Marrad Seats, anyone have these?

[lablu]

I'm contemplating getting a pair of these, not because I'm tall only 5'5" and medium build but because I like the p&p aspect and figure my passengers/instructors might appreciate the additional headroom.

I am interested in opinions as to how comfortable shorter people find these and if the fact that the shoulder harness holes have been raised over the original version cause any issues.

Or if anyone fairly close by might have these installed and would be so kind as to allow me to try them out and see for myself.

I am located in mid Missouri, thanks.

[Tkblazer]

I've thought about ordering a set..

[— Phatmiata —]

Link to photos??

[lablu]

Link to photos??

Let's see if this will work.
http://www.arizenracingsports.com/products.asp?cat=10

[— kung fu jesus —]

There are arguably cheaper and better options out there than those. Goodwin sells mounting kits for Sparco seats, Garagestar does as well, among others. An FIA rated seat is a known standard, I don't see the Marrad seats are rated. I also wouldn't buy a seat I had not personally sat in.

[— Phatmiata —]

agreed ^^

I would say get with Kenjo at www.GarageStar.com he makes the best fitting rails that meet all FIA standards for approved material thickness for racing seat rails. And he can probably find you a better seat like Bride, Sparco, Recaro, MOMO, etc

He owns an NA Miata, and an NC Miata, so you know he wants to make sure they will fit with his personal cars.

http://garagestar.com/blog/?product=...ata-seat-rails

[lablu]

There are arguably cheaper and better options out there than those. Goodwin sells mounting kits for Sparco seats, Garagestar does as well, among others. An FIA rated seat is a known standard, I don't see the Marrad seats are rated. I also wouldn't buy a seat I had not personally sat in.

You are correct there is no rating, one of the things that was holding me back, and not being able to sit in one is not ideal. Thanks for your input.

[lablu]

agreed ^^

I would say get with Kenjo at www.GarageStar.com he makes the best fitting rails that meet all FIA standards for approved material thickness for racing seat rails. And he can probably find you a better seat like Bride, Sparco, Recaro, MOMO, etc

He owns an NA Miata, and an NC Miata, so you know he wants to make sure they will fit with his personal cars.

http://garagestar.com/blog/?product=...ata-seat-rails

Thanks for the information, I will check out his offerings. The Marrad seats were showing up in most of my google searches and I liked some aspects of them.

[— Phatmiata —]

hook up with your local miata club and see what seats the autocross guys are using, and they will probably let you sit in their seats as well

[lablu]

I'll probably have to wait until I can get to a larger metro area, I've had contact with some guys that were trying to start a local club but their cars were all stock as far as I remember.

There are some positives but also some negatives to living in a rural area.

Those GarageStar rails look pretty nice, I will have to be more diligent in searching out offerings from the vendors on here.

[— kung fu jesus —]

If there are any racecourses near you, look up their proshop. Most have one on site. Then, look them up and see if they stock seats. Take pics and some notes when you go so you can compare your opinion with the brand/model's measurements. For your size, I would look at a Sparco Sprint. Not the most comfortable, but if it is just for motorsports, they don't come much cheaper in an FIA-approved seat. I saw a company in OK blowing them out for $250/ea brand new. Generally they are about $350-400/ea. Brackets are about 100-200 per side, depending on options.

[TimTim]

To add to the "budget friendly" certified seat options, I think OMP has a $3xx option that I hear fits the Miata and is FIA certified. I'm closest to VIR; their pro-shop carries and installs OMP. They seem to not get all the attention that Bride or Recaro do but you can usually see them in WRC, etc. http://www.ompracing.it/en_gb/about-us

I'm sorry I don't have more first-hand experience

[lablu]

Started out looking for adjustable back seats with more support for spirited dd and HPDE's, there's really no handle on passenger side to grab for support.

After some looking and researching I decided it might be better to get buckets with the correct openings for harnesses. I liked the idea of having sliders and from what I found the Marrad's were considered all day comfortable at least for taller drivers, and also seemed to work as dd. It is a 6+ hour drive to Hallett, and 3+ hour drive to Heartland in Topeka so will be wanting something comfortable and safe.

[BoBo]

I have the old Marrad seats, they are comfy & durable but like some people say there are cheaper & better alternatives. I'm glad I only paid $500 for the whole kit. It ended up becoming my cousins tv chair since I have no room for it in my place. From what I remember it gave me a lot of headroom for trackdays. I might get the leather version in the future, I miss the leather quality.

[KAL]

A friend here in Oslo has Marrad seats. Love the leather quality and the comfort is excellent. Pricey though!
I've had several OMP-seats (in my Peugeot-days). They all had very steep backs and high thigh "walls", not my first choice for daily driving, but excellent support.