63 replies to this topic

[gingerjon]

Morning all, A massive long shot....I KNOW........anyone got a pair of VXR seats they want to part with? I'm not keen on seatbelt holes in standard seats I know the DTT ones are available new I have seem some extra pictures of the eBay ones......not the best for £1100 + Subframes Just thought i'd ask the question here?! :-) Thanks J

[Graeme Lambert]

I know the DTT ones are available new  

 

Errr price for ones based on OEM Lotus shells has just jumped massively (between me paying deposit and ordering them!) so be prepared for a massive price increase (shells have basically doubled from Lotus).

 

So yeah, join the queue on that one. Though I am working with DTT to sort some new donor shells (might mean buying a brand new already trimmed seat and starting again ...)

 

G

[gingerjon]

Ahh crap, i thought the £1500 a pair was already rediculous!! Bring better news next time G, queue......joined. :-)

[CocoPops]

Corbeau LE Pro is the shell isn't it? http://www.corbeau-s...car-bucket-seat

[gingerjon]

Damn it, i knew i'd forgotten one on my list!! I saw those also, and the cheaper £400Ish each ones, they look thinner at the bottom than the VXR ones but everything i'd read said they were identical?

[Graeme Lambert]

Ahh crap, i thought the £1500 a pair was already rediculous!! Bring better news next time G, queue......joined. :-)

 

You mean £1,500+VAT previously?

 

Corbeau LE Pro is the shell isn't it? http://www.corbeau-s...car-bucket-seat

 

I am now convinced of this - Corbeau LE pro used for VXR seats. Lotus Motorsport (after S1 Elise/Exige) seems to be a bit different.

 

See here http://www.vx220.org...eir-vx220lotus/

 

Damn it, i knew i'd forgotten one on my list!! I saw those also, and the cheaper £400Ish each ones, they look thinner at the bottom than the VXR ones but everything i'd read said they were identical?

 

Currently cheapest I can get the GRP/Kevlar ones is £406 inc vat per seat in black cloth.

 

If enough people were interested I could investigate group buy (unusual for me I know). I'm planning on getting a pair and having them re-trimmed (Corbeau will not supply shells only unfortunately)

 

G

[CocoPops]

Could be interested G. Largely depends on how much DtT (or other) charges to retrim the seats.

[techieboy]

I am now convinced of this - Corbeau LE pro used for VXR seats. Lotus Motorsport (after S1 Elise/Exige) seems to be a bit different.

I've been telling people that for years. VXR seats are totally different to the Lotus Motorsport (if you must call them that ) seats and were based on the first version of the Corbeau LE Pro. Yes the new version of the LE Pro fits but still not as straightforward a fit as they should be as Corbeau refuse to sort their moulds properly for the S2 chassis. You'll need S1 subframes for them. Drivers side for sure is no longer available from Lotus but Yvo at Elise Shop can make up a suitable RHD subframe from his LHD conversion kit.

[FLD]

Hmm, perhaps I should buy one.  Not convinced by the lotus motorsport copy I looked at.

[Graeme Lambert]

Could be interested G. Largely depends on how much DtT (or other) charges to retrim the seats.

 

You have a PM (or will do in a minute Lee)

 

 

I am now convinced of this - Corbeau LE pro used for VXR seats. Lotus Motorsport (after S1 Elise/Exige) seems to be a bit different.

I've been telling people that for years. VXR seats are totally different to the Lotus Motorsport (if you must call them that ) seats and were based on the first version of the Corbeau LE Pro. Yes the new version of the LE Pro fits but still not as straightforward a fit as they should be as Corbeau refuse to sort their moulds properly for the S2 chassis. You'll need S1 subframes for them. Drivers side for sure is no longer available from Lotus but Yvo at Elise Shop can make up a suitable RHD subframe from his LHD conversion kit.

 

 

So any ball park ideas on how much the required framework etc costs to get them to fit?

 

Hmm, perhaps I should buy one.  Not convinced by the lotus motorsport copy I looked at.

 

Where was the copy from if you don't mind me asking Matt?

[FLD]

Cant remember I'm afraid.  Didn't fit the subframe so I cut it about to try to get it to fit but I'm not happy.  I think the best way to get a good fit is to mould the outside rather than the inside.

[techieboy]

So any ball park ideas on how much the required framework etc costs to get them to fit?

Think it was about £300 delivered for the two subframes through Yvo. The S1 passenger subframe (for a RHD car) is possibly available from Lotus still, or you can order both from Yvo. Just need to add a note to the order asking him to make the drivers subframe up for a RHD car and not the LHD.

I so nearly bought a pair last year (possibly through that same place you're quoting the cheaper price from) but didn't want to risk it if i) the fitting was still a twat with bolt holes in the wrong place and ii) not without trying one out first for size/comfort (Yvo said they're practically identical size wise to the standard seats).

I could be interested again, if you can sort any kind of group-buy and they're definitely the newer generation of LE-Pro's as opposed to the originals. Could leave with them in the black and grey upholstery version as well as I think I'd prefer material based seats over leather, this time around anyway.

These



but not these

[Graeme Lambert]

 

So any ball park ideas on how much the required framework etc costs to get them to fit?

Think it was about £300 delivered for the two subframes through Yvo.  

 

Fcuk me, that's a lot of money for some subframes. Especially for seats that only retail at £376+vat

 

G

[FLD]

Can you not just swap the side mounting brackets rather than the whole subframe?

[TazN]

Matt the copies weren't from that place at Long Stratton where they? The reverie copies with the etching from them still in the shells?

 

God those old LE's look horrific, newer ones not so bad...

 

Is the construction of the carcass complicated? Trying to get my head around how hard it is to make from a mould of an original that 100% fits.

[FLD]

Yep, thats the place.  The actual construction was pretty good.  Extra material round the mounts etc it just wasn't quite square and didn't fit the mountings.  Making it fit would have been a bit of a bodge so I looked at cutting it to fit right and remoulding.  I'm not convinced by moulding from the inside of the seat to get a good fit to the mounts on the outside.

 

These corbeau's look like a 2 piece shell.  An inner piece thats the bucket part and a frame part up the back.  Looks more like a proper job to me.  You'd have to mould the two parts separately and bond them together.  Not too challenging but could be time consuming.  The cost of these is pretty damn good imo even if the layup were less technical.

[TazN]

Ah then my initial thought was not far off. I was thinking that the best way to do something like a seat would be a front and back mould and then bonded together. So there is no fancy construction in the middle to help in the event of a serious crash?

 

I know from experience that what should work and have things identical in theory is not usually the case in practice... Never been one to measure more than once 

[FLD]

TBH I doubt any core material you used in a seat construction would help.  I'd have thought kevlar would be the best bet to keep it all in one piece but thats in the layup.  From the seats I've seen they core the two parts with soric but leave the space between the two parts empty.

[CocoPops]

Not worth asking corbeau for a run of seats to our trim spec? Limit it to leather or cloth, black with coloured stitching choice. No corbeau logo but a vx220 logo etc? And we definitely think these are the way forward in terms of fit but need to sort runners? Cheers, Lee

[gingerjon]

It's annoying that nothing seems to be easy with the seats!! I also thought like Techie and much prefered the New LE Pro to the olds ones. If its £900 For 2 seats, plus messing around with subframes, plus getting them retrimmed....thats going to be well over 2k!! Maybe, if they fit OEM subframes the DTT ones seem the easiest route.... Man, that is a sh*t ton of money for 2 seats....

Edited by gingerjon, 11 April 2014 - 07:40 AM.