Recaro vs Cloth Seat
 

Just bought a 2009 R3. Looking to get more headroom when wearing a helmet. Anyone know if the cloth seats from a 2009/2010 sport can sit lower since they have height adjustment and the recaros do not?

Also, anyone know if an older RX8 cloth seat will bolt in where the recaros are?

idk but if they can swap an 04 seat with an R3 i will trade you!!!

Yeah, the older seats will bolt right in.

If you decide to sell your seats I'll pay cash for your Recaros.

woaw woaw woaw....:suspect:

i already offered to buy them :squint:

Yea stock driver seat is height adjustable so maybe you can get a tiny bit. I don't know the numbers though. I think the Recaro are fixed height right?

ive screwed around with mine before... you get a couple inches either way

Before I cause a panic, I'm not selling the Recaros.

Plan to swap the seat out for an ocassional DE event and put the Recaros back when I'm finished. I know it is wacked out to take out the race seat for a day at the track, but more headroom is more important.

So it doesn't matter what year, They'll bolt in? What about compatibility with the airbag electronics / harness?

i saw in another thread that its all the same R1, R2, and R3

I'm confused and not an expert on RX8 models. I do know a lot about RX7s and I know there was a 1993 R1 and 1994 & 1995 R2. Didn't think there was an RX8 R1 and R2. Is there a place I can find out more about the R1 and R2 you are referring to?

R1 is 04/05 R2 is 06/08 I think

no the R1 and R2 are RX7's....for the RX8 theres the series 1 (04-08) and series 2(09+) has the R3 edition...

and to my knowledge when two series 1 members tried swapping seats...it didnt work for the person who was going from manual seats to power seats. the connections were there, but the seats didnt work.

so that would be your main concern...making sure you get manual seats, but i dont know if they have the height adjustment on them

ahhh ok then it was my mistake... i new that an 04 was a version 1 but i thought it was also called r1

Honestly I would be very surprised if a stock seat was in fact lower than where the Recaro sits. It also be difficult to determine since you have to find a stock RX8 with out a sunroof which does make a huge difference in head room.

I could be wrong but I just don't see it being lower. I'm 6'5" and sat in all of the different models so I'll assume I know what I am talking about. All in all I'm just sayin... Maybe different helmet options that might not be so "thick" could be a better avenue to look towards. Then again I know jack about helmets...

the airbag/seat belt pretensioner connections are different on the drivers side---sorry charlie
you will have to swap all that out when you change the seats.
OD

This is just out of the blue; most RECARO seats require brackets and rails. Are the R3 seats made the same, in that case, could you just fabricate a bracket lower than the stock RX-8?

So your saying you can't directly put an older cloth seat into where the recaros were without changing the wiring harness within the car. Is that correct?

How about between a series 2 cloth seat in place of the recaros?

Ok which one of you bought the R3 interior on eBay for $1925?????


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/09-R3...s#ht_581wt_996

The one with the big pockets.

pics when you get them installed.

Thanks!

Someone got a good deal that interior came out of an R3 with 1300 miles on it. I saw it when he pulled it out of the totalled car. There isn't a scratch on it. I wish I would have had the $$ when I was down there.

Got a set of cloth seats from a sport. Bolted right up where the recaros were. No issues with the airbag / electrical connections. Definitely didn't give me any more head room, but my back feels better. I'm considering selling the recaros front and back along with the matching door panels.