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Will I Miss Not Having Recaros?

Dpro

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#21
Lol I have sat in race karts few times. I can understand the snug comparison but you are sitting on ground in a kart vs sitting up high with legs going straight down like driving an old 80s conversion van lol.
Just saying, he also does have long legs so when he sat in Karts his legs went up and then down due to the shortness of the kart.

I do not know how talll you are and I am not trying to get into a pissing contest here lol. I was just stating obsevations. I think different people have different bodies and feel .

When i put my Recaros all the way down which is the lowest you can set them it does rake the seat back and make my legs go up some and then down. Its not how I would absolutely prefer but its not van seating like you describe above lol.

Bottom line here is you don’t like them some do. Where some who do may exaagerate their love. I think you also exaggerate your hate possibly. The 80’s van comment sure leans that way, Lol.

i am just calling it on your own statements above.

I think we can sum it up to try em, if you like them buy them if you don’t don’t.
 


Dpro

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#23
Couldn’t agree with you more with If like them buy them. Just wanted to make point they aren’t perfect for everyone and should compare both before buy.
Oh ya , I just went to one of the local dealers and measured from the floorpan to bottom seat pad top the stock Fiesta seat(same as in the base ST) and my Recaros and found something interesting.
At the back of the bottom seat pad on the Recaro the height from the flloor pan is 7.5 to 8 inches. This is pretty much the same hieght as the back of the bottom seat pad on the base seat.

Now I have discovered where the difference between the seat heights are. Its pretty much the fron this were the Recaro pad sits an inch and a half higher than the base seat pad.

Now over the weekend I saw a base seat bracket and I visually made note of the fact thats it’s shorter on the side than my Recaro seat brackets which have about 3-4 inch metal wise. I have taken pics of this as I see one could section down these bracket sides by about an inch and half thereby dropping the seat overall to roughly the same heigt as a base overall.

What you might lose in doing this in the reverse rake of the Recaro that positions you back in the seat a bit give;the fact that the bottom pad bolster in the center of the Recaro does no rise ad much as race seats.
I kinda see why Recaro did this. First was the position factor for how race seats position the overall body.

Second was the bracket is taller so the could create more ridigity due to the much larger side bolsters.which if th brackets were section downed be be reinforced with an extra strip of metal place welded in along the section seam.

Lot or work , possibly may be cool though considering pulling my seats and havong a good look with my buddy who welds for a living.
 


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paso robles
#24
It depends on the type of driving you are going to do. I had the base seats for about 2k miles before I swapped the for the recaros. I like to push my car in the corners and the base seats did not cut it for me. The base seats bolstering is very minimal, my old 2005 base civic coupe had more bolstering. I personally didn’t notice much difference in height between the 2 seats, both of them sat high in my opinion.
 


Plainrt

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#25
Yeah I took a look under my recaros when had and it seemed more complex than I wanted to deal with cutting up and welding back together. Have some fabrication skill but didn’t wanna attempt. Base seats are very flat compared to the angle on the Recaro bottoms. That’s what made my legs feel out of place with pedals. The base seats just gave me a more sporty driving feel minus the no bolsters lol. I just run harness for autocross and tuck under seat when not used. Would have been nice if could just bolt up another mount and slider to the recaros to lower.
 


Dpro

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#26
Yeah I took a look under my recaros when had and it seemed more complex than I wanted to deal with cutting up and welding back together. Have some fabrication skill but didn’t wanna attempt. Base seats are very flat compared to the angle on the Recaro bottoms. That’s what made my legs feel out of place with pedals. The base seats just gave me a more sporty driving feel minus the no bolsters lol. I just run harness for autocross and tuck under seat when not used. Would have been nice if could just bolt up another mount and slider to the recaros to lower.
Honestly that was the same feel I had with the stock seats. I too was hoping for the other mount and slider there is a company that actually did this for the RS Recaros . Who knows maybe I tey to figure out making a custom one.
 


majo

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#27
I had a FoST with Recaros before buying my FiST. At first, I really liked the Recaros for all the reasons others have already stated. As an endurance racer ( 24 H of Lemons, WRL, etc. ) used to track time in racing seats, I couldn't imagine buying a car like the FoST/FiST without Recaros. But after two years of owning the FoST, I loathed the Recaro seats. While initially the Recaros seemed comfortable and bolstered "just right", I eventually viewed them as uncomfortable and too confining as time went on. Especially on any trip over a couple of hours. ( I'm 6'1", 170lbs )

I sat in a FiST with Recaros, and thought "these are pretty sweet!", but remembered my experience with the FoST, and decided against them. I've had the FiST on the race track with the standard seats, and I didn't miss having bolstered seats in it. Just my .02, and as usual, your experience will most likely be different, but I most definitely will not miss having Recaros in my FiST.
 


