J.C Whitney Cheap Seats $159.99/pair

[Guest 73LT1Z]

I'll preface this post by saying these are cheap seats, not for everyone. You get what you pay for.

 

While doing some seat surfing, I found an extensive (like 23 pages) thread on a Jeep forum here. Seems like they either like them or hate them, with more liking than hating. There is also some debate as to larger people finding them comfortable. There are some decent pics of the seats in that thread, black- page 9 (post 128), yellow- page 13 (post 181), and gray- page 18 (post 249).

 

In a nutshell, these are the J.C. Whitney "Garage Pro" reclining racing seats available in five colors- black, gray, red, blue, and yellow. The normal price is $159.99 each, but with the link below you get two for that price. They have knobs not levers to adjust the backs, and from the thread it looks like shipping damage to the knobs is an issue. The seats include sliders and it looks like from the dimensions they will fit a Z car without too much modification.

 

I was not able to find the buy one get one free deal from the JCW website, but the link below works as of 5-2-08. The 20% discount mentioned in the thread is no longer in effect, but anyone that gets a JCW catalog should have a discount code for either 10 or 15% off depending on the amount of the purchase. The current promotion is free shipping, but the seats have a surcharge so it adds a little over $20 to the price. According to the thread, there is a 60 day return policy on them.

 

EDIT

Discount code is AJGN727, 10% off $80 or more or 15% off $200 or more. Valid through 8-31-08.

 

Link to seats- buy one get one free.

 

[240swapped]

they ran that deal about a year ago and i bought them for the 240sx. in most cases, you get what you pay for, but these are a great find. they bolt up to the standard Bride/Corbeau/Sparco mounts, and they're way too high quality for them to be making ANY money off of them. good seats, for friggen GREAT price. btw, the red fades, would suggest another color. however, my car is ALWAYS parked in the sun, so maybe you'll have better luck.

[Guest 73LT1Z]

I'm glad to hear good feedback from a forum member. I am going to try a set of the yellow/black or solid black ones since I am repainting my car. The two tone seems kind of ricey but two pair is not much of an investment and I can use the black ones and sell the others if I don't go that route.

 

The 15% off worked out better money wise than the free shipping for me. You can't use both codes on one sale as far as I know- it didn't let me do so.

[wrxand280z]

I'd be carefull about the size. I have a set that looks similiar to these and it will not fit in the z

[BSD]

40lbs a seat? I got excited at first, but I was hoping they would be lighter, regardless, great price!

[240swapped]

if they're the ones i bought from JCW last year (and they appear to be since the stock photo is the same) then they're not super tall like the cheapie DAD racing junk on eBay. but FWIW, if you want the best seats on the market, go to memoryfab's sight. their carbon back seat are the bomb.com!!!! sexiest sat on the market. not 159/pair mind you.....

[BobbyZ]

I am seriously considering these for my 280zx, the stock seats are completely thrashed and I need some more support. I would like to get these butwould appreciate some feedback by anyone who has some first hand experience.

 

How comfortable?

I dont need a lot of padding but I drive at least 2 hours per day in my zx and I cant buy these if they are extremely hard.

 

Will it fit in the zx?

What are the dimensions at the widest points?

[BSD]

For some info.

 

I called them a few minutes ago, and talked to a lady.. ( she didn't seem to know anything about these seats mind you, but got info from someone else )

And she said these seats Will fit in a ZX, Also, It is 37lb PER seat WITH packaging, so to people with a serious seat weight concern, idk whether you would want these or not.. but even at 179 for a pair, you could easily sell them back around for like 200 bucks to some rice kid.. lol, jk jk. ( 20 dollar surcharge )

[BobbyZ]

I have been reading around on them for the last hour or so and the range of reviews is kind of entertaining. Some people swear that they are so comfortable and its worth the 12 hours of labor it took to mount them. Other people think that they are the worst seats ever made...

 

Oh well, if I cant find some good seats at the JY I guess I will give these ones a try.

