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Audi A4 B9 bucket seat guide

B9, 2016 onwards, saloon and Avant, including the S4

The B9 is new enough that the aftermarket has not entirely caught up with it. There is one frame, from one maker, and no cage built for this shell at all. That sounds thin until you look at what the one frame opens up, because on a modern A4 the mounting is settled in a single decision and everything after that is about the seat.

It also means most people arriving here are working on a car that is still fairly new, often still under warranty and often still doing a commute. That changes the sensible answer. A reclining seat that keeps the car civilised is a more common outcome on a B9 than a fixed back shell, and there are ten of them below starting at 235 pounds.

Audi A4 B9 on track with a helmeted driver
Audi A4 B9 on a trackday

One frame, two ways onto it

A frame bolts to the factory seat mounting points in place of the standard runners. A standard floor needs no drilling, and the seat sits lower than the seat and runners you took out. On a B9 that drop is the main reason people fit one at all, because the standard seat is set high and comfortable rather than low and supportive.

Planted are the only maker covering this chassis. Their bracket is part number SB375 at 187.46 pounds, listed for the A4 and the S4 from 2016 onwards, and priced per seat, so a pair means ordering it twice. Their listing is the useful one: the seat mounts to the frame either directly or on side mounts, so both routes are open and the seat you want is more likely to be workable than on a car with only one option.

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Frame plus a base mount seat

The route most B9 owners end up taking. A reclining seat or a base mountable bucket picks up the four holes in its own base and bolts to the frame. You keep the recline, the car still works for a passenger, and on a car this new that usually matters. One thing to settle first: Planted do not publish the bolt pattern for SB375, so send us the seat you want to pair with it and we will get the number confirmed before you buy either part.

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Frame plus side mounts

The competition route and the lower of the two. The frame bolts to the floor, a pair of side mounts picks up the sides of the shell, and the seat is fixed where you set it. You get one go at the position with the trim out. The Endurance steel M8 set is 29 pounds and the multi point version 39 pounds, both listed FIA approved and road and track. The Sparco set at 75 pounds carries its own FIA approval and covers OMP, Cobra and Sabelt shells.

The fitting kit for a B9

The frame is the one part you cannot substitute. SB375 is the B9 only. The B8 before it takes SB098 and the B7 before that SB093, and none of the three cross over, so check which car you have before ordering. The B9 is the 2016 onwards car with the wide low grille and the stepped LED headlights.

Everything else is a choice. Side mounts are only needed if the seat is side mount, and a runner only if you want to keep the fore and aft adjustment. On a car that is still somebody’s daily, the runner is usually worth the money, because a fixed seating position is a bigger imposition on a B9 than it is on a track car.

Ask about the bolt pattern before pairing a base mount seatPlanted publish a part number and a chassis for SB375 but not a bolt pattern. Base mount only tells you the seat fixes from underneath, it does not tell you where the holes are, and the reclining seats on this page sit on four different patterns: 291mm x 330mm, 345mm x 271mm, 345mm x 280mm and 405mm x 280mm. Send us the frame and the seat together and we will get the pattern confirmed by Planted before you commit to either. If you are going down the side mount route this does not apply, because the mounts pick up the sides of the shell instead. While the seat is out, check where the standard belt buckle ends up, because a bucket usually moves it and you want to find it one handed with a helmet on.

Bucket seats that fit

The Cobra Monaco Pro at 235 pounds is the only bucket here listed for base mount as well as side mount, so it is the one seat that goes on the frame with nothing added. It is also the cheapest FIA shell on the page by a distance. Everything else is side mount or does not say, and needs a set of mounts underneath.

Size is the useful filter on a car this size. Three seats cover a 36in to 40in waist: the Mirco RTS-2 Velour at 349 pounds, the Sparco Circuit II QRT at 468 pounds and the Corbeau Sprint X System 5 XL at 800 pounds. The first two also cover 32in to 36in on the same listing, which makes them the most adaptable shells here. If you are broader across the shoulders than the average, start with those three rather than working down from the price.

On height, the Mirco RS2 3D, the Sabelt GT3, the Sparco Circuit II QRT, the OMP ARS-R and the Corbeau Sprint X System 5 XL are listed for all heights, and the Mirco RTS-2 Velour covers over and under 6ft. The Cobra Monaco Pro, the OMP Champ-R and the OMP RT are under 6ft. Put a tall driver in a short shell and the harness slots end up below the shoulder line, so the belts pull down on the collarbones instead of holding you back.

