DIY - Sparco Race Seat Install - Toyota Yaris Forums

Idjiit · 04-30-2006, 12:01 PM

Sorry I didn't do a full step-by-step on this one, but I was short on time. The procedure is fairly straight forward, but let me know if you've got any questions. For details on removing the stock seats and related info, go here: http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312

The Sparco brackets had to be raised a bit to get clearance over the slider bolts - this isn't absolutely necessary, but if you don't do it the seat will be about a half inch, maybe an inch off center (to the left of the steering column). I can afford the space, so I went ahead and did it "right".

This was done by removing the stock seat from the stock slider rails, and using the rails/seat base as the base for the Sparco. I used flat steel stock to create some cross-bracing. Steel L-stock was used to attach the receiving side of the seatbelt.

There's a couple caveats with this solution:

A) It's heavy. As noted earlier the stock setup is 37lbs - the Sparco setup is 34lbs. Not a big savings. This is a combination of things - the stock seat base is heavy, and the metal cross braces I used are quite heavy since I used the heaviest gauge steel I could find.
B) It's not very clean looking. Keep in mind that the seat in relation to the base is offset to the right about 3 inches, so with the narrow Sparco base it's inevitable that you're going to see all the hardware. A fixed base setup would look much cleaner.
C) Ideally 2 screws would be used for each side of the cross braces to increase strength, but this would most likely require welding, which is outside my skillset.

Underside, showing cross-braces:

Closeup of part of seatbelt sensor. Not sure if this is just detected whether the seatbelt is attached, or if it's also measuring weight on the steel (measuring difference in resistance in "empty" vs. "seated"? I'm not sure - I know the passenger side detects weight, I'm not sure about the driver's side):

The plug that attaches to the car itself:

Side view showing how far the slider mechanism protrudes. I could have had this further back by using a different set of screw on the slider rails, but it would have meant that I had more rail at the back protruding into the passenger area, which I need for the storage setup I have planned:

Belt L-bracket before painting - note that the seat at this point is moved forward on the rails. Normally the back of the L-bracket would be flush with the back of the seat base:

Detail of L-bracket, which is mounted underneath cross-braces. This corresponds with extra height on the left side, do to the slider-release mechanism, although it's a bit thicker than it should be, I may add washers to the other side later, but you certainly can't feel the difference:

Installed - note that the belt has been looped through the seat so it's taught against my belly (I'm 6', 140lbs - if you're bigger you may not need to do this):

Close Up of the exposed slider bracket. Sorry, no OEM look here...

From the Outside:

All told with this setup, I can go as low as 3 inches below stock. I currently have it at 2 1/2 inches, but I think I'll either tilt the front up slightly or bring the whole thing up 1/2 an inch. The unfortunate thing is that you're really limited by the angle of adjustment on the steering wheel. If you had it down 3 inches you'd really have to reach up to get to the steering wheel, which is a bit awkward.

riceboy · 04-30-2006, 06:51 PM

Looks good, too bad it's not cleaner, but like you said it'd be difficult with how things are setup... I'd love to see someone put these on: http://trdparts.jp/english/parts_seat.html

why? · 05-03-2006, 11:31 PM

Those look good as well, I wonder how much they weigh.

SophieSleeps · 05-24-2006, 11:36 PM

I dunno if I would just bolt those flat steel pieces in.
In an accident I don't think it'd hold up all that great.

How about welding in some supports?
Running the flat steel across the seat seems like over time it would warp. One of my friends modified his jeep seats in a similar fashion and he needs to take them out and bend them back every once in a while.

Idjiit · 05-25-2006, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SophieSleeps

I dunno if I would just bolt those flat steel pieces in.
In an accident I don't think it'd hold up all that great.

How about welding in some supports?
Running the flat steel across the seat seems like over time it would warp. One of my friends modified his jeep seats in a similar fashion and he needs to take them out and bend them back every once in a while.

