sport seats or not

has anyone had the experience of sitting/ driving in the sport seats? heard they were very supportive but not for bigger framed people and that for longer term driving they were not as comfortable. Any feedback?

They don't provide any more lateral support than the stock seats - they just look cooler. Get the GT3 seats if you want real lateral support. IOW, order the cheapest stock seats you can (ie: no leather, no electric, no lumber, heat, etc) and swap em for GT3s when you get the car. Of course if you are going to baby the car (ie: never see more than say 7/10 of it's limits), then either the sport or factory seats will be fine.

I sat in the sports seats and they were pretty comfortable. They were tighter on my latissimus dorsi than the regular seats but not constricting. Fine for my daily commute; probably a drag for a multi-hour drive. FYI, I'm 6' 2", 194 lbs, XL T-shirt, shirt 18" collar and 34-35" sleeve, jacket 44L, jeans 34 waist 36 length (No, this is not a personal singles ad!)

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When I ordered the Boxster (2.5ltr) I had Sports seats. As the car was a daily driver, it gave me a backache - was doing about 100 miles daily! On 996 kept to standard seats and I find it more comfortable - though miss the 'Sports Look' of the Sports Seats. Seems like matter of opinion. If it costs extra, might be worth trying out the Sports Seat for a weekend if not a week before parting with money. I am not aware of it adding value on resale either.

100 mi?! My daily commute is roundtrip 32 mi. If it was 100 mi I definitely would not get sports seats.

My 92' 968 seats were twice as comfortable and more supportive as the factory sport seats my 2001 Carrera came with. Hoestly, I think they suck. I took the car to a DE at NHIS once with the factory sport seats and found myself either siting on the console, banging up against the door or trying to pull myself up from under the dash. I am 6 feet 195lbs. I have GT-3's now, great seat but if your not doing any performance driving and/or you are more than say 220lbs(unless your 6'4 or more), the GT-3's would not be for daily use, in my opinion. Good Luck.

Jim, I learnt the hard way with the Sports seats - I was sold on looks more than functionality. IMO it offered me no more support during fast cornering compared to std seats.

If you are going to use the car for DE events and will use a harness system, it will not work with sports. The harnesses are better with stock seats. Or like some above have suggested, go with the GT3 seats. I have sat in a 2001 996 with Porsche GT3 seats, and they are awesome!(I like your seats Dennis...) Good Luck

Hi! Currently I consider having the sports seats reworked. They�re fine for short trips, but they�re to narrow for me on longer trips. Well, I�m 191 cm with 104 kg. Maybe size matters... Ciao, Marc

The GT3 seats have the same problem most of the racing seats have - they don't fold forward to give access to the rear seats. I had a set of Recaro SPG's and while the support was nice, the were difficult to deal with on a daily basis. Just putting something like a computer bag in the back was much more of a chore because the seats didn't fold. I have had several models with sport seats including a new '02. The bolsters on the newer cars are not a pronounced as the earlier ones, but the seats are easier to get in and out of and quite comfortable.

The newer 911 sport seat look cool with the bolsters at chest level , ala , NSX-T. But they don't work as well as the earlier ones with bolsters down low near waist level. They do not give lateral support. They also fit oddly. Some skinny guys can't squeeze between the shoulder bolsters, while some big guys says they fit in them fine. I think a lot has to do with how long , not wide, your torso is. You HAVE to test sit in them.

"Just putting something like a computer bag in the back was much more of a chore because the seats didn't fold." Yep, this can be a problem - unless you're talking about a cab :-)

Thanks for the help everybody. Will go with the standard seats. Use of the car will be weekend with my wife. Won't likely see track. Could involve long weekend drives. Overall, comfort the deciding factor. Thanks again for the feedback. C4S to arrive in July.

One more tip , RJK , since the sport seats are more for looks than function - you can " dress up" the standard seats with the Porsche crests in headrests. Compared to $700 footwell lights, the $210 " crests" are a relative bargain , IMO. Also, unless you and your wife constantly switch seats, you save total 25-30 lbs ( and $$$)getting manual seats w/o the front - back and up-down motors. Back angle still motorized on manual seats.

