mx5 seats .. do they fit straight in?

[alan pettit]

struggling to find decent seats for one of my spitfires. Thinking about the MX5 option but will they sit too high and have my head squashed into the roof? Anyone in the south east fitted them that i could check out ? Alternatively has anyone got a spare set of 1500 headrest type seats they would sell?

[smithy]

How tall are you Alan?
I put MX5 seats in my Spitfire, and have since taken them out.  :-/

[Sheepy]

Where did you take them smithy? For a nice romantic meal? Or out to the discoteque?  ;D

[Clive]

Didn't like them in my spit either. Comfy, yes, but head against the roof.....(and I am not tall)

[alan pettit]

so with me being 6 foot 5 i guess the whole idea is a non starter!

[Spitfire2500]

MX5 sears don't fit straight in. Fettling required. There's a couple of modifications possible which help (but don't eliminate) the height issue -- can't remember the details.

I'm about 5ft 10in and the the MX5 seats in our Spit are OK height wise -- just, I reckon there's about an inch of clearance between my head and the roof ;D

Having said that mine are coming out as well. They're very comfy but I don't like the driving position -- slightly high and too far forward. Replacing them with a pair of late Spit 1500 headrest/recliners which I'm going to refurb over the winter.

[Spitfire2500]

1072 wrote:

so with me being 6 foot 5 i guess the whole idea is a non starter!

Ah -- that's a definite  ;D

[GT6 M]

4058 wrote:

Where did you take them smithy? For a nice romantic meal? Or out to the discoteque?  ;D

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Did he check  with the Memsahibship first.!!!!


the early seats may be OK if you take out some of the seat padding.
and while the bottom covers off, ye can grind away the corner that stops the seat going back wards.
its on the tunnel side where it curves  aroond at back.

BUT, you will definatly not fit into the late High Backs as I  got in.
thhey are higher in the seat, and also about 3inch + taller.
mine touch the roof, and I aint got a lining in.

look at these pics, they look same seat height from this pos, as I tried to compare em befooa fitt,n







need to cut off tags, I welded a nut on, so they fit frae under neath,
easier than fart,n aboot under seat that wont move baxk, of base come off like GT n,s





And mek a  wee mod to tilt handle,cos ye cant get to it,cos its tight up against inner sill.



I had a sit in Don Cooks car at Longtoon, and his were ALOTT lower than mine.
Done tried to squeeze into mine, just, but was at least 2  inches higher.

I keep going to take the foam off the bases, as there a good extra bit there,
and also shift the corner bit off, so the go back a bit further.
Its OK for some my size, but not mentioning any names, some one else could no get in

BiGG Chriss got in, and boy was he crunched up. ;D ;D

hope this helps ye decide  :)
M

[MarkDeTriomphe]

I have a MKI MX-5 drivers seat fitted  - haven't got around to worrying about my passengers just yet.  

With the two seats side by side I can confirm what Marcus has shown above -  there is not a huge difference in height - all I have done is grind the pins off and cut off one of the feet to allow the seat to fit tight against the propshaft tunnel -  so I can believe there is scope to lower further.  I'm only 6'1" though - but have been driving it with a tin top on most of this year and wouldn't go back now - SO much more comfortable than my old seats (which had new foams).

Mark

[Spitfire2500]

MarkDeTriomphe wrote:

I can confirm what Marcus has shown above -  there is not a huge difference in height -

Interesting. Mine are also Mk 1 and I definitely sit higher than the standard seats. I didn't install them so don't know the details of how they were fitted in the car.

Mine definitely need to be able to go further back -- Markus's grinding tip might help here as mine hit the prop tunnel way before they get to the heelboard.

I'll have a good look when I take the MX5 seats out in a few weeks time. Still going to do up a pair of orginals and try them out. Trivial to swap them about so they'll be lots of experimenting I think ;D

[Clive]

I have a pair of mx5 seats here, waiting to go in the mini. If you want to give them a try out, even just put it in the car and so on, let me know.
The ones I have are the separate headrest type, but I believe the bases are the same as the all-in-one versions.

[MarkDeTriomphe]

Spitfire2500 wrote:

  -- Markus's grinding tip might help here as mine hit the prop tunnel way before they get to the heelboard.

Yes - that's the thing I'd like to improve now.  Doug's seats fit much further back than mine but I know his propshaft tunnel has been slightly 'tuned' to allow more movement.

[GT6 M]

I shaped the side of the fujirst seat runner, thinking that it would go back further,
as had others say there no much room.
But it wer,nt this, its the actual seat  back rest bit at the bottom.
peek,n in there,it seems as though there can be a good bit took oft bottom corner oft seat

Note, these MK2.5 High Backs I got, are ALOTT harder than the seats in my MX,
and those seats are ALOTT harder than the ones that were in Dons car.
So maybe this is why they are making me sit high up, even neel,n on em, they dont give much.
Apart frae that, they are comfy,and give a good bit of side support.

Try looking at the RX7 seats.  they a high back, but alott lower than mine

Modded corner runner that did no good. :-/





M

[smithy]

4058 wrote:

Where did you take them smithy? For a nice romantic meal? Or out to the discoteque?  ;D

Off for a nice visit to eBay! I had to ask Memsahib Markus, yes, since she liked 'em.  :-/
Not me though, had me knee banging on the H frame. And that's when trying to drive the car, Shepherd.....
Only OK for little elves and hobbits (no offence Markus) - although my problems were exacerbated (we use that word a lot here) by my lovely roll bar. When it came to a choice, I kept the chrome. Funny that.
Alan at 6'5" would have to mount 'em on the rear scuttle and fit steer-by-wire....!

Have some photos. Yes, they're rubbish, I know.  :-/
Spit seats and MX5 seats look reasonably similar on the floor of the garage, and even in the car, but when it comes to the driving position and use - they ain't. I miss the lateral support though, I will say that. They were better in the twisties.



MX5 seats are higher, thicker, taller - more supportive.



Had to chop the "corner" off the covers on the ratchet thing. Before and after.



With this type you can just pull the runners right off, so fitting is a bit easier. Still a damn nuisance though. Had to put a new hole in the floor, and open out one of the old ones a bit. They're not "symmetrical" on either side of the car as I recall, so a fair bit of sweating and jiggery-pokery was required.



Chop off the edge of the runner - a bit like that. You can chop the whole foot off if you want and bolt it someplace else. (See if I care). There were some spikey bits that located through the floor of the Mazda. I whipped those off as well. All this is on that American bloke's site.    



Had to whip a bit off these plates too - just the edge. Watch your fingers, they're bloody sharp after being snipped.



Here. Doesn't tell you anything does it? You'd have had to sit in them. I have to say going back to Spitfire was blissful for me. I was even thinking about selling the car! If I was going to put MX5 seats in a Spitfire it would be one without a roll bar (since they don't happily co-exist in my experience), and I'd have THIS type - in the car below, 'cos they look nice and they're a better fit. Or seemed to be when I tried them out, later. Ta-da. Sorry it's not a better photo of the seat detail, but note the headrest type (yes they're still MX5), you can find what they are from that.