996 Sport seats versus Recaro Sportsters

Anyone had both and have any opinions to share on how the two compare?

Haven't sat in sportsters but I have the sport seats in my 996. I find the shoulder bolsters too narrow. They push your shoulders forward. The fact that they are convex/bulbous makes it worse because you basically have a single spot of contact between a bolster and your shoulder. The 997 sports seat shoulder bolsters are concave and solved this issue. The Sportsters are similar to the 997 sports seat by the look of them and I reckon are the better seat in every seating and driving aspect compared to the 996 sport seats. HTH.

Sportsters are overall better for my posture (and IIRC sit lower), but if your torso is narrow, the ribcage bolsters won't be very snug. I'm going this route as well as the used-market price for 996 sports seats is completely not worth it IMO.

The weight savings between the two can be substantial in favor to the Recaros.

I sit in the Sportster GT Star executive chair all day in the office (same chair with a different base), and it is our most popular executive chair due to comfort and support. Also, customers love them in their vehicles, many conversations start when we are out at events with the same "I've got these in my car!" Reach out at [email removed] or [phone removed], If you're ready to order, we'd want to tailor a few hardware components for your 996. You can shop all RECARO Sportster GT styles on our website here: https://www.highline-autos.com/produ...-sportster-gt/

If you track or even autocross, Recaros give you the option for a harness, but I can't see if those particular seats have the opening for the 5 or 6-point belts, which is important.

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RECARO Sportster GT is 3/4 point compatible only.

I just installed a set of Recaro sportster CS seats in my C2 and they’re great, my only complaint is if you’re tall you might run into a leg room issue. I’m 6’01” and had my stock comfort seats pushed all the way back. The Recaros can not slide as far back due to the adjustment shaft and the backing of the seat hitting the interior as it slopes inward, hard to describe but can get some photos if you want. My seating position is slightly more forward but I was able to adjust my driving position and I’m comfortable now. Aside from the that, I used the Planted seat mounts and I think they sit slightly higher than the stock comfort seats. Planted includes a spacer to mount the Recaro sliders to the mounting bracketed, if I drill new holes into the sliders I could do without the spacers. Additionally, I had to use a shorter 20mm class 10.9 hex bolt from Home Depot to secure the rear bolts of the seat bracket. Not a huge deal but another thing to consider. For the most part these are a direct drop in but there was a few fiddley bits to consider. Overall I’m very happy with these compared to the stock comfort seats. Let me know I’d you have more questions. Happy to answer what I can.

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thanks all! I have a 993 and actually have both 996 sport seats and Sportsters in my garage. The 996 seats have to be customized slightly to fit the 993 so I wanted to get feedback before I take the plunge on doing that.

Very nice @mtke , and correct the Planted Base does sit higher than the RECARO 996 base option. We offer both.

I really like those seats and I would give anything to have manual sliders! My drivers side power seat quit working but at least it is in the correct position for me. No amount of troubleshooting of the seat electrics worked..I think the seat memory module blew when I changed out the battery. Oh well...

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What kind of modifications are needed to fit in the 993? I'm guessing it's a similar fitment issue for the 996. Thanks! At this point I'll probably just modify what I have vs buying more but it's good to know it's available.

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To fit the 996 seats in the 993, you mainly have to flatten out the front bracket, and remove the rear locating pin. Also have to remove the spring that helps adjust seat height. So reversible mods except for the rear locating pin, but I don�t know if the pin serves a purpose once the seat is bolted down.

Kind of a random question, but do the Sportsters offer more leg room in the back seats? It's already getting tight back there for my 2 boys.

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The RECARO Sportster is thinner than the OEM, however at the end of the day we're talking the back of a 996 here, so any gain is going to be marginal at best. Trenton O. Gibson [email removed] Highline Autos Direct: [phone removed] Office: [phone removed]

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I think it would probably offer some extra room in the back seats as these are thinner. Its not much, maybe and inch

What kind of adjustment does the base offer? Just slide forward? What about tilt up/down like the stock manual seats?

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Agree 110%. Didn't like them at all in a previous 996. It$ incredible how much they are still worth for what they are imho. Mine were in good shape, not perfect at all, but in ok condition. Took them out and sold them for $5250. Got some nice comfortable Recaro, and had enough cash left over for a set of tires... In my book, a win win. Guess for the Porsche purist that would be a no no. I'm ok with that, and car eventually sold for top dollar....

I am curious about the end result you achieved and how are the seats working out at this point? I have a 996.1 C2 with comfort seats. I am 6'1" and about 190 lbs with a 34 inch waist. The only way I can get the stock seats to be comfortable is by raising it too high for my liking, to get leg bend and arm bend I want. By raising the seat to this point, then the rear view mirror blocks my vision to the right through the windshield, and if I am wearing a helmet it hits the roof. I am trying to find a seat swap that gives me a lower seat base height, higher seat base front height relative to seat base rear (more seat base tilt) for better thigh support. I am also looking for better side to side support (bolsters). Do these seats provide you with this sort of adjustment flexibility?

Wow it's been like 2 years to the day that I posted about these seats and I just happened to stumble upon this thread again. A small update as I've now probably put ~15-20k miles on the seats (I like driving this car). Comfort, great but I'm a pretty slim guy at ~175lbs and 6'1" with ~34" waist. Leg room is fine for drivers and passengers but you do have to remove the adjustment ****. I haven't removed the carpet and the plastic trim underneath to cut a slit for the adjustment post nor have I cut the adjust post to slide back further. I adjusted to the driving position but it's not too close at all. I haven't tried with a helmet on and I do suspect this will cause some issues with headroom. If I didn't have the sunroof in my car it may be fine. As for holding up and durability, over all this time and miles, they have held up great too but that's probably expected

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The 996 passenger compartment narrows as it goes back. This is the reason Porsche put electric tilt control even on the base seats; it removes the need for a manual **** and allows the seat to move further back. Cantrell Motorsports sells a slim **** for the Recaros that gains some room, but the seat still doesn't go back as far as the stocker. As you mention you need to make modifications if you want full rearward motion.

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This is correct. I purchased the Cantrell slim ***** and they don't buy you anything, I would recommend purchasing them. The reason for this is because the shaft that you attack the slim ***** to still extends past the outer edge of the slim **** and still contacts the plastic behind the carpet where it narrows. The only way to get the last few inches of the sliders is to modify the bit that narrows for what I've researched. I haven't done this modification myself.