NB Miata competition seat for a tall driver- advice requested

First GRM post!

Long time autocrosser, first time Miata owner. I recently acquired an awesome NB Miata with the full FM II kit and then some. Seems like this car has all the right stuff and also came with 949 15X9 wheels and a set of Hoosiers ready to go.

Heres the thing, I'm 6' 3" and my hair touches both the soft and hard tops with the stock seat all the way back. Also there is a hard dog double hoop roll bar installed that has to go as it also makes contact with my head when the seat is fully reclined/all the way back.

Anyways, I have spent a bunch of time searching and would like some advice from those that have been there before me. I am 6'3" with a 34" inseam, 34" waist. Working on a faomectomy right now ( haven't started yet! ) as the first event of the season is next Sunday so hoping I can at least get in the car with a helmet and use the lap belt to shakedown the car. Ideally I'm looking for a bolt in solution, and hopefully with an FIA approved seat for future use at Hilliclims/track days.

So far I have found that both Planted and garage star make universal brackets, and that the contenders for seats seem to be:
- Marrad TS 2
- Ultra Shield Spec Miata
- Sparco Sprint
- Forza Sprint

I also would love to hear about a roll bar/cage that works for taller drivers and fits under a hardtop and or a harness bar so I can strap myself into whatever seat. 

Preference goes to an FIA approved seat which will open the doors for track days/ hillclimbs down the road although its not on the immediate horizon.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/feedback, hoping to hear others experiences and what seat/bracket combo they used that worked for them. Unfortunately not in a position to sit/try out any of the above mentioned seats so need to order and hope for the best based on research and feedback from those that have already been there.

Cheers!

I've not found the Marrads to be quite as low as claimed. The Ultrashield is probably going to be the winner, but Sparcos work okay.

What you really need to do is talk to a Spec Miata shop. I think they're actually lowering the floor now for the big guys. At the very least, you want to pull the rear seat mounting point or both the front and rear.

Roll bars all have the same problem if they're going to fit under the top. To be tall, they have to sit forward. To sit back, they have to be shorter. The Deuce you have now is quite short and quite a long way back, and it's already in your way.

The Sparco Sprint is a fairly narrow seat. The Cobra Monaco Pro is a similar seat but it’s a little wider. If you don’t care about how your seat looks or feels on the road, just get the Spec Miata seat. 

Keith Tanner said:

I've not found the Marrads to be quite as low as claimed. The Ultrashield is probably going to be the winner, but Sparcos work okay.

What you really need to do is talk to a Spec Miata shop. I think they're actually lowering the floor now for the big guys. At the very least, you want to pull the rear seat mounting point or both the front and rear.

Roll bars all have the same problem if they're going to fit under the top. To be tall, they have to sit forward. To sit back, they have to be shorter. The Deuce you have now is quite short and quite a long way back, and it's already in your way.

Thanks Keith,

Any shops come to mind on the west coast? Halfway through my foamectomy and have a significant improvement, but not enough to allow a helmet and have the top on comfortably. For fun I took the faom right out and sat on the seat pan.... its just about right which means whatever seat/bracket arrangement I use, it need to pretty much sit on the floor. Taking the foam from the seat back worked great and now with the seat all the way back I am too far back which no allows me to move the base a little forward and recline a little further.

Cheers!

Blackbird Fabworks is one of the bigger names on the West coast, but depending on your location, there's probably a shop nearby that has done Miata work if they do any roadrace fabrication.

The Marrad seats are not certified, so keep that in mind.

I'm with Keith that an Ultrashield or Kirkey mounted to the floor is probably your best bet, and you still may need to drop the floor to really fit.

I'm 6'2 and barely make it with an aluminum seat on the floor. That's the lowest you can go - flat metal on flat metal.

I suggest you try another car before buying stuff. You may need to drop the floor.

you are almost the same dimensions as me.  Below is the link to my NB miata Ultrashield install. 

Link: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/nb-miata-ultrashield-seat-install-and-trans-tunnel-notch-tall-driver-edition/125200/page1/

Overall, I am very happy with this setup.  

^ For the record,  a 15" seat will fit with just some banging on the tunnel.

Blaise said:

^ For the record,  a 15" seat will fit with just some banging on the tunnel.

Good point. Mine is a 17" in the install.  It is also bigger than I really need.  

I just wrestled with this however I am only around 6' I installed a kirkey intermediate roadrace 17" that I bought from Woody. The rollbar is a hard dog hardcore m1 hardtop (because I was yanking softtop and using hardtop only anyway I wanted the built in harness bar)

Measuring under my butt with a tailoring measuring tape I definitely could do a 16" without really squeezing, my old miata had Bride Veos 3s and they were tight but you could still squeeze in. (for reference I am 32/32 jean size)

I used a trackdog racing bracket but not the low one and I ended up with about 2 fingers width or so under a mop handle sitting on top of the rollbar/windscreen

It was also a PITA to fit, I had to adjust some bolt holes and actually bolt the seat in to get it to "pop" down because it was in contact with the rollbar, I think the easy solution is the autopower drop floor for tall guys, it is hard against the tunnel but I did not need to bang on it, however I probably could/should have to make it easier

Trackdog has a bracket that works with removing the lower humps in the rear however which will give 3/4inch more headroom the issue you are going to run into is the seat back vs the rollbar in terms of getting enough layback at least in my non expert opinion its always the thing that gets in the way and is immutable

Rodan said:

Blackbird Fabworks is one of the bigger names on the West coast, but depending on your location, there's probably a shop nearby that has done Miata work if they do any roadrace fabrication.

The Marrad seats are not certified, so keep that in mind.

