Sparco Sprint/PCI Race Mount. Install and Review.

"mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/" (mxxxxxm24) 05/02/2018 at 13:05 • Filed to: Arisu, Miata, Miatafications

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Sparco Sprint. PCI One Piece Super Low Race Mount.

Parts needed:

Sparco Sprint Seat

PCI Race Mount

4x Grade 8 8mm x 1.25mm (20-25mm long) bolts

4x Corresponding oversized washers

Hammer

Rachet/wrench set

Common sense

First off let me just say that the mount and seat are both fantastic quality. Seat is a fire retardant fabric that seems decenty durable. It may fade or wear in time... we shall see. The PCI mount is a one piece design allowing for lighter steel to be used while not sacrificing rigidity. It seems to be very rigid. The bracket and seat do not come with bolts, so you will need to supply your own for mounting the seat to the bracket and reuse the factory bolts for mounting the bracket to the floor. Do not ignore bolt grade. Get grade 8!

Removing the seat is very straightforward. I had one bolt attaching the slider rail with the belt buckle on it that took a good amount of strength to remove. But I won’t cover removal. You’ll be fine. It is a good time to also vacuum you carpet!

At this point, test fitting the bracket you will notice that it will not fit. At all. So this is where the hammer comes in. Note the area of the transmission tunnel in the front passenger side that is in the way. Take hammer and begin bashing it in. I tried with a rubber mallet at first, but it did nothing for me. A regular hammer will work just fine. You have to be somewhat accurate with your bashing, stopping to check fitment until you’ve got a flush mount.

It fits! Note that you will have most likely bashed a rip in your carpet and insulation. Whatever. You won’t see it. If this would bother you maybe try a larger rubber mallet or some kind of padding. Either way now you will tighten down the bracket before fitting the seat to it.

Let me backtrack for a moment though to explain my factory seatbelt mounting solution. **This is for 94-97 (NA8) Miatas only.** I initially planned on using PCI’s supplied adapter which would have me drilling a hole in my floor and attaching it to that hole and the seat mount bracket. This bracket did not fit as is and I elected to not rip up my carpet hammering in the transmission tunnel anymore. If you want to do this you will need to make sure you move wires out of the way (I think the wires are for rear defrost). Anyways, I see no issues with my simpler solution.

Back to installing seat to mount. In my car I used the second to last bottom hole in the rear and second to last/second from bottom hole in the front. This got me as far back as I could go and is a comfortable seating position as well. At this point the wrenching begins!

Now comes in your choice of 20mm or 25mm bolts. I went with 25 cause I was thinking I wanted the strongest hold. This choice had a drawback. Putting these bolts in between the seat and transmission tunnel was just barely possible. But after some creative finger threading, I managed to get them in and tightened them with a box wrench.

That’s it! After threading your factory seatbelt or racing harness through the seat you can get in and enjoy your new low view! Adjust your mirrors! They will be much more important now as looking behind you is not much of an option. Yeah it’s that much lower. It’s awesome.

After living with it for a day getting in and out of car is even less dignified than before. So get used to that or consider a quick release wheel (I am looking them now). All in all after some slight modification I have an ideal seat height and feel much more secure and safe in my car. I won’t hit my head on the roll bar now in the event of a crash. That piece of mind alone is worth it for sure.

If you have any questions, comment below!

AestheticsInMotion > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 04/30/2018 at 21:17

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How do you like it??

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > AestheticsInMotion 04/30/2018 at 21:52

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Short answer is: it does exactly what I wanted from it. My head is no longer at risk of hitting the roll bar. I am so much lower. It’s dope. I will post on the actual install and how it is to live with soon (maybe tomorrow).

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/01/2018 at 00:49

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Looking forward to the thoughts. I know I’d like to replace my seat some day with a not fake seat, but definitely don’t want to spend real bride money. So sparco might be a decent option.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/01/2018 at 09:28

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For sure man! This is a great option. I am planning to get my post on it out today after I get a few things I need to do taken care of.

