Well yesterday I went for a spin with the wife in the Viento. On the way home, I felt I was slumping in the seat, more and more. When I got home I found there was some movement in the rear of the seat. Today I took the seat out and stripped off the covering to find that the frame had cracked at two welds one on each side. The back had all but come away from the bottom section.

I am less that impressed by a seat that has the frame fail after just 1903 miles on the road. To me the fillet they welded in is not long enough or in the right place as it failed at the end of the fillet, and right on the weld. I have no replaced it with a bigger support.

I could have returned the seat under guarantee. However, that means no seat for however long it takes Cobra to repair or send me a new one.

There are not going to be many more nice days, so I fixed it myself. I'm not angry, just a bit miffed by the build quality.

OK I am a Bat Fastard... but the seat should have not failed so quickly. Either that or the Acceleration G-Forces are showing that my car's acceleration is better that a Tornado Jet Fighter.
Somehow, I dont think so!!

What is worrying, is that how much protection / support will these seats give in the event of an accident?


Broken Cobra Seat 1903 miles

Broken Cobra Seat 1903 miles

Broken Cobra Seat 1903 miles

My brother-in-law had a set of cobra seats in his hot hatch.
He's not the smallest of chaps and his failed in exactly the same way

Yep, been there, seen that, done that, crap they are !

I had the same. I returned mine to Merlin Motorsport who got it replaced.

I spoke to Cobra and someone let slip that they are sometimes prone to early failure. They also said that for safety reasons the rear back rest should follow the profile the rear bulkhead so that in a big rear impact the seat will be supported.

I make an effort not to put all my weight on the backrest when getting in and everything is fine now. I know the design is weak but they are comfy and fit well.

Looks pretty thin crap tubing to me.

The Cobra Imola is a good fit in my Viento, and as a moulded seat it won't have any issues with frame breakage. You're going to have to have v. long legs to get any seat to sit flush against the bulkhead in a Viento, which is what the Cobra '7' seat is designed to do.

If you go for Imolas ensure that you get the 'Pre HANS' shell which is just narrow enough to fit in the Viento seat wells - the later HANS compatible shell won't fit as the thigh support wings are too wide. Merlin supplied mine (3rd set of seats that I tried - enormously patient and helpful) and should know which shell to sell you if prompted.

One fitting note, if you are long of legs, the seat shoulder may foul the rear wheel arch steelwork. I'm six feet tall and there's about an inch of clearance.

Cheers
Simon