low level seats TR4a

[Nic Bowman]

Hi

 

i am a bit tall for my 4a, and feel i have to bend down to look out of the screen. I would also like some head rests, currently if I push my head back it hits on the roll bar, which is a bit dangerous.

 

I could do with some bucket seats with headrests which sit a bit lower than standard.

 

I don't want to pay £1000, as i like the originals for shows etc, but some cheap ish ones for driving. Second hand even.

 

Any offers? Or what should I use?

 

Thanks

 

 

Nic

[stuart]

Hi

 

i am a bit tall for my 4a, and feel i have to bend down to look out of the screen. I would also like some head rests, currently if I push my head back it hits on the roll bar, which is a bit dangerous.

 

I could do with some bucket seats with headrests which sit a bit lower than standard.

 

I don't want to pay £1000, as i like the originals for shows etc, but some cheap ish ones for driving. Second hand even.

 

Any offers? Or what should I use?

 

Thanks

 

 

Nic

MX5 seats are very good and if trimmed to look like TR type do look the part. Not as cheap to buy as they were due to a lot of people cottoning on to the idea for kit cars as well but usually available around the £200 mark.

Stuart.

[PaulAnderson]

MX5 seats are very good and if trimmed to look like TR type do look the part. Not as cheap to buy as they were due to a lot of people cottoning on to the idea for kit cars as well but usually available around the £200 mark.

Stuart.

 

I bought leather covered MX5 seats with removeable head rests for my 4A over a year ago but have not fitted them yet. Apart from lots of other things to do, part of the reason is that you end up seating even higher in the car, by over an inch i'm told. I already struggle with my left knee and space under the wheel. A much smaller steering wheel also becomes very necessary. I did find a suggestion on an MX5 web site of cutting some of the foam out of the drivers seat base to make them lower (they can even be a problem in MX5's for tall drivers) but have not dared venture that way yet.

 

A search on the 4/4A and probably other forums will find several other postings on the subject of seats, though other than some very expensive ones I've not seen any mention of resolving the height issue. I've heard that even the Moss ones are higher than standard so that rules them out for me. My passenger wants supportive seats for comfort reasons but I need to resolve the height issue myself, even if it eventually means splashing out on some other seats. So, I'm very open to suggestions on lover seats myself.

 

Paul

[stuart]

Blimey you lot must be giants! Im 6`4" (though only 11st) and I dont have a problem in a 4a on standard albeit uncomfortable original seats. I have tried the MX seats in various 5s and 6s and I find they are very comfortable. My main problem is my left knee against the "H" frame (no way out of that short of removing it! the frame not my knee ) I do have a dished steering wheel on my 4a which I find helps a lot as well. With maybe lowered brackets and if you are having the seats retrimmed lower foams as well it shouldnt be a problem, although you do need a certain amount of foam under you or its going to be like sitting on a board

Stuart.

Edited January 20, 2009 by stuart

[ianc]

As a vertically-challenged 5'5" old fart with very short legs, I, too, find my left knee touched the H-frame. So I cut a length of the small diameter heater hose (block to bulkhead), slit it along its length and then slid it over the leading edge of the frame at the point where my knee was touching. Crude, but effective (for me)! Of course, one could make a nicer looking pad and screw/glue it to the side of the frame.

Ian Cornish

[MCOOPER53]

Hi

 

i am a bit tall for my 4a, and feel i have to bend down to look out of the screen. I would also like some head rests, currently if I push my head back it hits on the roll bar, which is a bit dangerous.

 

I could do with some bucket seats with headrests which sit a bit lower than standard.

 

I don't want to pay £1000, as i like the originals for shows etc, but some cheap ish ones for driving. Second hand even.

 

Any offers? Or what should I use?

 

Thanks

 

 

Nic

 

Nic, I have a pair of bucket seats that were fitted to my 3A, they are black vinyl with white piping and have headrests, the centre section (the part you sit on) is in black corduroy, they are good quality but the only downside is the vinyl pattern is slightly different on each seat, I bought them from the same supplier 1 year apart. If you are interested I can send you some photos.

 

Regards

Martin

[jerrytr5]

..... part of the reason is that you end up seating even higher in the car, by over an inch i'm told.

 

Wouldn't agree with that, I'd say that the MX5 seats sit lower - depends on the brackets I suppose, I made my own to mount them on the floor.

 

I did find a suggestion on an MX5 web site of cutting some of the foam out of the drivers seat base to make them lower (they can even be a problem in MX5's for tall drivers) but have not dared venture that way yet.

 

Yup, dead easy. Just take off the cover and hack away with Uncle Stanley.

 

Jerry

Edited January 27, 2009 by jerrytr5

[PaulAnderson]

Wouldn't agree with that, I'd say that the MX5 seats sit lower - depends on the brackets I suppose, I made my own to mount them on the floor.

 

Yup, dead easy. Just take off the cover and hack away with Uncle Stanley.

 

Jerry

 

I've sat in a few TR's with MX5 seats and they've all been higher than standard, which is where my problem would arise - sorting my passengers comfort issues would create a height problem for me in that I'd struggle to look under the top rail of the windscreen. People seem to use the mounting brackets as indicated in the technicalities disk and available pre-made. They're 20mm high at the back and 40mm high at the front.

