Lowering Stock Seats

[FlyinMSP]

How long does it take to do this? Do you have to unbolt everything first?

 

[Ryoga28]

Sub for pics and instructions/difficulty

 

[CustomMSP]

How long does it take to do this? Do you have to unbolt everything first?

This should only take a half hour at most. There are 4 bolts that hold the seat in place...two in the front and two in the back under the plastics that are on the edges of the rails in the front and in the back. Unclip the seatbelt wiring harness that's located underneath towards the front of the base. Be careful when taking the seat out of the car not to scratch anything. Once the seat is out from the car, flip it over and look towards the front of the base. You'll see the two L shaped brackets...one on each side. If you like you may grind down the little stopper that prevents the brackets from rotating 180degs. If not, you may force the brackets like I did over the stopper and it'll be fine as well. Once the brackets are rotated 180deg, just bolt them back in well making sure they are not loose or have the possibility of becoming loose. Place the seat back in the car and bolt it up as well. Make sure the seat is able to slide back and forth freely and that the base is still adjustable up and down.

 

[Pro5Lani]

Yeah, I figured out everything. Only problem was that stopper. I didn't want to take out the whole seat so I've been working on it with the seat still attached to the car. I don't have much room for me to pull out the seat in my garage. I'm just grinding it down. I wasn't able to force the bracket to go over that stopper. I didn't get to finish the job because I got hungry.


Time to eat!

 

[CustomMSP]

Yeah, I figured out everything. Only problem was that stopper. I didn't want to take out the whole seat so I've been working on it with the seat still attached to the car. I don't have much room for me to pull out the seat in my garage. I'm just grinding it down. I wasn't able to force the bracket to go over that stopper. I didn't get to finish the job because I got hungry.


Time to eat!

I would think that it'd be a much harder job with the seat in the car. good luck.

 

[FlyinMSP]

Thanx a lot for the clear explanation!
I'll try to do this asap as I've never liked the seating position and always felt as you well put it as sitting on a stool!

This should only take a half hour at most. There are 4 bolts that hold the seat in place...two in the front and two in the back under the plastics that are on the edges of the rails in the front and in the back. Be careful when taking the seat out of the car not to scratch anything. Once the seat is out from the car, flip it over and look towards the front of the base. You'll see the two L shaped brackets...one on each side. If you like you may grind down the little stopper that prevents the brackets from rotating 180degs. If not, you may force the brackets like I did over the stopper and it'll be fine as well. Once the brackets are rotated 180deg, just bolt them back in well making sure they are not loose or have the possibility of becoming loose. Place the seat back in the car and bolt it up as well. Make sure the seat is able to slide back and forth freely and that the base is still adjustable up and down.

 

[Ryoga28]

Just tried it an hour ago and I couldn't get one of the bolts off...it was really stuck. Too bad I don't have an impact driver.

 

[CustomMSP]

Use a breaker bar or a longer ratchet.

 

[Bartron8000]

how much height do you lose?

 

[flat_black]

About an inch and a half, or so, but it's actually enough to make the car MUCH more comfortable for those of us with extremely long torsos. =)

 

[DiS]

Seems like everyone is satisfied with info from Anatoly, hehe. I just came from his house and he did this mod to my seat. Man, what an icredible difference! Much better now. Anatoly, thanks for the help man!

P.S.
Anatoly, I still cant get over your clutch pedal! Man what a difference from a stock clutch.

 

[Pro5Lani]

I can't wait to get this done! I didn't get to continue because some things came up and I had to run a few errans. Or, I could get started on it now...it's only 10:50 p.m. I have lots of time .


Clutch pedal better than stock!? This interests me. What'd he do to it? SS clutch line?

 

[CustomMSP]

No problem DiS.

I do have a SS clutch line, but I also have the Spec stage 3 hybrid disk mated to the stock MSP pressure plate. The MSP pressure plate is much stiffer than any clutch I have ever tried. With the Spec disk the clutch travel became much smaller, only a few inches from disengaged to completely engaged. So what I did was lower the engagement point all the way to the floor, and I adjusted the clutch pedal stopper to a lower point as well. Therefore, my clutch only have a few inches of travel, and it grabs very low. This makes for very smooth and quick shifts.

 

[Pro5Lani]

No problem DiS.

I do have a SS clutch line, but I also have the Spec stage 3 hybrid disk mated to the stock MSP pressure plate. The MSP pressure plate is much stiffer than any clutch I have ever tried. With the Spec disk the clutch travel became much smaller, only a few inches from disengaged to completely engaged. So what I did was lower the engagement point all the way to the floor, and I adjusted the clutch pedal stopper to a lower point as well. Therefore, my clutch only have a few inches of travel, and it grabs very low. This makes for very smooth and quick shifts.

Wow, very nice. I was able to finish this lowering seat mod earlier this morning and it does feel different I must say. I do like it alot. But, now...after reading a previous post, I want a seat that I feel like I'm sitting in and not on. Still a good, easy, and free mod.

 

[CustomMSP]

Makes me wonder what kind of a person at Mazda thought that these seats are comfortable the way they are originally designed.

 

[Bartron8000]

Alright I just finished working on my seat. Not a bad mod at all. it does though sit me forward but i'm starting to get use to it.

 

[CustomMSP]

I think I know what our seats need...a longer base!! Man, even after 3 years of driving on it I still can't get used to it. Oh well, just need to save up for a better seat.

Later.

 

[DiS]

LoL Tolik! do I hear Sparco or do I hear Recaro?(peep)

 

[CustomMSP]

Just a few pictures of the modified brackets as a reference.

 

[Ryoga28]

Thanks for the Pics. I finally understand what I'm supposed to do.