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… bottom locations to reduce the chances of the bolt tearing out one way or the other in an accident.
Additionally, washers were added to the side brackets for the same reasoning.
The seat belt receiver still had all of the OEM washers that were used originally, allowing the receiver to articulate as it would have from the factory. You can also see the wiring, which connects directly to the factory wiring for the original buckle receiver that was bolted to the center tunnel.Once the main four bolts are in place, that’s that. The seats slide just like normal and it’s like the Lotus seats could have come from the factory. With the Lotus seats in, I am lowered a pretty sizeable chunk and heel-toe shifting becomes easier as well. The girlfriend arguably fits even better than before and she finds the seats more comfortable than I do… of course that would be the case. The early seat belt buckles work in the later seat belt buckle receivers, but with a little additional force required to get the buckle to latch. The Lotus seats can swap side to side, so I put the passenger seat in the driver’s location, with the idea of that seat having less wear and tear from the previous owner.
Since the removal of the original seats was done a few months before the installation of the Elise seats, I wasn't sure how to do a proper comparison of the difference in seating height of the factory vs. Lotus seats. Luckily, we had a 1995 Miata sitting in the garage as well, so we pulled the OEM seat out of it and installed it in our 1993. Here you can that there's no way I would come close to passing the broom test with an OEM seat and not only that, my head is completely exposed to contact with the roll bar.
With the Elise seats, we see a significant reduction in overall height. Unfortunately, I am still too tall to pass the broom test and I am not exactly sure what steps to take next to overcome this issue. On the plus side, there is much more protection of my head from the roll bar, which my brainstem greatly appreciates.
Here is the weight of the OEM M Edition seat with all the brackets required for install.
2 comments
Hello, that looks really great. i need to get lower as well. I’m wondering if you could share your torso length, specifically when seated on the floo and legs extended our in front. How high is the top or you head off the floor. This would allow me to compare to myself. How much lower did the seat put you compared to stock?
Thank you
My torso length sitting as you requested is approx 39″. As far as the drop from stock… I don’t have the car anymore and I didn’t do a great before and after, but I’d guess 1-2″.