rhauri

So I took the plunge and bought the Corbeau Clubsport seats and I thought it may benefit those thinking about getting fixed back seats for their S2 for me to share my thoughts...

Throughout the below are images of the seats, for a higher-res image, just click on the pic which will open the FlickR album. There are also more pics in the FlickR album than shown below.

Which size seat did I go for?

After a visit to GSM Performance and a test fitting in their extensive showroom, I went for the XL (or Excel as it is on the website...) as the Standard size was just too pinchy around the hips. I'm a 33" waste and hips a little wider than that. I would thoroughly recommend a test fit if you can as I tried a load of seats whilst I was at GSM and found the I didn't like some which I thought looked good and were popular choices.

After trying a load of seats from all brands, I was both amazed and pleased to find that the Clubsport was amongst the most comfortable!

I took some key measurements of the two Clubsport size options, spacing for the hips as this will always be the pinch point when trying a fixed back seat, and the shoulder width as this is the key constraint when looking at seats for the S2000:




Driver side seat by rhaurim, on Flickr


Passenger side seat by rhaurim, on Flickr

How do they fit into the S2000?

As above, the shoulder wings are narrower on the XL than they are on the STD seat; 60cm for the Standard and 58cm for the XL. They rest a touch on the door, but thats fine by me as they do not prevent the door being closed one bit. They do foul the centre console a little bit, but as the backs are thin, you still have plenty of angle to open the centre door to gain access and even pop the boot release or open the secret compartment. And if you absolutely need to open the centre console fully, you can, as there is a bit of 'give' with the seats as they're GRP.

Also, seat belt clips... with the XL seat the standard S2000 clips will not do, the base is too wide and the angle of the bracket will not allow you to clip in.

I've bought Honda Civic seat belt clips which have longer brackets and the seat belt clip sits nicely between the transmission tunnel and the top of the seat. But now its pretty squeezed, the mechanism is a bit tight. I plan on cutting the seat away (underneath material) a little bit to allow enough room for the clip to operate freely.

You could try seat belt extenders but I personally don't think there is enough clearance with the XL seat. It is worth noting you're unlikely to have any seat belt clip issues with the Standard size seat as the base is a bit more narrow.


Driver seat with Honda Civic (EP3) seat belt clip by rhaurim, on Flickr


Passenger seat with standard S2000 seat belt clip by rhaurim, on Flickr


Driver side seat against transmission tunnel by rhaurim, on Flickr


Driver shoulder 'touching' door by rhaurim, on Flickr


Partially open glove box (rests on seats) by rhaurim, on Flickr

Worth noting that I am 5'11" with a 31" inseam and that is how far back I need the seat.

How is the seat height compared to MY04 OEM seats?

In terms of seat height, I have mounted them on the lowest rear mount and one mount up from the lowest on the front (for a nice amount of recline) and I have found I am sitting about 1 inch lower than OEM.

The cushions, though, are of decent padding so as a quick experiment I just whipped them out and sat in the seats and found it reduced my seat height by another inch which I found awesome. I've just ordered some thinner foam which I am going to use with supplied covers to hopefully achieve close to that 2 inch drop but retain as much comfort as possible.

If you want to retain the OEM seat height, you can just mount the seats higher using higher mounting holes on the M2 / Tegiwa / Buddy Club seat rails (I'd suggest one up from lowest on the rear, and two up from lowest on the front).


Outer shot by rhaurim, on Flickr

Which Rails to use?

I went for the M2 Side Mount rails as they are the identical rail to the Buddy Club & Tegiwa 'Super Low' rails with different stickers, except a hell of alot cheaper (at the time of purchase). I managed to get mine for £104 per side, Teg's best off was £112.50 per side and Buddy Clubs we all about the £150 mark so didn't even entertain those.

I do believe M2 have upped the price of their rails since though, so your cheapest option may now be Tegiwa's rails.

The reason I didn't try to fabricate mountings to use the Corbeau supplied rails is because the seat height would have been higher than OEM and I wanted to go lower.


M2 Seat Rail for S2000 by rhaurim, on Flickr

Overall thoughts?

In summary, the seats are incredibly comfortable, well made, very supportive in the corners and look great. They fit into the S2000 well enough for me and retained all the functionality I required:

• Slide seat forward and backwards
• Gain access to glove box
• Recline the seat to a comfortable level

Above all, they're so, so cheap compared to the equivalent seat from any other manufacturer, Corbeau have really nailed this. What's more, I've even sold the Rails & Mounts the Corbeau's come with for £50 on eBay, so these of seats actually cost me a grand total of £478 (including the M2 seat rails & Civic Seat belt clips) for the pair! You're looking at double that for most other seats.

I would most certainly recommend the Corbeau Clubsports & M2 Rails, and if getting the XL, get a Honda Civic (MY01 - MY05) seat belt clip for each seat. Just bear in mind with the Standard size seat, the shoulders are a touch wider so you may need to trim the door-side shoulder as per samg1988 in his Clubsport seat thread.

surfer_crx

They look really good especially for the price, think I'm going to have to treat myself. It's strange how the XL version is narrower at the shoulder than the regular one.

Are these full GRP shells? Is there no way of pinching the wings together?

I may just go for the XL versions andif there is too much room around the hips I can always pad it out. I'm miles away from anywhere that I could sit in and try one.

rhauri

They are full GRP shells, yes.

I guess you could pinch them together by riveting a pre-tensioned steel bar to the back, but with the XL I don't see the need to worry about it.

You really should go and test fit them. I did a 5 hour round trip just to have a sit in mine, and it was worth it. I ordered on the day too with GSM and it felt like a right special day!

Having a look on Google Maps, GMS Performance is only an hour away from Market Rasen: http://goo.gl/maps/UFRlH

I couldn't recommend a visit to their showroom enough as you can compare against a load of other seats and buy with confidence.

Gareth is really helpful and it was a pleasure doing business with him.

surfer_crx

If it was tubular steel frame the wings could be manipulated slightly but wouldn't be possible with GRP.

I didn't realise it was that close! decisions decisions.

flybikeslee

nice little write up that chap

rhauri

There is always a way

Get yaself down there, he's open on Saturdays but you need to call or email to make an appointment. He'll give you a 1 hour time slot and it's pretty much 1 to 1 service.

mantecosa

excellent write up!
ta

Matt Scarbro

Just trim the seat or door card to fit Pete, standard width will be so much better on track

V-esi

I had a standard one fitted to my s2000 and its a tight squeeze. The quality is fantastic for the money and definitely puts some of the more expensive brands to shame. You wouldn't think its a £180 seat! It's not tacky looking by scribbling a name across the front or adding lashes of colours to the sides. Overall a subtle well designed and well priced seat!

rhauri

You can actually get an individual seat for £160 now aswell!

But you're right V-esi, it's a great product.