MonkeePuzzle > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/01/2018 at 17:24

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oh that seat base! I’ve never seen a one piece like that. very slick.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > MonkeePuzzle 05/01/2018 at 17:54

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Yeah dude and it weighs maybe 5lbs-ish. Weight savings is another benefit. About 30lbs or so for the seat and bracket.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > AestheticsInMotion 05/02/2018 at 13:10

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Yo dude. What was that wide mirror attachment you got for you Miata??? Physically looking behind me is very difficult with this seat... just remembered you got some dope mirror attachment that would solve my new issue.

nerd_racing > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/02/2018 at 13:16

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Hmm, I wonder if this would work in the Autozam, I’m told NA miata seats are a bolt in affair.

AestheticsInMotion > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/02/2018 at 13:17

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https://www.amazon.com/Broadway-BW847-300mm-Convex-Mirror/dp/B0040DXAWI/ref=pd_aw_sim_263_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SBR08S1V3MMYDMPXHGA9

Worked great for me, give it a shot!

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > nerd_racing 05/02/2018 at 13:30

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Really?? I figured autozams would be even smaller in the cockpit. I’ve never seen one in person tho :/. How is it to live with??

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > AestheticsInMotion 05/02/2018 at 13:32

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Thanks man! I will order it now. How’s install? Just clip on and go?

AestheticsInMotion > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/02/2018 at 13:37

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Yep, spring loaded clips. You could mount it higher or lower to change the angle a bit too

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > AestheticsInMotion 05/02/2018 at 13:44

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Perfect. Ordered Btw just put the Moddiction Anvil on and it sits about an inch lower than my other knob, which I thought was fully countersunk. Shit looks and feels much better, though I expected it to be a little bigger. Now I can’t wait to test it out in a bit!

AestheticsInMotion > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/02/2018 at 13:47

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Oh man. Someday I’ll add one. That’s the one thing I’m worried about, I’m guessing the knobs I ordered won’t sit very well to make the design work. Ah well!

The red galaxy knob should be done soon...

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > AestheticsInMotion 05/02/2018 at 13:56

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Man that will be so gorgeous. Is that yours in the process of being made?? Can’t wait to see how it turns out for you

nerd_racing > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/02/2018 at 14:04

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It’s cozy like a miata, but I guess in Japan you could get dealer option fixed back Autozam seats in a Miata. I drove it 2700 miles across country to get it home from Oregon. If it had cruise control it would have been downright comfortable.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > nerd_racing 05/02/2018 at 14:17

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Wow you should post things on it! Or maybe you have and I’ve missed them? Lol

nerd_racing > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/02/2018 at 15:12

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I was going to post about it, and I might still. I’m hoping to put it on the road officially tomorrow. Then maybe I can finalize the journey. I have an instagram from the trip if you are curious @nerd_racing is the handle.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > nerd_racing 05/02/2018 at 17:46

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Oh cool I don’t have an Instagram, but I’ll look for your posts. Did you have to work on it to get it road worthy

nerd_racing > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/03/2018 at 07:17

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Nope nothing was needed. Just fueled it up, and drove. I did stop for snow tires in Utah though.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/03/2018 at 11:29

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Hmm you are able to attach your seat while the mount is already in the car?? That is pretty cool since it is completely impossible for me to do that with my setup. The only way to adjust the seat is to take the entire thing out of the car and then adjust it. Now thankfully it is stupid easy to remove the whole thing in a Miata as you have learned and its not like I ever adjust the seat after I got it right anyways. I suppose I could throw out the hardware that came with the mount and get hex bolts, then it would actually work like you did. But a few of the bolts require an allen key so I can’t just use a box end wrench to reach in there, especially for the interior side ones that I cannot see while blindly shoving my hand in between the transmission tunnel and the mount.

Also, where you mounted the seat belt receiver, there is not a threaded hole in the NBs. So that only really applies through 97. 99-05 have a nice hole there to fit a bolt through but you have to stick a giant washer on it and thread a nut on the other side. Still no drilling required which is nice.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > nerd_racing 05/03/2018 at 12:16

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Oh ha we’re you driving cross country in the winter??

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/03/2018 at 15:54

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What set up do you have?? Is it the garage star mount? I think you might have told me... and yeah the only way to mount is to mount the bracket first then the seat. There’s no room to reach behind the seat to get to the rear floor bolts. There is just barely enough room to get your hands in between the seat and transmission tunnel, but it definitely is doable.

