Seat swap options??

OK, so the S14 seats are lots better than my S13 stockers. I'm not interested in a Sparco, Recaro, or chinese made race seat.
I want to replace my front seats with something better, but normal looking. :ylsuper:

If I remove the rails from my stock seats, can't I just bolt them onto most any other smallish bucket seat from another car?? :thinkerg:

It occurs to me that if I can bolt the rails on, then it opens up my options as to what seats I can choose from, rather than competing for a dwindling pool of S14 seats. Let's face it, they're not making any more of them, so there are fewer available every day. :eek:

However, I'm new to this, and don't have a freaking clue about what problems I would encounter in doing a seat swap. It just seems that stock brackets get around the mound okay, and then it's only a matter of mating a new bucket seat to that stock bracket.

Is it doable?? :confused:

Is it FEASIBLE??? :banghead:

Or am I busy earning my NOOB title? :screwy:

Get Skylien seats, they bolt on 3 out of 4 holes and you just need a big washer or weld a tab on for the 4th hole. R32 and R33 GT-R seats are the same, they are amazing, R34 GT-R seats are the best seats in the world (allegedly), but they go for like 1000$ each used. If you can find them, S15 Spec-R seats are 100% bolt-on and they are sooo comfortable and hold so well, I love them and go for around 600$US for a pair.

OK, lemme try again.

This is not Fast and Furious, and I'm not building a drift car, show car, or low rider. I'm 52 years old and have family responsibilities beyond pouring money into a car. This is my daily driver, and it's (like lotsa people) on a shoestring budget. It has an $80 head unit from Walmart, and after owning it for 2 months, I finally bought a replacement gearshift knob for $15.

The idea is that I want to have more seats available to pick from so it's easier to find a replacement cheaper than some of the other options.
And besides, we seem to have a shortage of Skylines around the places I hang out (like Publix) to scavenge seats from.

I'm just wondering about the possibility of bolting OEM seat rails onto any other stock seat- if it's easily doable, or if it would create a mess. If it's easy then I can visit the local junkyard and pick out a nice set of buckets from a newer small car- assuming the physical dimensions of the seat will fit into the S13 vert.

You could always try to modify the stock seats to hold you in better. There's a good article on how to do it here (http://www.240sx.org/links/installs/gripseat/seats.htm).

By the way, slidestar, where do you get S15 Spec-R seats?

here.
r32 skyline seats 580$
http://rbmotoring.dreamhosters.com/gallery/album206

You could always try to modify the stock seats to hold you in better. There's a good article on how to do it here (http://www.240sx.org/links/installs/gripseat/seats.htm).

By the way, slidestar, where do you get S15 Spec-R seats?

www.pandagarage.com has some. Or check local JDM engine importers. RBMotoring also has some (follow link above).

Or check local JDM engine importers.

I'm in Nebraska, there are no "local" importers.:frown:

If you are running on that tight of a budget I would either keep the stockers and mod them to fit you properly, buy used s13 seats that are in better condition or buy s14 seats....those are your cheapest options

if you are willing to take a drive there are quite a few wrecked s14s all over the country and the seats, esp the cloth ones, go for peanuts compared to any jdm or aftermarket seat option.

I'm sure some other seats would fit, but your best bet with that is to figure out what seats from what cars you like and then measure yours and actually post on owner message boards asking what their seat dimensions, bolt location etc are...it would be very time consuming unless you live in socal or something where you could make some friends and then spend a day measuring and trading seats to see what feels right and actually will bolt up with limited modification.

it would be very time consuming unless you live in socal or something where you could make some friends and then spend a day measuring and trading seats to see what feels right and actually will bolt up with limited modification.

Yeah, that's kinda what I thought too. There are a few cars around Atlanta, and I haven't really starting hitting the junkyards yet. I actually prefer cloth for the vert. I'll keep my eyes open... thanks!!

klohiq, I'm not sure I understand your sig, 17x7.5 +38 (with spacer) looks like ass, lower is better and wider is better.

klohiq, I'm not sure I understand your sig, 17x7.5 +38 (with spacer) looks like ass, lower is better and wider is better.


lol i commented on that too in another thread. He said something like its bad for handling or something.

lol i commented on that too in another thread. He said something like its bad for handling or something.

lol I can see to some extent that 18x10.5 -20 is bad for handling, but 17x7.5 +38 looks like monkey butt. You have to find a happy medium.

if you have a problem with my sig you could send me a pm rather than posting a bunch of crap on this thread...

i dont get what your problem is...the wheels are fairly flush with the body...and a 7.5" rim can use a 225 or 235 tire...which for the street is more than wide enough...at least in my opinion since most cars on the street are pushing less than 200whp...even moded cars are usually at less than 300whp.

