A 993 owner emailed this week. 1995 Carrera 4, driver six foot four, and he wants a Recaro Pole Position in it with as much leg and head room as the car can give. Which brackets, which rails?
The hardware is the easy half. Two companies make a base frame for the 993, the right side mounts are Recaro’s own, and everything is on the shelf. The seat at that height needs a proper chat, so both halves are on this page: the parts we would fit, and the sizing conversation we would have over the counter first.
What is on this page
A bucket seat install in a 993 is three layers. A base frame bolts to the factory seat mounting points in place of the standard runners, no drilling. Sliders go on the frame if you want the seat to move. Side mounts carry the seat and bolt through its side holes.
Height comes from the layers. The frame is a fixed cost, sliders lift the seat by their own thickness, and the side mounts set the final position. Nobody publishes millimetre heights for any of this so we will not quote one, but the rule of thumb costs nothing: fewer layers, lower seat.
At six foot four we would bolt the seat as low and as far back as the frame allows and set it once. If the car only ever carries one driver the sliders are optional, and leaving them out keeps the seat that bit lower.
Three layers cover the whole install. The seat gets its own conversation further down.
| Part | The job it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 993 base frame | Bolts to the factory floor points in place of the standard runners | Cobra’s subframe or Planted’s bracket, both made for the 993 |
| Sliders | Fore and aft adjustment on top of the frame | Endurance’s Recaro compatible kit or Recaro’s own double locking runners. Optional for a single driver |
| Side mounts | Carry the seat and bolt through its side holes | Recaro’s own steel mounts, shaped to the Pole Position shell |
Two companies make the base layer for a 993 and we stock both. Cobra’s direct fit subframe is listed for the 993 generation, 1994 to 1998, in driver and passenger versions. Planted Technology cover the same years with their 993 seat bracket, again per side.
There is no wrong pick between them. Both bolt straight to the factory floor points, both take sliders or side mounts on top, and availability usually decides it. If you are unsure which suits the rest of your build, ask.
A Pole Position wants Recaro’s own steel side mounts, and this is one of the few places we will tell you not to shop around. The fitment is specific: the profile along the side of the mount follows the shape of the Pole Position shell, so the seat sits against it the way Recaro intended. The same mounts fit the ABE and the FIA versions, and the Pro Racer SPG XL besides.
They bolt to the frame, or to the sliders if you are running them, and the seat bolts between them through its side holes.
Two options if the seat needs to move. The Endurance Motorsport Recaro compatible kit is the value pick and the one most road builds take. Recaro’s own double locking runners are the official item, and the current listing covers both seats in the car. Either bolts to the top of a Planted frame or the Cobra subframe, with the side mounts on top.
If only the owner ever drives the car, you can skip the sliders altogether. The seat sits lower bolted solid, and a six foot four driver only ever uses the back stop anyway. Our sliding runners guide has the detail on widths and handles.
Now the part we would want to say face to face. Recaro publish exactly three dimensions for the Pole Position ABE: 880mm shell height, 495mm cushion depth, 390mm cushion width, and a 7.0kg shell weight. No driver height recommendation at all. Our own fitment data rates the seat for drivers under six foot with a 32 to 36 inch waist, because that is where most people find it fits like it should. Some taller owners get on with it, helped by a low mounting. The only test that settles it is sitting in one, and we keep Pole Positions built up in the showroom for exactly that. A full Recaro delivery landed this month, so the shelves are the best they have looked all year.
If the answer is yes, the ABE road seat comes in five trims from velour to Ambla leather with Dinamica suede, and there is a full FIA version of the same shell if the car does track work with a harness. For a 993 there is also the Classic Pole Position, the same seat trimmed in Pepita houndstooth, corduroy or classic leather, which looks like it left Stuttgart in the car.
If the test sit says the Pole Position is too snug at six foot four, the seat we point tall drivers at is the Cobra Nogaro. The backrest is longer than most shells, which puts the harness slots above a tall driver’s shoulder line instead of below it, and that one change is why tall customers get on with it. Cobra list a ready made package for 911s from 1974 to 1998, the 993 included, with the fitting in the box.
Our tall drivers guide covers the Nogaro and the rest of the over six foot options in more depth.
None of the numbers on this page can tell you where your shoulders land at six foot four. Twenty minutes in the showroom can. There are Pole Positions built up on display, the Nogaro sits close by, and the comparison is quicker to make with your back than with a spec table. Bring the car if you can and we will check the mounting stack against what is actually in it.
Recaro publish no height limit for it, and our own fitment data rates it under six foot with a 32 to 36 inch waist. Taller drivers do run them, helped by a low fixed mounting, but shoulders and thigh length decide it, and a test sit answers in minutes what no spec sheet can.
Either Cobra’s 993 direct fit subframe or Planted Technology’s 993 seat bracket, both stated for 1994 to 1998 and both per side. They bolt to the factory floor points. The listed versions are right hand drive; for a left hand drive car ask us first, much of this kit can be ordered to spec.
A runner kit is a layer between the frame and the side mounts, so the seat sits higher by its thickness. None of the makers publish millimetre heights for these parts, so we will not invent one, but the principle holds: the fixed build without runners is the lowest.
The ABE is the road seat, approved for street use with 3 or 4 point belts, 7.0kg. The FIA version is the competition seat, FIA 8855-1999 homologated, HANS suitable, 7.7kg, built around harness use on track. Same shape, different homologation and harness provision.
Yes. The subframe is per side, so a driver side build changes nothing on the passenger side. Plenty of 911s run one bucket and one standard seat.
The ABE seat carries belt slots for a 4 point harness and works with the standard 3 point belt. Our fitment data lists it as 4 point compatible for road and track use.
For this customer: a 993 base frame from Cobra or Planted, Recaro’s own side mounts, sliders only if the car is shared, and the seat bolted at the back stop. Then a sit in the Pole Position before any seat money moves, with the Nogaro nearby for the comparison. If the Pole Position fits, that build gives it every chance the car can offer. If it does not, the same base takes the seat that does.
Bracket and rail questions get answered with a parts list, and this one is short. The sizing is the bit worth slowing down for, because a seat that fits at five foot ten can run out of room at six foot four, and no bracket fixes that. Come and sit in the thing. Ask for Cameron, and mention the 993. That is a car worth doing properly.
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