I will change the post to specify about my seatbelt buckle solution only working on later NAs, I assume all NA8s. Not sure tho. Also I’ll prob email PCI to let them know that they could be more specific to NB models needing that adapter... unless there is some legality issue with only using one bolt to mount the buckle.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/03/2018 at 17:28

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There is only one bolt holding the buckle in the stock setup anyways so I can’t see why there is an issue in advertising it properly. I mean in some scenarios you could mount it to the seat but it is just not practical for most mounts/seats without major modification to the car.

And yeah I have the garage star mount. Funny that we have opposite problems with seat/mount interface and bolting it down. I cannot fit a ratchet on the bolts with the seat in the way but a box end 14mm wrench is perfect. I bought a ratcheting wrench specifically for that purpose. It was a pain in the ass using an open/crescent wrench before that! If I wanted to put the seat further back, I imagine it would become quite the issue but thankfully I was just the right size to make it all fit nicely.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/03/2018 at 18:04

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Ah see yeah if I hadn’t put the seat literally as far back as possible, I could see bolting the seat to the rail first like you and then it would be even easier to bolt in the seat. But I’m 6’ 4” so I had to give myself all the extra space it would offer. Now I fit pretty damn well. Also I need to get some ratcheting wrenches too, but I’m cheap haha.

Though I got plenty low for me, I would be curious to see the difference in seat height with my mount vs the garage star. You also have a sprint seat?? Also how rigid is the garage star mount? I know it’s multiple pieces... was curious about that too.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/03/2018 at 19:23

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Lowes has some cheap wrenches that are pretty affordable and seem to be of decent quality from their Husky line. Although the ratcheting ones were still like $15 a piece but I know a decent metric set is easily over $100 for those. I have found those to be the most versatile tools in my tool box though. Something I will invest in when I have a good place to store tools.

Yeah I am only 6'0" so I could see the need to get it a bit further back. I like sitting fairly upright which was my main motivation for not going too far back as well. I probably could get lower if I went further back due to the sloped nature of it but I had already found I could fit below the roll bar where it was so it was perfect.

I have one of those Bride Low maxx replicas, same as AestheticsInMotion. I think the garage star seems to be a little bit lower but only because there is no metal on the bottom of the mount. Basically it is clear in the middle under the seat if that makes sense. The seat bottom itself is brushing the floor at its lowest point.

And I only have a couple of photos from when I had two seats in the car and no roll bar yet.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/04/2018 at 16:10

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Yeah I had a $15 ratcheting wrench in my hand and just could do it haha. But it would be useful for sure.

And ok that’s what I was wondering about. So yeah it would have to be a bit lower I guess. How heavy is the mount? Curious. I guess the only downside would be rigidity and lack of built in harness mounts with the garage star.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/04/2018 at 19:29

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That thing is stupid light. It’s maybe a couple of pounds. It’s funny comparing the stock seat to the aftermarket seat and mount. It was damn expensive though, no way would I have went that direction if I was buying new. I only wanted it since it was a really good used deal.

And the lower harness mounts should be drilled into the floor either way. The other ones all attach to spots on the car easily. I suppose you could mount them to the seat but it’s probably frowned upon from a safety perspective.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/05/2018 at 13:37

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Oh nice. And yeah so much lighter. Though I might miss headrest speakers slightly, if only for evenness reasons.... not really haha. I’m def glad I got this seat!

Also I’ll have to look in to the safety aspect of it I guess. Like I said the mount is a solid one piece design so I could see it effectively used as a belt mount.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/05/2018 at 19:18

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Headrest speakers are really strange sound staging. The sound coming from behind your head thing.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/05/2018 at 21:03

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Haha yeah this is true, but they do help when there’s wind noise.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/06/2018 at 03:09

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There’s a time when there isn’t wind noise?? Even with the top up the wind noise is deafening. I think it’s actually louder top up than down.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/06/2018 at 10:17

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Hahaha you’re not wrong. I’ve thought about replacing window surrounds, but it’s not too bad... translates: I’m used to it! Also I have only ever used a hard top.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/06/2018 at 11:59

