Recaro Pole position ABE fitment.

[whopwop]

Hi all and thanks in advance.
Has anyone fitted the Recaro Pole position ABE in their ZM?
I have been speaking with Burkhart in Germany and they believe that they may not fit.

Anyone experience with the ABE specifically as they are slightly wider than the FIA versions...

Thanks again.

M

 

[mmm-five]

I wanted Tillets, but didn't want to pay almost twice as much as I would for the Recaros.

Even kept my eye out for any deals on BMW Performance seats (Recaro Sportster CS), but ultimately had no use for recliners, so the added expense (at least double) wasn't worth it.

Anyway, the Pole Position and ABE do fit*

*depending how you fit them (i.e. with or without sliders, with or without low-profile mounts, position of seat when fitted, etc.) you may see the outside shoulder/ears touching the top of the door card.

I've had them in mine for a few years, and over 20,000 miles.

Mine are fitted as low as they can go (with the exception of removing the sliders and thick floor mount) and that's why the shoulder/ears touch my door trim. You can see an impression where they touch, but there's no scraping or tearing to the leather door trim.

An inch higher and it would clear it totally.



The only bit where the ABE is wider is the outer seat base, which gives you 20mm more width (like an XL seat).



I've got them in mine.

 

[whopwop]

Hi mmm
That’s excellent information, very much appreciated
Mark

 

[mmm-five]

Meant to add...

Don't buy the seats unless you've tried them, as different seats/manufacturers (especially fixed buckets) fit differently.

I was looking at a nice Cobra one at the Nurburgring but found the hips were too tight for me, same went for a Sabelt and OMP one.

In the end the two that were most comfortable for me were the Recaro Pole Position (both FIA & ABE) and the Recaro Speed. Didn't try the 'full on' race buckets/shells as they were a bit extreme...and you can't use seats with pronounced/wrap-around 'ears' on public days at the 'Ring.

 

[whopwop]

Hi mmm
Thanks
Yes I had the FIA’s fitted in a CSL A few years back and found them just a little tight, hence I want the ABE.

 

[Wursle]

Just to revive an old thread but I’ve come back to this many times to make sure I got the result I desired.

I have just made a video on installing the Recaro Pole Position ABE into my Z4 Coupe with the Adjustable Gosling Racing Seat Mounts.

In my opinion this offers the lowest adjustable seat option that is next to identical in height as solid mounts.

Z4 Coupe E86 Recaro Pole Position ABE + Gosling Racing Adjustable Seat Mounts Install & Review
https://youtu.be/rlwHzfn_b-M

 

[SGRG]

Hi @Wursle,

Saw your youtube video, which was very helpful. I also recently installed Recaro PP ABE in my zed. I am using the following:
1. Planted Technology BMW Z4 Roadster Seat Bracket
2. Recaro Steel Side Mounts for Pole Position ABE
3. Endurance Motorsport Recaro Compatible Runner Kit

The problem I have is that the seat is way too high. I like it lower to the ground. I am 5ft 10 so not super tall but the current combination is just too high for me. It would be interesting to see yours and others that have PP installed (@mmm-five, @Ed Doe), so I can swap out some of the above parts to get lower.




Thanks

 

[Ed Doe]

Sorry I'm not a lot of help on the PP side of things - my car used to have PPs fitted, but at some point prior to my ownership they were swapped out for Tilletts...!

Pic of the Tilletts if it helps at all... I think it's tillet side mounts fitted to Recaro Sliders but not honestly sure. If anyone needs the info I'm sure I can have a dig around and find out, but given this thread is about PPs I guess it's not strictly relevant!! One thing I will say; the Tilletts allow you to sit absolutely on the floor - I'm not even on the lowest settings and it's way lower than standard!

 

[SGRG]

Sorry I'm not a lot of help on the PP side of things - my car used to have PPs fitted, but at some point prior to my ownership they were swapped out for Tilletts...!

Pic of the Tilletts if it helps at all... I think it's tillet side mounts fitted to Recaro Sliders but not honestly sure. If anyone needs the info I'm sure I can have a dig around and find out, but given this thread is about PPs I guess it's not strictly relevant!! One thing I will say; the Tilletts allow you to sit absolutely on the floor - I'm not even on the lowest settings and it's way lower than standard!

