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St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22
I have owned both the GT seats and the competition seats. I had the Comps, then my next 2 Vettes I ordered with GTs. I have taken both on long road trips consisting of 825 miles per day in both seats and both were fine in comfort. The comp seats are a little nicer, but not $2000 (2LT) - $2690 (1LT) nicer. The GT seats are in my opinion are about 85% as good a fit as the comps. With a lot of track use, the comps would be great to have. For a daily driver the GTs are more than sufficient, far better than a typical Malibu, Cruz, Silverado etc.
The competition seats option will force a suede steering wheel and suede shifter boot, both of which I did not care for.
Finally GM provides world-class seats in the Corvette (other than the leather).....until the C7 I missed my C4 seats.
I like my Comp seats, they are like a bear-hug while driving. I think the GT seats are probably somewhat more comfy for long trips, due to the softer foam, but no regrets on my choice.
I have only had competition seats in my 2015 and 2017, and never considered gt seats. I think either seat is going to be comfortable for most, but I really prefer the look and feel of the competition seats. I'm only 5'9" and about 140 so I fit in them quite easily. I think driver size is a big factor in which one will feel best.
I don't regret my seat choice (or color) at all. I went with the 1LT gray interior. I really love the look of the competition seats (and have sat in them at car shows and find them comfortable) but you cannot get gray competition seats with a 1LT interior, you can only get them in black.
I have the 1LT GT seats in my Stingray. I found them to be a little confining on the sides of the bottom. An upholstery shop installed some softer foam ($200) on the sides and now they are very comfortable.
Before I bought my car the seats were a primary concern because of all the long trips I go on. My wife and I sat in both. It didn't make any difference to me. They both felt comfortable. My wife preferred the GT seats. End of story. I would have liked the comps. I'm a light weight and only tip the beams at 145 LBS on my 6 ft frame. But my brother is a 210 pounder and he said he can't imaging anyone his size sitting in the competition seats comfortably for very long. Just to small for him he stated. I notice the race car drivers are all rather on the light weight side. The seats are probably designed with them in mind. However, I do like them very much.
It's a rather subjective subject, and I'm sure you will get a lot varying answers.
Last edited by joemessman; 03-20-2019 at 12:47 PM.
When looking for a C7 the only difference in the two seats are the seat backs. As far as I can tell the bottoms are the same. I went with the standard GT seats as it is a bit easier to get past the wings on the seat backs. Plus, I couldn't see putting money in comp seats that I would never use. I won't ever track this car.
I think the GT seats are better. I don't need the seats to hug me for daily driving. And the GTs felt a little softer when I tested both. Since i knew driving distance was going to out number the track days by a long shot, i went with GT. Plus, I was scared to death of the shiny backcovers. It would be a nightmare to me to make sure they don't get surface scratches or scuffs from things in the "trunk".
Plus, the cost is no where worth it. 2k? Really. No thanks. The bolsters on the GT move in enough for track use anyway.
Joemessman has an interesting point regarding weight of the driver. Will all future NASCR et al. drivers be the size of Jockies?
I love the look of the Comp Seats, wish I had them. I bought an "on the lot car" 3LT so had no choice, but at 5'9" 185lbs 3LT GT's are fine,
but if I could swap out with Tension Blue and Leather 3LT Comps seats for less than $ 250. I'd jump at it.
2015 3LT with leather GT seats, love em, I'm 6'1'' 187 lbs. and they fit just fine. I've taken some long trips (nine hours) and they are very supportive in all the right places.At the end of the trip my back was feeling fine.
6'4" 230lbs and no regrets with comp seats. I've done several long hauls with them and they work well for me. Money well spent IMHO. Instead of ordering 2LT package, I got 1LT and used the saving to buy options that meant something to me (comp, PDR, Stage 2 Aero, etc.).
I have the 1LT GT seats in my Stingray. I found them to be a little confining on the sides of the bottom. An upholstery shop installed some softer foam ($200) on the sides and now they are very comfortable.
That's an interesting idea. My seats are just slightly too narrow on the sides (I'm almost 6'3")
Do you have any photos of the type of foam they used?
…….had a '14 with the comp seats but the bolsters just dug deeply onto my ribs/lats, tried to find someone to trade the comp seats for the standards
but that fell through so I finally sold it to someone who really wanted the comp seats....win/win
It’s so much size-related. I’m 5’11” and about 185 lbs. or so. The fit of the comp seats is excellent for me; even better than the cloth seats in my ‘93 that were the last Vette seats I thought were worth a darn.
The C7’s GT seats are also very good — certainly if I’d had to pay $2K xtra for the comp seats I’d have happily “settled” for the GT ones. And, if I were a big guy, I’d no doubt find the comp seats too tight.
I'll say this without hesitation: the C7 OEM GTs are 10 x better than any previous Corvette before them. I'd dare say the best seats made that comes from GM Chevrolet.
03-20-2019, 04:17 AM
