Howdy,

I'm not sure whether anyone's interested, but I thought I'd post about my (upcoming) experience, just in case someone else is considering these seats.

My "goals" are two-fold: Reduce (car) weight, and improve (driver) support. Since most of the adjustable seats are relatively heavy, (25 to 40 pounds, plus mounting hardware) I decided to concentrate on fixed-back seats if possible. However, most fixed-back sport seats have tall sides with thin slots to feed the lap belts through. (example) I like the idea of using a dedicated 4-point harness on special occasions, but for my daily driving, I wanted to be able to use the stock 3-point belts. It didn't look like the standard belts would work with those slots. So, I went with the Roadster. No slots, lower sides.

Will the sides be low enough to allow the lap belt to be snugged down against my hips? I hope so, but we shall see. I should be able to pick up the seats soon, maybe today. I'm anxious to see if they will work for me. If they do, I'll be losing about 40 pounds of weight from the front. (The seats only weigh 16 pounds a piece, but I understand that the mounting hardware weighs another 10.(!) I believe the stock sport seats are around 45 pounds. We shall see.)

In other news, I decided to delete the rear seat while I was at it. (This is all happening to my '03 MCS, BTW.) I'm removing it mostly to save weight. I never use the back seat anyway. My kit should arrive today, so I pulled the back seats out this past weekend. In order to remove the back shoulder belts, you pretty much have the strip out the entire interior. (Surprisingly easy, BTW.) The total weight removed (seat, brackets, belts) was 45.6 pounds. The "shelf" will add back about 10 pounds.

Since the back of the car is currently stripped of interior trim pieces, I decided to install some sound absorbing stuff. I'm mostly using B-Quiet Ultimate that I had left over from my wife's stereo install. I'll also be painting on some VB1X, as soon as I get up the nerve. I figure that will be handy for spots where it's difficult to apply the sheet-based stuff. Oh! And I lined the battery box with lead! I had some thin lead sheeting left over from my insulate-the-floor-under-the-drumset project, and figured what the hey. Lead is about the best sound blocker known to man. Tis' heavy, of course, but I only used about a pound's worth. I contact cemented it to the box, and then covered all that in the B-Quiet sheets. You should hear the quiet!

Anyway, that's the plan...

-Dave

 

Sounds like a good plan - those are nice seats, actually almost got them for the M Coupe but decided I liked having the heated too much

Looking forward to hearing about and seeing the install!

 

Progress report:

No word from MODACAR regarding my seats yet, so apparently they haven't arrived yet. (MODACAR is just a couple miles from my house, but they're having to ship the seats up from their L.A. warehouse.) Maybe they'll arrive tomorrow?

My Rear Seat Delete "shelf" did arrive today. Yay! I have it laying in place right now, but I'll have to do a bunch more sound insulation work before I'll be able to bolt it in to stay. It's pretty darn shiny. I'll need to top it with something if I want to have any hope of setting something back there without it slipping around immediately. I just ordered one of these. (In black.) Crazy, huh? But I think it might work pretty nicely once trimmed to fit.

I put in a couple hours after work and got the rear hatch done. I stuck sound absorbing mat all over the inside of the hatch, and filled all the open spaces with "memory foam" cut from one of these. The foam is quite dense, so I'm hoping it'll suck up some noise, or at least damp out some panel vibration. After reattaching the plastic part of the hatch, the only thing that rattled when I thumped on it was the license plate. Sigh. So, I took it all apart and added damping sheets to the plate and frame. It's much quieter now.

 

The saga continues...

The seats have arrived! They are pretty dang gorgeous. Much more attractive than the pictures on Sparco's site would suggest. I got the black ones, and thanks to the vinyl patches around the edge of the seat, it almost looks like a leather seat at first glance. The back side of the seat is a high gloss black. They should look real nice with the rear-seat-delete shelf, when viewing them from the back. I can take pictures, if anyone cares. Oh, and I fit in the seats. Whew!

That's the good news, the bad news is that MODACAR neglected to include the "hardware kit" in my order. That includes all the bolts for mounting the seat. I should have them before the end of the week. There was also some confusion about the mounting brackets. It turns out that Sparco doesn't sell a "tabbed base" for the MINI. Even though they list the base under the "Tabbed" catagory. That means there's no height adjustment possible, and I can't use some of the parts I bought. Sparco really needs to improve the accuracy of the docs on their website.

The Roadster (2) seats are set up for side mounting. Even though Sparco's fitment doc claims they are not. So, that opens up a whole 'nother universe of mounting options. Side mounts are nice, since they give you some options on height and tilt. They don't seem to include a provision for mounting the seatbelt buckle, so if I end up going that way, I may have to have something fabricated. I'm tempted to do that because...

