Pole Position Seat Mount / Sliders / Harnesses

jimmybell

Paid Member
Hey guys, got a pair of pole positions, and a set of the recaro side mounts.

wanting to know what i need to adapt the side mounts to the clio?

032E0852-5E3F-4EC0-A6D3-7BCDFB7E3A10.jpeg
also thinking drivers seat would benefit from some slide rails to adjust in case some short arse people i know want a go. Not really sure which rails work for this and the above adaptor? And ideally are pretty low profile to minimise additional height.

Passengers can just be fixed and deal with it :d

also ive read a few places some mounting plates can offset the off-centre wheel?

is there any harnesses that wouldnt work with the jp bolt in cage’s harness bar - Im thinking of going with the schroth 4 point?

just need to work out how to use them and still keep the oem seatbelts - there seems to be a few types of brackets that sit under the rails but hard to tell which fit (and what are the middle two bars for on these)

 
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You will need floor mounts to use those Recaro side mounts, why most go for direct to floor plates specific to the Clio.

On the seat belt brackets, the middle ones are because if you only used the side ones, the seat will then lean due to the thickness, so the middle ones go on the other side to stop the seat leaning.
 
You are on the same boat as me, except I dont have even those side mounts. You need base mount (and runners if you want to have the seat adjustable)
Those seatbelt brackets looks good. Wonder which one will fit my sabelts.
 
Thanks suj! Makes sense now.

these would probably solve the issue without the recaro side mounts (as a
Direct seat to floor mount alternative) but i prefer the look of the recaros for now - even if they look nice quality.


and these i’m not really clear on what theyre for - desc on website could be more useful!


gsm sells a recaro slider, but i presume that needs an adaptor plate - and then perhaps the recaro seats mounts would fit the slider?
 
You are on the same boat as me, except I dont have even those side mounts. You need base mount (and runners if you want to have the seat adjustable)
Those seatbelt brackets looks good. Wonder which one will fit my sabelts.

the schroth b23a bracket adaptor thingers seem the most popular choice but not sure that would work to maintain both oem belts and the harnesses, so i’m thinking oem stays on oem mounts both sides, and harness goes in those brackets i linked above (thus used both sides of seat base)
 
I guess i’ll continue to share my research…

ktec do a subframe that seems to act as an adaptor -to which you could use recaro side mounts or sliders:


Gsm / sportseats4u does a recaro mount, its not really clear what exactly this is… i’m guessing its just a subframe. Desc says options will tell you what it is, but they dont, and the image is for illustration only


Havent actually found the recaro subframe anywhere yet!
 
I've ordered the recaro subframe adaptor from GSM / sportseats4u, along with a sliding rail, some of the endurance seat belt brackets and some schroth b23as just in case. I'll report back what works in case anyone else has to work this out in future..

also ordered some M8 30mm bzp 10.9 and nyloc type-p nuts, and some washers.
 
Ok - so finally the parts arrived.. generally... eugh.

The (official) recaro adaptor subframes specifically for Clio Mk3:
1. they do not direct fit to the car, they rely on you using the standard sliders off the stock seats.
2. they are TALL .. i mean, a slim low profile bucket seat with relatively short side mounts and they sit at the same height as stock sports seats.
3. they have no cross-bracing (like i'd expect an adaptor plate or similar to provide) so a little bit of sideways wobble

The recaro sliders:
I don't really see the point in these, i think they're designed to sit between the subframe and the seat side mounts/base mounts. But given that they rely on the recaro bolt pattern to be useful, and the official sub frames demand you use the stock sliders... you would just end up with two sets of sliders. If you had a floor mount adaptor plate you could use these as a low profile slide.. but the only real difference between these and the stock ones is:
- the adjuster/release bar sticks up on the stock ones but is sorta low profile on the recaro
- the stock sliders ones have floorward bolts to line up with floor holes - the recaros are designed to mount to the recaro subframe holes

GSM didn't send the M8 seat bolts i ordered so i just amazon'd some alternatives and used some plastic washers. Not massively impressed with GSM tbh, their ordering process is automated and constantly raves about how it's manually checked (which conflicts with the constant automated emails that mean nothing..) and uses their specialist knowledge - but everything i've done with them so far is awkward. I ask 3 questions and they respond to only one, so i have to ask 2 more.. and they still respond to only one of those.. etc. Slowly too. I don't look forward to returning the sliders (or the entire order if i cant make this lower somehow..).

