Better seats for Puma

Has anyone experience of these seats or know of a decent alternative?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-RECLINING-BUCKET-CAR-SEATS-FOR-FORD-ESCORT-ORION-PUMA-RS-TURBO-XR3i-XR3-/351178981458?fits=Car+Make%3AFord%7CModel%3APuma&hash=item51c3e60052:g:FbMAAOSw9N1VmteW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm looking to find a relatively cheap replacement to the standard puma seats as I can't get 100% comfortable and they just aren't supportive enough when I'm enjoying the twisties. They aren't completely horrible but the only position I've found that doesn't lead to backache has me sitting too high, there just isn't any lumbar support with the seat's in their lowest position. I've thought about just replacing the drivers side as this would obviously be cheaper, maybe even a fixed back seat but I'm thinking it would probably look better if both front seats at least were matching. I've considered seat's from a Mitsubishi FTO but finding a decent set close to me is proving impossible and they do have a bad rep for deteriorating quite badly. I know these aren't going to be the greatest seat's in the world but they might be a bargain for the price and if they readdress the problems I have with the standard seats it would be money well spent

I have the Sparco R100 and find them perfect for how I use them. Looks the par aswell. A bit more expensive than the ones you described. You could also buy one good seat instead of two of lower quality.

Hello Brian

Yes you'd mentioned the Sparco's before, they do look good! Something like that would be out of my planned budget especially when taking the mounts into account but I could always look for good used seats to bring the cost in line. Can I ask if/how you integrated the pretensioner and the wiring harness under the drivers seat as there would be no getting away without having both of them in the uk as far as I can tell (but I stand to be corrected if that isn't the case)

You could of course simply fit Millenium seats, I find my so comfortable (or I did last time I drove the thing!!) much more so than the seats in my much newer Passat

Pretensioner is bolted to the side of the frame I made. Wiring is routed underneath the seat with a few tieraps.

You could of course simply fit millennium seats, I find my so comfortable (or I did last time I drove the thing!!) much more so than the seats in my much newer Passat

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Hello Zinc

I have considered the Millie seats but I've not seen any for sale since I've decided to definitely change. I've kinda set my heart on something really tight and grippy now, never had genuine sport's seats in a car although some have have been decent enough. If some come up before I make my mind up I will look into them though. Do you know if they are lower than the standard seats?

Brian' said:

Pretensioner is bolted to the side of the frame I made. Wiring is routed underneath the seat with a few tieraps.

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Ah I see, that's good then. I'm tempted by the Sparco you have but there some Autostyle seat's that are a good bit cheaper on Amazon then they are else where so I'm having a look at them as well. I get paid at the end of the week so will be ordering then, I'll let you know what I go with

Not sure if the Millenium seats are any lower than standard (I don't like low seats anyway) but they are so much more comfortable and certainly hold you in place quite well

zinc2000 said:

Not sure if the millennium seats are any lower than standard (I don't like low seats anyway) but they are so much more comfortable and certainly hold you in place quite well

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They certainly look the part compared to the standard seats. I had noticed there were a set on Gumtree quite close to me when I first bought the Puma but they were advertised as being in top condition and were cheaper than a set on Ebay by a decent amount so were snapped up quick sharp. I've just come from a car with leather seats though and feel like having cloth material again for a bit more grippyness. Leather is far easier to clean mind! I'm looking one of these at the moment which can be had for just over £200 delivered else where

http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/auto-style-type-bs5-sports-seat/prod_894.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It really is my type of thing looks wise

+1 for the millennium seats, they're brilliant and super comfy. love mine!

JoshMcD95 said:

+1 for the millennium seats, they're brilliant and super comfy. love mine!

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Yes they would appear to be the easiest answer but I'm a bit fussy and the only sets I can see for sale are on Ebay and both have damage to the drivers seat unfortunately. I'm guessing it's quite a common problem??

Just a tip, Don't buy a seat without testsitting in it. The seat might be too big or either too small for your body, Would be a shame if you buy a seat that doesn't really suit you.

Brian' said:

Just a tip, Don't buy a seat without testsitting in it. The seat might be too big or either too small for your body, Would be a shame if you buy a seat that doesn't really suit you.

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Yeah I know your right but it's going to be a bit of a ball ache as there doesn't seem to be anywhere near me with a large range to test

Just a quick update and a few questions

I've managed to get one of these brand new and delivered for a very cost low and enough to take a gamble on not seeing one in the flesh;

http://www.danyazwheels.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/S/S/SS_09G.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's an Autostyle Type B and it's bolt pattern dimensions are 405mm x 280mm according to a table on GSM Sport's Seats.

Plan A (once I've checked the bolt pattern dimensions are correct) is to purchase the subframe and runners below (along with top hat riser/risers) as they don't cost a fortune and as far as I can make out the subframe is the only reasonably priced item available which caters for seats with 405mm width patterns (unless anyone know's any different!?)

http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/omp-ford-puma-direct-fit-subframes/prod_2668.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/auto-style-seat-sliders/prod_762.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you read the description of the subframe it makes it clear that a Sparco leg bracket will be required which I'm guessing is just replicating a top hat riser and is more than likely the item below;

http://www.rallyshop.it/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30_28_365_381&products_id=27591" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My first question is a simple one. How many risers are there to each standard seat? The picture below suggests that there would only need to be one for a single seat or am I missing something?? I don't want to buy two if I only need one!

http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t326/FlashBastd/Puma/10-04-10004.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Plan B is to dismantled my drivers seat and leads to the second question which might be a bit harder to answer but here goes. Does anyone know if it is possible to strip the standard seat down to it's frame and reuse it? I know that people use the MK3.5 Fiesta frames but why not the Puma's? Using the existing frame would potentially a) save me £100 ish and b) be a lot less hassle as far as not having to refit the pretensioner etc is concerned. Does anyone know what the bolt pattern of the standard seat is and if it isn't 405mm realistically how hard would it be to adapt it so i can just plonk my new seat on top?

Any knowledge or info appreciated!

You only need one top hat riser per seat. And yes it is possible to remove the seat base from your old seat. It's actually pretty easy if you use this one as a guide, meaning that the seat is already centered in the car only struggle is to get the hight correct which shouldn't be that hard anyways.

Cheers again Brian

I'll look to into having the seat mounted onto the existing frame first then to save a little cash and hopefully reduce the amount of work required. I'm planning on using the drivers seat pad on the passenger side anyway as there is a patch on it that even though it's been repaired (darned) looks a little tatty so the rest of the drivers seat was going to be spare anyway. I'm not overly fussed about lowering the seat massively (I'm no where near to touching the roof). It would be nice to get a little more knee clearance under the wheel but it's far more important to have something to sit in rather than sitting on. I don't suppose you have any idea if the subframes will look roughly the same in design as the MK3.5 frames below or is it completely different? It's just that if they do I've already measured the centre distance between the two runners at 390mm so it shouldn't be too hard to get the extra 15mm required

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1351/1086074962_b9be509441_b.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Crikey, I've just had a look under the drivers seat and I can't see it ever ending up being the same as the MK3.5 runners to be honest!! Doesn't look like there are any flat area's which the top of the seat bolts down onto, there seems to be uprights instead. Would appear that using the existing seat frames is a non starter and it'll be more hassle and work than buying the aftermarket frames so it's back to plan A again!