Recaro Mods (retitled for less negativity)

[Se7eN]

They are now by far the best seats I've ever had in any car. And that includes the full on luxury leather seats in my once upon a time Mercury Grand Marquis

2017 w/Recaros - bone stock

They are the most comfortable seats I've ever had in a car. I have arthritis and it's just about the only car where I can ride for hours and not feel like I've been hit by a truck.

 

[NebraskaJericho]

I bought my FiST with the base seats because that was the only option available anywhere within 200 miles. I finally decided it was worth the money, so I bought Recaros about a year ago and put them in. I'm 6'1 190 and these are the most comfortable seats I've had in one of my cars. Like others have said, the leather and cushioning breaks in and eventually it'll be snug and comfortable. My wife couldn't stand them at first - she's 5'2, petite and has a large butt. Great, unless you're sitting in Recaros. The bolstering that hugs my sides perfectly sits higher on her and forces her shoulder blades forward and the seat was a little too snug to be comfortable. Once the passenger side broke in like the drivers side, I don't think she loves them but I've noticed she doesn't complain about them anymore lol. So I understand why very small people or bigger people have issues with them.

Honestly, I'd adjust your seating position and give them time to break in. In my opinion the Recaros do a lot for the looks and character of the car compared to the base seats. If you're still not sold, you'll fetch $1500 for your set easily. You'll notice hundreds of posts in search of Recaros, they're sold within minutes, and many (like myself) will drive HOURS to snag them. There's a reason for that!

 

[NebraskaJericho]

My Nephew has a Focus ST with the Recaro option and I drove it last week while visiting with the whole family in Charlotte. His wife hates to drove the FoST because it's difficult for her to see over the steering wheel. Once I got in the car to drive it I discovered that she wasn't the only one to have difficulty with the low seating position. I'm 5'10" and while I could see over the steering wheel I felt as if I had climbed into a Le-mans Prototype racer. Makes me glad that I chose the base model FiST with standard seats, in part due to car magazine reviews noting the Recaro's were a bit cramped. Because they are actually comfortable seats and I was in complete comfort during the 9 hour 40 minute drive back home to Detroit. BTW, my BMI runs between 22 and 23 so I am not "heavyset" or "Big Boned".

I would suggest that GTX3076 put out an offer to swap his Recaro's for the standard factory seats. Because it seems that anyone who doesn't know better wants the Recaro's and will likely be willing to do all of the work involved in the swap for you.

I can't speak to the FoST, but the Recaros in the FiST actually sit higher than the base seats.

 

[Dpro]

I can't speak to the FoST, but the Recaros in the FiST actually sit higher than the base seats.

This is true and the height is mainly in the seat pad. If one is brave and willing to chop up the base that the bottom seat pad mounts they could probably section out the 1 inch difference out of the forward part where most of the rise is situated.

Forwarning though, you have to be a good welder and one who is willing to mess with Recaro‘s factory design of the seat. I should mention I looked at the seat base of the stock base seats when my friend was doing the seat swap and the bases are pretty much identical in the underpinnnings holding the seat pads.

So switching your Recaros seat pads to a factory base seat frame would not change the height. You literally only have to two choices section the base frame or actually lower the seat mounts on the chassis of the car itself.

This again could be done if one is A handy with welding and willing to mess with Fords designed seat mount setup on the car. It is doable but very much not for the faint of heart so to speak and is racecar mod situation.

 

[Capri to ST]

I eventually gave in to simply leaning my chair back more. Once I did that, within a few days fit was 100% better, and now I love the seating position. Steps I took:
Lowered the chair as much as possible
Leaned the chair back until my neck no longer felt forced and tilted forward/downward

I initially had the same experience the OP had with the headrest pushing my head forward in an uncomfortable way. Leaning the Recaro seats back more helped me a lot too. I highly recommend trying that.
As others have said, the seats also break in after a time, and feel more comfortable, and you also get more used to them.
I'm 6 ft and 168 lb but my shoulders are fairly wide, so it's a tight fit, but I love them. I did a lot of research before I chose them, and the many owners who reported experiencing them breaking in and softening up convinced me to get them, and I'm glad I did.

 

[AZSP33D]

I have an M5 with sporty leather seats and a lot of adjustment, the upper seat tilt, bolsters in and out, lumbar and thigh support... cooling, heating... it's more comfortable and soothing for sure, but I actually enjoy the Recaro seats in the FiST more sometimes, it feels more like a race seat. (No, don't try to fit BMW M5 seats in the FiST). Seats are very personal, if you want something to match, look at Mustangs different Focus models also, and sit in them. The base FiST seats are like a cheap couch, I can't stand them, but others prefer them.

OP, where are you located? Location shows US, not helpful for those here drooling to give you $1000 to swap more comfortable seats for your car.

