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My Stock 2001 Z06 seats are not up to track days (perhaps never were), so I have been following several threads, Seat replacement and seat belt swap to C6. It started out looking like I just need to find a seat that fits the narrow confines of the C5 cockpit.
Braum S8 V2 appear to fit! ($600 with sliders)
Next was to gain more head room so my helmet doesn't bump the head liner at the track ( I'm only 6'0"). Options are the shaved Corbeau A4 ($800) to gain 1 inch or Marrad ultra low seat mount bracket. $300 (both if you are tall)
If you want to keep a stock feel and have seat sliders, most seats won't slide past the lower seat belt retractor. One option is to reverse the passenger and drivers side seats and have the recliner seat lever wedged up against the transmission tunnel (less than optimal!) So, remove the lower C5 seat belt retractor and purchase the C6 seat belts. ( $90 off ebay) Well, they don't "really" fit, you need to swap passenger and drivers side and then shave off some tabs.
Oh, removing the lower C5 seat belt retractor doesn't really gain you any seat room till you cut away the plastic trim piece. So, order a additional set of plastic seat belt trim pieces so you can keep stock un-cut trim if you want to put the car back to stock ($70) for both sides ( a bargain I thought)
OK, now I'm ready?
No, the C6 seat belt insert doesn't fit in the C5 seat belt receiver. Now, go buy (2) C6 seat belt extension ($32) and find some way to affix that to the seat mounting bracket (the stock mounting point is attached to the stock seat you just removed).
Oh yah, The Marrad ultra low seat mounting bracket doesn't come with a seat belt receiver mounting bracket. So, don't order the Marrad Ultra Low seat mounting bracket already powder coated, you'll need to weld on a bracket to mount the seat belt receiver and then go out and find a powder coater and spend a little more money to get the brackets powder coated.
Now I have to be ready? No! No! No!
The Braum Slider mounting holes don't match up with any of the pre-drilled mounting holes in the Marrad Ultra Low seat mounting bracket. Drilling another set of mounting holes between all the holes already drilled start the mounting bracket looking like Swiss cheese.
Mark at Marrad was kind enough to makes 2 sets of ultra low Seat mounting brackets with no holes drilled and not powder coated so I can drill and weld and powder coat to get these to work with the Braum seats.
OK, that's got to be it! Right?
No, you'll need the ultra rare T47 Torx bit to remove the seat belt retractors ($8 Ace Hardware) but no store actually carries this on the shelf so give your self a week to order it and get in.
I have ordered all the pieces and parts, they are all on their way. I'll post as I progress.
I didn't see all this information in one spot so I thought I would consolidate.
If I've missed anything, Please jump in and let me know.
I'm still not sure what is going to happen to my "seat belt not fastened" indicator???
I replaced my seats with knock off braums/cypher seats I got off amazon. Came with C5 specific rails and sliders with the seats for $270 ish shipped. I had the same problems you did with the hole pattern in the rails not matching anything on the sliders so i welded all the exiting holes shut, ground them smooth then drilled the brackets to fit the sliders. Then I painted it all black again.
Now i did the swap passenger with drivers seat and the recliner mechanism was still in the way so i set the seats where i wanted them reclined, unbolted the hinges and traced them out on paper to make patterns. I welded up some quick brackets and bolted them to the seats to replace the hinges and make the seats a fixed back position seat. This fixed 100% of my fitment problems and the seats are awesome. the company actually sent me the wrong seats from the get go so i got a partial refund on the whole purchase so after everything was said and done, i have new seats installed with some minor fab work at home for under $250 with the stock c5 seat belts
I replaced my seats with knock off braums/cypher seats I got off amazon. Came with C5 specific rails and sliders with the seats for $270 ish shipped. I had the same problems you did with the hole pattern in the rails not matching anything on the sliders so i welded all the exiting holes shut, ground them smooth then drilled the brackets to fit the sliders. Then I painted it all black again.
Now i did the swap passenger with drivers seat and the recliner mechanism was still in the way so i set the seats where i wanted them reclined, unbolted the hinges and traced them out on paper to make patterns. I welded up some quick brackets and bolted them to the seats to replace the hinges and make the seats a fixed back position seat. This fixed 100% of my fitment problems and the seats are awesome. the company actually sent me the wrong seats from the get go so i got a partial refund on the whole purchase so after everything was said and done, i have new seats installed with some minor fab work at home for under $250 with the stock c5 seat belts
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Who would have thought there would be so many speed bumps to overcome just to swap in a set of aftermarket seats? Good luck getting it all worked out and installed in your car.
Who would have thought there would be so many speed bumps to overcome just to swap in a set of aftermarket seats? Good luck getting it all worked out and installed in your car.
I installed a set of racing seats.....five hours per seat. The seats came with sliders and mounting hardware. Went thru a new electric drill and many parts. The new seat belts were also something else. BUT, the finished product...great.
How comfortable are the Amazon seats vs stock, in terms of bottom padding? What about the feel of the pvc leather vs the OEM seats? I ALMOST bought these last week...just been hesitating. I don't mind fabbing the brackets and all that, I just don't want uncomfortable junk.
Pieces for the New Seat project have been arriving.
- Marrad Ultra Low C5 Seat mounting brackets, Undrilled and unpainted, Passenger & Driver, $300
- Passenger and Drivers side Seat belt cover trim, $80 for the set
- C6 seat belts, Pass & Driver, $90
- C6 Rigid Seat belt extender/ receptical $32 for the set
- Ultra rare T47 Torx bit, $8
I installed a set of racing seats.....five hours per seat. The seats came with sliders and mounting hardware. Went thru a new electric drill and many parts. The new seat belts were also something else. BUT, the finished product...great.
How comfortable are the Amazon seats vs stock, in terms of bottom padding? What about the feel of the pvc leather vs the OEM seats? I ALMOST bought these last week...just been hesitating. I don't mind fabbing the brackets and all that, I just don't want uncomfortable junk.
They are pretty comfortable. Much more supportive than the stock seats. Nice and tight fit with the thick bolsters. The PVC feels nice but I bought the fabric seats and the seller sent me the PVC instead. Lucky for me my Father in law is an upholsterer so I installed the seats anyway with plans to have them recovered in leather later.
Braum S8 seat install
