Racing Seat Fitment help: Bride Zeta XL vs Recaro SPG XL

OptionZero · 10-14-2019, 05:58 PM

Looking for a racing seat, primarily to gain head space with a helmet, in addition to the obvious holding upgrade. Without a helmet, i have maybe an inch space from the roof; with a Bell Sport helmet, i have to tilt and bend like an idiot. This won't work on track.

I stopped by Griffin Motorwerke (https://www.g-werke.com), which bills itself as the largest Recaro distributor in North America. Having seen their warehouse, i believe them - they have aisles full of seats AND all sorts of spares parts, plus walls and walls of harnesses and associated components. They will build you a custom bracket to whatever the hell spec you want. They have a showroom with every goddamn Recaro available. Basically, Recaro heaven.

I test fit a Recaro SPG XL, which based on available measurements, was the closest i could get. Legs and hips - perfect! Shoulders? perfect! Now I know what i need:

Massive problem, though: My torso is too tall, putting the top of my shoulders at about the top of the harness pass through openings. Per their harness guy (yes, they have a harness guy), that is going to lead to spine compression and i don't want that.

So now I need a seat is roughly the same dimensions (about 540mm wide at the bottom, 880mm tall, with harness pass-through above 600 mm height)

Unfortunately the closets i can think of is the Bride Zeta XL, but there is no dealer in the area and no one that has one locally. From looking at their measurements:

, it LOOKS like their harness pass-through openings sit higher than the Recaro SPG XL.

Comparo:

Anyone familiar enough with both seats to be able to tell?

Another option that might be in play is a Sparco EVO II L

BettyZ · 10-15-2019, 12:09 AM

Are you dead set on a bucket? I'm 6'4, mostly torso, and had a decent helmet fit with a Sparco Chrono with shaved seat cushion and a DIY seat bracket that mounted it, non-adjustable, pretty much on the floor pan.

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OptionZero · 10-15-2019, 12:47 AM

Pretty much set in a bucket, wish to retain slider

BettyZ · 10-15-2019, 07:25 AM

In that case... I know there are some good-looking Targa top mods floating around here...

Hotrodz · 10-17-2019, 05:30 PM

I am 6'1" and have a long torso and fairly wide hips. I have a Sparco US that sits on a Edge Engineering seat bracket. I fit with no issues. There are a number seats that fit your height like racetech and Cobra. The issue is non will be low enough with a slider. In fact you will more than likely sit taller than stock. Check out Sube` Sports they are in Anaheim and have some seats in the showroom. They very helpful too.

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OptionZero · 10-17-2019, 06:41 PM

Taller than stock is a no go, the reason i'm going bucket is for lower seating position

Hotrodz · 10-17-2019, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionZero

Taller than stock is a no go, the reason i'm going bucket is for lower seating position

Agreed!!! So you will be limited to a stationary mounting setup .

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BettyZ · 10-17-2019, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionZero

Taller than stock is a no go, the reason i'm going bucket is for lower seating position

I spent at least 200 hours researching, experimenting, and pissing away too much $$$ with various seats and mount designs for the 370Z. You can't get lower than OEM with a sliding, side-mounted seat unless you custom-build a mount that bolts directly to the floor pan. So you'd have to weld plates to the underbody. And that design would only work if the bucket was angled up so your legs can bend and actually fit in the car. So with sliders, as you move the seat forward it'd also go upwards.

If you find a way to solve this issue please let us know, bc it stumped the hell out of me.

Brendan · 10-17-2019, 07:17 PM

what about this mount/slider?
https://www.evasivemotorsports.com/s...-370z-09-left/

Hotrodz · 10-17-2019, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brendan

what about this mount/slider?
https://www.evasivemotorsports.com/s...-370z-09-left/

The slider sit on the brack which raises the height of the seat about an inch. Buddy Club is the lowest one I know of but it doesn't fit well and isn't seem to be very sturdy.

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OptionZero · 10-17-2019, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

Agreed!!! So you will be limited to a stationary mounting setup .

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

This Griffin Motorwerke shop actually thinks they could build a custom setup using Recaro parts and some custom work.

