Mitsubishi Evo IX seats

[qwik240z]

EDIT:

 

I went out to look at a pair of Mitsubishi Evo IX Recaro seats today. They are from a 2006 Evo and were pulled after only one month of use. They are black leather and in like new condition. I knew I couldn't pick them up in the Z car so I pulled the passenger seat from my 510 and went down to check them out. They fit the 510 nicely and look like they will fit into the z nicely too. So I bought them. If they don't fit in the Z, I will use them in the 510.

 

Here are the pictures that the seller emailed me. They look gray in the pics but they are black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I get them mounted, I will post more pics and info on the install. They look like they should fit the Z well. We shall see

[qwik240z]

I just couldn't pass them up. They are so comfortable and fit me so well. They are much more supportive then my stock seats and after the track day at Daytona, I need seats that will hold me in place better. I think they will be a great seat for a driver that sees some track and autocross use. Now I need to find some harnesses for them.

 

 

EDIT:

 

I went out to look at a pair of Mitsubishi Evo IX Recaro seats today. They are from a 2006 Evo and were pulled after only one month of use. They are black leather and in like new condition. I knew couldn't pick them up in the Z car so I pulled the passenger seat from my 510 and went down to check them out. They fit the 510 nicely and look like they will fit into the z nicely too. So I bought them. If they don't fit in the Z, I will use them in the 510.

 

Here are the pictures that the seller emailed me. They look gray in the pics but they are black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I get them mounted, I will post more pics and info on the install. They look like they should fit the Z well. We shall see

[m1noel]

They look amazingly like my Corbeau's. They fit great and are really comfy, but do sit a little higher than stock.

Mike

[qwik240z]

They look amazingly like my Corbeau's. They fit great and are really comfy, but do sit a little higher than stock.

Mike

 

 

I think that most seats mounted in the stock location will sit a bit higher then stock seats. Most modern seats have a thicker lower seat cushion that adds height.

 

I will let you know when I get them in and try them out.

[Diablo]

Wow, nice looking seats!! How much did you pay for them, if you don't mind me asking?

[qwik240z]

Wow, nice looking seats!! How much did you pay for them, if you don't mind me asking?

 

 

They are the same line of Recaros as the seats called Recaro Sportline. This place has them for $1275 each in leather.

 

http://on-trackperformance.com/recaro_sport.htm

 

 

This is the Recaro Sportline with black vinyl and a suede insert from their site.

 

 

 

 

I paid $700 for the pair. Mine are leather. I think I got a good deal.

[1 tuff z]

good deal, u kidding? very good deal in my book. funny, i think you'll still be viewing my taillights-LOL!

 

i like them, ready for pics! did u have a chance to try the harnesses i have in my z? they are schrothe and are very comfortable for both street/track. easy & quick to get in-out of.

 

ps-my tire [flat] was ruined, need to get a new pair...bummer. probably put her away for the winter and get the tires in the spring.

[qwik240z]

good deal, u kidding? very good deal in my book. funny, i think you'll still be viewing my taillights-LOL!

 

i like them, ready for pics! did u have a chance to try the harnesses i have in my z? they are schrothe and are very comfortable for both street/track. easy & quick to get in-out of.

 

ps-my tire [flat] was ruined, need to get a new pair...bummer. probably put her away for the winter and get the tires in the spring.

 

 

Yes. I think your car will always be showing me the tail lights. Well if I add a supercharger then maybe I will have a chance.

 

I did try your harnesses when you gave me a ride at the DIS track day. I just remember your seats being very hard to get in and out of. Climbing over the cage, etc. I don't really remember the harnesses.

 

I think that I would like to find a way to have 3 point belts for everyday use and get some 4 points for track/auto-x events. I would like to be able to have both mounted so I don't have to switch them. Any Ideas?

 

 

Bummer about the tire. Oh well you were wearing out the rears anyway.

 

What will you replace them with?