View attachment 284207

Ah, sorry @Ed Doe not sure why I thought you had Recaros on. I have searched the forum as well. I see a few different combos, but I wanted to hear from the owners, as it's hard to tell how low or high from the pictures.

 

[3002 tii]

As others have said, they definitely fit but I’ll just echo couple things.

1. If you think there’s a non-zero chance you may want to run harnesses down the road, you definitely want to try them out in person and pay attention to the harness holes. For most drivers the angle of the shoulder harness will be incorrect as they sit too low. Additionally, do yourself a favor and add the brackets now. Once the seats go in, you’re not going to ever want to have to pull them out again.

2. The key to clearing the door cards is (a) getting the seat as close to trans tunnel and (b) have enough vertical clearance so the wings sit above the widest part of the door card. This can be achieved by using the higher setting on the side mount and / or stacking the mounts with other accessories such as seat sliders, harness brackets, etc. Of course you then have the issue with the seat being too high, offering little head clearance.

3. Whatever seat you go with, do use proper proper hardware. Go grade 10.9 and be sure to use fender washers.

4. If you’re going to use an aftermarket slider, find one that has ECE-R17 safety rating.

 

[Ed Doe]

Ah, sorry @Ed Doe not sure why I thought you had Recaros on. I have searched the forum as well. I see a few different combos, but I wanted to hear from the owners, as it's hard to tell how low or high from the pictures.

No worries, as I say my car has got pics from a previous owner on the forum with pps in it so you might have found those on your travels

Just to add to what others are saying, if the PPs aren't fitted right over toward the transmission tunnel you'll find the shoulder wings hit the door card - my driver doorcard still has an indentation from where the pps were pushing it! The downside is if you space the seat over to the transmission tunnel, you'll find the pedals are now offset to the right - the clutch will be dead centre between your feet... Worth playing with it to find what's right for you....

 

[SGRG]

Thanks both for the feedback. I am not so worried about the side hitting/rubbing against the door card, as I am going to retrim this, so it will get addressed. I will not be putting on harnesses, that is for certain as well. All items that have been used, including washers, came as part of the product, so assuming they are fit for purpose. The seat is as close to the transmission tunnel as I could get it, so from the angle in relation to the steering wheel and the pedals is pretty good. I was looking to see if anyone has used a combination of products that can get the PP to sit much lower than where it is i.e. combination of planted brackets, recaro side mount, and endurance motosport sliders is way too high for me. Experimenting is time-consuming and frankly, too costly. Hopefully, some forum members can share their setup details.

 

[3002 tii]

Thanks both for the feedback. I am not so worried about the side hitting/rubbing against the door card, as I am going to retrim this, so it will get addressed. I will not be putting on harnesses, that is for certain as well. All items that have been used, including washers, came as part of the product, so assuming they are fit for purpose. The seat is as close to the transmission tunnel as I could get it, so from the angle in relation to the steering wheel and the pedals is pretty good. I was looking to see if anyone has used a combination of products that can get the PP to sit much lower than where it is i.e. combination of planted brackets, recaro side mount, and endurance motosport sliders is way too high for me. Experimenting is time-consuming and frankly, too costly. Hopefully, some forum members can share their setup details.

Issue is the seat theselves imo. I’m 5’9” with longer torso and I recall my helmet pretty much touched the roof liner back when I had PP’s. Your options are from easiest to hardest:

1) Remove cushion or get something thinner.

2) Ditch the slider, which isn’t a bad option imo since it’s technically safer without.

3) Bolt seats directly to floor using something like the Brey Krause direct mounts. Though I would think this would be too low..

How tall are your Planted mounts? You might be able to gain some space going with floor mounts but I can’t imagine it being more than a few mm. I have a spare set of BW mounts I can measure later.

 

[mmm-five]

My fitment is as above, and as shown in the photos. It's fine for me (5' 10") but a couple of my taller passengers end up a bit squashed so they can put their helmet on. The fixed back means they can either have more head room or more leg room (avoiding the glove box / knee interference) but not both.

