04-23-16: Got the driver side Marrad LX1 seat installed, didn't take very long but I had to run to get a nut for the seat belt to attach it to the seat. Other than that it was pretty simple because I only adjust the front from the second from the top hole to the third from the top hole(4 holes) but I left the rear on the lowest mounting hole(also 4 holes). The rear mounting holes were a little difficult to get to compared to the Elise seat but still not too difficult.
Here are some comparative pictures of the oem driver side '97M seat vs the Marrad LX1 seat:
And a picture showing how much of a dropped bottom the Marrad seat has which is comparable to the oem seat, so you couldn't get any lower even if you didn't use sliders.
Finally a few pics of the Marrad seat installed:
All I know is this is MUCH better than the Elise seat in every way, in my humble opinion. It is wider so can accommodate even my 42" waist and my legs measure 16" and the inner measurement before padding and covering is 16.25" so it is still tight at my legs BUT it doesn't dig into my leg/buttock muscle like the Elise seat.
I am confident that even someone much smaller than me, say a 28-30" waist, would still find the Marrad to hold them in place because while I "fit" in it I would not be able to remove the cushions to sit even lower....I'm too wide. The seat has a front leg cushion that you can remove then the butt cushion is actually two pieces so you can have more height adjustment(held together with Velcro).
Also I found the "flaws" and they were some minor scratches on the rear lower portion of the back of the seat....definitely nothing I am concerned with and I think it was a bargain getting $100 off the normal price. I'm sure Mark choice to do $100 off due to some seats have more significant flaws or more of them but either way, a good deal as far as I am concerned.
The ONLY complaint I have is it is cloth....I know most "race" seats are cloth but I can't stand the stuff because it just sucks up dirt, odor, etc. I ALMOST opted for the leather option but that would have been $500 option and I am pretty sure I could get it redone in leather cheaper than that.
As soon as I test fitted it I could tell that I sat lower than stock and the Elise seat. Again it has four holes front and back for height/recline adjustment so actual height will vary depending on where you set it and I may need to tweak it once I get a roll bar, depending on which one I get.
I don't have any actual seat time yet but I'm confident it is going to be exactly what I was looking for! If it works out I am hoping I can get my wife "on board" so I can get one for the passenger side. The only down side there is when my granddaughter is old enough for a booster seat it won't fit so I may end up just getting a NB2 seat. Long term plan would be to recover the seats in leather or pleather, we will see.