Design 2 seats:

Attachment 1363647

...For my 944 S2. Now, I've looked up some info on what to do with these kind of seats, and there's talk of cannibalising the OEM seats and taking their runners off for the greater good, welding them to the aftermarket seat. Others will tell you to get the seat brand's mounting plate.

What is the best option to go with? I should mention I have a 1986 944 breaker with a pair of absolutely shagged seats, so I could arguably pull the runners off them, saving the S2's seats for if I ever go to sell it.

The main reason I am wanting these seats is I want better bolster support, and possibly a lower driving position. If the driving position ends up being higher than stock, then I simply won't bother. (plus they look really cool!)

FrenchToast

My opinion?

If you want bigger bolsters, get OEM late sport seats. I believe all of them have power which includes up/down. If that's not good enough convert it to a track car.

Because no mounting holes match and they need custom brackets they usually end up being higher up than stock. Plus you need to find a way to mount the belt receiver.

Probably not what you want to hear. But that's my opinion. The OEM comfort seats are actually bolstered pretty well.

Take care,

odurandina

you'll have no issues with seat belts if you:

1. just flatten the oem sliders with your grinder to accommodate

2. new sheet metal (just weld on 4 3"X4" plates for each seat).... and

3. drill your holes...

a few hours of work and you bask in the glory of a job well done.


one thing about oem sports seats: they're comfortable as hell, very under-rated, etc.

87944turbo

This illustrates pretty well what you are going to need. Hopefully you should be able to mount your sliders to the OMP seats w/o welding.

The real issue usually surrounds mounting the sliders to the car, this is where the bracket (C in the illustration) comes in. I would bet that OMP makes a 944 bracket. I have found that most aftermarket seat dimensions are are the same or very similar (e.g. Sparco, Momo, Sabelt, etc...) and that you can use a 944 bracket from another manufacturer with a OMP seat.

I have found that the brackets can very in price, and it is worth determining the dimensions of your desired seat and checking if other brackets will work.

I have Sabelt seats in my 951 and had a local Porsche mechanic fabricate a set of brackets for me. This can be easily done with some flat stock steel and a welder as another option.

In the end, keep in mind your seat and its mounting are a critical safety item. If it comes loose from its mount in a accident it's obviously very bad news...

rsabeebe

that's a nice looking seat and very well priced, even for a tubular frame design. also looks like there is sufficient padding to keep the occupant comfortable. please report back with your final decision and outcome. would be interested in how well these potentially fit.

Falken

I actually have a breaker 944 85.5 which I can take the sliders out of to have a go, so I won't ruin the current seats. I'll take them out and have a good look and see where to go from there. My dad is mates with a great welder who could most likely help me out.

Thanks for the pointers everyone.

SpeedyC2

I recently picked up a very lightly used set of aftermarket Corbeau seats (very simimlar in appearance to the OMP seats pictured) for my S2. Corbeau makes mounting brackets and sliders specifically for the 944 and the fit was reasonably straightforward.

The seats/sliders don't go quite as far back as the stock pieces, but fortunately at 5'-10" the fit is pretty darned good for me. If you are taller than I, re-using the stock runners - with the greater range of motion - may well be a good plan.

Falken

SpeedyS2, care to show off the new seats then?

Also is the seating position higher or lower than the stock S2 seats?

snakoil

I have these type of racing seats with custom brackets and sliders that came with the seat as mine where stuck
1. the seats will be higher than stock wathever you do because of the custom brackets you'll sandwich between new sliders and oem floor holes...plus these seat cushion are usually ticket than oem
2. I am small and with the racing seats top bolters, the stock seatbelt could not reach the clip so i ended up with racing harness and harness bar
3. The handle to recline the seats might(read probably) get in the way of the handbrake level

If I had to do it again I would look for late sport seats as it wuld end up cheaper and more confortable.

SpeedyC2

Here are a few pics.

The position is similar to stock. I should also point out the seats had the bottom "shaved" one inch. If this had not been the case, they likely would have sat too high, at least the way I mounted them (with aftermarket brackets and sliders).

KevinGross

The best option is to buy the proper rails for your car from the seat manufacturer. I put a nice used, set of Recaros in my car a few years ago, ex race car. Bought a new set of rails from a local shop (HMS).

Kevin
Catellus Engineering

Church

@ Falken.

I am in the middle of this process with my Recaros. Going to have the machine shop at my work modify my rails. Want me to document it for you? Should be done by the end of the week.

Falken

Yes please, Church.

SpeedyS2 define shaved? The foam padding or what?

turbodave

Absolutely, I have the same seat in black leather in my '86 turbo. They set about an inch lower than the electric seats. Corbeau offers two different rail set-ups. one for the early cars and one for the late MY that allows the seat belt to remain attached to the seat rail. Like all their stuff they are high quality and bolt right up.

Falken

I would love to see that Dave. About an inch lower would be my perfect driving position in this car!

Also, do you mean you've got Recaros sitting on Corbeau sliders?