Mazda seats

[nigelcurry]

Hi all

a straight forward question to those lads that will know far more than I,do Mazda seats offer more leg room than the original seats that are in my car,as I find it a bit tight.Any thoughts would as always be welcome 

nige

[Z320]

I‘m 192 cm tall and did not notice a difference of lenght from the TR4A to Mazda NB seats.

The difference makes the smaller steering wheel.

But the Mazda NB seats are higher, although the seat body touches the carpet on my 4A.

So I look more on the window frame.

I can deal with that.

[David Solloway]

1 hour ago, nigelcurry said:

Hi all

a straight forward question to those lads that will know far more than I,do Mazda seats offer more leg room than the original seats that are in my car,as I find it a bit tight.Any thoughts would as always be welcome 

nige

Just changed mine to mx5 seats, no difference in legroom. I use a 13” steering wheel, I’m 6.1, have loads of legroom under the wheel.

[Steve-B]

I am curious if there is a particular year or style of the MX5 seats to look for? I'm 180cm tall and would like a bit more comfort however before I splash the cash for them don't know what i should be looking at buying? Oh, and i presume one grabs them via EBay as the normal?

[Martin50]

Steve, Nige, I got MX5 seats via Rich Read. There is a chap in mid Hampshire who re-upholsters MX5 seats and in my opinion does a fantastic job. I don’t know what name the seats have but they have head rest that can be removed. I’m six foot tall and the seats do position you a little higher than original seats but they are extremely comfy and do recline. There is some adjust in the fixing which would allow lower position. I have plenty of leg room and seats did not foul any existing bits in the cockpit, or with the hood. The re-upholstery quality was very good. (Material is leather).

[FatJon]

I'm 6"1 and I changed from my 1970 TR6 seats to MX5 and did not notice any significant change in leg room either way. The main benefit was being rid of the old seats which ended at my lower shoulder blades and were not very supportive or comfortable for someone of my height and size, my nmae is a clue that I'm in no danger of blowing away in a strong breeze.

I used stainless brackets from TR Trader (Carl Fitchett) which he makes specifically for fitting MX5 seats in a TR6. He also supplied the seats, fully reconditioned with new Italian leather.

[Bfg]

11 hours ago, nigelcurry said:

Hi all

a straight forward question to those lads that will know far more than I. Do Mazda seats offer more leg room than the original seats that are in my car,as I find it a bit tight.Any thoughts would as always be welcome 

nige

Hi Nige,

Stating the obvious but still relevant ;  "Leg room" may be in considered in terms of clearance under the steering wheel, and / or the length between seat back & pedal.  The former being a height measurement and the other being length.  The MX5 seat-base squab is no thinner than the TR6 seat, but as that squab is positioned a good distance aft of the steering wheel it's not a direct measure. 

How straight (or raised) one's knees are is a factor of how far backwards the seat is positioned ..rather than the height of one's bum off the floor.  The TR6 seat travel is generally restricted by the runners  ..some way before the seat has pushed back against any part of the body shell (like the rear wheel arch).  In my own car (TR4A) the recoil seat belts were bolted to the inner sill, and so moving those up and onto the rear step freed the seats to move further back than before.  For me ((being 6ft - 5in ) that was not enough. 

I then opted for MX5 seats ..not least because unlike the TR6, the TR4A backrests are not tilt-adjustable.  Before I fitted those, I reshaped the front face of the rear-wheel-arches (dishing those in).  And I re-modelled the seat-runner adapter plates to position those mounts some four or more inches further back. 

I found this necessary because the MX5 seat-back's side-bolsters do not flatten when leaned against, which effectively meant that my getting out of the car was difficult - because the distance between the bolster and the open door panel was otherwise too tight to swing my legs and big feet in < here > and < here > .    

I now have the seats positioned some four-inches further back than when I bought the car (with it's original TR4A seats).  And that means my legs (33" inside measurement) are now much straighter when driving (greater distance from the backrest squab to the pedals) and my knees are clear under a 15" steering wheel.  Ingress is now very much easier, but positioning the seats that far back meant the TR6 hood frame then poked into my shoulder. Although it was tolerable, I've now gone to a Surrey top ..so the hood and its frame intrusions have been removed.     

I happen to like the look of these MX5 seats (now that I've painted the grey panels black) ..but to be honest I think a pair of TR6 seats, with adjustable back rests, and their seat runners moved further back - would have been an easier and less costly solution to my own needs.  And had i fitted those with the TR4A's black-with-white-piping covers - then they would also have looked quite original.   The MX5 seat-backs tilt forward to access into the rear-shelf-space but I think perhaps the original seat, which wholly lifted to tilt forward, was a little more convenient ..particularly if a dog is to jump in to sit back there.  I also find the MX5 seat's backrest squab rather firm, although tolerable for 4 hours of driving, I wonder if perhaps the more-giving TR6 seats might have been slightly more (hugging) comfortable ?  

Pete.

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by Bfg

[rcreweread]

Nigel/Steve

Although all these things are very much a personal taste, I think the mark 2 MX5 seats with detachable headrests suit the TRs best - if you buy them rebuilt and restitched into a TR style pattern, they look the dogs do-dahs.

The guy to go to for this is Paul Bishop who is based at Owlesbury near Winchester - the only issue is he wont ship/post seats- you have to collect them from him - his sets are completely re-upholstered in mostly black leather with various piping colours, and come complete with modified MX5 seat runners  and the TR to MX5 floor pan mounting brackets.

They are good value and look the part as well - see attached photos - if you are interested and can't find his contact details, PM me and I will send you them as I don't think it's fair to post them openly on here for fear of the scammers using them. He also uses ebay and currently has this listing I found:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225151388793?hash=item346c118c79:g:LPEAAOSwEfhjFvZi&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoKxTzdnAor2pfjBVHrym7T3pqrZSrIcExvc9vEVvI7u%2BTODG1k

Hope this helps 

Cheers Rich

Photos as mentioned above

[elclem1]

Paul Bishop is the man. i have several sets from him they they are very good. Clem

[jpmf]

I moved the runners forward about an inch on my MX5 drivers seat to give me a bit more leg room, the only thing preventing the seat going further back is that they rub on the rear wheel arch.

[Graham]

I’ve found with my MX5 seats in BUO (TR6) that you can move the seat further back,  but if I push the seat fully back then my shoulder hits the roof frame when its folded down. Which is the reason I didn’t go for the wheel arch modification to get even more rearward seat travel, but I am thinking about it for my project TR5 as I’m planning on fitting a fixed backlight. 
 

ATB Graham 

[nigelcurry]

Really good and interesting replies,as usual,

many thanks nige

[Rob Salisbury]

More to do with me and my skinny frame but I found that over long distances the MX5 seat squabs were rather hard and unforgiving so I chopped out the center sections the of the seat metal shells and replaced them with TR seat diaphragms, now nice and comfy over all distances.
Cheers Rob

[RobRennie]

+1 for TR Trader - I removed my Mk1 Tombstone seats as they were 'too high' - fitted the originals, which I hated.... then purchased the TR Trader mounting brackets and that put the seats up a little at the front and slammed to the floor at the back -  now I look through the windscreen.