Datsun Competition Seats

datsfun

Club Member
Anyone able to advise what's the comfort like on the replica Datsun competition seats? Do they support the shoulders and upper back well?

Sean, do you know what branded seat lent itself as the mold for the seats you plan to distribute when they are ready?
 

Jake RAH

Well-Known Forum User
3. No, these will not be commercially available from 'every' motorsport store online - small batch quantities and made to measure - sounds expensive but I shan't be throwing +£700 at my pair of seats. More news when I have it - patience my friends.

4.So, how much please ?

Finally, horses for courses but a standard seat nicely trimmed takes a lot of beating.

3: I think you've some way to go yet on those seats Sean. They look similar to what we used to knock up for our go-carts years ago. Certainly no pretender to an s30 seat, regular or sports competition.
4: £280 each including postage from GSM.

Yes the original Z seats are very nice indeed. I've been offered a few pairs that need recovering. Would cost around £700-£800 all in, and would look the dogs b*****ks
 

datsfun

Club Member
3:

Yes the original Z seats are very nice indeed. I've been offered a few pairs that need recovering. Would cost around £700-£800 all in, and would look the dogs b*****ks

Jake I am sure you probably know that lots of good quality replica seats are available in Japan..and many poor quality ones as well.
 

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
3: I think you've some way to go yet on those seats Sean. They look similar to what we used to knock up for our go-carts years ago. Certainly no pretender to an s30 seat, regular or sports competition.
4: £280 each including postage from GSM.

£280 each (plus postage ?) is the benchmark then......some of that which I've seen from Japan is not up to the quality expected from the price and I'll quote Kameari directly here !

Anyway, we'll see, hopefully some more concrete news and a better project than the first mock-up seen in the photos.....don't compare the Wright Brothers with Le Concorde....oh, oops, not the ebst comparision :eek:
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
.....some of that which I've seen from Japan is not up to the quality expected from the price and I'll quote Kameari directly here !

What is it exactly you are referring to with regard to Kameari?

There are people out there who have been buying "Kameari seats" which are nothing of the sort. The mistake either theirs, or the fault of the people who misled them in the first place...
 

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
Seats for one then.

I'd be curious to hear the production history of their baffled sump pan.

From a personal point of view (although I'm unaffected), I feel that their headers and exhaust are over-priced.

Is their inlet admision pipe and kit better than the latest Mangoletsi (upon the original that you so vociferously spoke against and for some time) ?

One of two other engine parts have obviously been successfully replicated and are now better priced for an equal quality.

I'm not knocking Kameari per see, I don't think that they have evolved their product range and their pricing will always be uncompetitive irrespective of exchange rates one when calulates in the shipping and eventual customs duties.

I would also be very happy to see Europe developing and marketing its own parts (and not relying completely upon the east and west continents, surely a healthy sign of the Z scene here ?:thumbs:

And all that only because you asked, otherwise, I'd have kept my mouth shut.....;)
 

datsun dave

Club Member
Hello Albrecht,

Would you happen to have a rear picture of the original Competition seat with the head rest fitted ? also I take it that the metal bracket on top of the original seat is for a harness to stop it from moving ?
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
After looking for a set for a few years I bought some of the look-a-like Datsun Competition seats they arrived today after been messed around by Parcelforce for a week BUT ended up not paying any duty.

Seats look OK compared with originals pictures that I have seen but don't have the basket weave vinyl on the inserts.

Sorry to say this Dave, but your car deserves better than a pair of cheaply made copies like this.

They are nothing like the quality of the originals or Kameari's versions, and that's visible in your photos (so must be worse in real life). I believe they are a completely different construction from the originals too. As such, they are probably not safe...

One of the issues with Nissan's 'U0175' / 'Datsun Compe' seats is that - when mounted on runners - they leave you sitting quite high in the 'shell, and all the more so if you raise the rear mounts to give you a less 'laid back' seating position. You might even find yourself feeling as though you are sitting on them rather than in them. They have little to no shoulder support, and - especially so in the case of the poor replicas - are trimmed in such a way that you can't get deep enough into the seat base in order to get adequate hip support. There's too much foam in the seat base. To rectify this you can take the base cushion apart and chop out some of the foam, but there's a limit to how much you can remove without needing a re-upholstery job.

You could cut out the original seat mount crossmembers in the 'shell and weld in lower mounts for the sliders to mount them lower in the 'shell, but that's a bit drastic.