Wjhoops, just realized you are getting C4S - so you HAVE to get full power seats .

I sat in both yesterday and today. I really love the feel of the sports seats. They offer more support to my shoulders and back (latissimi) without being uncomfortable. I have narrow hip and waist so I appreciate the 'hug' of these seats. I definitely will get them. C4S seats : power ajustment is standard but if you get the sports seats must have manual adjustments...I'm almost positive. That's fine with me. Sports seats are no charge for the C4S but on the C2 an extra $750 MSRP if you don't get full leather.

I have a Cab with stock seats and a TT with Sport Seats. My wife will not ride in the TT because the "wings" push her shoulders out. I like the stock seats.. Roy

This post is redundant with some of the other replies but I thought I would reinforce your decision. I have the sports seats in my '99 coupe. I am not sure if they are the same ones offered in the new models but I don't find them very comfortable. They support my shoulders in such a way that it really tires me out on long drives. They also don't seem to help on corners.

Speaking of redundancy, I checked them both out again today. I changed my mind: I believe the regular seats would be better for daily driving than the sports seats. At first the latter felt good but I think I would grow tired and uncomfortable in them. I think the only purpose of the sports seats is looks. If you aren't broad in the back they could be OK but not for me. They definitely are not functional sports seats as they fail to provide restriction of lateral movement that one would experience in turns.

definitely try the seats out if you don't fall into the standard fit ~5'9'', 185 lbs, average build (ie no short arms, beer belly, long legs, etc.) have em on my 2000 cab and it makes a difference when you take the corners hard (snug is the word). my commute used to be 60 miles a day round trip.....seats felt better than my BMW's 12-way adjustable seats...drop the extra money and have the backs sprayed to match the body color. also helps overcome the sloppy 996 base suspension and makes the convertible look more aggressive. <img src="graemlins/a_smil17.gif" border="0" alt="[blabla]" />

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</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by MKW: <strong>...$210 " crests" are a relative bargain , IMO.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Where can you get these done for $210??

good point about the "standard fit." I am 5' 8" 165 lbs with a short waist. my C4S that's on order is coming with sport seats because after several hard cornering test drives with both sets of seats, i definitely prefer the sport seats for lateral support. my wife agreed whole-heartedly. it seems perfectly impossible for the sport seats to not give more lateral support when they appear to be the exact same seat as the standard but with shoulder bolsters. i guess if someone were too large to fit within the shoulder bolsters then, they might slide about....

I've got the factory sport seats in my 02 Cab. Went to Hershey and back last week. (8 hrs each way from the Cape to Hershey and back), and I was very comfortable, and I'm a "heavy" person..6',250lbs They felt great. Very supportive. Manual seat adjustment, power seatbacks. <img src="http://www.986host.com/albums/doncapecod/Factory_Sport_Seats_004.sized.jpg" alt=" - " />

John Murray, Question. Why can't you use the sport seats with harnesses? I have stock seats and Sparco 6 point harnesses with the B-K harness bar, and just heard on this board that it is unsafe. I'm thinking about how to go. GT3 or racing seats would be safer, but because the seat backs don't move, they would be inconvenient around town. I use the car a lot on the streets and I do a lot of DE. What do others do? Perplexed in Palm Beach

I originally ordered teh sports seats because I think they look great. When I sat in a car that had tehm I was very uncomfortable. I work out a lot so I have a stocky buld. The standard seats were more comfortable and felt as supportive.

does anyone over 6 feet have the GT3 seats? I am only 5'8" and I find them to be very comfortable...but I had two people sit in them over 6 feet tall and they complain about them being so darn uncomfortable...their reasoning is that you cannot recline it and the pivot point is making them an inch from the roof. I told them to slide the seat to the back, and they said its not the leg room, but rather the hip to the ceiling room.