Recaro vs standard seats - which are lighter weight?

[PunkST]

Maybe it's a goofy thought, and I haven't really looked closely at the inner door panels, but what about adding some sort of foam padding there and on the center console to reduce lateral hip movement during spirited driving? Doesn't happen often, but I have slid around from time to time

Best solution is to get a cg lock for your seat belt. Really cinch it tight and lock it in place. Another thing i did that helped me was to put 1/8 inch thick washers under the front seat rail bolt to tip the bottom of the seat a bit further.

 

[XR650R]

The FiST I test drove had the Recaros. I just didn't like them. Too committed. You can't move around as much.
Also, I just don't like leather anything. Got mine with the base seats, and I can sit in them for 10 hour hauls, and I'm fine.

If I was into autocrossing, it would be a different story, but I'm not.

 

[PunkST]

The FiST I test drove had the Recaros. I just didn't like them. Too committed. You can't move around as much.
Also, I just don't like leather anything. Got mine with the base seats, and I can sit in them for 10 hour hauls, and I'm fine.

If I was into autocrossing, it would be a different story, but I'm not.

I habe the opposite. Base seats didnt hold me well. So i ordered recaro (came from a car with a fixed back, lol) i can do 13 hour stints with no stops in them.

 

[Blindeye_03]

Ive had one ST with recaros and one without .. Im indifferent. I like the Fiesta recaros but I also like the base seats. Car condition is more important to me honestly but I also had a FoST with leather recaros and hated those.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Also, I just don't like leather anything. Got mine with the base seats, and I can sit in them for 10 hour hauls, and I'm fine.

With you on the hate of leather seating in a car, and yup, 10 hour trip up to, and back from Maine this past weekend in the base seats (not to mention all of the miles done once there, getting to/on/from the rally stage roads), and I got out of the car fresh, despite only getting 5 hours sleep before the haul.

 

[fliedlice]

I have a differing opinion. Both seats are better than most average street cars while heavier and less bolstered than any real race seat. The recaros are put in for looks, marketing, and maybe some negligible keeping you in place. I doubt in autoX which moves you body around the most that you will see people's times drop by having the recaros where as a real race seat you'll see some improvement as the drivers fights less to stay in place.

If the recaros (and all you get on that package) were a 500-1000 increase in price I would have paid for this package on my car, but I don't see the value in spending more, I can take the money saved and pay for two real seats and a harness bar and come out with a way better setup.

It's a personal decision on how you want to spend your money, but if the pure performance of the seat is really your priority I wouldn't fool yourself into thinking the recaros offer much help.

Maybe ur saying this because u took the plain seat option like I did & don't want 2 admit they're better. Recaro makes race seats. They're not gonna create a cheap crappy seat, put their name & reputation on the line for Ford. I took the Octane Academy classes. I could instantly tell the Recaros are the better option. They really hold u in and give u more confidence when cornering at speed or doing a braking 180⁰ turn. Had they offered the seats without all the other gimmicky crap, I would've bought them. If I find some in a wreck yard 4 cheap, damn right im getting them.

 

[Intuit]

Sat in both.

Ricky seats look very very nice! I can understand why people want them!

But were too uncomfortable. It's like they were molded to fit someone else. My shoulders were being pushed together and my crouch couldn't breathe between my thighs. 🤣

For $3,000 (heated seats + mirrors + ???) more I didn't want to risk the possibility that the discomfort wasn't a "break in" issue.
I've also seen how leather seats deteriorate in other vehicles and didn't want the prospect of dealing with that either.

Can't speak for my passengers* but I have no problem staying put in the stock seats.

I like a straight-back seat. One thing I HATE about ALL car seats is they design the head "rests" around a reclining position with no adjustment. I feel like they're turning me into the hunch back of Notre Dame every time I sit in one.

The lumbar lever makes the stock seats bearable. Without that the "hunchback" problem would be unbearable without some sort of insert.



* (just a few weeks ago I accidentally bumped a friend's head against the window turning the wheel in the parking lot 😬)

 

[M-Sport fan]

The only reason I have been hesitant to install a good aftermarket reclining race style/shaped seat (despite the greater bolster wear problems and having to drop yourself into, and lift yourself out of them every time into and out of the car) is the fear that the insurance companies would deny me medical coverage in the event of a catastrophic accident I survive, once they discover there were no air bags in said aftermarket seats.
(Same goes for an aftermarket, racing type steering wheel.)

They are so crooked at this point that they would most likely deny coverage even with full factory seats in which the air bags did not deploy due to NO fault of the owner/driver whatsoever (bags 'aged out', faulty connections, bad sensors, etc.).

IF I am going to have to pay that big coin penalty anyway, I'd rather have something which would hold me in place better than the factory Recaros do, and have a one piece back which at least resembles a true one piece, racing shell seat with no removable headrest, if I were unconcerned about the above.