Replacing my stock seats is not currently an option for me so I am trying to think of ways to improve the lateral support in the stock seat. I'm 5'6" and find myself really getting thrown around in the stock seat, having to support myself with a knee and the steering wheel (not good).

Seeing how the GrandAm drivers use a shell, like a booster seat, for the smaller driver to custom fit the seat, my thought is to have a generic shell made for the stock seat.

The idea is to have a shell which sits on top of the stock seat for the purpose of providing raised support areas exactly like a racing seat provides. A seat cover would then go over the stock seat and shell. The nice thing is that this could be removed for the street.

Just brainstorming. Any thoughts?

 

Not exactly a seat adjustment but what I do to increase lateral stability is to lock down the seatbelt really tight.

 

I'm not sure how much this is really going to help with the stock seats. With the molds/extra pads we use in our Rx-8s, the pads have velcro on the back that hold them in place on the seat. At the same time, the shoulders on the racing seats are large enough so that the drivers are still "in" the seat even with the extra padding. You would definitely need to find some way to make absolutely sure that the shell would be absolutely stationary while you are using it. You don't want it moving around and contorting your body mid turn. I haven't sat in a stock RX-8 seat in a while (we've got racing seats in all of ours), but without the actual lateral support of the seat itself, I would expect it would be fairly difficult for the shell to fulfill your needs.

The biggest thing you can do to really hold yourself in is to get a harness system that you can really crank down. IMO, I don't think the shell is going to do much on it's own if you are only using the stock belt.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Researching it further I have come to the same conclusion. It looks like a 3 or 4 point harness would be best. And if the harness is not enough then maybe the addition of a torso belt.

I'm going to continue this discussion over on the 4-point harness thread.

 

My much more experienced co-driver taught me the following method, and it works well for me:

Roll the seat all the way back (or almost depending on how tight you want it)
Put seat belt on
Yank on seat belt to "lock" it.
Roll seat forward

Gl.

 

Quite ingenious. :-)

 

I do something similar...I put the seat where I want it...pull the seatbelt to within a few inches short of being buckled...give it a quick yank to lock it...then buckle it. Takes some practice to get the right distance for that yank, but works well for me.

 

I used the same method in my RX-8 as balefire describes. The "roll it forward" part is a little hit or miss, though, as you don't always get it to the exact spot you want.

In cars with power-memory seats (most cars anyway...never had a chance to try it in an RX-8 though), you can set a memory position for where you want it to be, then recline and/or move back a little, lock the belt, and return to the memory position.

 

Yep, this is a good method. I used to do it in the Miata before I got harnesses. I would get my seating position right, move the seat back 3 notches, yank and roll forward until tight. Worked every time.

The "CG lock" is another option and relatively cheap.

 

If you were a big fat guy like me, this would not be a problem!

 

Unfortunately the power seat in RX-8 doesn't have memory as far as I know, not in my 04 anyway (hope I don't smack myself by finding it tonight).

I've also seen straps that go around your chest and the back of the seat. Forgot what that's called. It's basically a nylon strap with valcro, you can probably make it cheap.

 

why go through all that BS, be smart and just install a better seat

 

I wish I could but it's not really an option as far as I can tell. My wife needs the height adjustability of the stock seat height.

The shell idea is out anyway. A harness should provide everything I need.

Now I just need to figure out how to get to the top of the rear seat belt mount. It's hidden underneath the Bose speaker grill.

 

Recaro makes great street seats with all that stuff, get smart ...

 

Or, take your stock seat to an upholstery shop, have them pull the cover, build up the foam/bolsters and then reinstall the cover...I've done plenty of "seat shaping" with motorcycles over the years that way.

 

Building up the seat could be an option too. I want to keep the seat colors. I went out of state to buy this car because I wanted this particular color combo. Don't really want to rip the seats out and lose the nice color. :-)

I could spend more to possibly get Recaro seats recovered. A harness seems the best option to try first.

 

you could always recover it in velcro and then where a matching velcro racing suit

 

DUDE!! THAT WOULD BE HELLA SWWWEEEETTTT...

I can hear all the velcro "rrrrrriiiiiippppp" now...

 

A CG lock makes a huge difference. You have to install it upside down and it's a good idea to pad it as the flange will dig into you. I also use rubber mesh carpet underpad on the seat back; it doesn't completely hold me in position but I slide a lot less.

 

Instead of a CG lock, just get a locking H-clip (commonly used with baby seats). It is basically a CG lock and costs like 4 bucks. For your upper body, I know of people that wrap a long 2" velcro strap around their chest and seat. (I think this is a bad idea in a convertible--but how about the 8?)

FS

 

you don't need anything, just snap the upper belt so the crash lock kicks in and while holding it tight move the seat forward until your cinched in, just takes a few times to figure out the correct starting location of the seat, been doing this forever