Recaro Pole Position ABE fitting

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 12:12 pm

Morning guys.

After a failed visit to get my seats fitted this weekend, it seems a couple of things are holding the fitting back. The fitter pointed out the following:

Seat on Recaro sliders & Recaro side mounts will sit too close to the roof
There's nowhere on the Recaro side-mounts or sliders to mount the seat belt clip
There's nowhere on the Recaro side-mounts or sliders to anchor the seat belt
The seat-specific Recaro side mounts that were delivered don't actually fit the seats

So, anyone have a complete parts/kit list of what is required to fit Pole Position ABE seats into a Z4, so that I can use the standard 3-point belt that the ABE is designed for, or can recommend somewhere that can supply & fit the whole kit & caboodle properly?

Mister T · Post by **Mister T** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 2:48 pm

I haven't tried these, but the dimensions match (430mm width and ~295mm between the mounting points) and they're listed for E46 330Ci:

Bride Super seat rail XL Type G075XL(Right)
Bride Super seat rail XL Type G076XL(Left)

I use Bride seat rails in my track car with Sparco seats. They're top quality.

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 3:42 pm

Mister T wrote: ↑Mon Mar 05, 2018 2:48 pm I haven't tried these, but the dimensions match (430mm width and ~295mm between the mounting points) and they're listed for E46 330Ci:

Bride Super seat rail XL Type G075XL(Right)
Bride Super seat rail XL Type G076XL(Left)

I use Bride seat rails in my track car with Sparco seats. They're top quality.

Do you use the standard inertia belts with these, and if so, where does the seat-belt attach to?

Beedub · Post by **Beedub** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 3:44 pm

do a search for mach schnell or tuner , or CA, you need the floor mounts, seat belt reciprocal mount for each respective side... then you'll need a module for the passenger seat occupancy or the actual mat if possible to not get the light and dong .

maxman · Post by **maxman** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:07 pm

Mikey_boy fitted the seats to his z4m ,he did a write up,photoshop has blocked the photos.

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:49 pm

So, looks like in addition to the seats (swapping out the Recaro sliders & side-mounts), then I need:

2 x floor mounts (Macht Schnell/PSD/VAC)
2 x seat adapters / side mounts (Recaro/Macht Schnell/PSD/VAC)
2 x sliders (Recaro/VAC)
2 x seat belt receptacles (Macht Schnell/PSD)
1 x occupancy sensor bypass - or can I just keep the passenger seatbelt inserted

Looks like the only place I can get them all from in one go is VAC Motorsport for about $900 (plus tax, shipping, duty, etc.).

Beedub · Post by **Beedub** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:50 pm

yes the whole lot is mega money.

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 5:29 pm

Beedub wrote: ↑Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:50 pm yes the whole lot is mega money.

The money's not the issue (unless it becomes mega-money)...but I've got the issue of finding somewhere who'll fit owner supplied parts. I'd much rather have somewhere who's capable of buying & installing all the bits, so that if anything goes wrong I'm not on the hook for it.

RedUn · Post by **RedUn** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:21 pm

Don't bother with the sliders, bolt straight to the floor mounts, will save a couple of inches in height

Probably save a few quid too!

On previous cars I've gone straight to the floor, consider that and save on the mounts too? Once it's setup, why would you move it

Edit to add, do the seat belt mounts not unbolt from the original seats? (I've not actually looked)

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:11 pm

I wanted sliders as I do move the seat depending on the type of driving I’m doing - i.e. about 3” closer for track work than commuting - but also for a couple of other people I let drive my car. I have the normal seat on its lowest position and I don’t want to be any lower than that.

Passengers won’t really need anything other than a booster cushion, so could save a bit there.

I believe the seat belts bolt to a welded piece on the original runner/base, but would have to take a seat out to check. Although it looks like some people have bolted it directly to the sidemounts.

It’s this sort of thing that I don’t want to be second-guessing, an thus finding somewhere that will supply & fit everything, right-first-time.

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 4:37 pm

Jeesus!

How hard can it be to fit these things...I've got one quote to supply & fit (at almost £4k), and the fitting alone is being quoted at almost £1k!

Are base-mounted seats (Recaro Sportster CS) any simpler to install? Should I be looking at those instead?

Vanne · Post by **Vanne** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:13 pm

As bee said you need the stuff that he said.. you can't just bolt to the floor, unless you fab a piece that will off set the chairs. Easier to just buy the floor mounts.

1k for fitting and install isn't too bad, esp if you have to weld any sub or cross frames. You can easily do it yourself, but depending on what your time is worth, it will come out more expensive than the quoted 1k.

Not sure what the guy said about being too close to the roof?? Loosing the oem chairs and going aftermarket, even with sliders should easily gain you 2 inches.. (read more room)

I also only opted to have a slider on the drivers side, but only to save weight where it's not needed.

Enjoy, the install/build is very rewarding.

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:53 pm

I think I've decided to do it myself...and do the passenger seat first, so that I'm not stuck with an unusable car if I need to go out and get tools/bits/glue/fire extinguisher.

How hard can it be - after all it only took me 5 minutes to remove the seat last time I cleaned under there!

Will order the pieces I need (the Macht Schnell floor mounts and seat belt bracket) - although I've already ordered the Recaro seats/side mounts/sliders as I thought getting them all from the same place would be easiest. But I think the supplier has ordered side mounts for Pole Positions instead of Pole Position ABE (which are wider and use the XL sidemount).

I should be able to reuse the existing seat belt receptacle and pre-tensioner, as long as I connect it up correctly of course.

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:55 pm

Vanne wrote: ↑Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:13 pm1k for fitting and install isn't too bad, esp if you have to weld any sub or cross frames. You can easily do it yourself, but depending on what your time is worth, it will come out more expensive than the quoted 1k.

The £1k was a shock as the other installers have quoted 3-4 hours max at £50-£75/hour. The £1k place was quoting 8 hours minimum!

Beedub · Post by **Beedub** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 8:01 pm

mmm-five wrote: ↑Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:53 pm I think I've decided to do it myself...and do the passenger seat first, so that I'm not stuck with an unusable car if I need to go out and get tools/bits/glue/fire extinguisher.

How hard can it be - after all it only took me 5 minutes to remove the seat last time I cleaned under there!

Will order the pieces I need (the Macht Schnell floor mounts and seat belt bracket) - although I've already ordered the Recaro seats/side mounts/sliders as I thought getting them all from the same place would be easiest. But I think the supplier has ordered side mounts for Pole Positions instead of Pole Position ABE (which are wider and use the XL sidemount).

I should be able to reuse the existing seat belt receptacle and pre-tensioner, as long as I connect it up correctly of course.

Well done, no way is this worth a grand to fit, it will be a really enjoyable install, take your time, enjoy and of course please document as much as possible

GL

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