Operation Storytime: Nobody Likes the Tuna Here
06-23-2015, 07:23 AM
#233
Registered User
Thread Starter
Bride Stradia Install
In May I ordered a Bride Stradia from Japan. I went through a guy named Jesse Streeter, he acts as a buyer mainly for Yahoo Auctions and other sites, but he is also able to buy from manufacturers. He was able to get me the seat at wholesale. They were backlogged so it took about a month and a half to get the seat made, and then it shipped in about 4 days from Japan.
Unboxing the seat
When I bought the seat I asked for the FRP version in black. Well apparently I ordered the carbon fiber version. Oops.
I only have one picture of it installed so far, I installed it yesterday.
Setup
Bride Stradia II Japan Edition, Super Aramid
Regular cushion
Initial impressions
As this is my first aftermarket seat, it's going to take some getting used to in order to get in and out of it.
I absolutely love how the seat looks. The color, stitching, carbon fiber, everything looks awesome on it. The seat really hugs you, and if I gain weight I doubt I'll be able to fit in it anymore! It seems to be made for a small Japanese man named Tachimishi.
I bought it with the regular cushion and I think I'm going to try and find the low max cushion. I bought the regular one because I thought it was going to have more padding in the butt area, but it's the same as low max. The difference between the two seat bottoms is the regular cushion has more cushion at the edge of the seat. For me, this pushes my knees up a bit so when I shift I have to push my thigh down a little bit into the cushion in order to fully engage the clutch. It isn't a deal breaker but I think if I had to sit in say, an hour or two of traffic it would get really annoying.
The install took awhile because my brother and I were figuring out what to do, which holes lined up to what, and the clearances on the seat were pretty tight to begin with between the seat and the rail. We were trying to get everything bolted up with the bottom cushion still installed but we took it out finally and everything bolted up a lot easier after that.
Would this work on my “stanced out” s2000?
I guess all seats work for a stanced ride but stancers typically don't run carbon fiber so I would say no.
Is it green?
No, it's more of a grey.
Cost vs. benefit
This is a tough one. An aftermarket seat isn't really necessary, so it's more of personal preference, and for the price of one Stradia you can have 2 recaros (depending on where you buy your Stradia, I bought mine direct so I saved a lot of coin doing it that way) so the cost vs. benefit is up to each individual.
Will it blend?
It comes apart fairly easily, but if you were to blend the whole piece you would need one of those industrial grinders they use in junkyards.
Who would you recommend it to?
Anyone who wants a bucket seat feel while still having a reclinable seat.
How would these work in a situation where I have to evade extremely pissed off cocaine dealers?
I have never had an aftermarket seat before, so keep that in mind. So far my impressions are the seat really holds you in, especially since it is so tight. This gives you more confidence in turns because you aren't sliding around or having to brace yourself, and it almost feels like you are more connected in a way. Because of this, you can feel more of what is going on in the car. Would a seat increase your laptime? Probably not. But you could do more laps with it. In terms of an evasion, you could evade for longer, which would help you in the long run.
In May I ordered a Bride Stradia from Japan. I went through a guy named Jesse Streeter, he acts as a buyer mainly for Yahoo Auctions and other sites, but he is also able to buy from manufacturers. He was able to get me the seat at wholesale. They were backlogged so it took about a month and a half to get the seat made, and then it shipped in about 4 days from Japan.
Unboxing the seat
When I bought the seat I asked for the FRP version in black. Well apparently I ordered the carbon fiber version. Oops.
I only have one picture of it installed so far, I installed it yesterday.
Setup
Bride Stradia II Japan Edition, Super Aramid
Regular cushion
Initial impressions
As this is my first aftermarket seat, it's going to take some getting used to in order to get in and out of it.
I absolutely love how the seat looks. The color, stitching, carbon fiber, everything looks awesome on it. The seat really hugs you, and if I gain weight I doubt I'll be able to fit in it anymore! It seems to be made for a small Japanese man named Tachimishi.
I bought it with the regular cushion and I think I'm going to try and find the low max cushion. I bought the regular one because I thought it was going to have more padding in the butt area, but it's the same as low max. The difference between the two seat bottoms is the regular cushion has more cushion at the edge of the seat. For me, this pushes my knees up a bit so when I shift I have to push my thigh down a little bit into the cushion in order to fully engage the clutch. It isn't a deal breaker but I think if I had to sit in say, an hour or two of traffic it would get really annoying.
The install took awhile because my brother and I were figuring out what to do, which holes lined up to what, and the clearances on the seat were pretty tight to begin with between the seat and the rail. We were trying to get everything bolted up with the bottom cushion still installed but we took it out finally and everything bolted up a lot easier after that.
Would this work on my “stanced out” s2000?
I guess all seats work for a stanced ride but stancers typically don't run carbon fiber so I would say no.
Is it green?
No, it's more of a grey.
Cost vs. benefit
This is a tough one. An aftermarket seat isn't really necessary, so it's more of personal preference, and for the price of one Stradia you can have 2 recaros (depending on where you buy your Stradia, I bought mine direct so I saved a lot of coin doing it that way) so the cost vs. benefit is up to each individual.
Will it blend?
It comes apart fairly easily, but if you were to blend the whole piece you would need one of those industrial grinders they use in junkyards.
Who would you recommend it to?
Anyone who wants a bucket seat feel while still having a reclinable seat.
How would these work in a situation where I have to evade extremely pissed off cocaine dealers?
I have never had an aftermarket seat before, so keep that in mind. So far my impressions are the seat really holds you in, especially since it is so tight. This gives you more confidence in turns because you aren't sliding around or having to brace yourself, and it almost feels like you are more connected in a way. Because of this, you can feel more of what is going on in the car. Would a seat increase your laptime? Probably not. But you could do more laps with it. In terms of an evasion, you could evade for longer, which would help you in the long run.
06-23-2015, 07:52 AM
#234
Registered User
Thread Starter
Last night as the sun was going down I broke out my new foam cannon made by Chemical Guys that I recently picked up. It doesn't require a pressure washer, and the spray is pretty pathetic to be honest, but it foams really well! I ran out of light while washing but I'm happy with how it worked out.
06-23-2015, 04:12 PM
#239
Seat looks great! Good to know Jesse Street seems to be a reliable source for parts directly from Japan. I am thinking about contacting him to see if he can get me decent prices on Endless pads.
06-23-2015, 06:14 PM
#240
Registered User
Thread Starter
He is an authorized dealer for a couple companies that I know of, he may be able to buy direct from Endless. Shoot him an email and he's very honest and upfront about his pricing. I'd definitely buy from him again!