Guest aRCH Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 Hey All, I've done a couple searches on here and Zcarclub but to no avail.. At the moment I'm trying to figure out the best way to install some SAAS seats that I'm buying in to my Z.. I've pretty much got three options atm.. Really I just need to fill in some blanks to find which is the best way to go.. a) Use the SAAS universal adapter plates to bolt the seats to the stock Z rails Use a SAAS adjustable rail which will mount to the floor c) Get my workshop to make a custom set of rails ($$$) My main problem here is height, while I've searched around for measurements of seat rails I've noticed quite a few people say if you mount the seat too low you'll have troubles with them banging against the transmission tunnel or the door but didn't go on to say how wide their seats were.. I'm basically aiming to have them lower then stock as how they are atm (stock seats) my legs only just fit in comfortably below the steering wheel.. here are the dimensions of the seats im dealing with.. max width = 52cm max length = 58cm max height = 88cm Using plan B I will sit about 34cm (SAAS rails + bottom of seat height) from the floor, which might be the way to go.. Going to do quite a bit of measuring tonight when i get home.. So anyways, a bit more to the point.. does anyone have measurements of standard Z seats and seat rails? And has anyone had any experiences with SAAS seats? Any comments or thoughts would be most appreciated on seats, installation or just anything in general I might want to consider Thanks guys, Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aRCH Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 Well, just did some rough measurements.. the saas seats come out a bit narrower at the base but similar height and I should be alright for shoulder width. Gotta check some notes I left at work but I think with the saas rails mounted to the floor it'll work out a bit higher then standard (which on mine came to about 26cm) hmm.. more researching to do.. Anyone have any experiences with what they've done to mount aftermarket seats? To do with the stock rails or aftermarket rails? I've read a couple but from what I've read they were for wider seats which had issues with clearing the door and transmission tunnel.. mines more a height issue.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Road or race? Makes a difference re seat height eg helmet. Anyway my race seat was fixed hard against the transmission tunnel to give sufficient elbow room against the door. Even then the armrest had to be removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aRCH Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 The car is mainly a street car but I'm looking at taking it to some track days as that's what I've sort of been aiming for with it.. So it'll definitely be a tight squeeze.. what style of seat do you have? a fixed racing bucket or a reclinable one? thanks for the reply! I've managed to get my hands on one of the seats, will be taking it to a workshop to see how tough it'll be to get it to fit.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 First of all....Sweet Ride. Love it. Second of all, I have not a clue as to how to help you. But look fwd to all the info posted, as I will need it someday. Later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 Mine's a narrow fit fixed Sparco. I'm fairly tall, 6'2" in the old money, so the stock seat rails were too high, plus I like to sit low and close to the wheel. Ended up cutting through the stock mount member and having to make up a bolt in base. Had I know that in advance it would have been done better by welding in a new base and reinforcing the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aRCH Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 that's pretty much exactly what I'm expecting to do.. im around 6'7" so height is a major issue! so are they directly bolted to the floor through this bolt in base you made? I want to be able to slide the seats forwards and backwards so I'm thinking I might need to get the adjustable rails off the stock Z seats and put them between whatever mounting system is made up for the base and the seats themselves.. My friend's seats should come in Monday so I'll be taking my car in to a workshop with the seats to see what they think next week some time I'll definitely keep you all posted on how it goes and hopefully get some pics up of the process! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aRCH Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Hey All, bit of an update.. I hate being so tall .. well I don't really.. it's just a pain sometimes! Basically the SAAS enforcers fit in pretty well. The adjustable rails from the Z seats were taken off and mounted to the SAAS seats with very little effort, just some new holes a bit to the side to mount them closer to the transmission tunnel (which was quite a tight fit, especially on the bottom support and the shoulders). The problem for us tall people is the back of the SAAS seats.. the Z seats have a bit of a gap between the back and the bottom, and there's a big clear area behind that gap.. Without that gap you can't push the seat all the way back due to a bulge in the Z floor.. so basically I couldn't fit in That bulge also couldn't be pushed in as you'd only get it back another inch or so before hitting the frame, sway bars and brake lines On Monday we're going to try mounting the SAAS backs to the Z bottoms and then having the Z bottoms retrimmed with new padding and side support put in. Anyways, I'll post another update Tomorrow with the progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aRCH Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 Well... they're in! absolutely love em! And the trimming job was done so well that nobody has actually noticed they're the stock Z bases until I tell em! The plan of mounting the SAAS backs to the Z bases worked quite well with just one new hole needing to be drilled in the SAAS side beams so that they could be bolted on at a bit of an angle (to suit the Z bases). We also had to beat in the wheel arch just a tiny bit.. it doesn't rub at all on my 225s on the back and it allows the seat to go all the way back in a very comfortable position. The moral of all of this is not to be so tall.. otherwise they would've gone in just fine by bolting them to the Z rails with only a couple new holes being drilled. The next step was to start getting the harnesses in. Here in aus it's illegal to just have harnesses so I found some removable SAAS three point harnesses which have these nifty lil loop bolt sorta things which replace the standard bolts which hold the stock seatbelts on. Still deciding the best place to mount the back point, prob gonna make up some sort of a mounting plate for the final loop bolt to go in the back behind my subwoofer. But it's feeling/looking great so far! I'll post up some pics highlighting the troubles I encountered and how I got around them soon, just been busy as hell with the melbourne autosalon and life in general! The final step for my interior will be taking it to a place called auto image here in melb who will be retrimming my interior and modifying the Z seat bases further so that they have more side support. Cheers guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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