I've been searching the forums here in hopes of finding a viable solution for some replacement seats that will:

(a) Give me more headroom (I need about another inch)
(b) Be fairly easy to install (I'm mechanically inclined, and know how to work on cars, but don't have welding skills)
(c) Won't cost a fortune
(d) Are close in color to my '95 SC400's original interior

I haven't found the silver bullet yet. I've seen other tall folks (I'm 6'5") post about replacing seats, etc., and there are plenty of threads about replacement seats, but some are pretty old, and the products don't even exist any more. I've searched for a set of Supra TT seats, but that seems like searching for a unicorn these days. I asked my friend who's a district tech for Toyota, and he said he'd see if he could help me locate some, but they are hard to come by.

I've only owned this car for a little over a month, so I'm still learning about it's nuances, etc. Any guidance you folks can provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Mike

 

The Supra seats are your only bolt-in option. Other than that, you're left with buying aftermarket rails to bolt in something like a racing seat, or modifying the factory rails to build a base for some other existing seat you like. I went the latter route, with a RX8 driver's seat and '01-05 Celica passenger seat.

 

I'm fine with getting aftermarket rails and a racing seat. It's hard to tell which seats out there would give me enough headroom, and also be fairly comfortable. It's like buying a mattress without ever actually laying on it

If you have any racing seat suggestions, I'd appreciate the info.

Thanks!
Mike

 

Those 1993-1998 USDM (or 1992-2002 JDM) Supra MKIV seats are the only direct bolt-in option. They only need just a small amount of connector harness rewiring (covered many times here in the past) in order to get the seatbelt light, driver's side power forward-back and power driver's side tilt and even seat heater pads (if you choose to install them) working with the SC body connector.

They do sit lower like proper bucket seats and have good side bolstering. I'm not 6' 5" like you so I can't say if their lower position compared to the LS400-like stock SC seats will be enough improvement for you.

But given their rarity today, honestly my next go-to option if I were looking would be any high quality seat rail kit that will fit a set of Recaro, Bride or other quality seats with good side bolstering. Any aftermarket seats will probably sit you a bit lower than the Supra MKIV TT seats will.

Other folks have used S2000, RX8, Infiniti G37 IPL and (I think) last-gen Celica seats in their SC's. The rails for any of them were probably custom if not a modified off the shelf universal rail set.

...

As for interior color matching... what is your SC's interior color? You'll have an overall easier time matching or color blending if you have a black interior. Most Z30 Soarer owners in Japan have for years opted to install just one racing style bucket driver's seat while retaining their stock SC/Soarer cloth covered passenger seat. Most of those Soarers have factory tan, blue/spruce or gray interiors which means the aftermarket seat(s) always stick out and aren't matched.

You can always have an upholstery shop recover your seats. That's what I had done. My SC came with the common factory tan interior (and still has it) and I found a set of VERY ratty and worn out USDM Supra MKIV TT camel tan leather seats. They were more common to find and cheaper back then around 2011.

I bolted those in and wired them up and then had them completely redone at an upholstery shop with MKIV style patterns but custom manufactured in a shade of leather that we color matched to my original SC tan leather color. The result was very good but it did run me about $1,000 for the upholstery work alone.

You could have the same done with pretty much any aftermarket seats. If the plastic parts of those seats don't match you can always have them painted as close as possible to your chosen shade of leather.

 

KahnBB6 - Thanks for the detailed response. My interior is the typical tan color. I know a lot of folks like black, but I don't. As I mentioned, it doesn't have to be a direct bolt-in. If I need to get different rails, or find someone to do some metalwork, that's fine. I'm open to seats from other vehicles (Maxima, Celica, etc.), but I just don't know of a good way to gauge how much extra headroom I'll get. I was even wondering about some 911 seats. I recently sold my 911, and it had pretty decent (factory) seats, but I haven't researched what work would need to be done to fit them in. Also, the 911 has more headroom, even with a sunroof.

The Supra seats would be best, not just because they're a fit, but they also look like good seats, in general. I don't need racing seats, as I'm not going to track the car, but if I could find some reasonably priced that would meet my needs, that's an option.

Guess I just have to keep looking and researching.

If anybody has a tan set of Supra seats they want to sell, please let me know

Mike

 

Some people do not prefer the Supra MKIV seats, citing less comfort on long trips (specifically in the lumbar area). I have to disagree on the lumbar area criticism. Personally I found the SC seats lacking in that department even with the motorized adjustment for lumbar. The MKIV seats have always been comfortable for me as I'm under 6ft.

I have driven my SC cross-country coast to coast before three times with the MKIV seats installed. I did feel the need to take breaks every 2-3 hours of constant cruising while averaging anywhere between 350-600 miles in a day but this was not a normal circumstance. I think that any car with any low bucket seats would eventually require taking a break from driving every couple of hours.

