New seats...

JmuRiz · JmuRiz's Garage

Has anyone else seen the new Renegade Hybrids seats for the 914? I just got sent an e-mail w/ a pic, they look great. Too bad I don't have the $ for them now.

Nathan

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'73 2.0 914

efeinsmith · 04-12-2001, 04:55 AM

I was out in Las Vegas last week and dropped by Renegade Hybrids (I'm in the middle of a V8 conversion from them) and has a chance not only to see, but try out their new seats in Scott's (Renegade's owner) car. They are quite comfortable and very supportive (heavy bolstering), if you're not too big (I'm 6'3" and hit my head on the car roof).The seat is not too tight in the butt area (and I won't discuss the size of mine :-) and very nicely finished.

campbellcj · 04-12-2001, 07:27 AM

I saw them at a local gathering in L.A. a while back (the "PBR"). They looked really nice to me and of course "go well" with the original 914 interior decor. I didn't sit in them but they appear comfortable and supportive. Here is the pic Scott just sent:

For my purposes, I've decided to go with a full race bucket with harness pass-thrus etc. I am due to pick up a set of Corbeau Forza's tomorrow. More info here:
http://www.corbeau.com/brochure/forza.html

[This message has been edited by campbellcj (edited 04-12-2001).]

Jim Smolka · 04-12-2001, 04:36 PM

Lets us know how the seats fit (needs some jpgs). Looks like a nice seat for less than the Sparco seats. Maybe Pelican can also carry this seat.

Anyone know differnce/preferrence of the Corbeau "Forza" vs Sparco "Drive"

efeinsmith · 04-12-2001, 04:49 PM

A problem with the Corbeau is that they will not sit flush with the backrest cutout in the rear of the 914 passenger compartment, so you will definitely lose some legroom (The Renegade seats do fit in the cutout). If you're not too tall, that may not be a problem, but for those of us 6'+, we need every inch :-)

Jim Smolka · 04-12-2001, 06:07 PM

To install the cage, I removed the back rest.
So would Corbeau seats fit without loosing leg room?

Thanks.

[This message has been edited by Jim Smolka (edited 04-12-2001).]

campbellcj · 04-12-2001, 07:43 PM

My back-pad is already out, so that's not an issue. The Forza's also come w/ a bracket for the 914 and supposedly bolt right into the stock mounts with no fabrication or drilling.

I believe this seat is extremely similar to the Sparco Sprint, but slightly cheaper, and Sparco does not have a 914 bracket.

Also, I'm only 5'10" and have plenty of leg room before the seat is even all the way back. I will have the Forza's in on Saturday and will post pics...

[This message has been edited by campbellcj (edited 04-12-2001).]

campbellcj · 04-14-2001, 07:45 PM

Had a fairly productive day -- finished up the installation of the new seats and the driver's side 5pt harness. (Did some other stuff too, which was not as fun, but necessary.) In usual fashion, I documented the process, and the pics are here: http://www.nosubstitute.org/914/seats/

For the next couple months, I'll be using a harness bar, which seems to be working out OK. Will have to put in a rollbar/cage pretty soon though (POC requires them now).

Of course, to cap off the day, I went for an exuberant drive thru Old Topanga Cyn. The car is nice and tight and the new seats should work out great!

Chris C.

Scat(\/)an · 04-14-2001, 09:30 PM

Just out of curiousity, how exactly does the harness bar mount? Don't know how effective the harness bar would be compared to a cage for mounting the shoulder straps.

How easily do the seats slide forward on the adapter brackets? I'm planning on upgrading to a set of Forzas in the future and I'm trying to get an idea.

campbellcj · 04-14-2001, 11:03 PM

The seats don't slide on the adapters...they are in the original rails. The adapters just let you bolt the original rails & base to the seat! The real answer is, not too easy to slide, about like my stock seats.

The harness bar is really supposed to just be used as a "guide" for shoulder belts that are bolted elsewhere, i.e. the firewall or floor. But lots of guys just wrap the belts around the bar, which is what I have done for the time being. It is a heavy gauge (but hollow I think?) bar that connects to the original upper seat belt mounts, using the original bolts plus some hardened washers and jam nuts.

Many if not most of the 914s I've seen with rollbars and cages do not have the harnesses bolted to the bars -- that places them too high up. They are often bolted to the firewall behind the seats.

Chris C.

[This message has been edited by campbellcj (edited 04-15-2001).]

cobrabob · 04-22-2001, 06:08 AM

campbellcj,
Does the seat sit any higher than the fatory seats? I have scheel seats I want to replace but I don't want to loose any headroom.
Thanks

campbellcj · 04-22-2001, 09:47 AM

They are virtually identical to stock in terms of height. Headroom is marginal (i.e. zero) for me with my helmet on, so I may need to figure out a way to lower another .5-1.5 inches. I am around 5'10" with a relatively long torso and short legs, so YMMV. Without helmet, no sweat.

Chris C.