Orange Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I have a little dilemma to put to the panel hoping that someone can offer some real world experience of different seats to go in a TC 90. I currently have a pair of Cobra Daytona 'fast road sports seats' in the truck, but they are proving a little uncomfortable. They were fine in the hard-top they were in previously, but as they are more upright in the TC they seem to push my shoulders forward into an uncomfortable position as if I'm hunched over the steering wheel. They also have quite high side bolsters and sit at quite an angle at the base, so are proving a little impractical to use. Placing spacers under the back mounting points is how I solved the angle problem in the HT, but if I do the same in the TC, my head rubs on the roof lining and that gets a bit annoying!! I am 6'4" first thing in the morning after a good sleep, so I'm not expecting Range Rover levels of space and comfort, but... I have my eyes on a few of alternatives, the only problem is I have no experience of them and wonder if others have: 1) used them. 2) tried them and excluded them as uncomfortable/impractical 3) come across any other examples that would suit. I know there are various retro-fits utilising Rover 220 turbo seats, or Peugeot 205 sports seats, but one of the main criteria is to retain relatively easy access to the battery box under the passenger seat. I can currently remove the passenger seat in under 2 minutes, but I really don't need any more practice. I would also like to make things easy for scrutineering at events and not have to remove the seat for the batteries to be inspected. AFAIK, this means that I am basically limited to the following from Exmoor Trim: 1) The Defender Elite: 2) The Trakker Modular seat: 3) The standard Defender seats: 4) The Le Mans Sport Seat: 5) The NAS spec seat: Here comes the difficult bit (well, for me, anyway)!! The truck will be used for competing, Green Laning and as a weekend runaround for a break from the Disco. I also need to consider that my wife occasionally joins in on the green laning side of things, so the seats need to be vaguely comfortable for her and her dodgy back. I would also like to be able to cover long distances in relative comfort (I know it's a Defender, hence the 'relative' bit ) and not get out at the other end feeling like I've just gone 5 rounds with Tyson!! So my general questions to the panel relate to comfort, useability, support whilst off roading, practicality and all that other softy stuff that I don't usually worry about!! Also, how does the NAS spec seat differ from a standard Defender seat?? Anyone with real world experience of the above? I know we've all had the standard defender seats, but I've never had 'new' ones, so have no useful experience of them if you know what I mean!! Thanks in advance.. Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I used to use RRC seats in mine but changed back to Defender seats a year or so ago. Mine look similar to the NAS spec seats above, I bought a set of new Britpart squabs, backs and head rests and bought a knackered set of seats of eblag as donors for the frame. I also bought a set of waterproof covers for them. Having used them on road and off road, including long distance, high speed runs over corrugated dirt roads in the outback I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for comfort. Pam even managed to drop off to sleep in them on the dirt roads - no mean feat when the corrugations are trying to shake the motor to pieces ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirkthe1 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 ive got the nas ones and have no complaints. im 6'3" and they feel ok. can say bout others though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madcowz Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I have standard seats in the front and found them a nice comfortable upgrade from my previous car (H reg Clio) and Exmoor trim High backs in the middle row which are rather nice as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wozza35 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Afriend of mine has just put some of the modulars in his truck ,he's 6'2" and reackons its the best thing hes ever done to his truck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Have driven in the standard Def seats, and modulars. Modulars have my preference. And looking at the pics, I think the NAS and standard Def seats are the same, except for the fabric. Now, when it comes to fabric, (...should you go the retrim route...), I can truly recommend the Outlast fabric. Really comfortable in a standard Def Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Thanks chaps. Much appreciated. Seems that this might be one area that LR did some research and actually came up with one of the best solutions themselves. Having looked around and done some asking about prices, no-one is willing to budge on the prices of the Exmoor Trim stuff, so it looks as if it's going to be a little too much to spend at the moment... I'll have to suffice with a bitsa for now and save a few pennies for next year!! I've posted a wanted ad if anyone has any seat runners etc. going begging... Cheers Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSIIA Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 If the Exmoor Trim stuff is a bit spendy at the moment, have you considered retrimming a pair of standard seats? I recently replaced the foams (bits came from Exmoor) in