[Ivan280zt]

I have some Evo8 seats and I loosely mounted them in my 77 280z and man will that be pita to mount. left shoulder portion of seat was hitting door panel and bottom is little too wide but if you are willing to modify (hammer lol) trans tunnel towards back they will fit in there but it will be tight.

 

Ivo

[The Chiropractor]

Quik240Z, you may not have as much trouble mounting the seats into your 240 compared to the '77. I have a '77 also, and have noticed less room in the floor area due to larger trans tunnel compared to some of the 240 swap pictures I have seen. Good luck and let's see the pictures...

[qwik240z]

Evo Seats - They are Black but look gray in the picture.

 

 

Well I finally got one of the seats installed. I decided to do the passenger seat first so I would still be able to drive the car if I didn't get the install finished right away.

 

Here is what I had to do to install it.

 

I was planning to use the sliders that came on the seats. They were a flat bottom slider but after an initial test fit I found that there wasn't an easy way to make them work. I would have to build a frame to mount them to and then bolt up that frame to the stock seat mounts. I would also have to really cut up the stock seat mounting rail up front. Way more work then I wanted to do and I don't own a welder so I decided to go a different route

 

Last year I had purchased a set of Recaro SRD seats and Wedge Engineering seat brackets made to install them into a 240Z. The SRD seats didn't fit well so I sold them on eBay and kept the seat brackets.

 

Wedge Engineering Bracket

 

The Wedge Engineering brackets are made to accept what are known as Tab Sliders. Tab sliders allow the seat to be raised or lowered to 3 preset positions front and rear.

 

Recaro Tab Sliders

 

I ordered a set of Recaro Tab Sliders from Speedware, a vendor I found doing a google search. They arrived this week so I started to take apart the Evo sliders.

 

First I removed the stock set belt receiver from the seat. A 17mm wrench is all it takes.

 

Seat Belt receiver

 

Bottom of the seat before removing sliders.

 

Then I unbolted the sliders from the seat frame. They use a Star type bolt head and I didn't have that type of tool so I grabbed a torx bit that fit close. I removed the 4 bolts holding the sliders to the seat frame. I was not able to remove the slider adjusting lever. It is hard to see in the picture but when you unbolt the stock sliders there is a welded pivot tab on each side of the seat frame where the slider release lever goes.

 

Seat Lever Pivot

 

There is a small C clip that holds the release lever on. Once you pull the C clips, the lever can be removed. After I removed the lever, I test fit the new slider. I noticed that the pivot would interfere with the new release lever so I broke out the grinder and removed the pivot bracket. Took all of about 30 seconds to remove them from both sides.

 

Next, I lined up the holes on the new sliders to the seat and found that the distance between the mounting holes on the seat and the sliders didn't line up. Seems that the distance of the mounting holes on the seats is 12" on center and the holes on the brackets are about 11 3/4" on center. I decided to widen the hole on the back of the slider. This would push the slider more towards the front and allow the seat to slide back even more.

 

I clamped the slider into my vise and used a round file to open the hole up towards the rear. A few minutes with the file and the holes lined up properly.

 

I mounted the sliders to the seat using the bolts provided with the slider.

 

Tab sliders mounted to the seat

 

Finally it was time to move to the car and install the Wedge Engineering Bracket.

 

Stock 240 Seat Mounting Points

 

Wedge Engineering Bracket test fit.

 

As you can see in the picture, I have my ECU mounted under the passenger seat. The ECU was in the way of the bracket so I unbolted it and moved it forward for more clearance.

 

Once the ECU was out of the way, I found one more area where the stock mounting area was interfering with the Wedge Engineering bracket from sitting flat.

 

Interference area. I marked the area to be removed with a sharpie.

 

A minute with the grinder and the problem was gone.

 

Area removed with grinder.

 

Bracket sits flat now.

 

 

The rest of the install was easy. I ran up to the hardware store and bought some 3/8" x 1 1/2" Grade 8 bolts nuts washers and lock washers.

 

I bolted the Wedge Engineering Brackets to the stock mounting holes and then bolted the seat sliders to the bracket.

