evo recaro seats in STi

When I bought my Evo VIII a few months ago, it came with 2 sets of seats, a cloth pair and a leather pair. The previous owner had decided that he didn't like the leather seats that the car came with, so he bought a pair of new cloth ones. Since the leather seats are much more supportive than the STi seats, I decided to try to put them in the STi. With the help of Alex today, I was able to fit 1 seat in the car. It wasn't too hard, once I got the right seat brackets, which Alex happened to have. The bolsters are a bit wider, but still manage to fit without any issues. The only drawback to the seat is the lack of a side airbag, but I feel that the extra side bolstering for every day use overweighs the loss of the side airbag.

Here are a couple of pics:



I will take more once I get them both in tomorrow.

Thanks again Alex!

--
Brian

 

Yeah thats sweet! The recaro's have any lumbar support?

 

So comfortable ..... I can't wait until you get the other one in! Thanks again for your help alex!

 

Wow, I didn't think that was possible. Was it a direct bolt up? Which brackets did you use?

 

Brian thats awesome dude I need to come over and check those out

 

That's awesome.
Time to start searching for Evo seats for sale.

 

I should be able to handle it, but I will give you a call if I need any help. You are welcome to stop by sometime and check out how it feels in the STi. I need to finish getting everything tightened up on the driver's seat, as I left the bolts loose so I could take it apart to use for a template for drilling the passenger side brackets.

I hope you enjoy the swaybar.

--
Brian

 

As far as the weight, the STi seat weighs 47.0 lbs on my scale, and the recaro seat weighs 45.8 lbs with the recaro slider and sparco brackets.

If you are buying takeoffs, make sure to have the sliders included, which are the regular recaro sliders.

As for takeoff prices, here are some recent ones sold on EvoM:
$500/pr: http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=173113
$600/pr: http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=169894
$650/pr: http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=165014
$700/pr: http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=160601
will depend on region/condition/shipping.

New, they are almost identical to these (have seen them referenced on EvoM as being the same):
http://www.speedwaremotorsports.com/seat/sportline04.asp
which go for $899 cloth, $1299 leather each.

Also, as for the seat belt mounting, I think that it might be fine, as initially I had the bracket setup the wrong way.

--
Brian

 

that is too funny, and too cool.

 

A few more pics:




More pics:
http://mere.darg.net/sti-recaro

A few useful tips:
- install the bottom bracket portion in the car first, and the upper portion on the seat. Trying to put the whole bracket on the seat makes the installation much more difficult.
- for the seat belt, the stock evo mounting hole works with the sti seatbelt piece. No need to use the hole on the seat bracket
- might want to a blanket around the door or something, because I scratched the door sill a bit moving the seats in and out
- The Schroth Quick-Fit harness still works great with the seats, but is harder to squeeze through the smaller harness holes in the back of the seat

--
Brian

 

Wow, that really looks good.
I can't believe that those seats weight what the
STi seats weight with the airbag. I would've thought
they'd be much lighter.
Now to figure out if my possible safety's worth losing the airbag or not.
I wouldn't trade the passenger seat out as I do consider that
to be a critical thing, but mine...ehhh
Someone want to go in halves on a set??

 

ped ped ped.. you just dont stop LOL

 

It'd definately be nice to have a seat with some lumbar support!

 

^^^hehe
I was just reading the thread over on IWSTI about people rebolstering the
STi seats. I'd love to help try to rebolster your seat (or we could try mine).
It sounds like the people that have done it really like it. Sure would like to save
the money and use it towards other things.

 

Yeah to me the weight difference isn't the issue. If I put a 12 lb shell in my STi, I would definately be kicked out of A stock. This way I don't think people will care regionally if my car is about 2 lbs lighter (I'll put a sack of potatos in my trunk). After autoxing and track days my left leg always gets sore from sitting half on the bolster. I feel with these seats my butt will be more secured in the seat. Besides it's fun proving naisoc wrong .

 

Brian, those are great looking seats, man!!!. I bet that they really make a big difference in the comfort level, plus it will help on Auto-X....



Mark

 

Looks good Brian, I told you it would work.

Why didn't you use the Recaro Sti brackets? It should have bolted right in w/o modifications.

 

$$$... Alex already had the Sparco brackets, and they happened to work just fine.

--
Brian

 

I am looking to get rid of this pair of seats, as we need to run the stock seats for solo2 autocross, due to the stock class rules. Also, I want to free up some cash for my new project.

These seats are the same as the Recaro Sportline leather seats, which go for $1299 each:
http://www.speedwaremotorsports.com/seat/sportline04.asp
The sliders are recaro sliders, which cost $99 each new:
http://www.speedwaremotorsports.com/seat/recarSlideNoHeight.asp
and the adapter brackets, which are $80 each new.

If anyone is interested, I will sell them locally for $1400, and will even install them in your car for you (fit wrx and STi). If I don't sell them in a week or so, I will take start taking offers.

The leather is in great shape, and I will take some pics in a couple of days, once I get them out of the car. (need to get them out of the car by the first autocross event this weekend)

--
Brian

 

SOLD!

--
Brian