Intuit

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#28
……………… Up here in Michigan, heated seats and mirrors are the only things I feel that I miss out on without the Recaro package.
Heated mirrors I miss. Heated seats aren't necessary unless you're setting on cold-ass (p)leather.

Fit and comfort I don't miss them for a second. I do however like the appearance.

Yes, they are quite pricey... which is okay if they don't break down and crack-up like normal leather seats... or have a light scratch eventually turn into a nasty split.

I'm not at all hard on seats but the quality of the textile seats appears to be good. So far I have no reason to doubt their durability.

There's a lever on the right side of the driver seatback that sets "lumbar" support. That's one thing I hate about a lot of other seats is they force you to sit hunchback. Unfortunately the headrests are still setup for humpbacks. But apparently those of us that ride "straight" back are more unusual.
 


A7xogg

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#29
EXACTLY my personal thoughts as well!
Everyone says, "well if you plan on open tracking/autocrossing you MUST GET the Recaros".
I totally disagree, as there ARE ways to hold yourself in the seat with the base set if that is a concern, or just put that saved $2000.00 (new) into a set of REAL seats, and screw the Joan Claybrook mandated exploding whoopee cushions in the factory Recaros.
(I also had a HORRID/co$tly experience with aftermarket Recaros, so I am NOT as blindly trusting of them having to be of 'top shelf quality/the epitome of ALL seats everywhere' as everyone else out there. [mad])



I ORDERED my car, and yes, impatiently WAITED for it, just to NOT have to take the usual fully loaded and marked up, dealer lot cars in black, which seems to be the ONLY way they ever offered/dealer ordered for stock in the FiST around here.
(I wanted the lowest cost, LIGHTEST, simplest FiST I could have from the factory! ;) )

I also ordered because I wanted the Pilot Sport AS/3s as well, since I hated the factory wheels anyway, (IF they offered the black 'Focus Rally'/EAP wheels instead as an option, they would have been the ONLY option I checked the box for), and planned on (and DID) get aftermarket summer wheels/tires, and full-on real winter wheels/tires. [wink]
After having both, you need support if you track/autox your car. The stock seats do not hold you in place at all which takes away from your concentration on trying to drive cause you're trying to hd yourself up. Yes you need to sit in both of them before you buy them. The recaros to me are more conformable than the base seats, but you have to sit in the right posture where the base seats you can sit in them away way and they will be comfortable. The recaros option is needed if you fit in them and drive hard in turns.yeah yeah #real track guys are gonna just put in any seat and harness anyway so why get the recaros? Because this is a street car that you can drive to the track, have a shit ton of fun, and drive home and literally don't have to do anything to the car.
 


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#30
I have had both. First fist had base seats for 75k miles. Was always happy with comfort and seating position etc. I wanted a new fist and wanted the recaros just so car was little different. First thing noticed and hated was how high recaros sat compared to base seats. They actually made me Hate driving my car. Yes they looked cool and held you in like crazy but it made me feel like was driving a mini van or something. Could never get in a good seating position. Traded them off for Base seats and fell back in love with driving it again. I just use a schroth harness for autocross. Ford screwed up on making the recaros so damn high.
Definitely agree with You!....European FiST has stock Recaros seats, and I've noticed how high are them.
Moreover, if I wanted to use the FiST only for track days, Recaros are too heavy…...my next option will be for a pair of OMP seats….lighter and more racing [:)]
 