8" rim is as wide as I would go and I'm not even going to buy a 17" rim...I'm good with a 16"...I see no point in spending more for tires and not actually getting anything in return...sure you can argue that they feel more stable at high speeds, but considering I've driven cars with 14" rims at over 100 I think I'll be fine on the street...maybe at a track you would notice a difference...

you guys can enjoy your 18x9" rims with less than 200whp...a lot of high performance cars from the factory come with 8.5" or less, and these cars have far more torque than a turboed/bolted KA24 or SR20...

look at what the OE size is for all of these cars...

Acura NSX 16X7.5F 17X8.5R
Nissan Skyline GTR (R32) 16x8"
Nissan 300zx TT (z32) 16x7.5F 16x8.5R
Nissan 350z track 18x8F 18x8.5R
Toyota Supra TT (mkiv) 17x8F 17x9.5R
Toyota MR2 mkii turbo 14x6F 14x7R
Toyota MR2 mkii turbo 93+ 15x6F 15x7R
Porsche 944 turbo 16x7"
Mazda RX7 turbo II 16x7"
Mazda RX7 twin turbo (FD) 16x8"

EVEN the R34 GTR has "only" 18X9" rims which are smaller than some of you are throwing on a mildly moded 240sx...to me that is just as ricey as a massive aluminum spoiler...

Notice how most of the really wide rims are only on the back and are only on fairly heavy cars. The 240sx weighs close to 500 pounds less than a mkiv supra or z32 300zx, and I have doubts that your car is pushing as much power as they are.

Most of you act like you love a balanced car and love oversteer, but you put massive tires on the rear and smaller ones up front...a staggered setup will make you understeer...sure you can dial it out just like a FF guy can make his FWD oversteer, but it's stupid. A car with a 50/50 weight distribution should be wearing the same shoes at both ends, unless you are just into drag racing or you are making decent power (300+whp...not just an sr20 swap).

Just for shits and giggles I decided to look at what exotics were running for rims since I know someone will say those cars I listed are too slow or are stock from a large manufacturer so they will have shitty small rims or something...

Keep in mind, most of these cars are mid engined so the rear tires will be wider than a comparable front-engine rwd. Much like how a fwd car that is modified will have larger front wheels to help make the rear rotate more and aid in traction since the front wheels are doing most of the work.

Also, many of these cars are designed to be used at the track where a wider tire is almost always better. On the street, pavement irregularities can actually cause a wider tire to have less traction because the majority of the tire may not be in contact with the surface of the road. A narrower tire over the same surface could easily have more traction because it obviously hits less pavement irregularities because it's narrower. Same thing with suspension, a very stiff suspension usually works way better than a softer suspension at a track, but on the street a car that allows the tires to be in contact with the road is a car that is typically faster and easier to control through a given distance.

With that said...here are the wheel specs with bhp/tq ratings...

Lotus Esprit (Sport 350)
349bhp @ 6500rpm
295lbft @ 4250rpm
17x8.5 (f), 18x10 (r) - 235/40/17 (f), 295/35/18 (r)

Ferrari F355
2976 lb
375.0 bhp @ 8250 rpm
268 lbft @ 6000 rpm
18 X 7.5"

Pagani Zonda C12 F
2809 lbs (dry)
650 bhp @ 6200 rpm
780 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm
225/35x19
335/30x20

Ferrari F612 - FRONT ENGINE
4055lb
540hp @ 7250 rpm
434lb ft @ 5250 rpm
245/45 R18 - 285/40 R19

Another reason some of these have such large wheels is to clear their massive brakes and a lot of it is also just to look good and stand out from the standard mass produced cars. The widths still aren't that much wider than what some people are slapping on 240s and other sport compacts.

#1. You don't need wide wheels to clear big brakes. It's all in the shape of the spokes.

#2. Stock tire sizes on any car are made for 2 things: safety and cost. They put small tires in front to induce understeer so that people who don't know how to drive don't spin out. If they take a corner to fast, the car will plow and it's suppose to be safer, less chance of a roll over or spin.

#3. All the cars in your first post have 250-300bhp which is 200-250whp, that's what most people are running with KA-T/SR.

#4. Looks are a big part of the car culture and small wheels look like ass.

#5. Staggered look doesn't mean 205 in front and 295 in back, you can have wide tires front and back, and I'm not saying you should go 255 in front, hell I have 225/50R16 all around on my 16x7 +35 rims and the handling ain't that bad, but this summer I'll have those tires on 16x8 +13 and 16x9 +13 and i'm really looking forward to it.