 

The moment of truth. How will they fit? Will they be comfy? Will they slide back and forth? Will there be any interference?

 

I sat in the seat and wow. If sure is comfortable and supportive. The seat slides forward and back just fine. Good visibility out of the windows. It is well centered in the area and there is plenty of leg room up front. Even for a really tall person. It is a good fit. It doesn't rub anywhere but I did notice when I shut the door that the wing part of the seat does rest against the door panel. It does not even compress the seat foam at all. they just barely touch. I think if I use the file, I can open up the stock mounting holes about 1/8" towards the center of the car and they would not touch anymore. It does sit a little higher then the stock seat but I have never sat in any aftermarket seat that was as low a stock seat. I think I could flip the Wedge Engineering bracket upside down and this would lower the seat about 1/2". If I find I need it lower, I may do that in the future. I would need to grind a few areas on the stock seat mounting areas to clear the bracket if I flip it but I think it will be fine the way it is.

 

One other issue I found. If the seat is slid far back, it is hard to adjust the recliner knob. There isn't much room for your hand in there in the rearward postion. Not a big deal. I usually get my seat adjusted and leave it in that position but if I need to adjust the backrest, I will slide the seat forward a bit, adjust it and then slide it back.

 

Overall I am very happy with this seat so far. I will install the drivers seat soon. I am sure that it will go much faster and easier now that I know what to modify.

 

Total cost sums up like this:

 

$700 Evo Seats

$215 Recaro Sliders

$175 Wedge Engineering Brackets

$ 10 Grade 8 Hardware

___________________

$1100 total

 

$550 per seat. Not too bad for Like New Recaro Leather seats.

 

[EvilC]

That looks really good!! Hurry and get the driver side in. All you need now is the blk int and that car will look amazing with those seats in there. Price wise you are doing very well for top notch stuff.

 

 

 

Clive

[Guest ziggity]

Awesome.. looks really great, and I'm looking forward to doing this too.

[Diablo]

Looks nice!! I ended up buying a set of red S2000 leather seats (might have to re-upholster them different color, later), they fit well, now just need to make some mounting brackets.

[texis30O]

I have looked on the EVO forums for those seats and no one is selling them....I guess I will have to keep looking or get a set of Corbeaus

[qwik240z]

That looks really good!! Hurry and get the driver side in. All you need now is the blk int and that car will look amazing with those seats in there. Price wise you are doing very well for top notch stuff.

 

 

 

Clive

 

Thanks Clive. Yes. I think I need to change the interior color too. The red just doesn't go with the new seats. I am undecided on what to do. I can track down a set of black door panels (I have the rest of the interior parts in black except for the headliner) but after seeing Dave's (1tuffz) car at the convention, I like the way he had the rear plastic parts covered in fabric. To me, the stock plastic parts have always seemed cheap looking. Not ot mention that they offer little in the way of oise reduction. I may look into having it all done by a shop to make it match the seats. With the price of NOS door panesl these days, I doubt that it will cost too much more to have it redone.

 

I plan to do the drivers side this weekend if it stops raining. I can't wait to try them out.

[qwik240z]

I have looked on the EVO forums for those seats and no one is selling them....I guess I will have to keep looking or get a set of Corbeaus

 

There was another set on eBay a week ago. It was blue cloth and kind of worn. They went pretty cheap.

 

Keep your eyes open. I found mine on the local Craigslist. I searched for Recaro.

 

Good Luck

[1 tuff z]

lookin good dw! those should hold you in place a bit better than the stockers.

[ZT-R]

Nice job. Do you have pics of the interior with the seats installed?

Edited September 18, 2011 by ZT-R

[Nelsonian]

ZT-R,

I have the evo 9 recaro's going into my car build. I took a different approach however. I was having new floors and frame rails installed and went with a new, shorter seat base and custom seat adaptor to use the stock mitsu sliders. I am only 5-8", but putting these on the stock seat floor rails had me very close to the roof, as most seats swapped onto the stock rails do.