[Guest 73LT1Z]

I thought I read somewhere in the Jeep thread that someone had measured them, I'm not a member there so I can only search page by page & didn't want to sift through all 23 again . I have looked at this type of seat from several manufacturers and it seems like they vary in width (key issue for my '75 280) from about 20" to 23". My tape measure shows 23" is a no-go, 20.5~21.0 is about the limit. Looking at the pics with the sliders off and knowing this is 13.625" +/-, guesstimating the overall width based on this, and since they all taper towards the bottom, this should not be an issue. I'm going to bend up some 2" wide steel to my bolt pattern and then bolt these on to that when they arrive. I can "nudge" the tunnel a little if need be, won't be the first time doing this, just the first time from inside.

 

If they don't fit,

but even at 179 for a pair, you could easily sell them back around for like 200 bucks to some rice kid..

Well said. Or even put them on e-ripoff, charge $100 shipping, and make even more.

 

Reminds me of the film We're No Angels a comedy with Humphrey Bogart. In one scene he is selling a fat guy a coat that is way too small. One of his buddies tells the other "He can sell someone something they don't want or need for more than they want to pay."

[BSD]

Indeed! I almost want to purchase these, due to the fact they also have a 60 day return... hmm...

[Guest 73LT1Z]

JCW gives the following sizes for the leather seats they sell, they look to be the same:

Seat measures 20-1/2"W x 35"H x 24-1/2"D. Requires bracket with 13-5/8" wide bolt hole (sold separately).

 

EDIT

Made up a couple of 2" wide x 1/8 steel brackets today, used the 280Z slider/bracket as a template:

 

 

 

Brackets are 18" overall, 2" leg in front & 2.75" in rear. Bracket legs are longer in the rear so they can sit level. I am going to add some 2x1 channel steel under them to support them. 280Z bolt centers are 12.75", so only 3/8"+ per side to offset for the JCW seats.

[Blown77Z]

73LT1Z, where in Florida do you live? Are you interested in making more of those seat brackets

[Guest 73LT1Z]

Outside of Tallahassee. If you have:

1) A tape measure

2) A black marking pen

3) A vise

4) A straightedge

5) A sawzall or hacksaw and

6) A hammer

7) A drill & bits

8) Lowes/Home Depot/Tractor Supply (for the metal)

 

You can make your own. I don't have a problem making more, but the shipping will be $100 (I have some seats to pay for ). Once the seats get here I can make a diagram of the exact (at least for my car and seats) brackets for community use.

 

I did look at an online metal place and you can get 4x2' sections of thicker 3/16 steel and 2x2' sections of 2"x1" leg channel for around $45 delivered. I know the Procar brackets at Summit for our cars are like $78 EACH!!!

[240swapped]

ooooh, a true capitalist.

[AK-Z]

Now. Even though its free shipping (Being in Alaska, I don't ever expect shipping to ever be free) Shipping is only $14 for FedEX.

 

The description does concern me though.

 

"Fits either driver or passenger side."

Implying One seat. But title of item says "seats"

 

I'm kinda warry about these kind of things, because of being so far from everything else. These kinda of adverts kinda confuse me. Why not just advertise pair of seats $159.99?

 

Oh well. I'm still gonna buy them. Weigth doesn't really concern me.

 

240swapped, did you black fade? I'm thinking of getting the all black ones or maybe the grey.

[Guest 73LT1Z]

The description does concern me though.

 

"Fits either driver or passenger side."

Implying One seat. But title of item says "seats"

 

I'm kinda wary about these kind of things, because of being so far from everything else. These kinda of adverts kinda confuse me. Why not just advertise a pair of seats $159.99?

 

It gets worse- when you get the order confirmation, the quantity shows as 1. This was addressed in the Jeep thread, it is 1 pair.

 

One trick to JCW shopping as I have found out is to verify the quantity. On the linked page, it shows "Unit" as "Pair". If it is one, unit is shown as "Each". I did save my order page showing 1 pair in the event this becomes an issue.

