Anyone tried the Corbeau Sportline seats? These came out somewhat recently.
http://corbeau.com/sportline.html
I've got a 98 M3 sedan. For the money, there's nothing better. I plan on keeping it for a long time. But the seats suck, terribly. And my lower back has been a problem for years, these aren't helping. My E36 is a sedan, so standard sport seats not the Vaders. No lumbar support at all. And the recline adjustment gear just broke, for a second time. Hate the seats, love the car.
I'm working on correcting some of the other issues causing my back pain (not car related), but I really want to do something about the seats too. I really don't need an FIA race seat, or a fixed back seat at all. This is a daily driver mostly, with a few autocrosses per year.
Corbeau Sportline RRB
Any experience with these, or suggestions to something else?
Spend the money and get the best seat you can... for me there is no substitute for a Recaro, they simply make the best ergonomic seats I have ever sat in. I have a bad lower back, and a Recaro is the only solution I've really found. To me it's a long term investment for my health - I've had some Corbeau's before and was not impressed with any of them. Price wise, the Recaro Sportster CS are only a few hundred more than those Corbeau's, but I'd bet they are a way better seat in every measure.
Recently put in a Recaro Sportster CS in my FR-S which is the special reclining/sport bucket hybrid that is even more comfortable than the Ergonomic Trend model. So much better than the stock FR-S seat - wish I could have done it when I first got the car, just recently able to put the funds together for it. You might be able to find a used optional BMW Recaro Sportster CS seat for a good price. And the driving feel with it mounted is much different than stock...even in the FR-S, switching out to the Sportster CS drivers seat is such dramatic change in how you are more connected to the chassis - you actually feel like you are melded directly to it and an integral part of the car, not disconnected from it like with the stock seat.
Seriously, if you value ergonomics and want to experience driving feel of the car like you never have before, find a place that has the Sportster CS in stock and just sit down in one. You will probably not want to have any other seat if it fits your body type... (I'm ~6'2", ~180lbs, ~34" inseam, 33-34" waist and the seat is absolutely perfect fit for me.)
Full cloth or 'Alcantara' center/leather outer is better than the full leather version to me for driving dynamics - red 'Alcantara'/black leather is what I went with. It's just crazy how so much more supportive these are than the stock FR-S seats, no more flopping all over the place!:
I was considering the Bride Stradia II's for the FR-S, but between the known ergonomics of Recaro and the really tight fitting nature of the Stradia II's, not to mention the Stradia II's being more expensive, I pretty much went with the Recaro Sportster CS. The Bride Stradia's would have dropped the seating lower than any other seat though, which I really wanted and need. I still need to figure out how to drop the Sportster CS even more... barely got any drop in seating position compared to the stock seat.
I'm with you on the stock E36 "comfort" seats. When I bought the chassis for the Fubarri, it came with those. The comfort thing is just a name.
I just picked up a pair of E36 BMW electric sport seats, black leather, great condition, for $175. I'm loving them.
It's not easy finding a set with undamaged bolsters on the left side of the driver's seat. But people sell the upholstery/cushion units on ebay cheap, so you can easily get a good one and pop it on the frame. Plenty of DIYs on the interweb.
You can also spend months hunting for a set of manual sport seats. But they only weigh about 15 pounds less than the electrics, so I didn't bother.
In reply to Vracer111:
Thanks for the detailed reply. The Recaro Sportster CS looks like a fantastic seat. Damn that's an expensive option though. The Corbeau Sportline seats are all around $500 each. I think the price you were looking at was for a pair (I guess that's how the Corbeau's are typically sold?). I can't find a corbeau dealer locally, but I have a trip next month and I just figured out a dealer is about 15 mins from where I'll be staying. I'll check out the Corbeau ones then, if not before.
Originally, I was looking for a pair of E46 sport seats in brown leather. Its not a perfect match for magma, but might be close enough. However, I'm not sure that'll get me any better lumbar support as people seem to have problems with those too.
I've been trying to research other seats today. Had a crazy thought today with possibly modifying a FX1 seat. They pop up for cheap occasionally, so that might be a cheap experiment. My thought was to try to add some memory foam inserts with better lumbar support.
I have a Corbeau in my '88 Mustang LX 5.0L, it's a used one and I'm not sure how old it is but it's great. Obviously much better than the stock 'Stang seats but still comfortable to use everyday. Best $250 I've spent on the car.
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Recaro Sportster CS are available in a few cars from the factory:
Lotus Evora
Renault Clio Sport
Subaru BRZ tS
But yeah, thought for some reason the Corbeau price was for a single seat (like you would think pricing would be)... For ~$500 it is an interesting seat, would definitely sit in and see what it is like, may be a good buy for that price.
I love mine, i got the 2 way adjustment option (reclines, and slides) with the mounts they sell for my s197. They are super comfortable, i put some serious seat time like 10hr drives without stopping when driving to college and they offer insane support. Usually my backs hurting by the 3rd hour and I wanna die by the 5th but these are great, sometimes no trouble the whole ride. Im 5'9 160lbs and they hug me nice right under my lats, hips, and thighs. They also seat pretty low, dropped me about 1in in ride height possibly more, if you're interested i can measure the height from floor, to mount, to seat. The vinyl is great quality and the stitching was all well done. Super easy to install and required no fabrication or trips to the hardware store. The levers on the seat to recline are plastic but they get the job done and aren't flimsy by any means.