Two seats need a word before you order. Motordrive list the Club Pro at 395 pounds and the Club Race at 495 pounds as FIA 8855-1999 but publish no mounting type, no height and no waist figure for either. They are good seats, but we are not going to tell you how they mount when the maker has not told us. Ask and we will get it confirmed with Motordrive before you buy.

Reclining seats

On a B9 this is where most people land. It bolts to the frame with no side mounts involved, you keep the backrest adjustment, and the car stays usable for whoever else drives it. Everything below is base mount and carries a road and track rating.

Four of these are pair listings, which is worth knowing before you compare prices. The Corbeau PSR at 465 pounds, the two Sportline RRS at 830 pounds and the two SVR Vinyl at 850 pounds are each two seats on one line, so the per seat figure is roughly half what it looks like. The Corbeau PSR pair works out at a shade over 230 pounds a seat, which makes it the cheapest way to change both front seats on this car. If you only want one, ask us first, because the single listings for some of these have been retired and we would need to check what is still available.

Bolt patterns split them four ways. The Sparco R100 Vinyl, the R500 Fabric, the R333 and the SPR are 345mm x 271mm. The Auto Style Type JW is 345mm x 280mm and the Type AK is 405mm x 280mm. The Cobra Misano Anniversary is 291mm x 330mm. All three Corbeaus are listed for 291mm x 330mm or 345mm x 271mm, which makes them the most flexible things here. Since Planted do not publish their pattern, send us the pair you are thinking of and we will confirm it before you order.

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Our picks, not the whole listOn a modern A4 the seat decides it, not the mounting

With one frame and both routes open, the mounting question is answered in a sentence on this car, which leaves twenty two seats and no obvious way in. The shortlist falls out of three answers: your height and waist, whether the car is still doing daily miles, and whether anybody else drives it. Cameron works out the fit and the best combination for a given car, so send those over with a rough budget and he will cut this page to two or three seats and tell you exactly what goes underneath each one. On a B9 that conversation also settles the Planted bolt pattern and, if you are looking at the Motordrive seats, how they mount.

Harnesses

There is no car specific harness for the B9, so you are fitting a universal belt and the mounting is yours to work out. Do that part first, because on this car it is the harder half of the job.

The shoulder straps want a fixing behind the seat at roughly shoulder height that can take the load in a shunt, and the factory rear belt mounts were not put there for that job. A saloon gives you a bulkhead behind the rear seats and real structure to work with, which helps, but on a car this new most owners are unwilling to start drilling. Send us a photo of the area behind your front seats and we will tell you what will work before you spend anything on belts.

The Sparco Competition H-3 at 185 pounds is worth pointing out. It is a 6 point steel belt rated FIA 8853-2016 and listed HANS friendly, which makes it the cheapest current FIA belt on this page by 20 pounds and a good deal cheaper than the Schroth. If your class asks for FIA, start there.

On the rest, the Schroth Profi 3×2 and the TRS Magnum 6 Point Superlite are also FIA 8853-2016 and the TRS Magnum 4 Point is FIA 8854-1998. Each carries a date that ends its competition life whether the belt has been worn or not. For a fast road B9 a Takata Drift II or III or a TRS Clubman covers it for less, though if you run a head restraint note that both Takatas and both Clubman belts are listed as not HANS compatible.

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Our recommendationsSort the mounting before you buy the belts

With no belt made for this chassis and no cage made for it either, the mounting is the whole question on a B9, so it is worth answering before anything goes in the basket. Tell us whether the car is road, trackday or competition, whether a head restraint is going on, and what is behind the seats now, and we will tell you what the shoulder straps can bolt to and which belt suits it. On a car this new that conversation is usually about finding the answer that does not involve cutting anything.

Mounting the shoulder straps

This is the one gap on the B9 and it is worth being straight about it. Nobody makes a vehicle specific roll cage for this shell. SW Motorsports build their half cage for the B8 and the Custom Cages kits are listed for the A4 from 2000 onwards, which is the earlier platform, not this one. A cage designed around a B8 floor is not something we would sell you for a B9 on the strength of the title matching.

That leaves two honest options. If you need a proper anchorage for the shoulder straps, a fabricated harness bar made to fit the car is the usual answer, and it is a smaller job than a cage on a road car. If you are heading for competition and the class requires a cage, it will need to be a custom build, and that is a conversation with a cage builder rather than an order off a shelf.