In normal everyday use they are great and comfortable and the side bolstering is just right to hold you in during tight and sudden steering maneuvers. I also find them to be an excellent balance between everyday normal driving and tight and technical mountain road driving.

Aftermarket racing seats would probably be just a bit more aggressive to much more aggressive compared to the MKIV seats.

The MKIV seats are (or were due to increasing rarity now) an overall good option if you weren't racing your SC but they aren't the only good option out there.

...

One thing to note is that SC's and Soarers which are factory hardtops have a slight bit more headroom than the factory sunroof cars. Of course for the SC300/400's something like 95% of them were sold with factory sunroofs. The ratio of hardtops to sunroof cars is very different for Soarers. This won't help you but it's worth noting since those models have that as an advantage for tall owner-drivers that our SC's usually do not.

...

I think that by now you shouldn't have trouble finding good quality aftermarket seat rails for the MKIV/SC/Soarer application. It might be good to find out just how high those aftermarket rails sit before the seats are bolted onto them.

I'd search on both ClubLexus and SupraForums to see examples of what worked for owners who are similar in height to you.

If I hadn't gone with SC seats I would have probably looked into a set of new, used vintage or used OEM set of some seats made by Recaro. I just have always liked many of their seats over the years personally. Some of them are much more subtle than others. To each their own however.

...

Other things to note:

SC/Soarer factory seats are fully powered and electrically adjustable on both sides. They both have automatic roll-forward functions for rear passenger ingress and egress which is very nice.

Supra MKIV seats are only powered on the driver's side and then just forward and back and tilt. The other adjustments use manual dials. The passenger side MKIV seat is fully manual in adjustment with a manual forward-backward movement and locking bar.

If you were to seek out a set of JDM RHD Supra MKIV seats are exactly the same but with them what would be *our* LHD passenger side seat is the powered one while what would be *our* LHD driver's side seat is the fully manual one.

The SC/Soarer stock seats are very heavy. Our LHD driver's side SC seat is about 74lbs. In contrast the LHD Supra MKIV driver's side seat is only about 38lbs or so.

.....

Bottom line: certainly keep looking and don't rule out a set of tan MKIV seats if the leather is shot (I didn't). It's costly but you can always get that fixed by an upholstery shop.

However do take a look into the other tried and true OEM seats from other cars and a few aftermarket seats all of which have been demonstrated to fit well in an SC. For instance Honda S2000 seats were another quite popular option for SC's a few years back.

The SC seats sit high like LS400 seats so any of these bucket seat options will significantly improve your headroom situation at 6' 5". Legroom and steering column to comfortable hand placements on the steering wheel and gearshift would then be the last consideration but I think those factors have always worked out for tall drivers in these cars once a good seat has been fitted.

 

Mike,
i do not know if this will help so i cannot recommend it.
There is a How to on You tube "How to install RX8 seats in a SC300 SC400. There is some custom work that has to be done. Let us know and good kuck.

 

Thanks for all the great guidance and info! I'll keep researching and looking at different options. This was not an issue I expected to have with this vehicle. Live and learn, as they say

 

These look pretty decent for aftermarket seats. Anybody here have a set?

 

I'd take a sit in those before you pull the trigger on them. They had caught my eye as they're a cheap alternative and a good match to our interiors. However, I sat in a set of them and immediately was grateful I never purchased any. Take that with a grain of salt however - I'm 5'10" and about 170lbs - other people may be more comfortable in them for some reason.

 

Well... that doesn't sound good I thought Braum seats were supposed to be pretty good. Not sure where I could find a set to put my rear in and try them out.

 

I first bought MK4 Supra seats and they do sit considerably lower but I wanted fabric seats and my to my surprise I was unable to find new replacement cloth covers for the seats so I went with Recaro Speed Seats on Bride seat rails. The seats are very low and I did this research more than a year ago but I'm sure these rails got you as low as possible for any slide adjustable seat rail. Just be sure to pick your seat out before getting the rails. I ordered my rails from RHDJapan and the seats from Enjuku. The Speed S is more of a daily driver seat with a flat bottom, the Speed V would provide bolstering for your hips.
BRIDE Reclining Seat Super Seat Rail Subframe Type-RO Left - UZZ30 JZZ30 JZA80
P/N: T110RO (96908) | SKU: 96908 (RHDJapan)
BRIDE Reclining Seat Super Seat Rail Subframe Type-RO Right - UZZ30 JZZ30 JZA80
P/N: T109RO (97628) | SKU: 97628 (RHDJapan)
Recaro Speed S Seat - Black Avus/Black Avus w/White Logo SPF.00.000.AA11