OMG, the Sparco base hardware weighs a fricking ton! It's built like a tank, but jeez. The hardware literally weighs more than the seat itself, if I use the Sparco (steel) side mounts. Since the main reason I'm going with the seats is to save weight, this is a bit alarming. So I'm looking at other, non-Sparco, options. This one, in particular.

The Brey-Krause mounts look pretty sweet. They bolt right to the MINI sliders, and they only weigh four pounds. The problem is, they are only advertised to fit the Evo 2, rather than the Roadster, and as I mentioned before, there's no place to mount the seatbelt buckle assembly. I called Sparco, and they say that their sidemount brackets will fit all of their side-mountable seats. The bolt spacing is the same. So, maybe the Brey-Krause bracket will fit the Roadsters. I called the bracket guy, Stan, at Brey-Krause, but he was in a meeting. I'll try back in a little while and see what he has to say.

Meanwhile, my sound insulating efforts continue. I've got the floor pretty much done from the rear seats back, and I have stuff masked off so I can start painting that VB1X stuff on the "walls". Probably tonight.

 

This is starting to seem more like a blog then a thread, but oh well....

Nothing new to report. I haven't been able to contact Sam (not Stan, sorry), the seat bracket guru at Brey-Krause. That's bit annoying, but I've recruited some help. It turns out that a local vendor carries a variety of Brey-Krause's products. Monty, the proprietor there, has been very helpful. He's going to call Sam on Tuesday for me, and try to find out which seat bracket would best fit my Roadsters. If we don't get a straight answer on Tuesday, I'm just going to go ahead and order the brackets for the Evo. Worst case, the brackets will be too narrow. I'll then have to return them, pay the restocking fee, and order the Evo 2 parts, which would appear to fit a wider seat.

So, it'll probably be the better part of two weeks before I can install the seats. 'Tis a bummer since I'm going to a pully party tomorrow, and it would have been nice to be able to "demo" the seats. I think I'll just take one with me so people can at least look at it.

I spent more time today slathering on more VB-1. I think I'm about done with that phase. The interior is going to stay torn apart for a while longer though, since I'm waiting for some speakers to arrive. I managed to get the interior panels off the first time without breaking a single clip. I'm not going to tempt fate by installing and de-installing them again.

 

Don't worry, we're reading it. Can't wait to see pics of the seats in the car and hear your impressions of them on the road.

 

Why don't you just buy my Fighters as they come with absolutly everything you need, including the factory seat belt recievers installed.

 

Those are very nice seats, onasled, but I decided to go with less "buckety" seats, so I wouldn't have to fiddle with a harness for everyday driving.

Where did you get those mounts? They look different from the ones that Sparco sent me.

-Dave

 

They are sparco mounts, brackets and all.
Just to note, you don't need, nor did I ever use harnesses on the street. The seat belt works perfectly on these seats.

 

how much u asking for the setup?

 

Would those seats work ok with a heavier set guy like myself. 34-35" waist?

 

I'm interested in them too. How much?

 

I'm asking $1000 for everything.
I'm about 6' and am about 190 lbs and they fit very comfortably. They have more room then the Evo and are similar to the Evo II. They have some extra padding in the lumbar and seat cushion that is removable. I just set them up so they were more comfortable for everday driving.
Fighters don't come with a sub strap hole, so I had on custom made.



Photo
Photo
Photo
Photo
Photo
Photo

 

Onasled, those brackets look totally different then the ones Sparco sent me. I like the ones you have much better. Is "all" of the bracket shown in your first picture? (Could you take the seat as pictured, and just bolt it to the floor of the MINI?)

I don't see brackets like yours pictured anywhere on Sparco's fitment guide, but I'm wondering if you've got the "Flat Italian" model. Do you happen to know the part number for your mounts?

Also, did that seatbelt mounting doohickey come with the brackets, or did you have to order it seperately?

I had pretty well decided to go with sidemounts, but your set-up looks pretty sweet. Are/were you happy with the default height and tilt? That's one area where it looks like the sidemounts are more adjustable. But, perhaps it doesn't matter.

-Dave

 

I just got off the phone with Sparco, and Nick there says that yes indeed, the mount that onasled is using is the "one made in Italy". He also says that the mounts come with a provision from mounting the stock seatbelt receiver. The part numbers are:

00499038DX BASE MINI COOPER 02 R
00499038SX BASE MINI COOPER 02 L

So, that's an option I may want to try. I guess I'll go ahead and order them this afternoon. I'm still hoping to get some definitive info from Brey-Krause about their side mounts before I commit.

