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The last tune (#6) really woke the car up. Not sure exactly what he did, but it finally feels like I have 400hp. Spins my very sticky 275's with ease in the first 2 gears.
Unfortunately, Jon has gone on hiatus again. I sent him a data log Wed. morning, an e-mail Friday and a message today, but nothing back from him.
Today I was switching over to snow tires and noticed my front tires were cupped just a little bit on the inner edges. I got the idea to try putting the fronts in the back, spin the tires and let friction and negative camber do its work. Success! No more cupping.
I also noticed that the 275's fit ok up front- close to the wishbones, but I did not hear any rubbing- even at full lock. I must have gotten the offsets right on the wheels because it looks pretty much the same with the 245's in back and up front.
This got me thinking that I could probably go 275's all around. This would probably kill any understeer, but also probably kill my power steering pump.
No more cupping inside
Fitment is pretty close front and rear even with the tires on the wrong ends
My seat finally arrrived! The thigh bolsters seem a little tight in the butt area, but I think it might fit just right if I sit up just a bit. Really looking forward to getting this in the car this weekend.
Yea, 275s all around is a pretty boss setup. Damn, offset is pretty much perfect too. Do you have a camber kit?
Also how have your Basis Zs been holding up? Mine are starting to feel soft.
That is actually with the 245's in the back, but it looks like 275's all the way around doesn't it? I have adjustable camber arms in the back. I only run about -1.5 front and rear so nothing too crazy.
My Tein's are good. On a lot of roads I "wish" they would feel soft.
Are you entertaining the idea of using stitching dye on that huge SPARCO logo?
No, it's hard to tell in the picture, but the logo actually has silver thread around all the letters so it should look nice with all the silver stitching and trim inside the car. It looks nice in person and the overall quality of the seat looks very good. (Glad I did not get a Corbeau)
It reminds me of the high quality of a Recaro seat without the oversized "Americanized" width of most Recaro seats in cars sold in the U.S. I sat in it a few more times at home and the bottom seat cushion reminds me of the Recaros in a GT-R- narrow, but supportive. Probably not the best option for someone who squats a lot.
I did run into a few issues with the Bride seat rails. They only included 2 of 4 allen bolts necessary to mount the rails to the seat. Hopefully, I can find the right size and thread at a hardware store. The holes for these screws are also too wide in front, but look ok in the back. I hope I can widen one and still make it secure.
I had some time today to get the Sparco seat installed and it went pretty well. Widening one of the holes in the Bride mounting bracket and getting new hardware turned out to be easier than I thought.
The seat is much more comfortable than the factory seat with a lot more padding and support. The thigh supports really hold you in place, but they might feel restrictive for some. Combined with the cloth cover, you do not slide around at all compared to the factory seat.
You do sit up slightly higher. About 1/2" from the very bottom of the back of the seat cushion to the roof and about an inch higher from the front of the seat cushion to the roof. I may have to recline the seat a bit for track days with a helmet. Ideally, I would like to lower the bracket about 1", but I think it will be difficult to do well with all of the strange angles.
The seat shaved off almost 25lbs so it was a lot easier to take in and out of the car than the factory seat.
I had to pull off the passenger side adjuster since it was rubbing the center console. It is nice to have a micro adjust seat, but it is easier to adjust with the door open.
The seat frees up a lot of foot room in the back seat and a bit of rear seat leg room too. Because there is a lot more room under the seat, the light from the driver's door also lights up the rear seat foot well now.
The upper side bolster can actually touch the B-pillar depending on how it is adjusted, but it can still slide past it. This also makes a nice hold for the seat belt. The thigh bolster is not nearly as hard to get over as the Recaros in my old Evo X. Pretty easy to get in and out for such aggressive bolsters.
Today on the way to work I got to try out the seat in a few turns and I was surprised how much better this seat holds me in place, but not at all how I thought it would (big side bolsters). The side bolsters are definitely supportive- they feel similar to the stock seats fully inflated (my usual setting), but it is the thigh bolsters and the support around your butt that really holds you in place. That combined with the cloth cover and you are planted in the seat. Very impressive in corners and probably a lot less fatigue on track from trying to brace yourself.
The other surprise was the ride. I always thought the padding on my factory seat felt a little thin. These seats are significantly more comfortable and provide much better back support. I have a road close to home that is pretty bouncy and these seats actually ride a lot better. It was not nearly as bouncy as usual. The foam is not terribly thick, but maybe it is due to having elastic bands underneath the seat for support instead of steel springs?
Now the bad news- It is simply too high with my helmet on. Initially I thought 1/2" higher in back and 1" higher in the front of the seat would be ok, but I need to lean it way back just so I don't have to crank my next over. Even then my helmet still hits the roof, which is not exactly safe. I have a guy in our body shop who thinks he can make me some custom seat brackets that he can weld onto the rails and lower it about an inch. This should be ideal.
Today on the way to work I got to try out the seat in a few turns and I was surprised how much better this seat holds me in place, but not at all how I thought it would (big side bolsters). The side bolsters are definitely supportive- they feel similar to the stock seats fully inflated (my usual setting), but it is the thigh bolsters and the support around your butt that really holds you in place. That combined with the cloth cover and you are planted in the seat. Very impressive in corners and probably a lot less fatigue on track from trying to brace yourself.
The other surprise was the ride. I always thought the padding on my factory seat felt a little thin. These seats are significantly more comfortable and provide much better back support. I have a road close to home that is pretty bouncy and these seats actually ride a lot better. It was not nearly as bouncy as usual. The foam is not terribly thick, but maybe it is due to having elastic bands underneath the seat for support instead of steel springs?
Interesting description. Essentially, it's managing core weight better, rather than just resisting weight that's already shifted. Kind of like the effects of minimizing engine and body flex. That's pretty cool. I can only imagine you're enjoying that.
And really surprised to read an assessment that racing seats are actually more comfortable than the OEM sport seats. I suspect comfort is being influenced by stability. If you're body is moving around less, I could see how that would seem comfortable.
Good luck with your helmet. No good mod goes unmodded.
11-03-2017, 11:54 PM