M-Sport fan

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#31
After having both, you need support if you track/autox your car. The stock seats do not hold you in place at all which takes away from your concentration on trying to drive cause you're trying to hd yourself up. Yes you need to sit in both of them before you buy them. The recaros to me are more conformable than the base seats, but you have to sit in the right posture where the base seats you can sit in them away way and they will be comfortable. The recaros option is needed if you fit in them and drive hard in turns.yeah yeah #real track guys are gonna just put in any seat and harness anyway so why get the recaros? Because this is a street car that you can drive to the track, have a shit ton of fun, and drive home and literally don't have to do anything to the car.
The base seat's head rests end up knocking my cap off half the time when accelerating away from a light, even gently, so HOW TF do you wear a helmet with the Recaro's even MORE greatly angled forward head rests?!? [???:)]

Regardless of sacrificing the exploding pillows, IF I feel that I need more hard cornering support, I will get a set of REAL racing seats (or racing style recliners), and save some weight in the process as well. ;)
 


A7xogg

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#32
The base seat's head rests end up knocking my cap off half the time when accelerating away from a light, even gently, so HOW TF do you wear a helmet with the Recaro's even MORE greatly angled forward head rests?!? [???:)]

Regardless of sacrificing the exploding pillows, IF I feel that I need more hard cornering support, I will get a set of REAL racing seats (or racing style recliners), and save some weight in the process as well. ;)
sounds like you're wearing the wrong size hat? And lean the seat a little more back than you would normally do for regular driving. Ive done that in the last 7 cars ive tracked that havent had a full racing seat.
 


Plainrt

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#34
After having both, you need support if you track/autox your car. The stock seats do not hold you in place at all which takes away from your concentration on trying to drive cause you're trying to hd yourself up. Yes you need to sit in both of them before you buy them. The recaros to me are more conformable than the base seats, but you have to sit in the right posture where the base seats you can sit in them away way and they will be comfortable. The recaros option is needed if you fit in them and drive hard in turns.yeah yeah #real track guys are gonna just put in any seat and harness anyway so why get the recaros? Because this is a street car that you can drive to the track, have a shit ton of fun, and drive home and literally don't have to do anything to the car.

Schroth harness does wonders with base seats and can be had cheap enough. Holds you in even better than the recaros. Not one time during autocross or hpde events have I lost concentration on driving due to seating.
 


A7xogg

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#35
Schroth harness does wonders with base seats and can be had cheap enough. Holds you in even better than the recaros. Not one time during autocross or hpde events have I lost concentration on driving due to seating.
A great option if you cannot fit in the recaros or get comfortable in them. Though my non r compound tires cannot justify gettting a harness because i cant slide myself out of the seat. if i was a different shape or weighed more i could see myself sliding out of the recaros.
 


Dpro

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#36
A great option if you cannot fit in the recaros or get comfortable in them. Though my non r compound tires cannot justify gettting a harness because i cant slide myself out of the seat. if i was a different shape or weighed more i could see myself sliding out of the recaros.
Ya my Recaros hold me pretty damn well. Of course I am just hitting breakin mileage so the super spirited driving has barely just begun.
 


M-Sport fan

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#37
sounds like you're wearing the wrong size hat? And lean the seat a little more back than you would normally do for regular driving. Ive done that in the last 7 cars ive tracked that havent had a full racing seat.
Nope, fully correct flex fit size cap, it's just that the head rests in this car are so ridiculously angled forward, to the point that one cannot help but have their head pushed into it during driving.
Don't know if this is due to recent NHTSA regs, or just Ford's 'great idea', but yet another reason I like racing style, one piece type seat backs, with integrated head rests, over these funky separate ones. [mad]

I NEVER had a problem in the past with a racing style, recliner seat in both my GTI (Sparco) and Z28 (POS Recaro SPD) even while wearing a very large (almost a size 8) helmet, when I still did autocross.
 


PhoenixM3

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#38
Put it this way. YES. I’m in the middle of swapping my 2015’s Recaros into my wife’s base 2017 FiST prior to giving the car to my daughter. I’m also removing the AP, OCC, DHM race IC w/ crash bar, throttle body, etc... I’ll take the 3 year old Recaros over brand new base seats.
 


Jerickson88

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#39
I test drove with and without. Bought the basic model. To me, they didn’t fit well in the car. I’m sure I would have been happy either way, but I got a lower payment too.
 


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