Off-road seats are sized on your waist like any other bucket seat. What sets them apart is that head support is close to standard rather than optional, and that the range is split almost evenly between side mount and base mount.
Head support comes as standard hereNearly every seat in this range has an integrated headrest or includes one. Across our circuit bucket seat range it is closer to a coin flip. Rough ground moves your head about in a way a smooth circuit does not, and the seats are built accordingly.
Measure yourself sitting
1Sit on a hard, flat chairFeet flat, knees together, back straight. No cushion.
2Measure across your hipsThe widest point, side to side, sitting down.
3Measure in what you drive inOveralls and a jacket add real bulk. Take the wider seat if it is close.
Waist bands
Around half of these suit all heights and a good number are listed as under six foot, so if you are tall, filter on height first. The tall end of this range is thin.
Fixed back or reclining
Most of these are fixed back and a smaller number recline. Fixed back is the right answer for competition and for anything where you are strapped in with a harness and staying there. Reclining suits a green laner, a trials car or anything you drive to the event, where being able to sit up and see out matters more than the last bit of lateral support.
Mounting
This range splits close to evenly between side mount and base mount, which is unusual. Our circuit bucket seats are overwhelmingly side mount and our road sport seats overwhelmingly base mount, so do not assume off-road follows either. Check the fixing type on the seat before you order any brackets.
Nearly all of these are sold as the seat only, so budget for brackets and a subframe on top. Our seat mounting and fixing points guide covers which is which.
Approval
Close to half of these carry FIA 8855-1999 and the rest are Road and Track. That is a much higher proportion of FIA seats than the road sport range, which reflects how many of these end up in competition cars. If you are running in a championship, check the approval on the product and check what your regulations require.
What to look for in a seat that gets used off-road
Drainage and trim
An open car and a wet field are hard on a seat. Vinyl and neoprene shrug off water and mud and wipe clean. Velour and suede do not, and they hold the smell of both. If the car has no roof, that decides it.
Getting in and out
High side bolsters are what stop you sliding around, and they are also what you have to climb over every time. In a car with a cage and a narrow door aperture, a slightly lower bolster is worth the small loss in support because you will be in and out of it all day.
Harness holes
Check the seat takes the harness you plan to run. Most here take a four point and a good number take a six point, and it is listed on every product. On rough ground the sub straps are what stop you sliding forwards under the lap belt, so a six point is worth having if the seat and the car allow it.
Tell us what the car doesCompetition, green laning, trials or a bit of everything, plus your seated hip measurement and whether the car has a cage. It changes the answer more than the measurement does. Call 0115 989 3488 or email Sales@GSMPerformance.co.uk.
Based on our product data for the off-road seat category, checked 2 August 2026.
