Ultrashield Spec Miata Seat

[11/7/2003] Reviewed by: Chris Ohland - cohland@yahoo.com

Applicable to: '90 - '97

Ultrashield Spec Miata racing seat, 17" size, product code 60301, including snap-on cover. Price was $199.95 including cover, shipping was an additional $30 (I live in Oregon). This seat weighs 15 pounds with the cover in place, the stock Miata seat in my car weighed 31 pounds.

Structural welding is quite good, welding that attaches the extruded aluminum guards to the holes for seat belt and harness is a little cobby looking. The cover fits the seat quite well, there is sufficient foam padding in the seat the make it tolerable for the street for short trips. I have relatively short legs (30" inseam) and can sit forward comfortably, but taller drivers might have to move the seat back a bit, and this will require it to be mounted higher. The seat is bolted directly to the floor of the car. I was able to use the drain hole as one of the holes for the mounting bolts, and had to drill two other holes in the floor. I used two 8mm bolts in the rear and one forward, we'll see if this works over time or if it needs more reinforcement. While not absolutely required, the seat fits better if you remove the armrest from the driver's door, doing this eliminates the requirement to slam the door to get it to close.

My '97 Miata has a HardCore Hardtop rollbar, I'm 5'11" tall, and I'm built long-waisted. I needed to sit lower in the cockpit for autocross, and taking out seat foam didn't get me down far enough, so a seat seemed a logical choice. I looked at Kirkey, but their price seemed high for my purposes, which is just autocross. Out of season I will use the stock seat. Although I felt the seat position on the floor was putting me too far forward for comfort, a test drive proved that impression was wrong: it feels fine. The lateral supports on the seat will require that I move my hands up on the steering wheel for autocross, but I think I can adjust. All in all, I'm pleased with the purchase, and I think that when the season comes around again (it's November in Oregon now) I can swap the seat in with about an hour's work, including taking out the stock seat.

Over 30 minutes to remove completely


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