As you might have read I hunted down a pair of Recaro Trendlines from a EP3 Type-R a while ago. After sourcing the seats I needed seat rails; I went for extra low, Suzuki Swift specific Recaro rails from Japan. It was a complete gamble to go for RHD seat rails in a LHD car. The outcome is fantastic though; because they fit the car like a glove! Im really happy that there is some more space between the headrest and the ceiling of the car compared to the OEM seats. I now also don’t have to put my nose on the windscreen when trying to see traffic lights above the road.
The install went pretty smooth, below some things I’ve encountered and which are shown in the pictures below;
- The seats connect directly on the low rails, just a couple some spacers were needed. Check the first picture to see why (the 2 nuts are for height reference).
- I changed the rear bolts of the rails because the Recaro rails don’t have space for the torx socket, so I switched to (stainless steel) regular bolts that can be fastened with a wrench.
- One hole of the OEM seats remains unused and wil become visible (last photo, on the front side of the seat)
- After installation the airbag light comes on, because I no longer have side airbags. Here you can read how I solved this issue.
Spyros
Very nice outcome!
Just a question. you said that you purchased RHD rails. Could it be possible to fit RHD rails , but in a LHD Stock Sport (european) Seat ?
If so , where can i find lowering rails , but for the stock seat?
Thanks in advance
Highco
Thank you Spyros, and interesting question! Assuming you have a same generation Swift the RHD rails will fit your LHD. The challenge will probably be in the bottom part of the seats. I don’t know if Recaro rails (or any ‘sport’ rails for that matter) will fit the OEM seats, my feeling is they won’t. Maybe you can create a custom bracket to match the two, but this potentially will add in ‘height’ of the whole setup. A less cost effective, but more fun solution might be to go for Recaro’s… 😉