They had pix of a 6'6 guy that could barely fit into his mustang (late model) and with custom rails got him ******* on the floor with 3 inches of space, with sliding capability

That gives me hope that the proper rail/slider combo would gain headspace, in addition to the angle of a bucket

The other suggestion was to use the Recaro SPG XL with stock 3 point seatbelts - any dramatic drawbacks to doing that for noncompetitive track driving?

Hotrodz · 10-17-2019, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionZero

This Griffin Motorwerke shop actually thinks they could build a custom setup using Recaro parts and some custom work.

They had pix of a 6'6 guy that could barely fit into his mustang (late model) and with custom rails got him ******* on the floor with 3 inches of space, with sliding capability

That gives me hope that the proper rail/slider combo would gain headspace, in addition to the angle of a bucket

The other suggestion was to use the Recaro SPG XL with stock 3 point seatbelts - any dramatic drawbacks to doing that for noncompetitive track driving?

Totally interested if they are able to fab something up and I don't see any issues with maintaining the factory 3 point system. I use mine for street use as well.

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OptionZero · 10-17-2019, 08:41 PM

It would be about $2k with seat, rails, hardware, wiring, all included
They're also only about an hours drive away so at the end of the day I am glad I have the option

I wanna test the sparco lineup but the only dealer is physically located at Sears Point raceway , another hours trip for me, but I'll get around to it

Nearest bride dealer is all the way in socal

AlWakRa · 10-17-2019, 09:02 PM

I have Cobra Imola GT Seat, for my race car, it is nearly the same internal size as spg xl, but the harness holes are high. You can remove the cushion to get lower when you are on track.

I used buddy club mount in my 370z, I couldn't go lower than stock with big seat (evo2us), also the install was a pita and the slider doesn't work smoothly, I went with PCI slider for my race car, and should be shipped very soon to me (but I heard they are very heavy).

Quicksilvers · 10-17-2019, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionZero

This Griffin Motorwerke shop actually thinks they could build a custom setup using Recaro parts and some custom work.

They had pix of a 6'6 guy that could barely fit into his mustang (late model) and with custom rails got him ******* on the floor with 3 inches of space, with sliding capability

That gives me hope that the proper rail/slider combo would gain headspace, in addition to the angle of a bucket

The other suggestion was to use the Recaro SPG XL with stock 3 point seatbelts - any dramatic drawbacks to doing that for noncompetitive track driving?

You will not be able to make room unless you take Betty’s experience and advice or fabricate custom rails. I currently have the Bride Stradia II seats in my Z they were not only back ordered for 4-8 weeks but payed full price to get them. If you go with the Bride seats make sure to use the Bride seats rails as they have the best overall fitment with Bride seats but you can get a option for having a low cushion or normal cushion that’s up to you. These Bride seats are observed to be very slightly lower than the base Z seats.

10-14-2019, 05:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
OptionZero A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Sacramento Posts: 3,225 Drives: 15 370Z Nismo 6MT Rep Power: 214100	Racing Seat Fitment help: Bride Zeta XL vs Recaro SPG XL Looking for a racing seat, primarily to gain head space with a helmet, in addition to the obvious holding upgrade. Without a helmet, i have maybe an inch space from the roof; with a Bell Sport helmet, i have to tilt and bend like an idiot. This won't work on track. I stopped by Griffin Motorwerke (https://www.g-werke.com), which bills itself as the largest Recaro distributor in North America. Having seen their warehouse, i believe them - they have aisles full of seats AND all sorts of spares parts, plus walls and walls of harnesses and associated components. They will build you a custom bracket to whatever the hell spec you want. They have a showroom with every goddamn Recaro available. Basically, Recaro heaven. I test fit a Recaro SPG XL, which based on available measurements, was the closest i could get. Legs and hips - perfect! Shoulders? perfect! Now I know what i need: Massive problem, though: My torso is too tall, putting the top of my shoulders at about the top of the harness pass through openings. Per their harness guy (yes, they have a harness guy), that is going to lead to spine compression and i don't want that. So now I need a seat is roughly the same dimensions (about 540mm wide at the bottom, 880mm tall, with harness pass-through above 600 mm height) Unfortunately the closets i can think of is the Bride Zeta XL, but there is no dealer in the area and no one that has one locally. From looking at their measurements: , it LOOKS like their harness pass-through openings sit higher than the Recaro SPG XL. Comparo: Anyone familiar enough with both seats to be able to tell? Another option that might be in play is a Sparco EVO II L __________________ OptionZero Build Thread