 

I ordered some H4 headlight conversions and bulbs at the same time as the seats. My FedEx tracking # shows the package is 5 pounds, so I expect I don't have the tracking # for the seats.

 

I ordered on 5-2 and got a shipping notice on 5-3. It says everything including the seats has shipped.

 

$14 shipping a pair of seats to Alaska sounds pretty good, I just spent $7 @ FedEx returning a router to NY.

[Blown77Z]

Outside of Tallahassee. If you have:

1) A tape measure

2) A black marking pen

3) A vise

4) A straightedge

5) A sawzall or hacksaw and

6) A hammer

7) A drill & bits

8) Lowes/Home Depot/Tractor Supply (for the metal)

 

You can make your own. I don't have a problem making more, but the shipping will be $100 (I have some seats to pay for ). Once the seats get here I can make a diagram of the exact (at least for my car and seats) brackets for community use.

 

I did look at an online metal place and you can get 4x2' sections of thicker 3/16 steel and 2x2' sections of 2"x1" leg channel for around $45 delivered. I know the Procar brackets at Summit for our cars are like $78 EACH!!!

 

Cool, I live right outisde Pensacola. Keep us updated on the fitment of these seats please !

[Guest 73LT1Z]

Somehow my first seat arrived a day early. I called JCW customer service & after a minimal wait (< 5 minutes) I found the other three boxes were set for delivery tomorrow. One of my adjuster knobs were broken, the CS rep advised they were aware of this problem & had ordered extra parts from the vendor. I told her I would call back after the remainder arrived to see how many I needed. CS is top notch so far.

 

I unboxed the seat & found it was one of the black ones. Here are some pics:

Seat in box:

 

Seat views:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sliders:

 

 

 

Test fit, sitting in car (not level) on 2" wide brackets. Actual fit will be higher since the sliders are not installed in these pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impressions

I sat in the seat in the passenger side (6-01, 220). It is firm, you don't seem to sink in much. It was a little tight in the shoulder area for me if I sat all the way back. The middle of the back of my head was even with the top of the seat. The seat width will not be an issue in my 1975 280Z. It will clear the door, tunnel, and console with no problem. The closest part I saw was the shoulder "wing" being close to the door frame, but fine tuning the position with my mounts will take care of this.

 

After I took & uploaded the pics, I installed the 280Z slider on the seats using one bolt in the front holes. I then placed the seat in the car and used one bolt to attach the outer slider to the car. It looks like it would be simple to drill a second hole in the 280Z slider to attach the seat, and then simply weld a piece of 1/8 steel to the slider (in effect widening the mounting points) and drill a hole as needed to attach the seat to the car. After sitting in the seat like this, I think I will not add the channel steel spacer under the 2" wide steel plate, the tilt does not seem to be too bad.

 

Here are some tape measure dimensions:

Lower cushion front width top: 20.5"

Lower cushion front width bottom: 16.5"

Lower cushion inside width front: 14"

Lower cushion inside width rear: 12.5"

 

Seatback width lower: 14"

Seatback width upper: 12" (this is where it was a little tight on me)

Seatback height from lower cushion: 32"

Seatback height from floor, no sliders: 34"

 

Knob to knob width: 20"

 

"Wing" height from cushion (lower) / seatback (upper)

Lower: 3"

Upper: 6.5"

 

Mounting holes:

13.625" wide x 11.0" deep

Includes 4 x 8x1.25 socket head bolts to attach sliders. There were also 4 nuts in the package, I'm not sure what they are for.

 

The box was marked 17 KG for weight, which equates to about 37 pounds. I'd guess the seats are a few pounds less than that, but I don't have an easy way to measure them.

 

The adjuster handles are u-shaped and attach via tabs on the sliders.

 

I will update after I get it mounted and have some more pics.

[JSM]

On my aftermarket seats I had to raise just one side closest to each door a 1/2" so the wings wouldn't hit the door. You can't tell at all when your sitting in it.