New (to me) Recaro SRD's from a fellow Pelican

lfot · lfot's Garage

What a pain in the arse it was to get to those bolts behind the stock seats! Pretty easy install after that. I don't know what everybody else uses to get to the bolts, but I used a 10mm socket with a u-joint built in. $8 at Sears.

Anyway... quite happy with them. Amazing how much they improve ride quality. I mean, I feel so much more in tune with the car and the controls... and my head doesn't oh-so-gently rub the roof anymore.

Thanks to Pelican "JonT" for selling these to me.

m325ix · 11-22-2006, 02:30 PM

sweet seats, I got the same thing and absolutely love them !

I have Recaro SPG in my BMW M3 and those are brutal on you after 1 hour drive

JonT · 11-22-2006, 02:32 PM

They look great in your car! Glad you enjoy them.

mambodave · 11-22-2006, 02:36 PM

sweet... so tell me about the install.. Im doing the same thing to mine on Sunday.

lfot · lfot's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by mambodave
sweet... so tell me about the install.. Im doing the same thing to mine on Sunday.

Well, like I said, the bolts are a bit difficult to get to. I ended up using a 1/4" ratchet with an extension going to a u-joint 10mm socket. Had to keep everything as small as possible to fit in between the bottoms of the seats and rails. Once you get those off, things get a lot easier. A previous post mentioned that he used a 4.5mm Hex to get the sliders off the OEM seats, but I found that size to be a little big. Don't remember what size I used... just started digging through what I had. Anyway... OEM sliders came off and attached to the Recaros with no problem. Putting the Recaros in is a lot easier than getting the OEM's out. There is quite a bit more bolt access.

Amazingly straight forward job. Plan on twisting yourself around the interior a bit.

mambodave · 11-22-2006, 02:57 PM

thanks for the write up

rallyracer · 11-22-2006, 03:15 PM

I use a thin MAC tools 1/4in with a ground down 10mm socket and jam it in there. If the slider just went a little bit further foward...

Mike Feinstein · Mike Feinstein's Garage

You'll love these seats. Mine have been in for about 2.5 years. Still look like new. Enjoy.

ianc · 11-22-2006, 06:59 PM

Amazing how much better the car seems to handle with a nice set of sports seats, isn't it?

ianc

MIK911 · 11-22-2006, 09:56 PM

Nice seats.
I put in factory manual sport seats in my car last yr, and like you said, getting the stock seats out was 90% of the work.
My bolts were 'stuck' on after 20 yrs, and getting the rear one off required using a chisel to back it off the threads. Had tried 'everything' prior. My bolts are allen head units, which got porgressivly stripped with multiple atttempts to remove.

Yes, sport seats are the bomb. What a difference it makes!!

TERRIBLEHONDO · TERRIBLEHONDO's Garage

Nice seats, How tall are you and how much clearance did these seats give you?

lfot · lfot's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by TERRIBLEHONDO
Nice seats, How tall are you and how much clearance did these seats give you?

I'm 6'2", and my head clearance is a lot better. However, I haven't really tested out the seats with a helmet yet. I should have an answer for you by Monday or Tuesday if the helmet clears.

Moses · 11-24-2006, 04:25 PM

Nice seats. Here's the tool for EASY installs.

Ever struggle getting seats bolted in?

ja78911sc · 11-24-2006, 05:10 PM

I had the pleasure of planting my a$$ on those fine seats and helped with the removal. They were removed from a 1980 3.6 liter rocket. I am 6'3" and have a set of SRD's in my 78 coupe. I have just enough head room with a helmet on. You should have plenty of clearance. Good luck on the track!