#6. Just because you can fit a tire on a rim doesn't mean it's a good idea, a 235 on a 7.5" rim and a 235 on a 8.5" rim will handle completly differently. (the 8.5 will give you crisper response).

Anyways, I could go on and on, but whatever.

I said large as in the size of the rim...not width...some larger brake setups require an 18" or larger rim to actually fit...I understand spoke design is what makes a caliper clear, but I'm talking about rotors...

Looks are a big part of car culture, but what's your point? I personally care more about performance which is who my sig is directed too - people who care about performance. If you just care about what looks good then why do you care what I think??


"#3. All the cars in your first post have 250-300bhp which is 200-250whp, that's what most people are running with KA-T/SR."

and if you notice most of those cars have narrower wheels than a lot of guys with aftermarket rims on a 240sx...and you can't compare an i6/v6 to a 4cylinder really...Yeah they might make the same power, but when you aren't boosting a ka24 or sr20 is basically just a little 4cylinder whereas a 2jz or vg30 is still producing more power even off boost, and the boost typically comes on earlier because they push out more exhaust due to more displacement. Just look at a dyno chart to see what I'm saying, maybe it's not a big difference, but it's enough of a difference...much like the difference between a tuned 600cc sportbike and a stock 1000cc...if you just look at peak power you don't get the full picture which is that a 1000cc is making nearly double the power near idle and normal cruising RPMs. That's all I'm trying to prove is that if larger cars, with larger engines can maintain proper traction while accelerating, braking, and turning then a smaller car, with a smaller engine should be able to do the same thing with slightly less rubber on the ground.

An 8.5" rim is fine, a little large imo, but still in the realm of normal sizes, above 9" seems a little overkill. If you want it then get it, but don't try to convince me you need it to make the car look good or perform well. I couldn't care if you are running 14x2" rims or 20x10" rims. If it looks good I might give you a thumbs up on a thread...I'm not going to take this argument and make it something personal.

But still.....look at any stocker style time attack cars. Unless its fwd hondas etc. No one supports your logic......and they all use a grippier tire on top of the added width.

this is coincidence with super streets cover......but anyways mines (very well known for streetable performance) uses 10.2 width(not wide body) on AWD setup........usually awd setups come with less width from factory because they are.....AWD. They have more grip accelerating regardless. You cant compare FR to AWD. You notice how once any of the cars you mentioned get any real power.....they get wider wheels/tires. Hell even the domestic boys do that. Or they opt for the sticky rubber which isnt very streetable on day to day basis. So they go wider and use the stickies for the right occasions.

Most big brake setups require 17's. Maybe an outstandingly huge setup would consider 18's. 6-pot on up. But who are we kidding with our 240's, you dont need that unless your very hardcore track only type.

And i dont know about where you live.....but 250-300 whp is way sub par around here. Thats way below average around me. 350-450+ is an average for the 4-banger guys(atleast the ones that have something to bring to the table). The I6, v8 boys are way up there.

I do see your point and am not "arguing" or calling you out in any way. I just said you mentioned it to me before about the handling aspect. Tires and suspension have a great deal in handling aspect to, which im sure if properly setup your wheels/tire combo will be plenty for what you plan on doing. I agree with the 16 inchers though, the r32 gtr wheels are absolutely great 16x8 with a +30 offset and they look good. I wish they would have fit around my brakes, but they were about a half inch to small to clear. So i had to get 17's.

Good discussion :popcorn:

You do make a few good points chuki, I don't live where you live so I have no idea what most cars are putting out for power. Around here though, most 240s have the normal bolt-ons (IHE) and that's about it so I'd say most 4cylinders are N/A unless they came from the factory as a turbo and they push between 150 and 250whp. There was one wingless s14 around here that was moded pretty heavily, pushing I believe over 350whp. If you plan on making lots of HP then definitely grab wide rims, but I still think a 9+" rim is a bit much considering what exotic cars are running and how much HP and TQ they have at such a low RPM, just look at their displacement.

The 18" wheels comment was about the exotics which need those massive rims to clear the brakes. The zonda has 20" rims lol, but I think that's more style than to clear the brakes since the fronts are 19". Though some of those cars have bigger brakes in the rear...so I dunno...but yeah 17" is usually all you need on a 240 to clear almost any brake setup besides something just for track use.

