I can fit behind the wheel of my Cooper S, but if I were to put a race shell in there, would it give me more room? What options do you have when installing a race seat? Can you adjust it alot or are they pretty much in the same place a the regular seat? I'm thinking of putting a Sparco Evo seat in my Mini and I'm thinking it will just a inch or 2 of extra room behind the wheel. Anyone out there put race seats in their Mini's?

 

I have the sparco Evo, let me go outside and check if it gives any extra room compared to my stock passenger seat. Yes, I am just looking for procrastination from work.

 

Cool, maybe you can let me know where you mounted it and stuff.

 

I have Sparco Corsa seats and they are about 2 inches higher than the stock seats and as for room behind the wheel...well it about the same as stock.

 

Tricky question. Since the Sparco Evo is thinner and because of how it is mounted, if both seats have their backs at the same level and the seats are both all the way back then yes, the sparco does make a bit more room (a few inches). Because its a fixed back seat though, it is really less adjustable. You can still use the slider but the seat only has the four mounting points so the non-sliding adjustments are up to which holes you use on the brackets, but because of the fixed back you will be sitting pretty upright no matter how you do it. Hope this makes sense.

And I would think that race seats that recline (which are more expensive) would be about the same as stock.

 

Well, Ive road in my friends rally prep car and I don't mind the fixed back seats. I actually loved his Sparco Evo's. I was hoping that if I didn't use the sliders (mounted it to the floor) that I might gain some room. I'm a little worried that when I get in the car with a helmet that I won't fit. Maybe I can test fit one of his seats or something.

 

That would be the best idea, to test it out. The seat mounted directly to the floor would be super low, I couldnt do it and I am 6'1".

 

I hope I am not sounding like a jerk when I say this, but are you trying to get a race seat because you don't really fit well behind the standard seat?

H

 

tigger
I installed the Cobra Suzuka race bucket with their alloy brackets and bolted to the factory sliders The alloy brackets comes with many holes to mount the seat to your desire height and tilt. I'm 5'7 and plenty of head room left.
Check out my gallery.

 

not wanting to change the topic here but that's one hot looking MCS you've got there...

 

Again, maybe off topic here. What is you seating position here? It seems that you are tracking this car? If so, make sure your seating position is correct, as it sounds to me that you are too far back.
Just what are the problems that you are running into that make you feel you need to move so far back? Just not sure how you can't fit behind the wheel and then think you will fit in an Evo seat if you are that big.

 

Unless he's like 7' tall and slender.

 

True .....

 

Which would be a sight to see in a MINI.

 

It all depends on how you mount it.

Depending on the mount, yes, you could get a little more leg room, and sit a LOT lower to the floor. Mount it "wrong" and you'll end up losing room.

 

Actually my Uncle is very close to 7' and he was amazed how well he did fit, with room to spare.

 

I would argue that there's no such thing - taking the term RACE literally.

You won't see manufacturers like Sparco or Recaro referring to any of their reclining seats as "race seats" either. Seems like a trend that was started by ebay sellers pushing their tenzo knockoffs to the masses.

 

Oh, yea, ... on the topic, I got a good amount of new room with my Sparcos. I'd say at least another 4". Though not fun to drive in on the road for more then an hour or two.

 

Cooldaddy
Thanks for the compliment The setup is tons of fun to drive, very neutral in cornering. Also very comfortable to drive with the race bucket over the stocker .

 

Yes, I realize that true racing seats do not recline and are fixed back. I was simply regurgitating the term as I have seen it used on oh so many website in my recent seat searching. The reclining aftermarket seats are also referred to as "street" and "tuning" seats.

 

OK, to answer some questions, I don't have the seat all the way back. I'm 6'-4" and I worried that when I have my helmet on (for autoXing) it'll hit the ceiling. If I could just drop my butt an inch I think it wouldn't be a problem.

Oh, and my legs are kind of close to the steering wheel so I figured it might give me a little more room there too. I think I'm going to try and test fit the seats from my friends car and see what the best result would be.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

Depending on the brackets used you could always drill yourself a new lower set of holes. I have mine in the very top holes, but could drop the seat down about an inch if I wanted now , and to go lower could drill new holes for a different position.

 

You need a 'Gurney bubble'. But seriously, I would think getting a seat and brackets that allow you to get a tilt angle backwards would be important, but you have to be careful the seat bolster doesn't cut the circulation across the back of your thighs since you are tilting the whole seat (not reclining just the back). I'll be interested how it goes, I'm almost 6'11" and would like to do the same...

 

NOOOoooo!!!......

Sounds like he wants to track the car, so you don't really want to tilt the seat back. Should be as upright as possible.


My Sparcos with sliders and mounting bracket actually raised my hieght slightly as I remember. They were bottom mount seats though. Like what was mentioned before, side mount seats and side mount plates are the way to go. It's just getting them mounted right that becomes a pain.

 

My side mount Evo is on the factory slider and is a bit lower than stock, even though I am on the top holes, FYI.