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      03-03-2013, 06:40 PM   #1
Veritable
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Recaro Seats Decision

I think I am finally ready to give up my quest of owning a current-gen Cadillac CTS-V. Was at the local GM dealer at the end of January, and they were unwilling to take my 23.5k km (14.5k mi) year-and-a-half-old 2011 E90 DCT M3 as a trade. Instead, they were only willing to wholesale it to the local BMW dealer. Offered trade-in value? A mere $50k CDN, for a car that had an MSRP of $81k CDN, and that the very same BMW dealer was selling a Silver COP 2011 E90 DCT M3 with similar mileage for $65k CDN.

I mean, sure, my car is Melbourne Red, that might hurt the value somewhat, but I just can't afford the hit that comes from the dealer just flipping my car at wholesale price. I guess I'm too used to trading BMWs for BMWs, where the dealer has always taken my old cars in for a few k off market price

So, instead of throwing my own cash at the trade to make it work, I'm just gonna throw it at my car and start modding it; create my own CTS-V, so to speak. Put a few grands into it every year, eventually culminating with an ESS VT2-585 kit after the warranty expires.

Let's start with the front seats. Cadillac has a pair of OEM Recaros, so I'd like to put in a pair into my car. However, I can't decide between the reclining Sportster CSes and the fixed-back Pole Positions.

The car is a daily driver, and I don't do track anymore; rather I do weekend 1000km / 600mi driving trips. So the choice should have been clear: the reclining Sportster CS.

However, here is my driving position:





This is how I was taught to sit by the club's HPDE instructors about 10 years ago, and now it is my comfortable seating position, with the seat back set tilted to maximum-forward. I am also the only driver for this car, so the seat will never be adjusted.

That's why I am starting to lean towards the fixed-back Pole Position. They look to be $500-a-pop cheaper, might be a wee-bit lighter, I'm already sitting completely upright and am comfortable with that, and I don't need any adjustments.

Still, is there anything I'm missing here? Is there any issues with using fixed-back seats with stock seatbelts? What about driver-side airbags vs. these seats?

The extra $1k in my pocket might mean I can do the coilovers or exhaust a year early, but might not be worth it if safety is at all a concern....
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      03-03-2013, 07:03 PM   #2
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A bit off topic but why would a red car hurt resale value?

I think it is a good idea to mod the M3 vs. getting the CTS-V. But I think the way to go should be to make a CTS-V more like an M3 rather than the other way around. LOL. Sorry, I can't really answer your questions. I'd think the fixed seat back is a good idea and it seems it will fit your ideas too but I'd try sitting in it first if you can.

I think your issues would not be in installing a fixed seat-back, but in installing an aftermarket seat. If I'm not mistaken you have to fiddle with the electronics to keep warnings from going off. There are solutions out there so I'll let other more knowledgable members chime in here. Good luck.


Cheers.
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      03-03-2013, 07:25 PM   #3
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With regular 600 mile road trips, I'd definitely go with the Sporsters. It's not just that you're sitting upright with race seats like the Pole Positions, you're quite locked in from the shoulders through the hips and knees. Little room to move laterally in the seat, reposition your legs a bit, etc. You might be strict with your driving position, but I doubt you're as strict on those journeys as a fixed back seat would keep you.

With either option you'll need coding.

There is a school of thought out there that a race seat and standard 3 point harness (and sans roll cage) is not safe. Borrowing from another forum discussing the subject --

Race seats are designed to be used with a harness, not a factory 3 point. The factory belts are designed to work at certain angles across your body. Those angles change with a race seat. I dont care if it is NASA legal, from a safety standpoint dont do it. Wait for the bar.

The typical consideration for a fixed-back seat without a roll bar is that you lose the benefit of the factory seat back, which are often designed to yield (i.e., fail) in the case of a rollover in order to provide survival space. A fixed-back seat won't do that, so if the roof does crush in a bad rollover the fixed-back seat may not be your friend. That's frequently the logic behind not allowing a fixed-back seat without sufficient rollover protection.
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      03-03-2013, 07:34 PM   #4
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Difference in weight between the two options is negligible, by the way.
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      03-06-2013, 09:06 AM   #5
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Mod the hell out of it. I'm sure you'll forget about your CTS-V aspirations quickly. Do you want Recaro's because they come in the CTS-V? There are plenty of other seats you can get and of course you can always customize them. RotTec makes 997GT2 seats (that recline) for a pretty great price and it has plenty of options. Hit them up, may be worth considering. You can get OEM 997 Sports seats (made by Recaro) for a pretty good price. Or Z4M seats that are way more sporty, lightweight, have more grip, than what you have no but have plenty of comforts.





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      03-06-2013, 06:03 PM   #6
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the sportster cs is my fav!
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      03-07-2013, 04:53 AM   #7
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No idea but I'm on the assumption the Z4M seats will not just bolt on right and would also require some form of coding?

Sportster CS would seem like a sensible option , even maybe re-trimmed to match your interior if you want to get more extravagent.
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      03-09-2013, 05:12 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ersin View Post
A bit off topic but why would a red car hurt resale value?
I'm not sure, but the GM dealer's used car manager kept on saying to me that he wished my car was black, white or silver

I can kind of see his point, as currently there are 28x E9x M3s being listed for sale within 100km of me on AutoTrader, and EVERY ONE OF THEM are white, black, grey or silver... and one Dakar Yellow.

...

I'm wondering if I'm missing something in the equation when looking at the price difference between the PPs and the Sportsters. In order to install seats like the PPs, looks like I need Floor Mounts, Side Mounts and also a Slider Track Kit. Do I need the exact same things for the Sportsters? I can't be too sure but it looks like the Sportsters have some sort of Floor Mounts built into the seat.

If installing Sportsters require less mounting hardware, that will make up some of the price difference, and probably tilt me towards them. If they require the same amount of hardware, then I'm leaning towards the PPs.
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      03-09-2013, 05:24 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Veritable View Post
If installing Sportsters require less mounting hardware, that will make up some of the price difference, and probably tilt me towards them. If they require the same amount of hardware, then I'm leaning towards the PPs.
The Sportsters come with side mounts.

That detail and weight difference discussed here --

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=489593
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