Aftermarket Seats

[Yues]

Hey, I really need help.

I am looking for some good aftermarket seats for my 2013 Toyota 86.

Now understand that bucket seats are cool! BUT I am short.

Is there any good aftermarket seats out there for someone short like me?

I've only sat in a few bucket seats and haven't experienced driving with them, I imagine it to be a bit of a pain for my height.

I am 5'7. Sorry if I offend anyone.

Any help will be really appreciated!

[churchx]

Hmm .. as nowhere track was mentioned, i guess it's about daily driving, and comfort may mater.
bucket seats might be "cool" looking, they also provide on way more side support .. but also are more PITA to get in/out, lack easy/quick adjustability that may matter if you are not the only driver, and are not intended to be used on rollcage less car and with stock safety systems like airbags. Where i live, they would make immediate MOT fail, and with it being only change, possibly might not pass tech inspection at some sport events too.
In your case, i'd just stay stock and adjust seat in good/right position for your body proportions/size, stock seats have rather large adjustment ranges.

[soundman98]

i looked at seats a while back because i wanted something different.

what i came to realize is that there's fixed-position 'race' seats rated, tested, and certified by a number of automotive sanctioning bodies. but this certification also expires after a certain amount of years. so you're changing your seat every couple years to keep that certification.

any aftermarket adjustable-back seat has no standardized certification process outside of whatever the mfg deems acceptable. and none of those are certified for any race track use. you couldn't even race in a parking lot around cones with those. and that doesn't even get into the hazards that these seats pose on the road in the case of an accident...


that's why i just kept the oem seats.

[autoracer86]

I’m 5’7… what’s wrong with a bucket seat ? I used to sit more or less on the floor in my mx5 I can’t see the gt86 being that different in this regard. I find the oem seating position a bit high in the gt86 so dropping a few Inches doesn’t sound so bad.

Have you sat in a bucket seat in the gt86 ?

[churchx]

Problem is mixing various safety systems that are intended to work as a whole.
Stock seats can give in in case of rollover, stock airbags are positioned in way that expects on impact for human body/face to be at certain position (for which both seat adjustability (that every driving instructor tells to adjust alongside steering wheel & mirrors) which depends on seat position/seatbelts used.
"Sport safety system" has own bits it consists off, partial mixing of which with stock safety system may lead to injuries or deaths in accidents, because of which such mixes are non street or sport legal in countries or events where they care & check for safety. Very rigid bucket seat's back won't buckle in rollover, and you are secured in it with multipoint harnesses, so without rollcage you can have your head enjoy new things for brief period of time . With rollcage you can split your skull if not wearing helmet. With helmet on streets you'll look like idiot & your visibility/awareness to sides & back will be impaired. With rigid seat & multipoint harness stock airbags won't work properly due you not being where expected during impact (and may add even extra injuries at wrong deployment distance & timing). And due not submarining you may face neck/spine injuries if not using also hans device.
In short, stay 100% stock safety systems, or bring car that is moded with 100% sport safety systems on trailer to track. Don't mix & mach.
One should at most replace stock seats with recline back recaros or alike (which are not that very different from stock though but still cost fortune), or buy car that has several bits like bucket seats and/or multipoint harnesses designed in stock, and have rest of car accordingly modified by manufacturer (eg. needed body strenghtening where needed, or adjusting how airbags are deployed), but not just buy any bucketseat with caring only how much it costs, fit it in and hoping for the best for accidents to never occur. When own health or life is stake in bet .. not sure "coolness" is enough of a win to justify.

[autoracer86]

Originally Posted by churchx

Problem is mixing various safety systems that are intended to work as a whole.
Stock seats can give in in case of rollover, stock airbags are positioned in way that expects on impact for human body/face to be at certain position (for which both seat adjustability (that every driving instructor tells to adjust alongside steering wheel & mirrors) which depends on seat position/seatbelts used.
"Sport safety system" has own bits it consists off, partial mixing of which with stock safety system may lead to injuries or deaths in accidents, because of which such mixes are non street or sport legal in countries or events where they care & check for safety. Very rigid bucket seat's back won't buckle in rollover, and you are secured in it with multipoint harnesses, so without rollcage you can have your head enjoy new things for brief period of time . With rollcage you can split your skull if not wearing helmet. With helmet on streets you'll look like idiot & your visibility/awareness to sides & back will be impaired. With rigid seat & multipoint harness stock airbags won't work properly due you not being where expected during impact (and may add even extra injuries at wrong deployment distance & timing). And due not submarining you may face neck/spine injuries if not using also hans device.
In short, stay 100% stock safety systems, or bring car that is moded with 100% sport safety systems on trailer to track. Don't mix & mach.
One should at most replace stock seats with recline back recaros or alike (which are not that very different from stock though but still cost fortune), or buy car that has several bits like bucket seats and/or multipoint harnesses designed in stock, and have rest of car accordingly modified by manufacturer (eg. needed body strenghtening where needed, or adjusting how airbags are deployed), but not just buy any bucketseat with caring only how much it costs, fit it in and hoping for the best for accidents to never occur. When own health or life is stake in bet .. not sure "coolness" is enough of a win to justify.

