Thoughts On Status Racing Seats
 

Really thinking about purchasing these seats .. Never been a Bride fan due to the seats looking childish and so many fakes running around out there. The status can be customized and are made in the U.S. . The only thing I dont like is they only offer a bucket seat . No reclining seats yet . They have a SPA seat that reclines in the making but I was told by them its on hold. Sooooo how are bucket seats for DD ?????? Whats your thought or experience with Status seats .. They seem to get solid reviews ....... Thanx !!!

http://www.statusracing.com/

status is a top of the line brand..my friends use them and love them. no personal experience with them tho.

I've seen a few in person and they look great. Also feel like they are good quality too.

You can also PM VividRacing as they are a main supplier and seem to have a lot of info.

I have a Status racing ring GT seat (Carbon fiber shell, leather, with alacantra cushions) that I bought off of a member on here. I installed it and tested it out for a week in the summer while I was home on leave.
No track time with it yet, just some aggressive driving.
Initial impressions:

Comfort:
The seat is quite comfortable however in a different way than the stock seats. It is obviously much firmer all around, but the posture you are sitting in seems to be perfect, once I adjusted the slider to my liking all of the controls were in a nice natural spot for driving. It actually feels more natural for driving position than I could ever get my stock touring seats adjusted to, and that is with 8 ways of adjustment! The only minor complaint in the comfort department is that after a couple hours of driving, your @ss kinda gets numb as the bottom cushion is not all that plush. Overall though, much better in the comfort department than I expected from a racing seat.

Support:
The ring GT seat is the larger version of the ring seat, gives slightly more shoulder room and room for hips/thighs. I am 5'11" and 170lbs, and I could probably use the smaller seat. That being said, the support this seat provides is excellent, almost zero movement even under very hard cornering (Street), quick lane changes and several 360 degree spins lol. If I had the smaller version, I am certain the body movement would be zero. The support this seat provided even for DD is the biggest improvement over the stock touring seats (that and looks).

Looks:
This seat is gorgeous. The carbon fiber work is exceptional, and the black leather w/ black alacantra cushions and white stitching matches the Z perfectly. Nice large white Status logo on the top of the seats too. (I always wished the touring seats had something embroidered on the headrest, even a big white Z, it looks cool through the front windscreen! lol) Of course the seat can be totally customized so looks will vary depending on tastes.

Accessibility:
This is the one area where I was not overly impressed, however it is due to the design of the car and racing seats of this style in general and not the specific seat. It was a fairly big PITA getting in and out of the car. And this is on the drivers side where you can use the steering wheel to help drop into the seat. This is mostly due to the very high side bolsters of the seat, you cant just slide into it you have to get up and over the bolster then let yourself down into the seat. Because this involves holding onto something, and there are no 'oh sh!t' handles in the car, plus i don't touch the exterior of the car with my hands (fingerprints on black! :shakes head:), the steering wheel is the only option. I can see the passenger side potentially being even worse for this reason, granted the steering wheel wont be in the way either. Maybe some others will not find it as difficult however I'm not a big guy and am fairly agile. I thought it would get easier over time however after a week I was still finding it difficult getting in and out quickly/smoothly.

Final impressions:
I was very impressed with this seat, and I will probably be ordering a matching seat for the other side. Well actually, I'll probably get the smaller Standard Ring seat for the drivers side and put the GT on the passenger side. Not that I need another racing seat, as it's just me at the track, but it sure would look nice to have both sides match :tup: I do plan on keeping my stock touring seats for long road trips and potentially for the early/late part of the (short) season in Canada where seat heaters are almost a must have item. Plus it's no big deal switching them out, 4 easy bolts and some careful finessing. On a side note, I weighed the complete stock touring seats and the complete Status seat assembly, and while I don't remember the exact weights on both, the Status setup was 19-20 lbs lighter. All in all, I can confidently say that you will not be disappointed with Status seats if you decide to go that route.

EDIT: I bought the seat off Reaper42 whose install is the link above my post :tiphat:

:pics:

Haha, sorry no pics yet. I have been ordering parts like crazy while I am deployed and when I was home on leave for a week I barely had time to install some of them, nevermind take any pics. Lots of work to do installing stuff when I get home in the spring, and then a massive photoshoot is definitely in order :tup:

Blaine you can always go Recaro CS sportster ;)


http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...7/c369cbc9.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...7/4be33b4f.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...7/2d09ae8b.jpg

Thanks for the assist! :tup:

Thanks for the review!

Status Racing has a history in military equipment and has been creating gorgeous seats for nearly a decade. We try to keep a bunch of seats and harnesses in stock. We've done a couple of videos to help you decide if you'll fit in them, if you're not sure. One thing that Status does, which nobody else allows, is custom configurable seats. Want ostrich skin? No problem. Smurf blue with purple logos? Sure. Kevlar back, with saddle leather sides and black cloth inserts? You got it. Check the Status Icon Seat Configurator out here. If you're looking for an FIA certified seat, we do offer the Ring which meets FIA requirements.

In terms of daily driving with a bucket seat, it comes down to preference but the Status seats don't have crazy aggressive side bolsters so they're pretty easy to get in and out of, while still holding you very well.

If you guys have any questions, let me know. For now, I'll leave you with these:

Click the image to be taken to the original blog post if applicable.

http://www.statusracing.com/blog/wp-...lueringgt7.jpg
Gargamel is not gonna like this status seat setup!

http://www.statusracing.com/blog/wp-...00-700x466.jpg
370Z Project X

http://www.statusracing.com/blog/wp-...logo-close.jpg
Ring GT and SPA in Porsche 997TT

http://www.statusracing.com/blog/wp-...s/img_7197.jpg
Ksport model in the Vivid Racing Porsche 997TT at SEMA 2011. Our car was in the Ksport booth.

http://squarespokes.com/08/review-st...ing-ring-seat/
Independent review by Square Spokes blog

http://www.statusracing.com/blog/wp-...ondring3_0.jpg
Fresh from the Oven – Carbon Ring with Alcantara Diamond Stitch

http://www.statusracing.com/blog/wp-...s/img7489v.jpg
The Fine Details – Leather, Carbon, Harness Installed

http://www.statusracing.com/blog/wp-...ction/phil.jpg
Phil stitching up a set of Status Racing Hockenheim seats at the Monroe, WA facility. Status Racing seats are made right here in the USA! :happydance:

Scott, any update on the recline-able seats and a date they will launch?
I got to seat/ride in a set of Bride Stradia and really loved them, I am 6'4" so head room was the main concern but I need to be able to recline. Will yours (recline-able) be lower than the stock seat?

Nice pics Vivid. These seats are beautiful!!! I love that diamond stitch on the black inserts!!

No launch date yet, but the project is moving forward. When I have details I'll let you know. I believe that a set of the prototypes may be up for sale soon. Email me at mattc@vividracing.com if you want some more info on them.

-Matt

Thanks! I'm a huge fan of diamond stitch myself.

I found some pics of the test fit I did with the Status seat, took them on my phone. Added to my journal :tup:

they look awesome, but i think my butt is too big for them... time to lose weight