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What’s the difference between race seats and standard car bucket seats? Aren’t they basically the same thing? That’s a question that even seasoned gearheads may find challenging to answer. However, the answer is more straightforward than you think. In this article, we’ll take you through each seat type and why you should pick one or the other. Then, we’ll give you our five top picks to choose from.
Of course, we have more than five seats in our extensive seat inventory. So, if you’re finding it hard to pick the right seat, talk to our experts. They’ll be able to recommend the best racing or bucket seats for your use case scenario and budget, too.
What are Standard Auto Bucket Seats?
A standard auto bucket seat is a seat that is designed like a bucket of sorts to hold one person. This is the opposite of a bench seat, which can typically hold more than one passenger. Bucket seats are usually found in the front of most vehicles for the driver and front passenger. Some vehicles, like high-end luxury cars such as the Porsche Panamera, Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, and BMW 7-Series, offer a rear executive seat as standard or optional, which brings two individual bucket seats. Many two-door coupes and convertibles also come with rear bucket seats. You’ll also find a bucket seat design in the second row of many crossovers and SUVs when equipped with the Captain Chair option.
Typically, standard auto bucket seats come with side bolstering on their seat cushions and seat backs to support the thighs and sides of the occupant. The degree of bolstering may vary from vehicle to vehicle. Hence, high-performance vehicles like the Chevrolet Corvette will have more aggressive bolstering than SUVs like the Ford Explorer.
Standard auto bucket seats offer a full range of adjustments. These include seat back angle, two- or four-way lumbar support, seat cushion angle, seat cushion height, and fore-and-aft adjustment. These may be manual or power-operated. Many vehicles also include seat heating, with some adding ventilation and even massaging functions.
What Are Racing Seats?
Racing seats are specially designed to protect the driver (or passenger if so equipped in a car) from the extreme G-forces of racing. Racing seats include several cutouts within their structure, allowing for the easy fitment of three-, four-, and five-point racing harnesses. The cutouts are at several levels to accommodate varying occupant heights.
Most racing seats are not adjustable regarding backrest angle or seat cushion angle. They are designed to cocoon the occupant in the most optimal position for hard driving. While it may seem uncomfortable initially, given the involved G-forces, this promotes better comfort in the long run. Furthermore, unless custom-made, you won’t find amenities such as power adjustment, power lumbar, heating, or ventilation with racing seats. That’s primarily because these are not required for racing use but also because racing seats are designed to be as lightweight as possible.
However, racing seats can be slid forward and back to make it easier for drivers of varying heights to operate the pedals properly. Most racing seats come with universal attachments and mounting brackets that may use the existing seat rails or include their rails.
Which Seats Are Best? Here Are Our Five Top Picks
Finding it hard to pick the right seat? Well, it all comes down to your usage case for your vehicle. You'll prefer a good racing seat if you favor track driving and have a high-performance vehicle. However, a nice bucket seat is ideal if you want something more supportive for your car. Bucket seats are also great upgrades for classic cars that have been resto-modded or performance upgraded, as most classics originally came with bench seats for the driver and front passenger.
JEGS Off-Road Seat
When you’re off-roading, it’s crucial to have adequate support, especially if your off-roader comes with flat or bench seats from the factory. For a value-packed choice, check out the JEGS Off-Road Seat. It’s got a fixed back but can accept a five-point harness within its cozy leather upholstery.
JEGS High Back Sport Seats
These comfortable JEGS High Back Sport Seats include a tilt-adjustable backrest, simulated leather upholstery, and a choice of black or beige color themes. They’re ideal as an upgrade from your factory seats if you primarily engage in on-road driving.
MOMO Fiberglass Racing Seats
MOMO is one of the premier names in high-performance racing seats, so you’d be amiss not to check out their fiberglass racing seats if you’re an amateur to pro-level racer. These seats easily accept a five-point racing harness and are HANS (Head And Neck Support) device-capable. They are also FIA-approved and come in various widths to suit drivers of varying sizes.
Procar Rally Series 1000 Seats
Here are some bucket seats with a great blend of bolstering and classic looks. Choose the Procar Rally Series 1000 if you’re upgrading an older car and want to retain that classic look but add supportiveness to your drive. They’re adjustable and come in various colors to match your interior.
Sparco GT Street Seat
Sparco is another renowned name for seats, steering wheels, safety equipment, and more. Check out their GT Street Seat as a great upgrade if you want premium luxury features. This adjustable seat includes OEM-quality synthetic leather upholstery with microsuede inserts and comfortably padded side bolsters. It’s only available in black, but black looks good in almost any interior color theme.
Drive Comfortably and Safely With JEGS
Since 1960, we’ve been helping gear heads across the country realize their dreams. Starting off as a small parts store and garage by Jeg Coughlin, we’re now one of the most well-recognized one-stop shops nationwide for all your automotive tuning and enhancement components. We’ll help you pick the best parts for your car and your tastes. You can be assured of first-class customer service.