Yeah, it's not ideal. I used extremely heavy gauge steel though, so I doubt it will bend. The big bummer is that it's quite heavy. This is a temporary solution until I can get a proper Sparco base/sliders.

A better roll-your-own solution would be using steel square stock. I didn't go that route since I wanted to get maximum height adjustibility, but in retrospect even using 3/4" stock would still give me the range I actually use.

ChinoCharles · 09-06-2006, 09:36 AM

Anyone want to take a crack at raising the amount of play in the steering wheel? One of the things I HATE about this car...

*Chris07LB* · 09-06-2006, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

Anyone want to take a crack at raising the amount of play in the steering wheel? One of the things I HATE about this car...

Your thinking is going to make work for me again. Hummmm..

Katana · 09-06-2006, 10:35 AM

Ιt looks great!

PetersRedYaris · 02-09-2007, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

Anyone want to take a crack at raising the amount of play in the steering wheel? One of the things I HATE about this car...

100% agreed, adjustment is needed!!!

spkrman · 02-09-2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PetersRedYaris

100% agreed, adjustment is needed!!!

x500...

i'd like for the wheel to be able to come out farther, oh well.

C2AUTOSPL · 02-10-2007, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spkrman

x500...

i'd like for the wheel to be able to come out farther, oh well.

Get and aftermarket steering wheel. Hub + QR Spacer + Nardi Sport Rally 350mm will extend the steering wheel atleast 3in.

Katana · 02-13-2007, 01:11 PM

The european version is fine.

Black Yaris · 02-13-2007, 06:41 PM

Wonder how hard it would be to get a European Colmn with tilt and telescope?

360cubes · 08-22-2007, 11:44 AM

Man. Sparco makes some nice seats. It's a shame my big rear end wouldn't fit in there!

Black Yaris · 08-22-2007, 11:53 AM

can someone get ahold of these?

http://trdparts.jp/english/parts_seat.html
72101-NP100 & 72102-NP100 Approx. 15mm lowering

DarkShadowFox · 08-14-2017, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Yaris

can someone get ahold of these?

http://trdparts.jp/english/parts_seat.html
72101-NP100 & 72102-NP100 Approx. 15mm lowering

404 error

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

SirDigby · 08-14-2017, 09:15 PM

^^^that was 10 years ago. he's probably dead...

04-30-2006, 12:01 PM	#1
Idjiit 5 Stars, Bitches Drives: Prius, Silver Yaris Liftback Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Holly Springs, NC Posts: 451	DIY - Sparco Race Seat Install Sorry I didn't do a full step-by-step on this one, but I was short on time. The procedure is fairly straight forward, but let me know if you've got any questions. For details on removing the stock seats and related info, go here: http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312 The Sparco brackets had to be raised a bit to get clearance over the slider bolts - this isn't absolutely necessary, but if you don't do it the seat will be about a half inch, maybe an inch off center (to the left of the steering column). I can afford the space, so I went ahead and did it "right". This was done by removing the stock seat from the stock slider rails, and using the rails/seat base as the base for the Sparco. I used flat steel stock to create some cross-bracing. Steel L-stock was used to attach the receiving side of the seatbelt. There's a couple caveats with this solution: A) It's heavy. As noted earlier the stock setup is 37lbs - the Sparco setup is 34lbs. Not a big savings. This is a combination of things - the stock seat base is heavy, and the metal cross braces I used are quite heavy since I used the heaviest gauge steel I could find. B) It's not very clean looking. Keep in mind that the seat in relation to the base is offset to the right about 3 inches, so with the narrow Sparco base it's inevitable that you're going to see all the hardware. A fixed base setup would look much cleaner. C) Ideally 2 screws would be used for each side of the cross braces to increase strength, but this would most likely require welding, which is outside my skillset. Underside, showing cross-braces: Closeup of part of seatbelt sensor. Not sure if this is just detected whether the seatbelt is attached, or if it's also measuring weight on the steel (measuring difference in resistance in "empty" vs. "seated"? I'm not sure - I know the passenger side detects weight, I'm not sure about the driver's side): The plug that attaches to the car itself: Side view showing how far the slider mechanism protrudes. I could have had this further back by using a different set of screw on the slider rails, but it would have meant that I had more rail at the back protruding into the passenger area, which I need for the storage setup I have planned: Belt L-bracket before painting - note that the seat at this point is moved forward on the rails. Normally the back of the L-bracket would be flush with the back of the seat base: Detail of L-bracket, which is mounted underneath cross-braces. This corresponds with extra height on the left side, do to the slider-release mechanism, although it's a bit thicker than it should be, I may add washers to the other side later, but you certainly can't feel the difference: Installed - note that the belt has been looped through the seat so it's taught against my belly (I'm 6', 140lbs - if you're bigger you may not need to do this): Close Up of the exposed slider bracket. Sorry, no OEM look here... From the Outside: All told with this setup, I can go as low as 3 inches below stock. I currently have it at 2 1/2 inches, but I think I'll either tilt the front up slightly or bring the whole thing up 1/2 an inch. The unfortunate thing is that you're really limited by the angle of adjustment on the steering wheel. If you had it down 3 inches you'd really have to reach up to get to the steering wheel, which is a bit awkward.