 

[GT Spec]

Hi @Wursle,

Saw your youtube video, which was very helpful. I also recently installed Recaro PP ABE in my zed. I am using the following:
1. Planted Technology BMW Z4 Roadster Seat Bracket
2. Recaro Steel Side Mounts for Pole Position ABE
3. Endurance Motorsport Recaro Compatible Runner Kit

The problem I have is that the seat is way too high. I like it lower to the ground. I am 5ft 10 so not super tall but the current combination is just too high for me. It would be interesting to see yours and others that have PP installed (@mmm-five, @Ed Doe), so I can swap out some of the above parts to get lower.
View attachment 284205

View attachment 284206

Thanks

Hi SGRG,

How do you rate the quality of the Planted seat mounts? Are they heavy and how tall are they?

Cheers,
Aram

 

[SGRG]

Hi SGRG,

How do you rate the quality of the Planted seat mounts? Are they heavy and how tall are they?

Cheers,
Aram

Hi Aram,

Its ok. They are heavy and hikes up the base quite a bit. I don't have measurements right now will share it when I get a chance. Part of the problem I have is that the Planted bracket, while it is purpose-built for Z4, is too high. Also, tunnel side access to bolt down the bracket to the floor could have been better designed. I had several tries to figure out how to get it bolted.

@3002 tii @mmm-five thanks again for your inputs. Will definitely look at a few more options. I did come across this YouTube video, which more or less shows a comparison of my setup versus the PCI setup, so it gives me some hope.


So the solutions I see are:
1. Go with a full PCI solution, including sliders. Not sure why I didn't consider this from the get-go.
2. Go with Macht Schnell Motorsports Competition Lightweight Floor, along with the Recaro side mounts I have.

Wish I were closer to where you are @mmm-five so I could see your setup. It seems like I may have to do some experimentation after all.

 

[SGRG]

Here you go @GT Spec
This is the planted technology e85/86 specific


I am speaking with VAC right now and their E86 specific mount is 17.24 mm


Also this will give me the option to attach the recaro side mount directly as you can’t do that with planted brackets.

My next step is to order VAC bracket. I will only order one for driver side first, see how it goes.

 

[3002 tii]

Here you go @GT Spec
This is the planted technology e85/86 specific
View attachment 284567

I am speaking with VAC right now and their E86 specific mount is 17.24 mm
View attachment 284569

Also this will give me the option to attach the recaro side mount directly as you can’t do that with planted brackets.

My next step is to order VAC bracket. I will only order one for driver side first, see how it goes.

Totally forgot about this thread. LMK if you'd like me to measure my BW mounts.

Side note - I'm sure the VAC ones will be fine but reason I never went with them is I found their site to be a little confusing at the time. I don't recall the exact specifics, but it was something along the lines of E85 and E86 mounts were marketed differently, or the E85 "specific' mounts shared the E89 part number. And when I asked why that was since every other company recognizes the E85/86 to be same as E46, whoever I spoke to from VAC could not get me a straight answer.

 

[SGRG]

Totally forgot about this thread. LMK if you'd like me to measure my BW mounts.

Side note - I'm sure the VAC ones will be fine but reason I never went with them is I found their site to be a little confusing at the time. I don't recall the exact specifics, but it was something along the lines of E85 and E86 mounts were marketed differently, or the E85 "specific' mounts shared the E89 part number. And when I explained why that was since every other company recognizes the E85/86 to be same as E46, whoever I spoke to from VAC could not get me a straight answer.

@3002 tii I haven't placed the order yet so please do share the BW measurement. I know what you mean by their website. Anyway, I actually got in touch with MSMotorsport here in the UK, who were able to share details with me. The part number I am getting is: VAC-FMA-E86-B-2

 

[3002 tii]

@3002 tii I haven't placed the order yet so please do share the BW measurement. I know what you mean by their website. Anyway, I actually got in touch with MSMotorsport here in the UK, who were able to share details with me. The part number I am getting is: VAC-FMA-E86-B-2

Of course when I need it I can't find my digital caliper. But using my tape measure, the BW E36/E46 aluminum mounts measure 16 7/8" x 3.0" with thickness of 3/4", so call it 19mm. One thing I remembered is these mounts are shorter than others. The negative being your seats may not extend as far back as with other setups. However that was a benefit for me since I needed some space back there for my roll bar hoop. So if you don't have plans of installing a roll bar, you should definitely go with a longer mount.