the spirit R had kevlar recaro's right? i rmember seeing a pair on ebay, the guy was asking something like 2500 before shipping.

 

Carbon/Kevlar.

From FDNewbie's site:

Authentic, OEM, carbon-kevlar Recaro racing seats with flame-retardant fabric, these seats are not for the meek. Made by Recaro exclusively for the Spirit R RX-7, these are among the lightest (~10.5 lbs each) racing seats available, period. And being OEM, you can rest assured that they fit perfectly, and afford additional head/helmet clearance as well. These sell for $4,000+ EACH from Mazda Japan; here's your chance to get them for a fraction of the price.

 

Holy ****, so the Spirit R seats sit low enough for my 6'1" *** to not hit the headliner? I cant wear a helmet unless Im in gangsta mode. It sucks.

 

I hear you buddy, That was a huge concern for me as well.

I saw a post about "low profile" seat rails. Those might help you.

 

Well I actually have a local shop here (that works for Ferrari) who I use to repair any seats that require some attention. And it isn't that expensive to repair 'em to the point where they're essentially like new

Exactly one of my issues. Which is why I'm now switching to container shipping. But having said that, I think it's fair to say that on the whole those low priced deals/steals are far and few in between I'm sure you've been keeping an eye on the market for a while, just as I have, and there's been a *significant* drop in how often these things pop up for sale in JDM land over the past few months. They're getting harder and harder to find, esp. in good condition. See, bolsters can be repaired relatively easily. But a cigarette burn in certain areas can essentially be permanent. Plus, a lot of the guys are asking for crazy high prices, and at times won't even ship the seats within Japan (they require pickup only). So the expenses add up VERY quickly when all is said and done.

I got a bit more trivia for ya DaiOni. There are def. differences within the shell itself as well as the cloth in the Spirit Rs. For example, some came w/ cutouts for 5-point restraints, and others didn't. Also, there are differences in the cloth material in red over the years. One of the pairs I have (and will prob keep for myself) is out of one of the last Spirit Rs, and it's full of slight differences...

~Ramy
FDNewbie Imports

 

Interesting info. I recently sat and drove in a pair of black RZs, and there was no cutout for the 5th point of a harness.....

 

I know...they aren't found in the RZs. I said in my LATE Spirit R pair

 

Hey Ramy, do you happen to have any pics of that cutout? My set was made in August 2002 and neither seat has it.

 

Mine doesn't have this cut out either.. hmm.

 

Here is the pic FDnewbie have posted before..



Also the rail attatches at the different point (I guess because of the tilt function).

 

just out of curiosity , how do these seats "feel" as in are they comfy , easy to get in and out , could you drive long runs withouth it "hurting" you ?
I am thinking of getting a pair despite the high price , but i am not into racing and all that ,so i am worried i will pay all this money and it will be a pain to drive the car with them

 

Compared to stock R1/R2 seats:

They are more difficult to get in and out of. You definitely don't look as graceful doing it, lol. I think once you 'master your technique' for ingress and egress it'll be fine.

Comfort, based on the owners I've talked to they're not as comfy as the stock seats, but you can't expect that. Some of the bigger guys (over 6 foot and 200) told me that in some ways it was more comfortable due to having more knee and leg room (tilt function).

I'm not sure how they'd do on a long (like 700+ miles per day) road trip. The stock R1 seats were great, I drove over 1000 miles in a day numerous times (and 1600 miles in 2 days) with no problems at all.

 

Aristo & Phil, out of ALL the seats I've come across (which is quite a few), I've only seen one or two w/ these cutouts. Both were pulled out of '01s or '02s. And again, the fabric is VERY different than other Spirit R seats I've come across. It's a thick weave, not the regular foam-like fabric the seats usually come in.

No, that's cuz I had it attached to Bride rails. I have OEM rails now

~Ramy

 

Wow, with all this Info I'm kinda afraid to buy a set without seeing them with my own eyes first.

 

Because...?

 

Interesting - my Spirit seats don't have the cut outs either (fabric is also the foam material Ramy mentions).

 

I don't know why everyone's all surprised...I just told ya that out of ALL the seats I've come across (and they're many), I've only seen TWO like that. So the chances of someone else having a set like that are VERY VERY rare...

 

I would love to get a pair of RZ's for my car. I am more partial to the black than the red.

 

Then honestly Brandon, I'd sign up for 'em ASAP. I'm having a VERY hard time finding 'em as of late. No joke. And those that are available, the crackheads wanna sell 'em for like $4K in Japan, so you can imagine how much it would be after I get 'em here...

 

I hear ya Ramy. I just can't bring my self to budget these in right now. Hopfully when I can, I er you will be able to find a pair for me.

 

I feel ya. You know I'll do my best to take care of ya

 

re: the harness cutouts.

I found this info interesting - because I've never seen a set with the cutouts.

However, yesterday I noticed something interesting - as we know, these seats aren't only used in FDs - they have also been used in miata (roadster) and FC specials - they have also been used by other manufacturers - including honda, in the NSX. Late model NSX (type-r) seats look like this...



perhaps it's these seats, on an FD rail?

 

I would love to buy these seats with the stock seatbelt clip and cutouts for racing harnesses for trackdays.

Ramy pm me if you're willing to let yours go or know where to get some others

-Andy

 

I'm drooling in anticipation.....if all goes as planned, in about 2 weeks I'll have a set of these bad boys bolted into my R1

 

You luck bastard. I have a funny feeling that my *** wouldn't be able to fit in those. I have a 36" waist plus 6'2" tall. I don't want to buy a set and then find out I can't fit in them.

R.K.