As for time attack, that's a bit different. You are talking about race tracks where you car about fractions of a second, I'll bet their suspension is also setup a lot different than any street car. I'll agree that AWD cars tend to have smaller tires all around because traction isn't as much of an issue.

If you enjoy big rims, then enjoy them. I love the looks of 18" rims on many cars, but I don't like to worry about bending them or curbing them. The price of tires and the weight also turn me off, but I love other 240s with them.

Oh and another relatively high offset wheel is from 90-96 300zx, something like +38 and they still look good on a 240sx. Not sure about the weight though.

yea something tells me what he means by low offset is something rediculous low where the dish is like 6+ inches. I do not like that style either.

I mean my new rims are 17x9.5 +35 rear and 17x8.5 +27 front. some would say thats wack and that i should of went even lower...... but I like a tasteful decent amount of dish, nothing outstandingly huge. Plus there are other elements to why i couldnt go any lower......mainly because anything after that is custom and adds even more money to the already high price tag. The offset offerd on the standard sizing was enough to suit my needs so why opt for alot higher price just for a little bit more dish?

yea you posted right before my last comment


i see your point and i do agree. But seriously, the street car time attackers may change there suspension a little due to track conditions etc. Not so much as what parts, just the settings (stiffness etc). But for the most part there daily driven style. AC/ radio/ somewhat of full interior etc.......thats the point. How well a tuned street car can actually handle on the course. Meaning for the most part over the counter parts and just good overall car setup.

i dont know if your on ka-t.org at all. But there is a hardcore style autocrosser on there building a ka-t car. He is using 18x12.5 rear wheels. Not saying because he does it, it has to be good. just saying he has a good background in autocrossing. I quote him here.

"As a bit of background of me, I'm a pretty hardcore autocrosser. In 2006, I won the SCCA Solo2 and ProSolo National Championships for the STS class in my 240. In 2005, I placed third in the National Championships in the Street Modified 2 class, driving a 475whp/475ft-lb Z06. For 2007, I am building up my 240 to run in the Street Modified class.

There are times in autocross, however briefly, where 100% of the power will be usable. In the Z06 I was lucky to spend 1-2 seconds out of 50 at full throttle. There were some runs where I could never use it! Smile While that is frustrating, it makes it that much more rewarding when you can put your foot to the floor."

I understand that on a smooth surface wider is usually better, but like I said time attack/autox is a little different than street. I don't mean the car is different, but more the purpose is different entirely. Sure the car has a full interior, but like a drag car they are made to make time and every 1/10 of a second counts. On the street a comprimise is usually made because you can't tell what the road surface or conditions will be.

I've heard of guys running ridiculously hard suspension with solid metal bushings and people using R-compound tires just to get to work, but that's not really necessary. Keeping the car on the road is important sure, but those modifications are more for driving at 10/10ths and making the absolute fastest car around a given road course, whereas on the street a slightly softer suspension, less grippy tires and poly/rubber bushings really isn't that much of a trade-off since at most you are probably driving at 8/10ths the cars limits.

That's all I'm saying...really massive tires may give you traction at the track, but the amount of traction 8" tires gives is more than adequate on the street since you aren't racing.

your rim choice isn't too bad...not what I would call low offset, pretty close to stock once you factor in the extra width...when I mention low offset I mean something like this:

http://www.j-spec.com.au/list/29-01-04/505473.jpg

look how far those things are sticking out

yea thats what i thought you ment. That looks disgusting lol.

but yea for the most part autox'ers are daily driven and driven to the event. But that explains the stiffness etc. Sure its not ideal for street use, hell any modification isn't ideal for street use as our car does fine the way it is. But i think with tire technology today, there are some pretty grippy daily driveable tires out there. Its really up to the person if he wants to ride super stiff day in and day out. i personally dont mind it all. Upgrading to performance parts and driving it is what the "hobby" is all about in my eyes.

http://www.j-spec.com.au/list/29-01-04/505473.jpg

that looks disgusting...

but this on the other hand
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v338/kidnrg/DSCN0003-2.jpg
18x9.5 +4/18x9.5 -4

Go big or go home

^
hella flush alert



i like i like

^
hella flush alert



i like i like


Basically,

R.W.240 and his boys build and track the nicest cars you would ever see

:popcorn:Soooo.....about those seats?:popcorn:?

Yeah the Ziptied guys have the best track cars.

:popcorn:Soooo.....about those seats?:popcorn:?


i got some s14 seats for sale, depends if the guy wants to pay for the shippin....



[email protected]

Thanks... I'm looking at a local set of S14 seats for $200.

Fascinating stuff about wheel sizes, huh? :popcorn: