Charley Hoyt

I am thinking about purchasing a Cobra Suzuka, or possibly Imola, to put in my car for track use. I use my car as a daily driver and use it for HPDE's on weekends (I also drive it to the track). I am looking for a good seat to put in just for the track events. Right now I am looking at the Cobra Suzuka and Imola, but have a few questions. First, will these fit in a C6 that still has an interior? I know of people using them in race cars...but, I don't know of anyone that has one in a dual use car. The other question is about getting into and out of the Suzuka....Is it a royal PITA or is it fine for just track use and driving to the track.

Thanks for the help,
Charley

Scooter70

I bought my C5Z a month ago with a Cobra Suzuka Pro GT (the 25mm wider one) in it and just had my first track day in it yesterday. It fits just fine in my C5Z with the full interior. It does sit right up against the console on the right side but it fits. Getting in and out is ok for driving to and from the track. I'm 5'9" and I have it mounted more forward that taller people would so I do have to tilt the steering wheel up to make it easier to get in and out. Once you're in there it's great and it's pretty comfortable for a while. That said, after five 20-minute sessions on track yesterday and then driving 200 miles home, I was pretty stiff from not being able to move around. I'll be putting the stock seat back in this week just to make it easier on myself driving on the street. I don't have any pictures of it but can take a few if you're interested.

eogel

I have had a Suzuka GT for several years and like it very much. The GT is for us larger guys.

RacePro Engineering

Charley,

First off, we do not have a C6, nor any first-hand knowledge of fitting the Cobra seats into it. We do use a kevlar Cobra seat in our C4 racecar, and love it.

We also have installed and removed many (MANY!) race seats in various sports cars. So, before you spend a nice piece of change on a seat that you are planning to install and remove WITH EASE, perhaps just a couple of general observations:

Playing with the seats, even in our Cobra (with lots of relative room), was one of our LEAST FAVORITE tasks. No matter how many times one does it, it never becomes easy or trivial. In the Corvette, because the seat installs down in the well between the frame rails, the work area is very tight and "blind".

Just go into this with the knowledge that regularly swapping seats will be no picnic.

Ed LoPresti

Falcon

I installed a Sparco Evo II (it looks just like the ones you're thinking about) in my race car a couple of weeks ago.

As Ed said, it's a "LEAST FAVORITE" thing (that's putting it kindly), it's a big pain in the *** installing a fixed back seat in one of these C5's, and I sure C6's are just as bad.

I'd rather stick a #2 pencil in my eye than do that again. There is no room in the back of the seat mounts to get a socket/wrench into to tighten the nuts.

My roll cage was blocking part of the installation.

I finally got a 22mm crow's foot on a universal socket on the end of a 22" extension attached to a 3/8" ratchet to finally get everything tightened down. It looked like a Tinker Toy contraption.

That was after getting some custom fabrication done to a seat mount.

It seemed like a project that would never end.

If you're going to be changing back and forth for track and street, I'd take up golf or skeet shooting.

Scooter70

This might be the only time in my life where I'm glad that I'm short. With my seat in position I can get to the front and rear bolts with a regular socket and ratchet. No contortion or magic tools are necessary.

RX-Ben

I have a Suzuka (the narrow one) and think it is great. Great at the track, not too hard to get out of, really comfortable on the street too.

I would suggest reclining the seats more instead of moving them back - this will give you leg room, keep your head in a good position (i.e. clear of the pillars) and will give good access to the inner rear bolt.

RacePro Engineering

I'm certain that Doctor Science would have been proud of you!

Ed

stevensa

I have a Suzuka GT (the 25mm bigger one) in my C5Z with stock interior. I am 6'1", 205 lbs, 36" waist. The seat is a perfect fit for driving on the street. Not too snug and relatively easy to get in and out of. On the track it works very well, but could be a bit tighter. While the regular size seat may have been better for the track, it would have been absolutely horrible to drive around in at all, and much tougher to get in and out of. Basically like everything, you can't have the best of both worlds. If you are going to swap seats, like others have said it could be a pretty terrible experience depending on how the seat is fitted in the car. Also remember that with your c6 you will need to get and airbag bypass unit to keep the light off on the dash and the car from beeping at you.

KNSBrakes

I had that seat in my STi and moved it to my c5Z.
Fits me perfect - barely fits the c5z.

6'4" 200

If I add just a little extra padding to the pressure points and lower back area I could drive all year in it. I did that when the STi was not trailered
to events.

Charley Hoyt

Thanks for all of the great input...This really helps.

JimbeauZ06

The Cobra Suzuka will fit in a C6 or C6Z without modifying the interior.