I searched high and low for reasonably priced seats to replace my worn(100k+) stock leather seats. I came close to getting a set of Sparco R100s or stock cloth, but the price kept going up or couldn't find a set in decent condition. I end up stumbling upon these seats at Cipher Auto, who has their own line of seats. I was obviously skeptical of the quality, and wondered if it was just re-branded Ebay junk, but I found several positive reviews about the quality of the seats and how comfortable they are. I decided to bite the bullet and get a set with brackets, which came to 558 dollars shipped! I was torn between 2 styles, but when with what was in stock, and suede inserts to match the headliner.

They shipped the seats practically the same day, I bought them around this time on the 14th, and they shipped them out the 15th, and they arrived the 20th! The brackets take 5-10 days, so I am still awaiting those!

Upon arrival I obviously wanted to check them out even though they cannot be installed yet, so I opened and assembled one seat. Assembly is a snap, 3 bolts plus a cover to mate the top half and bottom. Just holding the seats they feel good, the stitch looks excellent(only a few spots someone could be nit-picky about, but you can find those on any seat) I set one up in the garage to sit in, and it does feel really good, esp coming from my worn stock seat that I am pretty sure has no padding left!

Im a big boy 6'1 about 245, and these actually have more room on the bottom for me, they are about 2 inches wider in the seating area. I was worried about fitting, but I felt right at home, I was bigger at one time, and I think my old frame would not have fit, but I have sat in some lower end sparcos, and these fit better.

As soon as they are installed I will expand the review!

For now initial quality on the seats is 9/10(on the budget seat scale) We will have to see how time and use treats them!
Only thing that is a bit sub par I would say is the plastic in the harness holes, it has some jagged edges in the middle and feels like it might not last too well if you were going to use functional harnesses, but I am speculating.

Customer service so far is 10/10- they responded to several e-mails I had the longest being 2 hours, they are prompt, helpful and were polite,(unlike some companies that will not e-mail you back *cough* NRG *cough*)

If you are looking for reasonably priced seats, check them out!

http://www.cipherauto.com/Racing-Seats/Cipher-Auto

Also, another concern was safety, I also found this in my searching, which put my mind at ease, and the seats do feel solid at that!

http://www.xr-underground.com/forum/...ad.php?t=41895

According to Cipher(via a post on another forum) the company that manufactures the seats also manufactures them for this company in Australia, who had them tested and pass the ADR test. That to me is good enough for a DD, at least I hope!

picture of the frame which is said to be 1.5mm thick tubing.



Here are some images of the seats so far, cant wait to get them in! Ill used a proper digi when they are installed!

From the truck!



Out of the box!



Instructions,which are not really necessary, but hey I guess someone might need them!



Bottom!



Top!



Together at last!




UPDATE!!! 10/5/11

Seats are in, got the brackets yesterday, they are actually mad by wedge, and are solid and lined up in the car perfectly. Only 2 minor things, the brackets sit a tad higher than stock, which I do not care for, but Im sure I will get accustomed to it. The other is the passenger side seat belt mount is really high, I think I will drill a new hole to mount it lower at some point.





I snapped a few with a measuring device to show the difference in the width.






they did forget the hardware kit to attach the seats, but I just got some bolts from the garage and took care of it, no biggie for me, just 4 bolts per seat.

going in!







Once in the car, you will seat they fit well, it is tight on against the door panels as someone suspected, but doesn't rub. If you recline too far hoever you will rub the pillar cover slightly.





Done!







The batteries in out digi were dead, so I just used the phone.

Final thoughts:

For the price these cannot be beat.
Here are my only issues, but small at that:

Passenger seat belt mount too high
Slightly elevated seat position
One or two small stitching imperfections
there is an ever so slight amount if give in the sliders, if you mash the gas there is a slight give that you can feel as you sink into the seat, but I think this is picky haha.

Overall I love the seats, still slightly tight in the bottom for my fat butt, but till wider that stock. The backs are a SUPER improvement, they are much more supportive than the OE seats. If you had leather, no more sliding around with these, they hold you snug! I will have a nice ride int town(about 1.5hrs) tonight, I will report back on my findings!

