Front Seats - who has what and are you happy?

[isuzurover]

As above, what seats do you have and how happy are you (especially for long distance touring).

The seats in the county are getting pretty tatty, and I think now is the time to change them. Trying to decide if I get them re-upholstered (sp?) or put in something sompletely different.

(and before anyone mentions them - SVX seats are well out of my price range).

[Blknight.aus]

pity your in perth...

If my next acquirement goes to plan I'll have a good pair of defender seats you could have had....

my old man (Greyknight.aus) might have a spare pair that if you ask him nice he might part with but they might be the bucket jobs as mum has trouble getting into them.

[JDNSW]

I replaced the foams in my standard seats* (courtesy Exmoor Trim), and found that they were quite comfortable for the trip to Perth and back a year ago. Just driven 430km today from Sydney, without feeling that the seats were any sort of a problem.

John

* The original foams had started to break up, making them quite uncomfortable. In addition, the base frame needed significant welding repairs in the process of replacing the foams.

[The ho har's]

Defender seats are as comphy as disco IMHO...............I have had two back operations and going to fender vynal from nice comphy leather disco seats I was a tad concerned............doing 12,600km approx in 6 weeks I have found the defender seats very comphy......so will not be upgrading any seats..hope this helps


mrs ho har:D

[isuzurover]

Thanks for the replies so far.

JD - I remember you did that. My foam is starting to deteriorate on one seat too. I recall they are quite expensive though? I also recall someone in the LROCB had their series seats redone locally, and foam was added to give them a profile like county/defender seats. Did you price up the cost of someone doing the same locally?

[rovercare]

Shame your not local Ben, I have 2 good knick county seats sitting here:D

[Corgie Carrier]

For a cheap alternative in my cruiser, I went to the wreckers and picked up a set of seats from a crx honda for $200. The have been in there for 9 years and are great.

Neale

[JDNSW]

Thanks for the replies so far.

JD - I remember you did that. My foam is starting to deteriorate on one seat too. I recall they are quite expensive though? I also recall someone in the LROCB had their series seats redone locally, and foam was added to give them a profile like county/defender seats. Did you price up the cost of someone doing the same locally?


No, I did not get a local price, although I have a "tame" upholsterer who has since then redone the seats in the 2a. The reason for this was that the foam on the 110/Defender seats is moulded into an odd shape, and I reckoned he would charge more than the cost of the new foams to do it, plus I wanted to do it myself, as the covering was still in good shape and I wanted to have a go since I would not need to do any sewing.

The cost was not all that high - total about thirty pounds for the pair from memory - what was high was the postage, about the same amount! I can't speak too highly of how good Exmoor Trim were though - they spent a considerable amount of time changing the packaging to get the minimum postage.

John

[I Love My Landy!]

My father put an early disco seat from a wreck in our County and it is much more comfy in my opinion! The seating position is a bit higher (i'm 6 foot and my head is about an inch from the drooping roof liner) but i'm not sure if that is due to the seat or the mounting my father made for it. I really like the high driving position as it improves visibility. My Dad also mounted the seat on two pivots at the rear so you can unclip the front and pivot it back to get to the compartment under the seat.

[JDNSW]

Corgie Carrier and EddyCortinaMan should be aware that replacement of seats (with different ones) requires engineering approval, which is likely to cost a lot more than the seats.

I am sure that Isuzurover knows this, although I am not certain it applies in WA.

John

[isuzurover]

Corgie Carrier and EddyCortinaMan should be aware that replacement of seats (with different ones) requires engineering approval, which is likely to cost a lot more than the seats.

I am sure that Isuzurover knows this, although I am not certain it applies in WA.

John

Certainly do. I have early Mitsubishi Lancer Sears in the IIA (with a QLD Mod Plate). They are VERY comfortable, but not the easiest to fit, and the lumbar support could be better.

The WA system is fairly similar WRT mods, only you need to apply IN WRITING, IN ADVANCE (only required to do that for major mods in QLD).

[1103.9TDI]

Ditto to JDSouth:), Exmoor Trim, I've always said the standard County seats are some of the best long distance seats I've had the pleasure, for both posture and comfort. If you go non standard, how will you get access to your batteries?.

[andrew e]

I have a pair of SAAS seats bought from repco a few years ago, they are very comfy, skinny, and same height as standard. If i was to do it again, i would either use the Examor foams or a pair of R32 GTR skyline seats (very very comfy).

To access the under seats, i have re-enforced the seat base with a frame made from 1/4" flatbar, and hinged the seats rearward, holding the front 2 screws down with wingnuts. I also have some battery cables curled up under the bonnet with Anderson plugs so i can access the battery remotely.

Andy

[isuzurover]

Thanks guys,

Looks like new foams (and possibly refurb kits?) from exmoor are the go. Only problem is that as of 1 October they have stopped selling retail!!!

[EchiDna]

not true... they created a new webpage as a shop:

www.trakkers.co.uk (http://www.trakkers.co.uk)

[isuzurover]

not true... they created a new webpage as a shop:

www.trakkers.co.uk (http://www.trakkers.co.uk)

Thanks, but this page says that Trakkers will only sell to the UK. Where to Buy (http://www.exmoortrim.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=30)

I was basing my comments on this:

From the 1st of October 2008 we will become 'trade only' which will enable us to run batch production and grow market share by working with a large number of trade outlets across the globe. We have already appointed a number of Key Distributors who will stock and promote our products; we shall publish shortly the outlets where you can source our products.

News (http://www.exmoortrim.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=34&Itemid=53)

Looks like I will have to buy from craddocks or Bearmach. Can anyone reccomend one over the other?

[JDNSW]

When I was dealing with them, they said they were looking for an Australian distributor - potentially could result in lower prices, but probably a very restricted range of products, although because of the high postage costs on single items compared with bulk shipping, prices may end up slightly lower.

Could be worth contacting them to see if they have found an Australian agent.

John

[andrew e]

If they are selling through bearmach, give Karcraft in silverwater sydney a ring, they sell alot on behalf of bearmach.

Andy

[EchiDna]

the only downside of bearmach is that they too are distributors, so you might be adding an extra layer or two of middlemen by buying through their network, which in turn might raise the price... Craddocks at least have their prices on their webpage, so you can see the costs (excluding shipping) directly.

[jbell110]

I've got stratos seats in my 130 very comfy, there from opp.lock
but were a little pricey.

Jeff