Recaro Knowledge Base

[twolf]

Fiesta ST Recaro Knowledge Base​

So you want Recaros, but you didn't buy them when you got the car?

You're not alone. I'm very interested in swapping Recaros into my car. The bad news is, it's not as simple as giving Ford $1,995 and turning a few bolts. Because of this, I've decided to try and put as much information on these seats as possible into one place. There's a decent amount of info out there on these forums, and I know I'm not the only one interested in something like this. With that said, here we go!

So, there are two real options here... The first is...

Fitting Fiesta Recaros into a car that came from the factory with sport seats:

• In Canada and UK markets (possibly more, if you know, PM me so I can add) Recaros are standard. Confirmed.
• Australia has full cloth Recaros as an option. Same in South Africa. Apparently so does China. Confirmed.
• Seen one confirmed sale of the Fiesta Recaros in Molten Orange for $899 (MMMTRBO)
• If your car did not come with Recaros, you will not have the wiring harness for the seat heaters. This isn’t an issue for me, so I won’t go out of my way to find information, but if I do, I will add it.
• According to MMMTRBO, somebody HAS swapped FoST Recaros into a Fiesta—after swapping the bases (sliders?) onto the FoST seats. This is unconfirmed.
• As far as my research has led me, one CAN NOT buy the seats as an assembly from Ford. You must instead buy each piece individually, and it's going to cost you. The covers alone are $600+ PER SEAT, that's not including any of the actual internal components of the seat, such as the padding.

The next option, of course, is...

Fitting Focus ST Recaros into a Fiesta:

• Do they use the same airbags? Potentially have someone with a Focus check the resistance of the airbag and compare it to the FiST.
• Fiesta Recaros do not come in full leather, only partial. FoST seats DO come in full leather.
• The Focus seat rails ARE different, nobody has confirmed whether or not they can be swapped for Fiesta rails. I’m assuming the FoST seat rails are the same part number for the Recaros/non-Recaros, but I will check Tasca and find out. (Holes on the Fiesta rails are ~16.5” across, ~17” in length. Thanks to rooSTer for this information)
• These following pictures were posted, the general consensus is that the FoST seats “seem” a bit larger, but nobody has made any measurements. The next meet I go to, I will measure FoST Recaros and then measure FiST Recaros. Focus Recaros vs Fiesta Recaros As you can see, there is no visual difference between the seats. From an engineering/cost standpoint, I kind of doubt that Ford/Recaro would spend time making two visually identical seats that differ so slightly in size that nobody can tell the difference. I theorize that the FoST/FiST Recaros are actually the same size, and the difference that some people feel is more to do with the fact that the interiors are otherwise difference.

If anybody has anything to add to this, PLEASE post in the thread, or PM me. As many links or pictures as possible, please! There are quite a few questions I have, and I'm going to do my best to get them answered. Thanks for reading!

 

[SpooledUpST]

Has anyone fitted aftermarket Recaros or any other manufacturer seats to the FiST?

 

[Vince62]

I'm in Canada where they come standard but mine had to be orange like the car.

 

[twolf]

Has anyone fitted aftermarket Recaros or any other manufacturer seats to the FiST?

Yes, they have. You lose airbags. I'll edit this post with links later.

 

[koozy]

there's also the heater for the seats.

 

[twolf]

there's also the heater for the seats.

Yeah, that was the wiring harness I was referring to! Sorry about that.

 

[MKVIIST]

Great stuff, thanks for making this thread [MENTION=3699]twolf[/MENTION]

 

[koozy]

Yeah, that was the wiring harness I was referring to! Sorry about that.

it's the most common feature forgotten about with the Recaros. They are nice to have even here in SoCal I can appreciate them and when taken into consideration of the price over standard seats, I find it's fair. As many are discovering it's not easy to put in Recaros with all of the OE features afterwards, so I find the entry price is worth it.

 

[twolf]

it's the most common feature forgotten about with the Recaros. They are nice to have even here in SoCal I can appreciate them and when taken into consideration of the price over standard seats, I find it's fair. As many are discovering it's not easy to put in Recaros with all of the OE features afterwards, so I find the entry price is worth it.

At the time adding Recaros would have added $60 to my monthly payment. (It was a lease and I was unsure if I wanted to keep it for more than 2 years) In my mind, that was too much for seats. Since then, I've bought out my lease and changed my mind.

Being in GA, I don't really care about the heated seats, so that isn't a factor for me.

 

[koozy]

At the time adding Recaros would have added $60 to my monthly payment. (It was a lease and I was unsure if I wanted to keep it for more than 2 years) In my mind, that was too much for seats. Since then, I've bought out my lease and changed my mind.

Being in GA, I don't really care about the heated seats, so that isn't a factor for me.

understood. I bought my car, so I considered the resale value should I choose to do that one day.

I like the idea of this thread. I sucks that we can't by seats outright from the factory, but have to piece them together. Puts me on alert if the seats get damaged and how to go about finding a replacement. local Salvage yards seems like the most logical, but I don't think yards will be overflowing with FiSTs. Seems more like a possibility of insurance deductible being used here if I needed.

 

[twolf]

understood. I bought my car, so I considered the resale value should I choose to do that one day.

I like the idea of this thread. I sucks that we can't by seats outright from the factory, but have to piece them together. Puts me on alert if the seats get damaged and how to go about finding a replacement. local Salvage yards seems like the most logical, but I don't think yards will be overflowing with FiSTs. Seems more like a possibility of insurance deductible being used here if I needed.

The individual parts for the seat have to be close to 5k per seat, not including the rears. If somebody broke into a car with recaros and slashed all of the seats, I could almost see an insurance company totaling it.

 

[koozy]

The individual parts for the seat have to be close to 5k per seat, not including the rears. If somebody broke into a car with recaros and slashed all of the seats, I could almost see an insurance company totaling it.

they can write me a check for the most they're willing to compensate and I'll find some replacements.

 

[twolf]

they can write me a check for the most they're willing to compensate and I'll find some replacements.

This is an issue in the S2K community. People steal the seats, cars get totaled because they're so expensive to buy from Honda. lol. It's shocking to me.

 

[Ser Duncan the small]

One other thing to note. On the FoST leather seats, the drivers side is power adjustable so that may have some added complication depending on how the rail integrates to the seat trim and power function.

 

[dyn085]

You can confirm FoST seats in a FiST. They are the same size seats. You do have to swap the frame rails. You will lose your airbags and seat heat and will have to wire up power to move the driver's seat.

Edit: I just realized that if you didn't have Recaro's to begin with then I don't think you have seat heat anyways.

 

[twolf]

Correct, no seat heat. I heard someone say the rails are welded into the seat bottom. You're saying it's been done? I'm going to look at parts diagrams in a bit to see if the rails are a single part just to verify. Thanks for the input!

 

[dyn085]

I know for a fact it's been done.

 

[nickstewartroc]

Why no air bags? Connectors different or...?

 

[parapraxis24]

Has anyone looked into swapping the covers or padding from side to side? I'm looking at ways to reduce wear and tear since I noticed the driver side is creasing from getting in and out I'd like to even it out since I plan on owning this for many years.