Wow, monster thread! Any questions fire away!

overall on the budget seat rating 9/10, for about 550 bucks it cannot be beat!




UPDATE!!! 3/25/12

I have put about 2k miles on these so far, mainly the drivers seat(I am a lonely individual..thats for another day!) and I will report that the seat itself its holding up nicely, no real signs that anything is going to rip tear or what not...HOWEVER I have confirmed and believe the sliders, specifically the locks to be 100% trash...now maybe you lighter guys will not have a problem but it does not lock "solid"anymore and it is getting worse. For now I installed a support from the seat to the bracket. i will most likely be buying a duble locking slider somewhere for the drivers seat and that will make things about perfect.

Comfort wise even with my big butt, its not bad, after about and 1.5 hrs tho it was time for a stretch, but I had that that with the stock units to be honest. It is also important to watch your posture, slouching or sitting sideways or what no will result in back pain, these were designed to sit you in a certain way, and they do that!

One of my buddies when for a ride a few days ago and his comment was they do not feel any more uncomfortable than your stock seats...he is more of an average size, 5 11" 150 ish Id say.

anyway, still happy with the decision, now that that is over its time to start saving for boost, I need more power!

that is it for now!

 

looks pretty good, been waiting for pic's installed

 

crazy thing is i'm thinking of putting some cipher seats in my Z. if i can't afford the best, i will settle for cheapest..lol.

 

ya i've been seriously considering a pair of these, but didnt want to be the first to jump.

glad someone grabbed a pair, and can't wait to see them fully installed

 

In for updates.

I sat in a 370 vert yesterday and the seats made my 350's seats feel like 2x4's and concrete. I would love to find a seat that actually feels like the 370's seats.

 

in for updates

 

brackets are arriving tomorrow, should have them in on Wed!

 

I'm intersted as well. I'm almost your exact same size and weight and man the side bolsters on the OEM seats are tight.

Please take some really good pictures of how they fit with the door closed and spacing between the door / center console.

 

Also could you weigh them with the brackets so theres a good comparison to OEM seats?

 

I really have nothing to weigh them with, but they claim 26 lbs each I believe. The shipping weight on both the seats was 65 and the brackets is 13. that's 78 lbs with packing material. It was a big box, I bet it did weigh a few lbs, So I think they are close, Ill know tomorrow, but my guess is they will be about 37 each with brackets. I think OE is north of 60, at least power and heated like mine.

 

Seats are in check the top!

 

Thanks for the review. Been waiting to pull the trigger, I think I will now.

Looks good.

 

Pretty interesting. I wonder how strong they are.

-Don

 

bump- put up some better quality installed pics! Also I ended up putting a washer under the bracket on the lr of the drivers side to get a hair more clearance with the door panel. It would rub occasionally, does not now.

 

looks good to bad they're sold out :/

 

I have a set of these seats... they squeak a bit when I hit bumps or stuff in the road.

 

I am looking into getting a set of ciphers. I would like to get rid of the 2 point factory restraint system and add a 4 point. My only concern is that I have a roadster and no room to add a harness bar or any means of attachment for the harnesses. I was told that it is possible to mount the harnesses to the seat bracket? Is this true? If so, How safe is that compared to the factory restraint system?
Any insight and knowledge on this would be much appreciated! Thanks in advanced!

 

Vivid has these. I've been also thinking about purchasing. Thanks for the pix and review.


From the original post:
there is an ever so slight amount if give in the sliders, if you mash the gas there is a slight give that you can feel as you sink into the seat, but I think this is picky haha.


I don't think that's picky at all. Has this behavior gotten any worse?
Thx again!

 

@lambo
I have always been told and read harnesses must be anchored at a certain angle, thus going to the floor or seat bracket is dangerous and can cause spinal compression in an accident.

@ Highway

Has not gotten worse, I actually do not notice it now, guess I got accustomed to it. The sliders in general are not that great IMO. Would not be a terrible idea to pick up a better set, esp with some double locks.

 

They look like a really good option for a street seat. Love the look, reminds me of Skyline R32 seats.