I'm with Keith that an Ultrashield or Kirkey mounted to the floor is probably your best bet, and you still may need to drop the floor to really fit.

Blackbird isn’t a big shop, but Moti is well known in the Miata and local community. There are piles of Spec Miata shops on the West Coast and it’s a big area that runs from Canada to Mexico, so I don’t have a specific suggestion. 

NordicSaab said:

you are almost the same dimensions as me.  Below is the link to my NB miata Ultrashield install. 

Link: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/nb-miata-ultrashield-seat-install-and-trans-tunnel-notch-tall-driver-edition/125200/page1/

Overall, I am very happy with this setup.  

Thanks for that, I had read your thread and that put the spec Miata seat on my list. Do you know if that seat is FIA approved? Do you have plans to install a bar or cage and if so have you test fit any for your application? I was just on the Track dog Racing site and see that they also a custom Ultrashield seat -https://trackdogracing.com/TDR-RallySport.aspx

Thanks again to everyone that has replied this is a big help. I'm going to take some measurements tonight inside the car with the hardtop on to try and determine whether I need to actually consider the drop floor.

In reply to tripower4speed :

I plan to do a Hard Dog Ace with the double bars.  That way the tubes do not run down the back of the rear firewall.  

To my knowledge, no aluminum seat is FIA approved.  If you read most rule books any seat is acceptable providing it has a back support to the cage.  I think this is what most of the spec miata guys do.    

^^^ Strongly recommend against the HD Ace bar. It's too far back, too low, and too narrow. *especially since you're 6'4*. I run a Blackbird SD and I'd like it to be higher up, and I'm only 6'2.

Correct, no aluminum seat is approved. You need a PROPER brace like this, not like an I/O port brace, to support it. Yes I know this photo shows a composite seat.

I didn't realize the IOport brace or miatacage style braces dont count?

Blaise said:

^^^ Strongly recommend against the HD Ace bar. It's too far back, too low, and too narrow. *especially since you're 6'4*. I run a Blackbird SD and I'd like it to be higher up, and I'm only 6'2.

That takes us back to the fundamental limitations forced by the top. Doesn't matter who makes the bar, they're all constrained by the same dimensions. IIRC the Ace has very similar overall dimensions to the Deuce that's in the car in question, and neither one is tall enough to do much unless you're a professional miniature golfer.

Hard Dog will do an NA or NB version of the Transformer if you want. That lets you bolt on a TALL bar when you need it (top stays down) and run a low one when you don't. It's not cheap, but such is the cost of being able to see over the crowd.

Tillet seats seem pretty low. You can get them with zero padding to make them even lower. Like oversized kart seats.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

More great feedback, thanks guys- 

I talked to Track Dog today, and also Ultrashield and made a call to Advanced Autosports - https://www.advanced-autosports.com/collections/seat . It sounds to me like the best chance I have of fitting ion the car is with an aluminum seat and confirmed that none of them are FIA approved, apparently that's a Canadian thing....

The Track dog rally seat sounds like a good option as does the Spec Miata. The guy at Ultrashield asked me to fill out the online measurement form and call back tomorrow and suggested i talk with Dave Wheeler at Advanced Autosport. Dave wasn't there when I called, but the fella I talked to was really helpful and suggested I call back tomorrow when Dave was there and the will pul down some seats and have a few staff members that are similar in size sit in them and give some feedback!! Way better service than I ever expected, apparently these guys have 53 Miatas in the building and this is all they do. 

Keith Tanner said:

Blaise said:

^^^ Strongly recommend against the HD Ace bar. It's too far back, too low, and too narrow. *especially since you're 6'4*. I run a Blackbird SD and I'd like it to be higher up, and I'm only 6'2.

That takes us back to the fundamental limitations forced by the top. Doesn't matter who makes the bar, they're all constrained by the same dimensions. IIRC the Ace has very similar overall dimensions to the Deuce that's in the car in question, and neither one is tall enough to do much unless you're a professional miniature golfer.

Hard Dog will do an NA or NB version of the Transformer if you want. That lets you bolt on a TALL bar when you need it (top stays down) and run a low one when you don't. It's not cheap, but such is the cost of being able to see over the crowd.

You're right, we are constrained by the top. However, the Ace is an inch lower than the hard-top compatible bars. For me, that's the difference between having a bar that I'm comfortable with using or not. My car doesn't meet race standards (helmet 1" lower than bar) but with an Ace bar I'd have a bar that would be level with the top of my HEAD, not helmet.

Jaynen said:

I didn't realize the IOport brace or miatacage style braces dont count?

They do "count." They are legal. But no, that will not work in side impact, only a rearward one. Think about that structure with an applied side load.

Agreed on the Ace being too low. There’s a reason we don’t even list it on the FM site. 

Dave Wheeler is a great resource. His book on SM prep is worthwhile if you’re running a track car. 

So I ran my first event... Its alot different than my 911 thats for sure. Spun it on my first run and got that out of the way. The Miata has great power and is really a great autocross car and compared to the 911 is alot easier to drive and should be quicker once I get the hang of it. I completed my foamectomey, and removed the Hard Dog Deuce. I fit inside the car with my helmet on and the hardtop in place, so we are off to a good start. After the mod to the seat, I no longer need it all the way back, its actually a few inches forward and slightly reclined. Without my helmet im fairly comfortable with the hardtop on and my seating position is much imporved. I'm still thinking the Ultrashield Spec Miata, or Rally is the right seat choice and it will bring me even lower. Where im lost is what to do about a roll bar. A seat is no good without a harness, and apparantley a harness is not safe without a roll bar?

Took some measurements today for the Ace and M1...yeah right, helmet is like 2" higher then either. I sent a message to Black Bird Fab, couldnt find a website but hoping they will have something.