05-03-2006, 11:31 PM	#3
why? Only Happy When it Rains View User's Garage Drives: Yaris LB Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: harnett county NC Posts: 4,097	Those look good as well, I wonder how much they weigh. __________________ Colin Chapman disciple

09-06-2006, 10:35 AM	#8
Katana Drives: Yaris LB 1.3lt 06 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Under the hood! Posts: 1,124	Ιt looks great! __________________ It's not the ride, it's the rider!

02-13-2007, 01:11 PM	#12
Katana Drives: Yaris LB 1.3lt 06 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Under the hood! Posts: 1,124	The european version is fine. __________________ It's not the ride, it's the rider!

02-13-2007, 06:41 PM	#13
Black Yaris der Zeck View User's Garage Drives: '05 Audi A4 1.8t quattro Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Toledo, OH Posts: 5,231	Wonder how hard it would be to get a European Colmn with tilt and telescope? __________________

04-30-2006, 06:51 PM	#2
riceboy Drives: icebox Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: CAN Posts: 1,003	Looks good, too bad it's not cleaner, but like you said it'd be difficult with how things are setup... I'd love to see someone put these on: http://trdparts.jp/english/parts_seat.html

05-24-2006, 11:36 PM	#4
SophieSleeps Podiatrist Drives: Turbo IS300 Join Date: May 2006 Location: MA Posts: 83	I dunno if I would just bolt those flat steel pieces in. In an accident I don't think it'd hold up all that great. How about welding in some supports? Running the flat steel across the seat seems like over time it would warp. One of my friends modified his jeep seats in a similar fashion and he needs to take them out and bend them back every once in a while.

09-06-2006, 09:36 AM	#6
ChinoCharles Banned Drives: LB Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: OH Posts: 7,787	Anyone want to take a crack at raising the amount of play in the steering wheel? One of the things I HATE about this car...

08-22-2007, 11:44 AM	#14
360cubes Drives: 2000 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Ontario Posts: 82	Man. Sparco makes some nice seats. It's a shame my big rear end wouldn't fit in there!

08-22-2007, 11:53 AM	#15
Black Yaris der Zeck View User's Garage Drives: '05 Audi A4 1.8t quattro Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Toledo, OH Posts: 5,231	can someone get ahold of these? http://trdparts.jp/english/parts_seat.html 72101-NP100 & 72102-NP100 Approx. 15mm lowering __________________

08-14-2017, 09:15 PM	#17
SirDigby View User's Garage Drives: 2007 yaris 3 door Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,000	^^^that was 10 years ago. he's probably dead...

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