 

[Alkoran]

I'm 5'2" / 140lb and I find them to be wonderful seats.

 

[PoisonIvy]

6’ 190. Fit like a glove. Not that Canadians have a choice.

 

[FiSTerMr]

OP, where are you located? Location shows US, not helpful for those here drooling to give you $1000 to swap more comfortable seats for your car.

Haha, you guys are like hungry wolves that just picked up a scent of blood from a mile away.

To the OP:
You had me thinking about those headrests for some reason. So I went to my car to see if it's something that I can benefit from. But the way I have my seat, the stock headrest doesn't even come close to my head. If I put the seat more upright, the lumbar doesn't contact my back anymore, and i start to hurt.

I spoke with a friend of mine who has the recaros, and he actually had the same problem as you. He bought those focus headrests and he feels much better now.

Make sure they are the adjustable kind. There's two types of those headrests.

From looking at the eBay auctions, they don't mention if they are adjustable or not. But you can tell by where the metal post comes out of the bottom; the adjustable ones have a lot of empty space in front and behind to allow movement. It looks like a rectangular hole going from front to back; a void if you will. The non-adjustable ones have material all around the post. So pay close attention to that!

2017 w/Recaros - bone stock

 

[gtx3076]

Sorry I'm in Dallas Texas area.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[PunkST]

I took some 1/8" thick washers and tilted the seat by placing them under the rails.

 

[AZSP33D]

There's some good advice... The blue car I have used delrin spacers under the rear seat attach points as the owner liked it a little more upright and higher (about 5'8"), and they weren't as comfortable for me (5'11") as the stock position ones in the white car, I like to recline a bit and bring the steering wheel close. But for a slightly shorter guys who wants to sit higher and more upright, the rear spacers may be the trick.

 

[PunkST]

^ not a bad idea to rais the whole seat under all 4 points. I lifted the front for a bit more rearward tilt.

 

[Dpro]

I want to lower my seating position. When I test drove originally it was a base seat model and I liked the lowest seating position with the base seats, as far as driver placement in the cockpit goes. The one drawback for me with the Recaros is you do not sit down in the car as much its more of a sedan type seating position feel vs sports car. It was always at trip because my M3 with vaders sat you down in the car,even though it was a sedan it seated you like a sports car.

 

[gtx3076]

I ordered a leather adjustable headrest from a Focus. There is a faint smoke smell which is a bummer, I'm hoping that it doesn't make the car smell that way over time. There is some slight fitment issues, the focus headrest is just a tad wider than the Fiesta's so I have to force it all the way down between the seat's "shoulders", but it won't click and lock in place, so it'll sit at the 2nd lowest height which is fine honestly.

Just sitting in it, briefly it's WAY better. Can't wait to take it for a longer drive.

 

[jeff]

I ordered a leather adjustable headrest from a Focus. There is a faint smoke smell which is a bummer, I'm hoping that it doesn't make the car smell that way over time. There is some slight fitment issues, the focus headrest is just a tad wider than the Fiesta's so I have to force it all the way down between the seat's "shoulders", but it won't click and lock in place, so it'll sit at the 2nd lowest height which is fine honestly.

Just sitting in it, briefly it's WAY better. Can't wait to take it for a longer drive.

I got bored and a few days later mine arrived...decided to make a thread/video for my YT channel, here we are:

https://www.fiestastforum.com/threa...or-fiesta-with-recaros-vid.22900/#post-389409

 

[FiSTerMr]

I got bored and a few days later mine arrived...decided to make a thread/video for my YT channel, here we are:

https://www.fiestastforum.com/threa...or-fiesta-with-recaros-vid.22900/#post-389409

"if you have questions or comments..." I do: why did you disable the questions or comments section? [emoji90]

Seriously tho, great content. Thanks for the upload [emoji106]

2017 w/Recaros - bone stock

 

[jeff]

"if you have questions or comments..." I do: why did you disable the questions or comments section? [emoji90]

Seriously tho, great content. Thanks for the upload [emoji106]

2017 w/Recaros - bone stock

No that's Skynet aka YouTube, they just redid all their legal crap and they're still working out the kinks...in some cases it means even vids with comments enabled are disabled no matter what the human (me) does.

:|

 

[TyphoonFiST]

No that's Skynet aka YouTube, they just redid all their legal crap and they're still working out the kinks...in some cases it means even vids with comments enabled are disabled no matter what the human (me) does.

:|

They are watching!

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[MagnetiseST]

I picked up a set of focus headrests from the junkyard to use only for track days. My helmet hits the headrest and that gets quite annoying. If you ever have the chance to sit in the newer 2015+ Focus ST Recaros, you will notice that while they are similar they fixed a lot of the issues that the originals had (like the damn headrest)