 

Have you looked into having custom brackets fabricated? I understand this is a not too expensive option that people use for aftermarket seat installs. Perhaps check with the local track/track groups.

 

i know this is off topic, but onasled... what kind of shift boot is that.

 

i have that in my sparco..... and the mount itself is very good..... as long as you get a good guy to do the work....

 

looks like this one on ebay

 

At long last, another update...

I got the passenger seat installed! I received the Brey-Krause side mounts on Friday, and spent a good chunk of Saturday "tinkering".

The side mounts, uh, mount directly to the stock MINI sliders. So first, you have to remove those sliders from the stock seats. That's a bit tricky and un-documented. I had to remove the strut that controls seat height, so I could swing the whole slider assembly away from the seat bottom. This gained me enough room to get my Torx socket onto the bolts that hold the sliders on. One also has to remove the spring loaded reel that scoots the seat forward after you've accessed the back seat. That turned out to be pretty easy, but removing the proper screw made me a bit nervous since it looked like the whole slider latch thingie might fall apart. It didn't. Totally seperate. No worries.

Once I freed up the sliders, the actual installation went quickly:

• Bolt the sliders to the floor
• Bolt the side mounts, with the seatbelt receiver thingie sandwiched between, to the sliders
• Bolt the seat to the side mounts.

Of course, it wasn't quite that easy. I was able to use the stock seatbelt bracket, but I had to do some surgery first. I needed an L-shaped bracket so that I could slide the base of the "L" in between the slider and the side mount. The stock bracket is U-shaped. A little hacksaw work turned the U into an L. I also had to turn the two mounting holes into mounting slots, since they didn't line up right. The resulting conection is quite solid, but it can't be as strong as the stock set up. A third bolt, or a bit o'welding, might be prudent. The seatbelt bracket is pressed up against even more tightly against the transmission tunnel than it is with the stock seats, so that should help keep it securely captured between the slider and the side mount.

As you may recall, the side mounts I ordered were designed for the Sparco Evo seats, not the Sparco Roadsters I have. The side mount points on the two seats are identical in the back, but the front mount points on the Evo are spaced 3/4s of an inch wider than those on the Roadster. I put a couple 1/4 inch spacers in between the seat and the side mount, and it cinched down as nice as you'd please. Very solid. I'm guessing that you don't even really need the spacers at all.

Fit in the car is good. The seat belt buckle assembly rubs against the center tunnel a bit more than it used to, but not enough to impede the fore/aft adjustment of the seat. The part of the seat up by your shoulders is considerably wider than the stock seat. It will rub against the B-pillar if you slide the seat all the way back. (It rubs for perhaps the last three inches of travel. I don't think that will be a problem for me, since I don't put the seat that far back. (I'm 5'10.) The seat will go all the way back, but would be in contact with the pillar. Might squeak, I'm thinking. If necessary, one could remove the seat's cover, cut down that "wing" a bit, add some padding, and then replace the cover.

I went ahead and ordered the driver's side side mounts today, now that I know that they will work. It'll probably be a week before I receive them. (sigh) I'll take back all the crappy Sparco mounting parts this afternoon.

 

Finally, some pics...

Well, I'm still not done. The side-mounts for the driver's side are taking their own sweet time getting here. I'll be ticked if they're not here by the weekend. In the mean time, here's a few pics that show the passenger side Sparco, and contrast it with the stock seat on the driver's side. Sorry about the glaring sun. Summer has arrived with a vengance!



And a few more angles, showing the relative heights, the wideness of the Sparco "shoulder", and the now-much-more-visible adjustment handle. (I'm seeing a hacksaw in my car's future...) Sharp-eyed observers may be able to make out the utter lack of back-seat-ness my car now has.

 

looks good! im suprised you got the oem seat rails off!

too bad about that rubbing though... you might consider some foam at that particular point to prevent passengers from rubbing your seat against that b-pillar!

 

I don't think it will turn out to be an issue, unless I have a freaky-tall passenger. When my approximately 6-foot buddy rides in that seat, he adjusts it so there's a good 6 inches between the seat and the pillar.

The part that rubs is soft and padded, so there's not much potential for damage. Worst case, there'd be some squeaking and scuffing of the seat cover. (Which is replaceable.) If it turns out to be any sort of issue, I'll try removing some foam from that area to try to gain some clearance.

 

That looks fantastic, man... kudos!

 

hey my name is nik im 18 i just bought an 06 chilli red mc s jcw with black roof/mirrors and black stripes i wonna put racing seats in and i dont know wich seats fit and what to do with the belts i was looking at red sparcos and thats what im seriousy considering if someone can help me that would be great thanks