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Recaro seat custom seat-to-rail bracket


JaysZ

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The original idea, which consisted of two plates lap welded together, didn't turn out so well. I scratched this idea since it would have been hard milling both sides flat. i decided to cut two individual pieces but this time, cut off the overlapping pieces and butt weld them with TIG (pic 3)

 

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closeup of the MIG bead. there are 2 layers. this was actually my 2nd time doing MIG and I couldnt keep a straight line because it was too dark lol

 

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the new pieces tacked together with MIG.

 

 

I'll be learning TIG this week and these pieces should be done soon! will post pics later with the seat mounted. i plan on cutting the words "RECARO" into the driver side bracket too (think weight reduction haha)

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something a little like this:

Brackets_Steel.jpg

 

the two brackets go on the side of the seat of course. the brackets will then be mounted on the stock seat rails.

 

i didnt' have 4" plate available, plus this is a project and a learning experience so i didn't want something as easy as a 4" plate that i cut.

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because then it wouldn't be such a uniform shape. since i have to make multiples of this, not just one, i'd rather skip the frustration of trying to bend and compare over and over to get them identical. also, again, this is practice and for fun.... (plus i prefer to keep it simple)

 

recaro01.jpg

another example.

 

and this is what mine would look like.

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I just got some brakets from Wedge Engineering to mount my Recaros into my Z. The brackets will bolt to the original mounts and the seats bolt to the brackets.

 

$180 delivered to me. Nice quality stuff. Clean welds.

 

Only took a few weeks from order to delivery.

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I just got some brakets from Wedge Engineering to mount my Recaros into my Z. The brackets will bolt to the original mounts and the seats bolt to the brackets.

 

$180 delivered to me. Nice quality stuff. Clean welds.

 

Only took a few weeks from order to delivery.

Is it this type of bracket, or one for a street style Recaro seat? Reason I ask is I tried just setting the seat on top of the stock bracket and I was already out of headroom. I figured since the bottom was so thin I'd be lower, but because your butt doesn't sink in on this kind of seat you actually need to mount it lower.

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Is it this type of bracket, or one for a street style Recaro seat? Reason I ask is I tried just setting the seat on top of the stock bracket and I was already out of headroom. I figured since the bottom was so thin I'd be lower, but because your butt doesn't sink in on this kind of seat you actually need to mount it lower.

 

 

The brackets I got are for street recaros. Sorry.

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The side mount bracket that is shown requires that the original mounting points inside the car be removed and the new brackets are mounted to the floor then the seats are mounted to the brackets. If you try to mount the side mount brackets on top of the existing factory seat mounting points the seat will be way to high your head will be wedged against the roof.

 

Because I did not want to take that route I bought the Momo "Cup" seats which allow side mount or bottom mount. Bottom mount uses the factory mounting points (without the sliders).

 

shopmomo_1890_21687322

 

Dragonfly

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beautiful seat you have there dragonfly. i have since decided to make my own seat rail since the slide mechanism is raised (from the spring) on the one closest to the door and it would seem like more trouble than it is worth to use the existing rails. will probably have a "working" prototype by next weekend. :)

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beautiful seat you have there dragonfly. i have since decided to make my own seat rail since the slide mechanism is raised (from the spring) on the one closest to the door and it would seem like more trouble than it is worth to use the existing rails. will probably have a "working" prototype by next weekend. :)

 

Just make sure that when your done the seat is mounted just as solidly as the factory seat was. It is important to remember that a seatbelt is only as good as the mounting of the seat in an accident. I am assuming that you are going to be mounting the Recaro seats that were pictured above, so that leaves me to assume also that you will be using a 4 or 5 point harness (seatbelt).

 

Dragonfly

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  • 2 weeks later...

i finally snapped some pics of it. its not done yet, but hopefully it will be done soon! i've been super busy.

 

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view of the top

 

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view of the bottom

 

wve548.jpg

test fit overhead view

 

wve61e.jpg

test fit side view

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Have you checked it for headroom with the seat on top of that bracket. Ingenious bracket, but my Ultra-Shield seat set on top of the stock bracket had my hair touching the headliner and I'm 6' tall, so it's not like I'm a huge guy.

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hey Jon, there is still plenty of room. (i'm short anyway lol, 5' 6") the new seat rail actually sits lower than the stock one, i'll snap a pic for comparison soon. i'm hoping to make it height and length adjustable as well but i'm still thinking about what i can do as far as what tools and equipment is available for me to use.

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Looks good, and in your case being 5'6" tall it should work out fine.

 

When I installed my Ultra-Shield I set the base of the seat righ on the stock mounts and my head hit the roof. I was really surprised, because the seat bottom isn't very thick at all. I think the difference is that with a solid bottom your butt doesn't sag down between the stock seat brackets. I ended up with the bottom of the rail only about 1.5" off the floor to get the necessary headroom.

 

This is what I did for mine, just for comparison's sake:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103817

Some about tying it to the subframe connectors here:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=106974&page=2

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Hey jaysZ, ive been interested in a recaro bucket ( my SRD reclinable doesnt quite hold well anymore) but i dont know what seat would fit me well. you mentioned your 5'6, would you mind telling me how much you weigh lol, im also 5'6 and im about 165 lbs and i was wondering if the seat you have would match my size. does the shoulder and leg support match your body size? what model bucket is that by the way?

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hey EMWHYR0HEN,

i'm 135 lbs. the seat i have is the recaro "SPG". i like this one the most because i fit really snug in it. the shoulder and leg support is excellent, its one of the slimmest seats i could find but i'm sure there are similar ones out there. i didn't do a ton of seat shopping since the moment i sat in this one, i knew i had to have it ;)

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