Elise Seat Curtain Call

The most comfortable pieces of plastic you'll ever sit on.

The most comfortable pieces of plastic you'll ever sit on. - click for larger

Yes, the Elise Seats are back for a final (maybe?) appearance on the blog. I’ve done a small modification and I’ve wanted to post scans of the brackets. So…… here goes.

um… one item of business first!

Front seat bracket mod

Front seat bracket mod - click for larger

Before I post the bracket scans, a quick word about the mod. I sliced my 2″ tall front brackets in half and then bolted them back together. They were too tall and were giving the seat too much tilt. Now I have about a 1.25″ front seat bracket.

Old front bracket - click for larger

Old front bracket – click for larger

New front bracket - click for larger

New front bracket - click for larger

And that’s it. I bolted it together on both sides and then slotted the rear brackets to allow for the tilt. It’s a small change, but it makes a world of difference. The shoulders are more supportive. There is more knee room. My head touches the headrest sooner. And the seat-butt absorbs impact better! All this from a half inch reduction in tilt.

Onto the good stuff.

Outside Bracket - click to DOWNLOAD (pdf)

Outside Bracket - click to DOWNLOAD (pdf)

Inside bracket - click to DOWNLOAD (pdf)

Inside bracket - click to DOWNLOAD (pdf)

These are Illustrator overlays (inside and outside) of scanned bracket tracings. They’re in PDF format, so you should have no problem printing them. I included some test markings that you can measure to assure yourself they’re printed to the right scale.

As stated on the PDFs, these are intended for enthusiast use only. If you’re a corporation looking to use these to make money, come up with your own design.

Inside bracket detail - click for larger

Inside bracket detail - click for larger

and how the tracing lines up - click for larger

and how the tracing lines up - click for larger

As you can see, the inside has a slight bend to it. This is to get you closer to the transmission tunnel and more centered under the wheel. You’ll have to experiment with this. Or your fabricator will experiment. Whatever.

Inside bracket detail shot - click for larger

Inside bracket detail shot - click for larger

and how the tracing lines up - click for larger

and how the tracing lines up - click for larger

This side is flat, welded right to the edge of the rail. Not too much interesting going on here.

As for the passenger side, both brackets are flat. It’s less important for the passenger to be as close to the center tunnel as possible. Two flat brackets will work and the seat will mount just fine in the space.

Modified brackets installed - click for larger

Modified brackets installed - click for larger

It’s not quite as clean as the tall chunks of metal, but it does work much better. And I don’t think strength has been compromised much at all. The seat gets all of it’s strength from the rear mounting points. The front ones are just to locate it. (really, the front bolts are rather flimsy)

Two different seat back angles - click for larger

Two different seat back angles - click for larger

The passenger side has not yet been modified. As you can see, the different of angle is very slight. Maybe three degrees. But it’s enough. It makes me a happy Elise seat owner.

If anyone is unclear on anything, just post a comment. I’m pretty good about answering them.

Now go get yourself some Elise seats!

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  • GITA says:

    I’ve been looking all over for this!

    Thanks.

  • Adam says:

    I just picked up a set of Exige seats to throw in my Miata, thanks for writing this up and making it a bit easier on me! ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Cheers,

    Adam

    • revlimiter says:

      Excellent!!! Please link to pix somewhere after you install. I’m not sure anyone’s seen Exige seats inside a Miata before.

      I too want a set of Exige seats. But I kinda want them attached to an Exige… ๐Ÿ™‚

      • Adam says:

        Will do, the tracking number shows them arriving today so we will see what it is going to take to make them fit. ๐Ÿ˜‰ I too would like them attached to an Exige but alas I have this Miata that has been with me for a long time so no go on the Lotus for me!

      • revlimiter says:

        Oh, I’d not get rid of Sharka. I’d just give him another garage mate. Sadly, I need a 3rd garage bay before I can even consider this…

        Fitment should be fine. I think the dimensions are just the same except for the beefier headrest area. The shoulders should be the same width.

        Adam
        (like I’m talking to myself. ๐Ÿ˜€ )

  • Adam says:

    Hah, it’s the Adam & Adam show!

    I just unpacked the seats and put the driver seat in and it will be a sweet fit I think. They are really comfy too, I was really surprised!

    Here is a couple of links to some pics for you, the first one is a gallery of the project over the last 7 years (Yes this has been a 7 year build…) and the second has some other pics in there as well:

    http://www.miataclubmn.com/forum/index.php?action=gallery&g2_itemId=6544

    http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=24426&page=4

  • Pete says:

    This is great stuff! Thanks so much for such detailed information. I’m currently in search for Elise seats right now. The Boss Frog Roll Bar I just installed in my MSM and my 33 inseam long legs don’t mix very well. Hopefully I get some relief going this direction. Thanks again !!

    • revlimiter says:

      You’ll still want padding on that bar, but the Elise seats will really help you on your way to safety. If you need any more specifics than I’ve posted, just leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do…

  • Pete says:

    Adam,
    I’m looking at the Elise seats I just had delivered today. Are the brackets for the passenger side the same as the driver’s side except that the bend goes the opposite direction?
    In other words, the driver’s inside template is also going to be the inside template for the passenger side except that the bend goes the opposite direction. Right?
    Thanks!

