Has anyone sat or driven in BOTH models? I'm pretty sure this is the next mod I'm doing. I know the Milano has a bit more room, and is pricier. Was thinking of the Corbeaus originally, but the Sparco's look like the one to go with at this point.

Thanks in advance.

 

I have been looking at the Sparco Milano for 2 months: It's a very light-weight & strong seat that seems to have excllent ergonomics. good adjustability of the back angle (an "infinite" micro-adjustable ****.) The seat bottom is built in a fixed position so there's no chance to fuss w/ this setting (which may be OK since it's so well designed.) All in all, there is a lot to like about the seat.
-Problems: Several dealers have told me the Sparco and the Recaro seats don't hold up well to having the seat-back folded up & down for rear passenger entrance. The mechanical parts of the seat-fold latch are not truly designed for frequent/daily use. Meaning it's a serious drivers seat & good choice for those who don't have a lot of rear passengers (like myself, so far only one trip w/ a rear passenger.)
-Mounting hardware: I have the impression the floor mounts need a lot of careful consideration (sometimes welding & shorting) and patience by the installer. The height is not adjustable in most cases (I think this is true.)
-Also, how do you feel about loosing the side (seat mounted) airbags? IS there any way to retain this feature (I doubt it.)

Keep us updated on your seat conversion.

 

I rarely have back seat passengers, so the seats wouldn't retract that often...in addition to losing the airbag feature, I'd be losing my heated seats as well. I have the non sport seats, and I find them rather uncomfortable. I know there are still questions as far as fitment in the MINI regarding brackets - so I may wait a few more months to do it.

 

I got my Milanos from OG in NC; they also provided the seat brackets which fit perfectly (i had to slightly enlarge the holes with a drill first, but no problem).

Even Suprchrgdmini fit into them!

They don't fold forward as much as the stockers and the tilt adjuster is a bit hard to reach, but they are very nice.

 

jlm - from Sparco's website, I saw that the Torino's have 4 CM less width room in the thigh areas - that does concern me. I think the Milano's are probably a safer bet.

Who is OG?

 

http://www.ogracing.com

 

i used to have the torinos in my subaru. great seats and good support all around, especially with the lumbar pad. i don't know how you can call them lightweight, though. compared to airbag equipped seats, maybe, but heavier than real racing fixed back seats.

i'd recommend trying them out first if at all possible. i know that my butt doesn't fit well into recaros, loves the torinos, and feels decent but not as comfortable in the corbeaus.

if it's for a purely street driven car, also consider just swapping out the driver's seat. all of my bigger and older passengers hated the seats because they didn't fit or had trouble getting out of them.

i've ordered a few times from og racing - fast shipping and always got what i ordered.

hope that helps.

 

jlm, thanks for the link.

I may only do a driver side install - only because my wife likes the heated seats. The MINI seat heaters are OK at best, no big loss for me. Yeah, my car might look weird with a stock Black Profile leather passenger seat and screaming red Sparco driver...but why not. My car.

I am a bit on the husky side - 38-40 inch waist. The Torino being $300 less would be fine, assuming I could comfortably fit in it. I don't know anyone running the Torino's in the NY/NJ area, in fact most MINI owners I know around here are running stock seats.

 

i'd guess that you're not going to be comfortable in the torino, but it's hard to say. butt/hip size and shoulder width may be more important than waist size.

one of my non-mini friends up in greenwood lake, ny was talking about swapping his torinos out last month. not sure if he's still running them, but i can find out the next time i talk to him.

 

Dan,
I rode in JLM's car for a while at the Philly meet and I love those seats. I was plenty comfy in them.


--
Cheese

 

Cheese,

I think you could safely say I'm a bit beefier than you or jlm though...

But after measuring my stockers today, I'm pretty sure the Milano's make more sense than the Torino's. And knowing how I torment myself, I'd always be wondering what I was missing not having the Milanos.

What fabric are you running jlm? (or Cheese, you can chime in since you've been in the car)