Seats

[MACCA.GLM]

Hi all

Has anyone fitted a different seat to the Elan.

My back plays up big style with the original seat and find it difficult to get comfortable.

Regards

G

[trw99]

That's a shame and bad luck.

Generally the seats are actually rather comfortable, surprisingly so given their elementary construction. I suspect it is down to the seating position, once one is installed.

A number of folk have found that the Mazda MX5 seats fit. They may be worth you exploring.

My seats are original. I have found putting a thin pad of closed air cell matting, like that used for exercise mats, under the seat between the hessian and the springs rather effective. I then use genuine sheepskin on the back and the seat, which provides not only additional padding, but effective cooling and warmth when required. I guess if you have a lower back problem it would not be too tricky to insert some form of lumbar support into/onto the seat back.

Tim

[ill_will]

I have some S1 Elise seats which I am planning to reupholster and fit at some point. They have headrests (one of the main drivers for changing them - I also have a rear roll cage with sill bars and feel more comfortable with those two safety concessions.) They are non adjustable (other than a lumbar support.) As a bonus though they're pretty light.

In the Elise I find they're installed a bit too upright so will tip them back a little when fitting them. I fitted some in an integrale which was my daily driver for years and they were quite comfortable. Making the stock Elan seats more upright would be easy; more involved to tip it back (by extending the legs or making some spacer blocks) but that could be worth experimenting with.

On a tangent as Tim says I find the original 2 seater Elan seats pretty comfortable, so it could be that adding foam or changing the existing foam to a firmer or softer variety might improve it for you. Good luck!

[gav]

I am running a pair of leather Elise (possibly Exige - not sure about the difference)
I had some subframes made to support them and they nestle nicely within the rear roll cage.
I spent a lot of time setting up the position and angle and it was Tim well spent.I think that they are really comfortable.
Hope it helps
Gavin

[MACCA.GLM]

Thanks guys

A Pause for thought on the ideas mentioned.I also have a rear roll cage so I will look into it a bit more,

G