So far the best plan i have is to reverse the side mounts so that the rear of the seat sits lower, then drill new side mount holesat the front to lower the front. you can see pics below of the seats mounted with side mounts (presumably) the correct way, and then reversed.

I think with hindsight i should've just bought an adaptor plate and used the height standoffs/spacers i have to lift it up if needed. If i was shorter (i'm 6'0") i'd perhaps be fine with this setup.

Anyone any suggestions, or better implementations? Would love to see how others have mounted their buckets...

'correct' (i think):
recaro1.jpeg
reversed:
recaro2.jpeg
 
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I actually designed and made my own sidemounts to mount directly to the OEM sliders to solve this issue. they also cater for the offset needed to be centred against the steering wheel.
 

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That’s a nice solution. I can drill my side mounts to angle them forward but i’m sure there’s a better option. I’m tempted to just return the lot and go with the direct to floor side mounts from Supreme.

surprising how little information about seat mounting is online (not just clios either!)
 
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going to keep the LHD passenger subframe setup, by reversing the side mounts and drilling some custom holes i've managed to get an acceptable height for a passenger (given their position is less important vs driver side seat/wheel/pedal positioning).

i've returned the RHD subframe and recaro rails. they're neither compatible with eachother nor much use for height adjustment.

worth noting the GSM website labels these subframes as 'direct fit', they certainly aren't (unless you include using the OEM rails as an adaptor as 'direct fit').

quality bits of kit, just not what i'm after - at least for the driver's side. i'll try Supreme's side mounts, but means i have to work out a method of retaining the OEM seatbelt buckle in addition to the harnesses (as i want harnesses to be optional for every day use.

RHD fitted:

recaro-rhd-subframe.jpeg

excuse the mess - half the driveway dragged in climbing in and out to fit them :smiley:
 
I have bought sparco subframe and standard FIA sidemounts. It still did not put the seat inline with steering whel compeltely, so I needed to drill another holes. (As well as hole for inner 3point harness lock)
 
I have bought sparco subframe and standard FIA sidemounts. It still did not put the seat inline with steering whel compeltely, so I needed to drill another holes. (As well as hole for inner 3point harness lock)

gotcha - how tall are those sparcos?

that inner harness hole is something i need to think about. I re-used the oem belt buckle on passenger side (recaro subframe has a mounting hole that’s poorly designed..) so wanna repeat that for the driver side.
But also need harness hole. Maybe just drill two next to each other!
 
gotcha - how tall are those sparcos?

that inner harness hole is something i need to think about. I re-used the oem belt buckle on passenger side (recaro subframe has a mounting hole that’s poorly designed..) so wanna repeat that for the driver side.
But also need harness hole. Maybe just drill two next to each other!

cca 70mm in height

I have drilled a hole and backed it with FIA 65x65mm harness plate
1656964234298.png.
Fits in the subframe perfectly. Thread is different (7-16"), but I have found some suitable bolt from other car harness. Or you can use schorth one.
Height difference between passenger and driver is now massive. And i can still go one hole lower on side mounts.

IMG20220624154612.jpg
 
looks much tidier! can't see the subframe which already implies they're lower than the recaro one which i suspect is 10-12cm in height.

i guess the sparco one is this? https://en.oreca-store.com/sparco-s...ult-clio-iii-october-2005-or-later-right.html

although there's 3 different product photos on that page. seems 'confusion' is a common theme amongst seat mounting hardware.

Those product photos are for different cars.

I have exactly this one: https://www.sandtler24.de/Sandtler-Einbaukonsole-Typ-34-34527l
They sell it under Sandtler brand, but there was sparco sticker on it.
 
How have people solved the harness lap belt fixing on the outside, when maintaining the oem 3point too?

Re-using the existing belt slider bolt with a schroth b23 or similar?
 
Great! Fortunately bought some b23 a while ago in anticipation - looks like theyre out of stock in most places!

i guess for the inner OEM seat buckle i can just bolt onto the seat side mounts and somehow bend it out... The recaro subframe has a nice angled side piece to specifically deal with this.