THSCC Forums

I found a real deal on racing seats through a link on miatanet, and I am pretty pleased with the results.

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=164748 lists success with fitting them in a Miata and has pics, and the price is right as well at $65. No, that's not a typo. And it's a recovered Cobra Monaco that is FIA certified.

Konig's seat page and Cobra specs.

I'm pretty pleased with the service and quick shipping (although the shipping is a bit high) -- ordered Thursday night, arrived Tuesday am.

Thanks to Ryan Holton for passing the above link on.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Wes -- are these seats really FIA approved? That price is crazy cheap!!! I am looking for a passenger seat for the protege that is FIA approved so I can start to do track days with it. This might just work for that.

I wonder about trusting a sub-$100 seat on track at speeds. :shrugs:

adamb

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Adam Breakey
Founder - www.autocrossforum.com
SS 75 Red(isfasterthanyellow) Z06

I'm not the first person to do the research on this, so credit goes to the creator of the miatanet page. Another link to the seat shows that it did go for more money here. The word on the street is that Konig is getting out of the tuner accessory market and is liquidating everything. Summit Racing still has the seat brackets available, but no longer list the seats.

I can confirm that the pics on miatanet that show the "COBRA" harness hole plastic thingies are intact on both shoulders and both hips. HMS Motorsports claims that the Monaco "Meets Current FIA 8855-1999 (CS.070.03)." Now here's the rub: without proper documentation, does the Rush meet FIA specs? My guess would be no in the eyes of the law, and there's no stamp on the seat anywhere that I can find. But is it really the real deal? I believe so.

If you're going to be doing racing where such a label is mandatory, then this isn't the way to go. If you're going to be putting around an airport or doing a DE, I wouldn't hesitate.

edit: I can confirm that the sticker on the bottom of the seat states that it was made by Cobra Supaform Ltd. Is that good enough for your sanctioning body, though?

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

The Monaco isn't FIA homologated. FIA rescinded their certification for those seats. These seats won't be either since not explicitly homologated.

If I had to guess, the problem is they are probably tube-frame construction. As a result, they most likely lack a back brace as delivered to the consumer and a standard one for an aluminum seat doesn't bring them up to spec (only a brace from the manufacturer would do so).

Here is the document from FIA:
http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/ ... _seats.pdf

As always, if you have a question about tech suitability of a modification for use in a THSCC HPDE or Time Trial, please contact one our staff directly.

Regards,
--Ashraf

Thanks, Asraf. I remembered discussion about the various Corbeaus but had forgotten that the Cobra was on that list too. Maybe that's why the label isn't there ...

It is a steel tube frame.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Ashraf.

Thanks for the information. I still wonder if this will work for HPDE's as equal protection for instructor. My current driver's seat is basically the Monaco (another knockoff brand of the same type).

For $60 it is hard not to jump on it. But, I want to make sure that my instructor will be safe, so I am debating. I was considering a Kirkey Alluminum seat, but that w/ a cover is a LOT more than this $70 seat.

thoughts?

adamb

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Adam Breakey
Founder - www.autocrossforum.com
SS 75 Red(isfasterthanyellow) Z06

Wes,

Do you have these in the Miata already? If so, I'd like to try it on this weekend. I think I want something better in the Miata for lateral support and at $65, you can't beat the price.

Todd

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

Another question Wes - do they work with 5/6 point harnesses?

adamb

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Adam Breakey
Founder - www.autocrossforum.com
SS 75 Red(isfasterthanyellow) Z06

Todd: you have a pm.

Adam: yes.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Adam,

My personal opinion (in terms of riding around on a track for a HPDE) is that I'd prefer to be in the Kirkey with a back-brace or something of that caliber if you can afford it. Scrimping on safety equipment is the last thing you want to do.

You would be "equal" in this case but a tech inspection would be the final authority in the manner. We would want to ensure that the seat has been mounted correctly (if not, Chris Schimmel can fix you up and would be a good person to take care of any deficiencies in the car). The thing to think about in your car with those seats is what would happen if you were to have an impact in the rear of the car. Things could get ugly in a sedan with a rollbar behind you and no rearward support for the seat (why those seats most likely failed FIA homologation - lack of back-brace support).

Regards,
--Ashraf

Ashraf

thanks --- I am actually dropping my car off at Chris' place this week. He is making a few mods to the cage to accomodate the passenger seat as the car is currently set up for SSC racing.

adamb

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Adam Breakey
Founder - www.autocrossforum.com
SS 75 Red(isfasterthanyellow) Z06

I have a set of these in my Z-24 and they are comfortable. I have back braces so I'm legal too.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

Those prices can not POSSIBLY be correct. $52?!?!?!? Aren't they missing a zero on the end?

I keep coming back to the old saying: "New, cheap, good. Pick 2"

This seems way too good to be true.

I thought so too until I saw the "COBRA" emblem on the seatbelt grommets with my own 2 eyes.

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

You realize, that doesn't necessarily mean you're getting a "cobra" seat. The supplier could just be selling those grommets to more than one seat manufacturer.

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In need of car.