Sorry to be the one who says it, but the cheaper replicas are just not worth having in my opinion. The difference between them and the originals and/or the Kameari version is night and day.
 

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
You might even find yourself feeling as though you are sitting on them rather than in them. They have little to no shoulder support, and - especially so in the case of the poor replicas - are trimmed in such a way that you can't get deep enough into the seat base in order to get adequate hip support.

I think that those I tried might also be 'copies' (and my **** is too fat ?) because I couldn't get 'in them' either.:eek:
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
I'd be curious to hear the production history of their baffled sump pan.

You mean the one that AZC tells everybody is 'theirs'?

SeanDezart said:
From a personal point of view (although I'm unaffected), I feel that their headers and exhaust are over-priced.

They are made in Japan. It's not 'cheap' to make anything in Japan because it's not a third world or 'emerging' economy. They make for what is actually a niche market, and don't aim to compete with the likes of MSA or whoever because that's not their market. If you think they have a big mark-up then you'd be wrong. Most Japanese businesses which sell mainly to their own domestic market actually have quite a small mark up (ask me how I know...). They pay a lot of tax too.

SeanDezart said:
Is their inlet admision pipe and kit better than the latest Mangoletsi (upon the original that you so vociferously spoke against and for some time) ?

Kameari Engine Works do not manufacture inlet manifolds. They sell Harada Shokai inlet manifolds and linkages. Harada have been around in that business as long as Mangoletsi, and make a wider variety of manifold designs and styles to fit many different engines and bodies. I think their quality is good. The original Mangoletsi inlet manifolds for the L6 were poor quality castings (I had one...) and the linkages were awful.

I'm sure the 'all new' Mangoletsi manifolds are much, much improved over the old ones. That much is visible even in photos. Do they make one to fit between an L6 cylinder head and 50PHH Mikunis? Harada make three sizes.

SeanDezart said:
One of two other engine parts have obviously been successfully replicated and are now better priced for an equal quality.

For example?

It's interesting to hear the word 'replicated' in this context. For me it conjures up images of people copying things without doing any of the research or development that got them there in the first place. I think it's fair to say that KEW have done a LOT of research and parts development before taking many of their products to market. They've also done a lot of lobbying to OEM suppliers to get NLA parts re-made, and for those of us with some of the rarer engines out there that has been a BIG help.

Sorry, but copying KEW designs and making them 'cheaper' (why?) doesn't cut it for me and it's nothing to boast about.

SeanDezart said:
I'm not knocking Kameari per see, I don't think that they have evolved their product range and their pricing will always be uncompetitive irrespective of exchange rates one when calulates in the shipping and eventual customs duties.

Kameari's main market - always has been and likely always will be - is Japan. I don't think Mori san is planning on world domination, and he's the type of person who is more interested in quality control and honesty than making an extra few Yen here and there. I've known him and his business for many, many years and have visited many times too. I see him and his business as similar in philosophy to legendary VW tuner/parts supplier Gene Berg (look him up).

To be honest but fair, I don't think you know very much about KEW or their products.
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
Hello Albrecht,

Would you happen to have a rear picture of the original Competition seat with the head rest fitted ? also I take it that the metal bracket on top of the original seat is for a harness to stop it from moving ?

I think I've got photos somewhere. Bear with me...
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
I think that those I tried might also be 'copies' (and my **** is too fat ?) because I couldn't get 'in them' either.:eek:

I don't remember clearly, but I believe the race seat you couldn't quite get into was the early NISMO seat in my KPGC10, no?

Maybe you're just 'big boned'?

 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
Would you happen to have a rear picture of the original Competition seat with the head rest fitted ? also I take it that the metal bracket on top of the original seat is for a harness to stop it from moving ?

Sorry Dave, I'm struggling to find the exact set of photos that would answer your question and save a thousand words. I know I've got them, but I just can't lay hands on them...

The detail you are asking about was only seen on the U0175 'Datsun Compe'/'Datsun Bucket' seats for a couple of years of production. They added an inverted 'U' shaped bracket to the top edge of the seat to act as a guide for the belt harness shoulder straps when the bolt-on headrest was not fitted. The central mount pillar of the headrests (when mounted) acted as a divider for the belts, but the guide stopped them falling over the sides of the seat back.

Previous to that they had used an additional open 'T' shaped bracket which bolted onto the headrest mount in a piggyback fashion. It used the same bolts as the headrest. It simply acted as a retainer/guide for the harness shoulder straps.