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Well yeah I’m not really complaining, it’s impossible for me to drive in silence now because of it. I have to have the windows open in other cars just to get some wind noise. Feels unnatural otherwise.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/06/2018 at 15:17

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Hmm... maybe that’s what’s added to my car sickness in quieter cars. Yeah... Thant actually makes a lot of sense. You just helped me to realize this lol. Thank you. I always roll the windows down when I get car sick and that helps for multiple reasons. Luckily only happens as a passenger!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/06/2018 at 15:37

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I get terrible motion sickness at all times. That is just an unavoidable part of life for me haha. But yeah having some fresh air and being in the drivers seat always seems to help. I cannot imagine being a passenger on any of my canyon runs, I would die within minutes.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/06/2018 at 17:50

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Hahaha. On my first road trip with my Miata, I happened upon a sick road up to the top(ish) of Mount Mitchell. My buddy who was with me didn’t enjoy it as much as I did lol. Luckily he didn’t throw up in my car. I pulled over... after a little fun. I mean I had to get to somewhere to pull over fast as possible right??

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-best-driving-road-that-youve-actually-driven-1634418256

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/06/2018 at 18:19

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The Devils whip, I love that road! Only got a chance to go drive it a couple of times a few years ago when I made a trip down there. Planned on hitting it again during my 4000 mile cross country trip but I lost a day due to the body work taking longer than expected. I was literally bolting on my bumpers the night before I left for the journey. I planned on 1-2 days more dedicated just to the roads of NC. That area is the only place that rivals the socal roads I have now. Except for that while winter thing that gets in the way 1/4 of the year.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/06/2018 at 18:43

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Nice dude. Yeah that was before I moved down to Asheville. I love the mountain roads around here. And the tunnels on the parkway. So much fun. Then hiking and such on top of that. Love it here.

Never been to SoCal to compare. I’d like to at some point. But doubt I’d want to take my Miata cross country. Also snow can make it even more fun! But it has to be the right kind of snow and not too deep.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/06/2018 at 20:17

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I’ve definitely always wished I could live in Asheville every time I visit that area. The driving truly is magical around there. Getting stuck behind idiots is mildly annoying but that is pretty much the case everywhere. At least I have pretty much never found cops out anywhere other than the Dragon or in towns. And 100% agreed, I love being able to combine my love for hiking and driving into the same activity most days.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/06/2018 at 23:55

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Yeah dude. One of my favorite things. Going out for a day drive/hike. There can be cops on the parkway and yeah sometimes slow drivers and cyclists, but usually it’s a pleasant escape from society.

Never been on the dragon. Kind of want to, but it seems like it would be dangerous with all the traffic.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/07/2018 at 11:22

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You have to make a dragon trip if your in the area! It was 100% worth driving 12 hours from NJ to go there. If you go on the road on a weekday, it is a much more pleasant experience. And weekends can be find in Spring/Fall, they just only get bad in the summer time. Even so, I did dragon runs on a saturday in early August and it was fine in the morning/evening but slow parade laps wrought with danger in the afternoon due to harley’s scraping pegs and asshats passing on the double yellow.

But it’s always worth it for some runs down the dragon. There are other roads in the area that are more worth exploring but there is something special about the Dragon that I really haven’t found elsewhere. There are roads here in Socal that rival it and are far less crowded but its not like they are nearby each other lol.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/07/2018 at 12:18

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Yeah? I guess I’ve been scared off by discovery channel’s propaganda. They did a thing on most dangerous roads and the dragon was on it. Talked about how lots of truckers end up using as a short cut and clearly they won’t be able to make the corners without completely blocking both lanes. I would not enjoy coming around a corner to that coming at me! But I’m sure they are just making it out to be something it’s not. Discovery does that bs for ratings.

