Race seat install

[Andy]

I've been researching seats and the crap needed to bolt them to one's car. If I buy a Sparco, do I need to buy the seat base, side mount bracket, slider and all that other stuff. For the guys who've installed aftermarket seats, what other stuff did you have to buy in order to secure the seats into place. Also, I'd like to retain the slide function as I'll still be using my MR2 as a DD.

[white_2kgt]

Seats are interesting to mount. When I got mine (Sparco EVO II) I also had to get the side mounts, sliders and mounting base. All bolted together there was NO way it was going in the car. So, out came the welder, grinder and some extra steel. I hacked up the 'mustang specific' mounts so much it was hard to tell they were an actual piece, plus they wern't near strong enough for how heavy they are. Your best best is to have a custom mount built unless you can get someone to confirm the MR2 mount works good. I went with the Recaro slider system as its quality was suppose to be a little better and I had EVO II seats and the recaro slider handle is a little wider than the Sparco one.

[.RJ]

Yep, custom mounts are the way to go. The sparco hardware is notoriously crap, doesnt fit all that well and wont get the seat any lower than stock height. Best bet is to have a race shop (piper) make a seat mount for you, weld a sparco universal slider onto that and shorten and weld the side mounts onto the slider. Then again, do you need sliders on the car? With a MR2 i dont see the need to move the seat much.

[Andy]

Just got off the phone with Piper, 6-8 hours for fab/install two Sparcos. This stuff is getting more expensive by the second

[Sijray21]

Just got off the phone with Piper, 6-8 hours for fab/install two Sparcos. This stuff is getting more expensive by the second :x

fixed that for you...

[Mike]

ew... i'm guessing it wouldn't cost that much for a more open car that they have done many times before?

[Andy]

ew... i'm guessing it wouldn't cost that much for a more open car that they have done many times before?

How much would it cost for your hatch?

[JohnC]

Just got off the phone with Piper, 6-8 hours for fab/install two Sparcos. This stuff is getting more expensive by the second

FWIW - It took them 8 hours to install the seats in my Z. It wasn't cheap, but it was solid.

[Hunter]

Damn, this is why I can't afford to put in seats yet. I wish I could weld so I could just buy seats and build my own brackets and whatnot.

[Andy]

The worst part is that I canÔÇÖt find a single person with a bad thing to say about Piper. Everyone raves about the quality and fit/finish of their work. Stupid safety/caring about myself. I guess IÔÇÖll have to schedule work with them once I buy these seats.

[Sijray21]

since this is the case i might just have them fab the seat mount with the roll bar when i have this done...budget inflation begins

[Andy]

since this is the case i might just have them fab the seat mount with the roll bar when i have this done...budget inflation begins

You can take your time though. Jon said that they're booked through April. I'm actually going to check out Piper today afterwork. They moved to Sterling two weeks ago so if anyone else wants to check them out, call ahead and get directions. They're no longer in Manassas.

[.RJ]

ew... i'm guessing it wouldn't cost that much for a more open car that they have done many times before?

They might save some time (and $$) but not much. Its all done by labor, so take it for what you will. What you can do is buy a wedge engineering or sparco seat base, and the sparco side mounts and bring them in and have them modified/reinforced/etc - this will save some time in fab and thats what I did. Seat mount bill at piper was around $250, including the universal slider ($40).

Hunter - I think there are better bolt in options for the BMW's.

[Evan]

ew... i'm guessing it wouldn't cost that much for a more open car that they have done many times before?

It cost over $350 for one seat mount in my miata (the first time)

the best cheap DIY method is to get a set of Corbeau brackets for your car and bolt the sparco sidemounts to that. Better and lower than the sparco jungle gym

[Andy]

Just got off the phone with Piper, 6-8 hours for fab/install two Sparcos. This stuff is getting more expensive by the second

FWIW - It took them 8 hours to install the seats in my Z. It wasn't cheap, but it was solid.

John, did you bring them Sparco mounts/sliders to modify or was the 8 hours for a custom job?

[JohnC]

John, did you bring them Sparco mounts/sliders to modify or was the 8 hours for a custom job?

I didn't supply them with anything but the seats. They hacked up a Sparco slider for the driver's side, other than that it was completely custom.

That work also included mounting my 6-point harnesses (2 sets).

[Mike]

what is their labor? 75/hr?

[Andy]

what is their labor? 75/hr?

Yep.

[Dave]

we should see if they would be interested in going for an MM discount. I know this would suck, since a bunch of people have had a lot of work done through them, but there is also a lot more work potentially headed their way. Maybe try to get them to do it for $65/hour since we are mostly poor college kids?

[.RJ]

I dont think you'd get very far with a discount with piper unless they were doing a bunch (5+) of the exact same car.

Doesnt hurt to ask I guess.