Aftermarket Seats

[69MyWay]

Is anybody other there running aftermarket seats? I am looking at the Corbeau A4.

www.corbeau.com

I have not seen any that I can remember in street Vettes. There may be something better than the A4. I need a seat that will allow a four point harness to come through the head rest area.

 

[Ken]

Chris, I haven't installed any, but I have been looking around and when I get chances, I sit in 'em. :L

Guldstrand shares a shop space with somebody that sells Sparco and Recarro seats among other things, and there was a Vette in the shop a couple of weeks ago when mine was being worked on, and it had Sparco seats installed, so I sat in it to get a feel for what they be like.

• First off, it was much more difficult getting out of the car with the aftermarket seats. I guess it was because they are actually sitting a little lower in the cockpit.
• Secondly, they are definitely not as comfortable for the long-haul, but then you are prepared for that, right? As I would be if I was going to got that route, but I think I changed my mind for now.

Until I start devoting more time to the track with the car, I'd rather have the function (read: comfort - what little there is for my big ass! :L) than form. I won't even try to guess what my ass would have felt like after three weeks in the seat on my "Road Trip". :eyerole

 

[Viper 10]

Ken:

It sounds like you are referring to racing buckets. I would totally agree with you if that is so. They are incredibly uncomfortable for daily use.

If you are comparing stock Vette seats to a Recaro or Cobra, I will beg to differ. These seats are 10 times more comfortable than any stock seats (except maybe Audi who uses Recaro as their stock sport seats). And if you want bells and whistles, they have models that do everything short of... :eek you know what).

I have not had good experiences with Corbeau in the past. They have mediocre quality (especially the foam that they use) and they aren't very durable to wear.

I would highly recommend the adjustable Recaro and Cobra for racing or daily use. Cobra has a unique split cushion system that has the seat pad that is split down the center. The reason for this is because it allows your legs to work independently while shift gears.

I hope that this helps. Good luck.

Brad

 

[69MyWay]

Thanks,

I did not even think about checking with Guldstrand. He ought to know what does and does not fit. Viper is right, the street version of the race seats may be hard to get in and out, but are very comfortable. However, they are not much more difficult to get in and out than a early C4 seat.

I have seen a couple of Corbeau seats in Solo II cars (not corvettes) but was not sure of their quality, etc. I appreciate the heads up on that.

The trouble with the C3 is the seat has to be very narrow. At least with Corbeau, only the A4 seat will really fit the floor area. The Targa seat they have is a nice looking package. It is about 1" too wide at the bottom.

I will check the others out now.

Thanks again.

 

[resto75]

seat options

I have Recaro seats in my vette and they are comfortable. They are firm but I think that supports you butt better then some saggy wornout seat. Mine are not adjustable for front and rear travel, but do adjust for backrest position. I don't know what model they are but they are comfy for me. I would suggest you try out some different ones before purchase as they are not cheap and whats good for one is not for another. Iwouldn't want to see someone buy seats and then hate them after they were installed.
Roy

 

[69MyWay]

Recaro

Resto,

Do you know if your seats will not accept a seat track, or have they just been left off. One thing that did impress me about the Corbeau is the fact that they have manufactured hundreds of seat tracks to fit almost everything including our vettes.

You are correct about the price. I figure that by the time I find a nice pair of C4 seats, convert the tracks, and have them covered to match my car I will spend almost as much as having brand new custom seats. Corbeau is about $360 plus tracks per seat. Really, that is not too bad. The stock C3 68-77 or so seats leave much to be desired for latteral support. Plus, my rear roll cage/harness will be made to run through the back of the seat if so equiped.

Do you know what model Recaro you have?

 

[resto75]

Recaro seats

Chris, I dont know what model they are as they were in the car when I bought it. They are bolted down to where the orginals mounted, but have no sliding track. Maybe the track was left off to reduce the height, but thats only a guess. They fit right and look great. They are a black cloth that is real soft and say Recaro on the backrest. They also have a mesh type headrest. They may be older seats a I dont see them on the recaro website when I last checked.

Roy