2009.02.14 - Elise Seat Installed
- Mounted Elise seat in car
- Test drive!
- Fabricated and installed carpet covering for trunk/fuel remote release levers
Seat is in and secure, and seems to fit pretty well. I'd be happier if it were lower, but that will have to wait till a later date. The hardware ended up costing me more than the materials to build the adapter, but I guess that's the price you pay to "do it right." What is the price for peace-of-mind? Apparently it's $32.92 in this case. Ouch.
Driving impressions
The Good:
- Holds me in place much better than the stock seat
- Is more supportive/comfortable, generally speaking, and also has adjustable lumbar support
- Minor improvement for highway cruising, drastic improvement for "spirited" driving
- I could gain lots of weight and it would still fit around my waste.
- Most bumps feel no different than before, despite the lack of cushioning
- Finally having a headrest that doesn't stop at the base of my skull and would snap my neck if I got rear-ended too hard
- Looks very nice
- Seat itself is lighter than stock seat
The Bad:
- I need to redo the brackets at some point and get the seat lower. Ditch the sliders for some adjustable brackets. I'm sitting at approximately the same position as stock, maybe just a hair higher, but the seating position puts my legs closer to the steering wheel. Speaking of... this is good incentive to get a Nardi wheel and quick disconnect...
- I would have to gain lots of weight or get some firm foam padding if I want to get a really snug fit around my waste.
- Hitting expansion joints are definitely more distinct. Traveling a road with lots of frequent expansion joints might get annoying.
- The bracket I build is heavy enough that the seat+bracket+rails ends up weighing about the same as the OEM seat+rails.
I also cut up an old floor mat and used it as a nice trim piece to cover the exposed metal around the remote release levers. It was an extremely simple procedure and I don't know why I never thought doing it before.
$32.92 - High-strength fasteners for mounting Elise seat
- Test drive!
- Fabricated and installed carpet covering for trunk/fuel remote release levers
Seat is in and secure, and seems to fit pretty well. I'd be happier if it were lower, but that will have to wait till a later date. The hardware ended up costing me more than the materials to build the adapter, but I guess that's the price you pay to "do it right." What is the price for peace-of-mind? Apparently it's $32.92 in this case. Ouch.
Driving impressions
The Good:
- Holds me in place much better than the stock seat
- Is more supportive/comfortable, generally speaking, and also has adjustable lumbar support
- Minor improvement for highway cruising, drastic improvement for "spirited" driving
- I could gain lots of weight and it would still fit around my waste.
- Most bumps feel no different than before, despite the lack of cushioning
- Finally having a headrest that doesn't stop at the base of my skull and would snap my neck if I got rear-ended too hard
- Looks very nice
- Seat itself is lighter than stock seat
The Bad:
- I need to redo the brackets at some point and get the seat lower. Ditch the sliders for some adjustable brackets. I'm sitting at approximately the same position as stock, maybe just a hair higher, but the seating position puts my legs closer to the steering wheel. Speaking of... this is good incentive to get a Nardi wheel and quick disconnect...
- I would have to gain lots of weight or get some firm foam padding if I want to get a really snug fit around my waste.
- Hitting expansion joints are definitely more distinct. Traveling a road with lots of frequent expansion joints might get annoying.
- The bracket I build is heavy enough that the seat+bracket+rails ends up weighing about the same as the OEM seat+rails.
I also cut up an old floor mat and used it as a nice trim piece to cover the exposed metal around the remote release levers. It was an extremely simple procedure and I don't know why I never thought doing it before.
$32.92 - High-strength fasteners for mounting Elise seat