Also what do you mean close to each other? Are the driving roads spread out a good bit in SoCal?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 05/07/2018 at 16:29

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It’s certainly dangerous due to many factors, mostly just idiots though. Go when there aren’t idiots and don’t be an idiot yourself and then its fine. I don’t think trucks make that mistake that often, as it is pretty illegal for them to do so. By close to each other, I was saying Socal and the dragon are not very close geographically lol. Meaning you do not generally just choose to drive one area or the other, its more a matter of what’s closer. I really like the roads in NC but considering the hassle it would take to get there versus what I have in my backyard now, it wouldnt be worth it.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/07/2018 at 18:35

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Oh yeah I feel you. I’ll look in to making a trip to the dragon this summer. Add it to my list of summer destinations this year. Camping on the beach is at the top though haha

Cash Rewards > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 02/16/2019 at 21:36

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Googling how to get myself lower in my Miata, and I'm brought back home to Oppo! How low are you with those seats? Where do you get said seats? What roll bar do you have?

Cash Rewards > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 02/16/2019 at 21:38

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Google brought me back home for answers! How much lower does this combo bring you? Are you fixed, or on sliders? What roll bar? What are your approximate dimensions? I need all the answers!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Cash Rewards 02/17/2019 at 10:13

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I’m about 6'0" and with my setup I have somewhere just above 1 inch of clearance between the top of my helmet and the top of the roll bar without padding. That’s also with the seat padding removed and no modifications done to the floor pan nor transmission tunnel. This is the bare minimum basically and some race groups are definitely more stringent requiring 2+ inches. I’d have to search for a shorter helmet and look into car modifications for sure though. My roll bar is a boss frog, I forget which one exactly since they are out of production now but it’s similar to the hard dog Hardcore double diagonal I believe. The only difference is this one sits further back from the passengers heads and therefore isn’t compatible with a hard top. I’ve heard it fits with zero roll bar padding and a tight squeeze but I haven’t tried. Anyways, I have dual durometer SFI padding on it so it’s a hard to even fit the soft top most of the time. But I feel adequately safe unhelmeted since there’s plenty of buffer room that only a crazy crash that would probably kill me in other ways would risk the bar hitting me. In general, the only improvement I could wish for would be a real seat instead of a knockoff but this is a great budget setup. I bought the seats used from a local Miata enthusiast but they can be ordered online for a bit more money

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Cash Rewards 02/17/2019 at 11:06

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Haha welcome home! I’ll be honest in saying I did not measure specifics. My roll bar is a hard dog m1 sport. I am 6’ 4” and this seat became necessary for me because the roll bar didn’t allow the same seat travel and my head c ould have hit it with the original seat. I would recommend this combo but there are a few drawbacks (I’ve been meaning to do a follow up after living with it). I believe with a narrower seat such as a kirksey and garage star brackets or bolting directly to the floor it could be lower. But for a one piece true bucket style seat I am as low as I can get . One drawback is  I have to take the seat partially out to take the hard top off (I will have to just take the latch off to make it easier).

Cash Rewards > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 02/17/2019 at 12:58

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Im not quiet 6' but I’m all torso. Wife wants me to have a roll bar, but from pics, and one I’ve sat in, it would be a hazard unhelmeted without modifications. I’m not sure a foamectomy would get me there. But with your height, if you can clear with the PCI  bracket, I could possibly even fit sliders. Well, maybe not, because then I’m bottom mounting, not side mounting, yes?

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Cash Rewards 02/17/2019 at 14:05

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Yeah my torso isn’t particularly short and I fit like a glove in my Miata now. Getting in and out on a daily basis is a bit undignified, but I don’t really care lol. It is side mounted and the bracket is designed specifically for the seat. I don’t have experience with sliders (aside from stock), but pci also makes a low mount with sliders which probably isn’t too much higher. I am at least   a few inches lower than stock and the seat while being lower is also taller and designed to keep you in it and also away from the roll bar.  It is physically impossible for me to hit my head on the roll bar... now on the hard top? That’s a different story. I will try to throw together a follow up article about how the set up has been to live with here soon , but basically I don’t regret it. And if you have any other questions let me know.

Cash Rewards > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 05/20/2019 at 22:09

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Where is this hole? I just got the same mount and am looking at this post to map out my strategy for tomorrow. I have a monstrous mount tab from the seat mount company that I would need to drill a hole in the floor for, as mXxxxXm posted. The tab comes with said giant washer, so I'm good to go there. Is it on the floor? Transmission tunnel? What am I expecting to see here?