Not U0175 seats, but 'period' Japanese race seats - illustrating the additional bolt-on bracket for the shoulder straps:
 

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Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Albrecht, I have seen and sat in Kevin's works rally car. That I'm sure will have a genuine Datsun comp seat (fabric covered) am I correct?

The seats wont give much support at shoulder height but of course in those days they didn't have decent roll-cages, crash helmets etc.
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
Albrecht, I have seen and sat in Kevin's works rally car. That I'm sure will have a genuine Datsun comp seat (fabric covered) am I correct?

The seats wont give much support at shoulder height but of course in those days they didn't have decent roll-cages, crash helmets etc.

The Works rally 240Zs used fabric-covered fibreglass seats made by Ikeda Bussan. They were first used on the PS30-SB Nissan 'Fairlady Z432-R'.

Not the same as the U0175 'Datsun Bucket' seats, which were originally made for the P510 Bluebird as a Nissan 'Sports Option' part and used right up to the 240RS in the early 1980s.

Ikeda Bussan seat:
 

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SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
I don't remember clearly, but I believe the race seat you couldn't quite get into was the early NISMO seat in my KPGC10, no?

Maybe you're just 'big boned'?

Cheeky :D - I got in it ok but remember you having OEM works seats...(see photo) - as a reference, it was back in April 2011.
No, I'm referring to a pair bought for a future Z project by someone we both know.

And you're right - I don't know very much about their products and nothing about 'them' although I have my opinion which is as usual open to change upon being presented credible evidence.
I'm sure that you and others with the rarer engines are very grateful to KEW for their help and support and I also respect them for it and perhaps that is the niche market to which you were referring (?) because eg RHD applicable exhaust manifolds don't help the vast majority of Z owners !

I'm not questioning their prices - it's a free world and they can obviously charge what they like [and if it sells, it's the correct price) but they don't just sell into Japan :

http://www.kameariusa.com/

http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/classic12f02 (and there are more Kameari parts sold via them).

http://whiteheadperformance.com/product-category/240z-260z-280z-70-78/exhaust/

So do you mean Japan as a niche market or the rarer S20, 2-TG and 2000GT parts ?

My whole point is that parts, like cars need to accessible (for the Z scene to grow and evolve outside of Japan and also the USA - basically HERE in Europe where we never had much of anything ; cars or after-market parts !) and not merely to the lucky few that either live and/or have access to parts within Japan and the means with which to buy them.

Most people here, quite rightly, rely upon products outside of the EEC and therefore pay high shipping charges and in most cases customs duties on the whole amount - it must have a stifling effect on interest and quality improvements and reinforce the typical journalist's article claiming that parts are difficult to come by.

I chose a Tomei variable timing sprocket and an Arizona Z car baffled sump because they were less expensive at my door than the Kameari equivalents - does it matter who copied whom if the end product is acceptable ? I'm not someone addicted to top marques, walking around in Nikes and Lacoste polo-shirts.....if I was obsessed with having 'the right make', I'd be in some other make of car now and not a 'Datsun'. What is important to me is efficiency and aesthetics in that order with cost considered where it can be applied. But that's me - each to their own.

So, you still don't see why anyone would or should 'copy' KEW products and make them cheaper ? Surely you must support good quality parts and car available within Europe....? These are for people to whom KEW do not target their products - your own words so tell me please how the majority should proceed to construct a quality car from A to Z , Or should they just stay humble and muddle through.......there are those who would sneer at that too remember ;-) !

Ps : Mangoletsi (easily consultable here) : http://www.mangoletsimanifolds.com/manifolds/datsun-240z-260z-280z-intake-manifold-linkage.pdf do a 40, 45 and 48mm 'off the shelf' and bigger if required on special order.

I don't see KEW advertising 'their' manifold as a Harada unit and I can't remember now for how much they were selling directly from Japan an Ebay.com
 

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jonbills

Membership Secretary
Site Administrator
I've got a few Kameari bits on my engine and I think they're quality & pretty good value.
For example, I have light forged pistons & adjustable cam gear delivered for about £800.

I'm looking at their rocker arms for my new head -
super light and strong, and delivered for prob about £450.
http://www.rhdjapan.com/kameari-l-type-rocker-arms-set-l6.html

Compared to what I assume aren't anything special from the zstore: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/10-2030
which look only a little less ££ delivered than the Kameari ones.
 
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