    • revlimiter says:

      The passenger side bracket has no bend. It’s centered above the rail. The driver’s side has the bend to get you closer to the tranny tunnel and more centered under the wheel.

      So both passenger side brackets would be similar to the driver’s side outside.

      Keep in mind that the floor pan is different from the passenger side to the driver’s side. There’s different spacing. Also, the Elise seats are different from side to side, very slightly.

  • Nick says:

    Hey Adam! So, I just sort of wanted to ask your permission to somewhat use your design in a few brackets I’m designing and perchance distrubiting as well. I’m just going to make a few for forum members since I’m already cutting/desiging them at this time. I was considering doing a Jig so I can make more, but I’m not looking to profit off your work…

    http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php/topic,20342.0.html

    Here’s the thread I started on Mazda-speed. Main reason I’m asking is I had started making my own side brackets and then abandoned my from scratch design when I found your templates, which work wonderfully. You’ll notice my design is a bit different though.

    Thanks a bunch,
    Nick

  • Scott Fisher says:

    …So it’s not enough I constantly have to trip over the red Elise seat that Miq is prepping to go back in his Miata, I have to read about yours, too? ๐Ÿ™‚

    They really are gorgeous. And Miq’s has the advantage of being the same sort of greyed-out red that he already has in place in some other interior trim.

    Clearly I’m going to have to install the corset-laced black leather handbrake handle cover I’ve got sitting on the coffee table. Gotta have SOME bling, you know…

  • revlimiter says:

    Closing comments on this one for a while. For some reason, this post generates 5-50 spam posts per day. It’s caught by my filter, but still. I have to clean it out…

    Email me if you wanna talk about this post! adam at revlimiter dot net.

  • Hi Adam

    I don’t understand very well how is made your front bracket, is it made with two bars in “L” welded ?
    Have you the dimensions of this bracket ?

    Other question : wich angle give you at the bending of the inside driver bracket ?

    Thanks a lot for these precisions.

    Romain

    PS : Sorry for my poor english level, I’m french ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • revlimiter says:

      No, the front bracket was just a piece of square tubing. Or rather, rectangular (2″x1″) tubing. I sliced it in half and made it shorter.

      As for dimensions, it is simply as wide as the Elise seat. Once you have one, it becomes obvious.

      • Yรƒยคz says:

        Yes it’s true, I think I took the problem in the worst side…

        I want to make the brackets before buy my seats but I just see, the fix holes aren’t at the same position on the S1/S2 model…

        Thanks Adam for share your work… it’s difficult in Europe to find tutos for these modifications ๐Ÿ˜‰

  • Murat says:

    Hi Adam,
    Thanks a lot for the downloadable bracket design. I’m on Elise seat set #2 (had ’05 tan leather ones on my NA and now have a ’05 black/leather cloth on my MSM) and will soon move to bracket design #2 as well. My current brackets are welded onto stock sliders and have a 2″ front bar. The new one is going to be 1.25″ tall like yours to improve posture and will be bolted on two straps to gain some much needed extra headroom.
    Wonderful blog btw..!

    • revlimiter says:

      Excellent! Yeah, that 1-1.5″ incline really makes a big difference. I still have my passenger seat at the 2″ angle. I kinda need to address that… people complain. heh.

      No more sliders eh? That would be nice and LOW! I’ve been driving my mostly-stock NB for a while now since working on Sharka’s head gasket. On the first test drive I was amazed at how low I actually sit in those Elise seats. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • zealious says:

    So how much do these usually sell for used?

    A guide would be nice.

    Would it be safe to say around 1k for a set?

  • Sam says:

    Hi Adam,

    I’ve just acquired a pair of Elise seats and I’m planning on mounting them in my NB, so I have to fabricate the brackets. This post and the one with Change91’s design have been very helpful, but I have a doubt:

    I understand that the bend in the driver’s inside bracket is to have you in line with the steering wheel, ok, I want to do that, too. The thing I’m wondering is: does the front bracket also have off-center holes for the Elise seat screws? I’m guessing it does, because if not, you would be angled and not seating in a straight line, right?

    That’s my first question, and my second: As there’s a bend in the driver’s brackets to make you stay more centered, then the distance between the brackets is higher than in the passengers’ seat, where both brackets are straight. Am I correct? If so, how did you solve this? Because I’m thinking that one of the brackets is too wide or the other is too narrow. The only viable option is that the solder point is different in those two, but I can’t seem to see it in your pictures. Could you please guide me in this matter?

    Thanks Adam!

    • revlimiter says:

      Sorry, but I can’t answer your questions. I didn’t build the brackets, I paid a shop to make them. I just installed the seats in my car.

      The seats are straight. They seem to be the same height.

      You’re gonna have to work this out on your own. A lot of time has passed since I got my brackets made in 2009. I’ve not thought about their construction for a very long time.

  • Leave a Reply to Pete