Cobra Clubman seats for MK4

[David Cheresh]

Does anyone have any experience with the Cobra Clubman seats for their FF MK4? I was looking for feedback on fit, comfort and look. Any photos would be appreciated. I am interested in finding a seat that is comfortable with a headrest for safety.

[Derald Rice]

The Cobra Clubmans were a FFR option from about 2003-2007, and sold from FFR as "Street Performer Seats". Do a search for Street Performers and you will get a lot of info.

The Cons: There are a couple of issues with them, first was that the upholstery material wa not UV resistant, so a lot of them turned a lovely shade of purple before the fabric fell apart. Second issue is that they really did n ot fit that well without some modification. The seat bases are a little too wide to fit the floor pans. Some squeezed the seats to fit the space, some simply endured the misfit, and some narrowed the trans tunnel at the pans so that there was enough room for the seats to fit better.

The Pros: Very comfortable seats, that work very well, especially for those who have back problems. Side support is great in cornering events ( Autocross). The height of the headrest also helps with the wind buffetting on the highway.

Personally, I have had the clubmans since 2002 in my car. When the seats were installed, I narrowed the base of the transmission tunnel so that the seats fit better. In 2009 the seats were reupholstered, and extra padding was also added at that time. I am not planning on changing the seats until such a time that they might totally fail.

[Jeff Kleiner]

I replied in another of your threads that I have had the Clubmans (actually FFR's "Street Performers") since 2007 and love them. They are not designed with really big guys in mind---I'm 5'9" and 160ish pounds and they fit me perfectly. My good friend Aaron is 6'+ and 210 or so and finds that they are too tight in the hips for him (we built his car with 17" Kirkeys). My preference is to have some recline to the seat rather than being flat to the floor so I raised the front about two inches. The byproduct of doing this was that I was able to mount the seats with no issues and no modifications. Echoing what Derald said, the FFR spec used a lower grade fabric which is not especially UV tolerant and fades. What I have heard a number of times is that the actual Sube Sport Cobra Clubman seats use a much higher quality fabric which is more UV tolerant (a full vinyl version is available as well). Mine headed toward purple after 2 or 3 seasons so I gave them a dye job and every couple of years since I have done a quickie, less extensive touch up with the seats still in the car:

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...r-dye-job.html

Where are you located David? If you're able to make it to the London Cobra Show near Columbus, Ohio next week you will be able to see and sit in a number of different seats.

Good luck!

Jeff

[phileas_fogg]

If you're able to make it to the London Cobra Show near Columbus, Ohio next week you will be able to see and sit in a number of different seats.

That's a REALLY REALLY good idea.


John