Bucket seat prices

[gh0st]

Goodday everyone!

I have a question regarding bucket seats. I am looking for bucket seats for in my ae86 and I came across a great variety for all kinds of different prices.

Is a 100 to 200 euro bucket seat just as good as a 400 to 700 euro bucket seat , when it comes to quality, durability and comfort or are there huge differences?

Please let me know!

[Ivan141]

Cheap ones are often not much more than a bunch of metal pipe with some fabric around them, and very little foam.
I wouldnt go with real racing seats for a street car (I wouldnt get rid of the originals at all, but that's just me).
If you need more support or you're too big for the oem seats you could look out for more sporty seats like Recaro/Scheel/ASS,
those are really comfortable AND supporting. I have only got experience with cheap-ass racing seats personally so I dont know
what bucket seat would be more comfortable, I can just advise you not to order cheap shit off the internet and be aware just
how many knockoffs are being sold (I have 3 bucket seats in my possession, all are knockoffs, lucky I didnt pay for them as such).

[ps13michi]

If you want to go for bucket Seats go for some with the FIA Standard.

Like Ivan said the cheep ones are steel construction with fabric so if you are on a budget I would suggest Beltenick Seats. They are FIA standard and you get some real bucket seats for around 330 Euro - If you want to spend more you can go for OMP or Sparco and if you want to spend much money go for Recaro and for fancy CFK or Kevlar...

Also think about the seat rails. I have some Bride for bottom mount for the passenger they are super and also Bride for mei LHD drivers seat. They are good but with Recaro spg I´m in the limit with 182 cm. But there are different options like fix seat reals they go lower due to the missing rail to go front and back.

[r.ave]

Great advice so far allready.

There are however still steel framed bucket seats with FIA standard as well (Sparco sprint, Ltec Pro), but as Ivan already suggested, they are not the most comfortable ones, but they are cheap.
And there are several seats that would do the job without a FIA standard as it would be mainly for street driving. (QSP)
Another advice, don't buy online without testing the same seat in real life.
Go to a shop where they have a variety of brands and models and let them advice you.
As you need to sit tight and comfortable at the same time. The position of the holes where the shoulder belts go through need to be on the right place (deff not too low)
Some shops: Biesheuvel (Nieuwendijk), Autosportcompany (Waalwijk) or a little more close to you Hoogstra Autosport in Zuidwolde (They have beltenick)

Even though the AE86 lets people fit up to 1.90m (me) easily, with bucket seats its not the same.
I had a hard time finding a seatframe for the Left hand side that would fit a bucket for my size. Then you can't go low enough due to original mounting positions.
I'm not using a slider, otherwise the seat would have been higher and my head would have hit the ceiling.
I have a Recaro Pole Position fitted with a Nisuba seatframe (available at driftworks in the UK, but maybe it would be better if you buy directly from them in Spain as it saves you import taxes)

I still have a red East Bear seat available, you are free to come buy and testfit it. However, it's quite narrow and i did not fit in it (nor do I fit in Sparco seats as that's for small italians)

[gh0st]

Thanks everyone for the advice, it’s really helpful

[AlexKTM]

just mind if you want it top mount or side mount (side mount can go lower but might find problems regarding the bucket seat width)

and you will need the seat rails