Any chance of a photo of your installation / mountings Jerry to see another design?

 

The MX5 site I found which discussed cutting the seat foam was at http://www.miata.net/garage/headroom.html

The author of the page says he had no discomfort and went over 100,000 miles with no problems, and it's reversible.

 

Regards,

Paul

[jerrytr5]

Any chance of a photo of your installation / mountings Jerry to see another design?

 

Sorry for delay. Pictures hopefully attached. Rear mounting is two flat plates welded to MX5 seat runners. The front sits on a piece of alloy about 30mm tall.

Jerry

 

[PaulAnderson]

As an update on my own MX5 seat change, they were fitted not long ago on special lower mounts and are generally okay in terms of height and on shortish journeys. But, on the four and a half hour trip to Malvern I personally found the MX5 seats to be too hard. On the way back without any rest stops I think I bruised my backside it was so uncomfortable. So, either the basic seat design is poor, or possibly it was caused my taking an inch of padding out of the sump to keep it as low as possible. I'll have to re-examine my solution.

 

In respect of seat colour I have not gone down the route of retrimming the leather yet, partly as I have not found a source of the midnight blue leather as mentioned on post http://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=20294&st=0&p=141791&fromsearch=1entry141791

 

One great thing from Malvern is that I had the honour of sitting inside 3VC on Revington's rally seats - part number RTR6125. They seemed comfortable for the very short period I had in them and wonder if anyone has them in their cars and find them comfortable? They're not cheap but maybe worth it if they give the comfort and minimal height solution. I was chatting to Neil Revington on the possibility of a roll bar and his design (for a backlight equipped car) with the bracing leg down to the floor, it would not fit with the MX5 seats because the seats are pushed back right into the corner of the wheel arch and have a hard plastic shroud over the tilt lever area, leaving no room for the vertical bar. His rally seats would allow the bar to be fitted. So, can anyone give any feedback on the rally seats as shown in the picture, if used in a road going car.

 

Paul

[stuart]

If you take any of the set base padding out of an MX seat then you will find them uncomfortable. They have just the minimum to start with. Im tall and dont have any problem with them for comfort on any distance. Agreed about clearance for a bar though. I have tried the Revington seats for distance and the type with the crutch strap hole can be a tad uncomfortable in the nether regions over a long distance.

Stuart.

[TR NIALL]

Cannot understand why you cut the foams,sorry i can but why.To keep the MX5 seats as low as possible forget about fancy brackets,straighten out the MX5 ones and bolt directly to floor.I'm 5.11 and ain't no problem with height and if fitted correctly they will slide right back to hit bottom of wheelarch,if a little more leg room is needed a hammer and a few taps in the right place on the wheelarch will achieve this,they will also recline a lot farther than

any other seats if you have extra long arms, problem solved.

 

Sorry cannot comment on rollbars as i aint fitted one.

Edited July 29, 2010 by TR NIALL

[RobinTR6]

My Tr5 seats wrere tired so I acquired some secondhand Ridgaurd seats (Racetorations used to do them). This was after trying the Moss equilavents and noticing the hight and rear space issues. The Ridguards have headrests etc and are very comfy (south of France). Also the are low so no problems there and the backs are too thick either.

 

Robin

[Tr4Tony]

Hi

 

Our seats in 3VC are the right height, but in truth not the most comfortable. The best seats ive ever had in a TR are in BST82B, made by Bob Ridgard in leather .... Ive gone from Lands End to John O Groats many times now sitting in them for hour after hour, and I can vouch for them wholeheartedly .... and Im 6 ft 3 with a long back.

 

Ive tried many permutations over the years, from 2nd hand bucket seats, remade 4a seats, sat in proper 'works TR4' seats, MX5 seats bolted straight to the floor and really I should not have wasted my money on the others I bought because when I add it all up its way over the cost of the new leather Ridgards. As always you pay for what you get Im afraid.

 

Regards

 

Tony

[rod anderson]

Hi, bringing an old posting back to life here.. My TR4a has its original seats but I find that the low back makes longer journeys quite uncomfortable and exuberant cornering is rather unsupported!

 

I have read most of the threads covering offerings from Moss, Ridgard, Revington and MX5 and I seem to be erring towards a pair of leather Ridgards. Everbody seems to give reports of quality, comfort and the low height of the seat cushion (but at a reassuringly high cost!)

 

This leaves me with a couple of queries

- how easy is access/exit from the car with the bolsters on the seat base/back? (will I need to start going to the gym?)

- do these work OK with standard road belts, or is a harness better ?

 

Hope someone can advise,

Cheers

Rod

[4Mal]

Hi Rob. I've sent a PM about the Ridgards - Brilliant as Tony says.

 

You can find some photos of a fit in a TR4 here - from the Retro Car shoot

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/taymalcolm/TRPhotoShootMay2010#

 

As my back isn't too great, I was concerned, but they are fantastic. I can drive long distances no probs. ALso no problem getting in and out with the bolsters....and they do hold you well.

[rod anderson]

Really helpful pictures - great car too ! Will give them a call next week.

 

Cheers

Rod