Front seat upgrade

Hey all, I am considering a pair of these ADR approved seats (reclining) - currently on special from Autobarn for $299 a pair.

The bolt holes understandably do not align with the standard rail frame holes. However these seats are flat-bottomed and it looks like simply unbolting the original seat from the frame, then taking a piece of steel plate that covers the bolt hole areas and attaching it to the rails through the original holes then attaching the seat to the outer holes in the plate. :)

Any thoughts / comments would be welcomed.

Cheers, Matt.

Here's a quick diagram to help illustrate what I am on about.

My worry is maintaining adr compliance.... would you need plate steel? I am very interested in these myself... nearly tempted to pull a seat out and measure it....have u done that? any pics and measurements?

you might need a engineers report as the std runners are going to be modified. when you go for a rego inspection they might query it

hmmm.. ...

you can give it a try, but it depends on the rego inspector..

I should have mentioned that the diagram is to scale and 'reasonably' accurate - the new seat holes are 340w x 270d with the orig approx 290w x 225d (I have not pulled a seat out yet).

This idea would require no mod to the frame at all (unlike some others I have seen)) :p

My Micra is a S2 Super S so I'm not sure if other models are the same rail design.

In SA there is no inspection so in itself not a problem :)

My insurance company will only reduce a claim if the mod (or any mod) is deemed to be a contributing factor in the accident - and then only reduced by the % it contributes. So I am happy with any insurance risk

However my concern is engineering too- well safety really. - The plate would be properly bolted using high tensile bolts. I would have thought it would enhance strength if anything.

yeh if you mod the rails proply should be no probs
a bit off the topic, but littlebear what brand are the minilites on your micra?

why not aluminum? or steel flat along the rail...instead of using heavy steel over the whole base? I guess if you use comparable materials an engineer would give it the tick...

yeh. i've been through this many times.. to PROPERLY get a seat and installation adr approved in your car, is gonna cost stupid amounts of money, and at the end of the day, if the cop pulling you over still doesn't like you, he'll still send you to the trans department. in which case you still have time to swap your stockers back in anyway alternatively, if you search around, you'll be able to find someone dodgy that will modplate it.. not the same, but better then nothing. no point having an adr compliant seat, if the installation method isn't adr.. that said, how the fuck can a pair of chinese $300 seats be compliant and a carbon kevlar bride seat that complys to fia standards not be legal? its got me fucked sometimes why some of the best quality gear isn't good enough for the bush

what do you think of the width of them? will they fit acceptably?

yeh, is there a real adr compliant method... The sellers of seats won't install them... its like tobacco shops selling bongs isn't it?

There is no real complient method, an engineer will inspect the job and based on his opinion of the job he might pass it or not. when getting a car engineered the most time they spend on is adr rules and emissions laws trust me i have had dramas before... had many rally cars, which had to have the original seat belts fitted to be driven on the road..

even thou u might have had 4 potters that would do a better job of saving you? Crazy! so this all might depend on the common sense of the engineer in question... seems a gray area....

Hey Sportsclassic wheels are Wantanabe lookalikes 14".




I reckon they will fit

the quality of them seems ok, too.

The support is pretty good. Go in to an AB and check them for yourself. I know they are not Brides but look at what they would be replacing. We are talking Micra's here! :D

I guess my point is that on a safety factor there are other things that are gonna have bigger effects on safety.

For example my original '95 slx's brakes were stock and in good working order but by todays new car standards not great (shit really).

'Flea' - my stock S2 Super S with 4 wheel disks and ABS stops much better.

'Charlotte' - my modded S2 Super S has the addition of N15 rotors and calipers - It stops really well.

Point being is I doubt the seats would be the weak (safety) point in most people's Micras.

i'd have to agree there, generally when you modify a car, its normally to do what it did better.... noooormally. but like littlebear has mentioned, there has been several attempts to install seats into micra's, which are far from safe.

Must admit i liked the seats also,when i saw the catalogue! And was thinking about getting some then remembered about the stupid rails,hey turbo can something like the bride rails be used? or is there a universal kit you can get out there somewhere? These seats are going to be selling like hot cakes do people just keep them in there garages for a year and then stick em on boost cruisin or do they get them fitted? there has to be a way!

just noticed www.justjap.com do seat packages which includes "universal rails" can anybody tell me if these are any better?

there is always my method of seat modding.... totally legal and retains the recline and tilt

http://www.micra.com.au/community/message.php?messageid=32991

does anyone know what brand those are? Saas or something?

i reckon they might autotechnica or saas seconds?

i'm sure the bride rails would fit, if not, its easier to mod those then to mod your stock ones. they look ok, not my cup of tea, mainly because it doesn't have a brand name :), but i guess for the money, you can't go wrong, has anyone actually seen and sat in these in real life? most of the el cheapo's i've sat in are pretty hard, and would be very uncomfortable driving in them.. just have a good overall look at em, will be pretty easy to tell if the fabric is gonna wear holes in it after you get in and out of your car 3 times. and don't be scared to rip one of the shelf and smack your ass in it for a good 10mins or so... see how your ass feels

Yeah I spent 5-10 mins sitting in one - quite comfy/supportive. Quality appears to be pretty good too. I have had a better look at the original rail setup and concede that my original idea is not going to work that easily. :(

its good to hear you have given her a name...!!!!

the last seat at ab that court my eye,looked like a ripoff of a gtr 32/33 and the qality looked to be good. I mean face it if there resonable and half to a third the price of a jap seat i might givem a go. If not i would just go for a decent drivers seat only i think.

i think you mean 34gtr seat? the drift one? i was looking at them too.. get a decent drivers tony, you've got quality bits on it already, don't spoil it with cheapness.

sorta what i'm thinkin. sent message turbo