the seats of my '94 300Tdi. It was an easy job to do. The looks of the seats were greatly improved by spending a morning with an upholstery cleaner, getting ~295K miles of grime out of the fabric. The end result is back to the standard of when I bought the vehicle with <20K on the clock! Money and time well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 This is my secondary option, but having hunted for a while, I haven't found anything worth salvaging.....yet. Ebay is a useful tool, but things are expensive and are either uneconomically North of where I live, or there are fundamental bits missing/broken... One pair I have looked at went for £180 (reasonable condition bases and backs), but 2 of the 4 mounting points on each of the bases were broken off......that makes the nigh on useless and I'm not paying that sort of money for useless seats!! Hence my wanted ad. You may argue that it's an easy fix, but I can't weld and hate paying for things to be 'bodged' when I can wait a while and buy the complete item in the first place and save a load of b#ggering about. I'm quite happy to 'make do' with a set of std seats for now, but they need to be at a price that reflects the age and condition and that's just not happening at the moment!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwcooper Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Ive got a pair of citroen bx gti seats in mine, they are very comfy the bottom comes out so you can get at the battery and they have lumber supports too......They do seem to be a little thin on the ground though. Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 One pair I have looked at went for £180 (reasonable condition bases and backs), but 2 of the 4 mounting points on each of the bases were broken off......that makes the nigh on useless and I'm not paying that sort of money for useless seats!! Hence my wanted ad. You may argue that it's an easy fix, but I can't weld and hate paying for things to be 'bodged' when I can wait a while and buy the complete item in the first place and save a load of b#ggering about. No need to weld if your current frames are fine. The back rest separates from the frame by a simple oversized circlip. Take that off and you can be swapping mounting frames in no-time... Did this to facilitate the retrimming of a set of front seats on my Defender. Worked like a treat. And the back rests are usually OK, so if your base frame is OK, you can swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 As far as BX seats, Maidstone is close enough to France. Might be OK to pick up some BX seats from there. More plentiful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete3000 Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Why don't you have a look a trakkers website under the offer page, I have just bought a set of new old stock G4 seats in as new condition for £225 +vat which is the price of 1 new one normally. The remaining colour choice may not be huge but you can always put a set of canvas protectors on them. They have a set of techno cloth heated for £250 +vat. bearing in mind they offer free delivery at the mo and 15% vat the offer was too good to miss (and I couldn't be bothered to do all the extra graft) Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 Pete.....You are a diamond. Why couldn't they tell me that when I rang up to discuss things with them on Wednesday!! Sorted now. A pair of brand new take-out std Defender seats in Techno Trim will be with me on Monday!! Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete3000 Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 glad to be of help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Keir Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Have you got any pics of your old seats? ither in the landrover or out just want to see how they fit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted December 20, 2008 Author Share Posted December 20, 2008 I have, Keith, but they are on the camera that SWMBO has in her handbag currently!! She'll be back in a while, so I should get them up this evening... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Keir Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Cool thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted December 20, 2008 Author Share Posted December 20, 2008 Here you go, then... As you can see, they fit without any trouble (especially with the proper Cobra runners and the Exmoor Trim sub frames), but they don't suit me/my body shape in the TC. As I said, they were fine in the HT as I had a bulkhead removal bar and they could recline further. They will be for sale shortly if you are interested.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardAllen Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 Why don't you have a look a trakkers website under the offer page, I have just bought a set of new old stock G4 seats in as new condition for £225 +vat which is the price of 1 new one normally. The remaining colour choice may not be huge but you can always put a set of canvas protectors on them.They have a set of techno cloth heated for £250 +vat. bearing in mind they offer free delivery at the mo and 15% vat the offer was too good to miss (and I couldn't be bothered to do all the extra graft) Pete Pete, Brilliant tip. My daughters ( 2 and 4 mths) have just be bought me a pair of front seats for Christmas Merry Christmas All Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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