10-15-2019, 12:09 AM	#2 (permalink)
BettyZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Chicagoland Age: 37 Posts: 5,261 Drives: A Garage Queen Rep Power: 2684371	Are you dead set on a bucket? I'm 6'4, mostly torso, and had a decent helmet fit with a Sparco Chrono with shaved seat cushion and a DIY seat bracket that mounted it, non-adjustable, pretty much on the floor pan. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk __________________ '14 MB Nismo \| Boost Lab 6870 1.32 AR 553 HP / 471 ft.-lbs. Betty Mods

10-15-2019, 12:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
OptionZero A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Sacramento Posts: 3,225 Drives: 15 370Z Nismo 6MT Rep Power: 214100	Pretty much set in a bucket, wish to retain slider __________________ OptionZero Build Thread

10-15-2019, 07:25 AM	#4 (permalink)
BettyZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Chicagoland Age: 37 Posts: 5,261 Drives: A Garage Queen Rep Power: 2684371	In that case... I know there are some good-looking Targa top mods floating around here... Rusty and Hotrodz like this. __________________ '14 MB Nismo \| Boost Lab 6870 1.32 AR 553 HP / 471 ft.-lbs. Betty Mods

10-17-2019, 05:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
Hotrodz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NW, AZ Posts: 9,330 Drives: 10 Nissan 370z Nismo Rep Power: 2684385	I am 6'1" and have a long torso and fairly wide hips. I have a Sparco US that sits on a Edge Engineering seat bracket. I fit with no issues. There are a number seats that fit your height like racetech and Cobra. The issue is non will be low enough with a slider. In fact you will more than likely sit taller than stock. Check out Sube` Sports they are in Anaheim and have some seats in the showroom. They very helpful too. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Rusty, Spooler and BettyZ like this. __________________ *Fast Intentions TT Installed and Tuned by Seb at SpecialtyZ 610whp 560tq:\|Fast Intentions 3" TT-TDX*\|SpecialtyZ/Fast Intentions 72 Row Oil Cooler\|SZ 6 Puck Clutch & Flywheel\|3GsCustoms\|Z1\|Wavetrac\|Hotchkis\|Whiteline \|Blitz\|Fortune Auto 500\|Fujimura\|SPL\|H&R\|TK\|TWM\|RPM Rollbar\|Sparco\|Next Level Performance\|TrackSpec\|AeroFlow Dynamics\|Pioneer\|

10-17-2019, 06:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
OptionZero A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Sacramento Posts: 3,225 Drives: 15 370Z Nismo 6MT Rep Power: 214100	Taller than stock is a no go, the reason i'm going bucket is for lower seating position __________________ OptionZero Build Thread

10-17-2019, 07:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
Brendan Track Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 640 Drives: Poor man's Porsche Rep Power: 542	what about this mount/slider? https://www.evasivemotorsports.com/s...-370z-09-left/

10-17-2019, 08:41 PM	#13 (permalink)
OptionZero A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Sacramento Posts: 3,225 Drives: 15 370Z Nismo 6MT Rep Power: 214100	It would be about $2k with seat, rails, hardware, wiring, all included They're also only about an hours drive away so at the end of the day I am glad I have the option I wanna test the sparco lineup but the only dealer is physically located at Sears Point raceway , another hours trip for me, but I'll get around to it Nearest bride dealer is all the way in socal __________________ OptionZero Build Thread

10-17-2019, 09:02 PM	#14 (permalink)
AlWakRa Track Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Qatar Posts: 600 Drives: 10 370Z PW 6MT Rep Power: 13450	I have Cobra Imola GT Seat, for my race car, it is nearly the same internal size as spg xl, but the harness holes are high. You can remove the cushion to get lower when you are on track. I used buddy club mount in my 370z, I couldn't go lower than stock with big seat (evo2us), also the install was a pita and the slider doesn't work smoothly, I went with PCI slider for my race car, and should be shipped very soon to me (but I heard they are very heavy). __________________ 2010 370Z Touring Sport Pearl White 6MT Powered by: Fast Intentions - Motordyne - Stillen - OS Giken - CJ Motorsports - Mishimoto - MCA Suspension - SPL - SuperPRO - RJM - Z1 Motorsport - Zspeed - Volk My Humble Journals

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