Hard to say if you’re right or wrong but Toyota has and still does sell the yaris/vitz as a street car that can be driven to the track aka street legal and raced in their netz racing series.

They come with stock seats a bolt in cage and 3 point harness. So it’s definitely a mix and match affair. I can’t say if this is safe or not but Toyota doesn’t seem worried lol

[x808drifter]

Originally Posted by autoracer86

I’m 5’7… what’s wrong with a bucket seat ? I used to sit more or less on the floor in my mx5 I can’t see the gt86 being that different in this regard. I find the oem seating position a bit high in the gt86 so dropping a few Inches doesn’t sound so bad.

Have you sat in a bucket seat in the gt86 ?

The stock seat IS a bucket seat.
The term you are looking for is "Racing Seat".

Bench Seat


Bucket Seat


Racing Seat

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by autoracer86

Hard to say if you’re right or wrong but Toyota has and still does sell the yaris/vitz as a street car that can be driven to the track aka street legal and raced in their netz racing series.

They come with stock seats a bolt in cage and 3 point harness. So it’s definitely a mix and match affair. I can’t say if this is safe or not but Toyota doesn’t seem worried lol

The difference is that the cage and the seats are designed specifically to work together in that particular car. They are not some random aftermarket stuff slapped in with fingers crossed.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by churchx

Problem is mixing various safety systems that are intended to work as a whole.
Stock seats can give in in case of rollover, stock airbags are positioned in way that expects on impact for human body/face to be at certain position (for which both seat adjustability (that every driving instructor tells to adjust alongside steering wheel & mirrors) which depends on seat position/seatbelts used.
"Sport safety system" has own bits it consists off, partial mixing of which with stock safety system may lead to injuries or deaths in accidents, because of which such mixes are non street or sport legal in countries or events where they care & check for safety. Very rigid bucket seat's back won't buckle in rollover, and you are secured in it with multipoint harnesses, so without rollcage you can have your head enjoy new things for brief period of time . With rollcage you can split your skull if not wearing helmet. With helmet on streets you'll look like idiot & your visibility/awareness to sides & back will be impaired. With rigid seat & multipoint harness stock airbags won't work properly due you not being where expected during impact (and may add even extra injuries at wrong deployment distance & timing). And due not submarining you may face neck/spine injuries if not using also hans device.
In short, stay 100% stock safety systems, or bring car that is moded with 100% sport safety systems on trailer to track. Don't mix & mach.
One should at most replace stock seats with recline back recaros or alike (which are not that very different from stock though but still cost fortune), or buy car that has several bits like bucket seats and/or multipoint harnesses designed in stock, and have rest of car accordingly modified by manufacturer (eg. needed body strenghtening where needed, or adjusting how airbags are deployed), but not just buy any bucketseat with caring only how much it costs, fit it in and hoping for the best for accidents to never occur. When own health or life is stake in bet .. not sure "coolness" is enough of a win to justify.

Stock seats are not designed to buckle in a roll over. Think about how the OE seatbelt holds you in, it does not work if the seatback buckles. There are plenty of lawsuits against car manufactures over people being ejected in a rollover due to seatback failure. There are also many instances, and lawsuits, over passengers in the rear seat being severly injured or killed from the front seat buckling. This is myth.

[alphasaur]

Are you you doing this for solely aesthetic reasons? If so consider covers, they look great and have little to none of the negatives of racing seats.

https://www.86worx.com/sard-racing-seat-covers.html
https://www.86worx.com/damd-86vantage-seat-covers.html
https://www.86worx.com/damd-86-vanta...at-covers.html

[gpvecchi]

I don't agree with many comments. The foldable seats have no security system that makes them buckle in a roll over; they COULD break in a roll over and buckle, but this is not a safety meassure. One friend of mine died in a roll over, the seat broke, but his neck did the same.
Same for removing the side bag: your body will be protected from side impacts by the tubular system inside the cushioning (stock and foldable sport seats don't have it), perhaps even better than what a side bag does.
In fact, german TUV homologated the Recaro Pole Position for street use, and it doesn't have a side bag.
The biggest issue (even for your safety) is that's really difficult to enter and in particular exit from the seat.
Keep in mind that you could have the need to leave the car as faster as you can (principle of fire, running into a river?).
I'm in the same boat, I'm still deciding what seat to choose.

[autoracer86]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The difference is that the cage and the seats are designed specifically to work together in that particular car. They are not some random aftermarket stuff slapped in with fingers crossed.

I mean it’s a bone stock seat. Nothing fancy about it

[autoracer86]

Originally Posted by x808drifter

The stock seat IS a bucket seat.
The term you are looking for is "Racing Seat".

Bench Seat


Bucket Seat


Racing Seat

So “racing seat” is a thing? I don’t think that’s a real term. But maybe I’m wrong

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by autoracer86

So “racing seat” is a thing? I don’t think that’s a real term. But maybe I’m wrong

Well they have these things called race cars. They are like normal cars but for racing. And for race cars, they have rules, some of them pertain to safety such as driver restraint. Because of these rules companies develop seats to meet these requirements along with being compatible with restraint systems. These are usually referred to as "racing seats" and are typically one piece shells.