Either way, ask us first. We can go back to Custom Cages and find out whether anything is planned for the B9, and we would rather do that than have you buy a kit made for a different car. If a cage does go in, read the current regulations for your class before ordering, keep any sign off paperwork with the logbook, pad any tube within reach of a helmet, and tell your insurer, because a cage is a notifiable modification.

What fits what

Everything below fits a B9 on the Planted SB375, with side mounts where the mounting column says side mount. Where a cell says not listed, the maker does not publish that figure and we would sooner say so than fill it in for them. Ask us and we will go back to the manufacturer on it.

SeatMountingApprovalDriver heightWaistHANS
Bucket seats
Cobra Monaco ProBase or side mountFIA 8855-1999Under 6ft32in to 36inHANS friendly
OMP Champ-RSide mountFIA 8855-1999Under 6ft32in to 36inHANS friendly
Mirco RTS-2 VelourSide mountFIA 8855-1999Over and under 6ft32in to 40inHANS friendly
Mirco RS2 3DSide mountFIA 8855-1999All heights32in to 36inHANS friendly
Motordrive Club ProNot listedFIA 8855-1999Not listedNot listedNot listed
OMP ARS-RSide mountFIA 8855-1999All heights36in to 38inHANS friendly
Sabelt GT3Side mountFIA 8855-1999All heights32in to 36inHANS friendly
Sparco Circuit II QRTSide mountFIA 8855-1999All heights32in to 40inHANS friendly
Motordrive Club RaceNot listedFIA 8855-1999Not listedNot listedNot listed
Sparco Evo L QRTSide mountFIA 8855-1999Not listedNot listedHANS friendly
OMP RT CarbonSide mountFIA 8855-1999Under 6ft32in to 36inHANS friendly
Corbeau Sprint X System 5 XLSide mountFIA 8855-1999All heights36in to 40inNot listed
Reclining seats
Auto Style Type AKBase mount, 405mm x 280mmRoad and trackAll heightsAll sizesNot listed
Sparco R100 VinylBase mount, 345mm x 271mmRoad and trackAll heights32in to 38inNot listed
Auto Style Type JWBase mount, 345mm x 280mmRoad and trackAll heightsAll sizesNot listed
Sparco R500 FabricBase mount, 345mm x 271mmRoad and trackAll heights32in to 38inNot listed
Sparco R333Base mount, 345mm x 271mmRoad and trackUnder 6ft32in to 36inNot listed
Corbeau PSR, pairBase mount, 291mm x 330mm or 345mm x 271mmRoad and trackAll heights32in to 38inNot listed
Corbeau Sportline RRS, pairBase mount, 291mm x 330mm or 345mm x 271mmRoad and trackAll heights32in to 38inNot listed
Corbeau SVR Vinyl, pairBase mount, 291mm x 330mm or 345mm x 271mmRoad and trackAll heights32in to 38inNot listed
Cobra Misano AnniversaryBase mount, 291mm x 330mmRoad and trackAll heights32in to 38inNot listed
Sparco SPRBase mount, 345mm x 271mmRoad and trackAll heightsAll sizesNot listed

Common questions

The Planted SB375 at 187.46 pounds per seat, listed for the A4 and the S4 B9 from 2016 onwards. It bolts to the factory seat mounting points in place of the standard runners, so a standard floor needs no drilling. It is priced per seat, so changing both front seats means ordering it twice. It is the only frame made for this chassis.

The B9 is the 2016 onwards car. The quickest tell is the front: a wide low hexagonal grille and slim LED headlights with a stepped, almost jagged lower edge, and a sharp crease running down the flanks above the door handles. The B8 before it has a taller, more upright grille and softer sides. It matters because the frames are different part numbers and do not swap. If there is any doubt, send us the registration.

Planted do not publish one for SB375. That is the honest answer and we would rather give it than repeat a guess. It matters because the reclining seats on this page sit on four different patterns, from 291mm x 330mm to 405mm x 280mm. If you are pairing a base mount seat with this frame, send us both part numbers and we will get the pattern confirmed by Planted before you buy either. If you are using side mounts it does not apply.

The Planted listing says the seat mounts to the frame either directly or on side mounts, so both routes are open. Of the buckets here only the Cobra Monaco Pro is listed for base mount as well as side mount, so that is the one seat that goes straight on. Everything else needs a set of side mounts, which start at 29 pounds.

Motordrive do not publish a mounting type for either the Club Pro or the Club Race, and they do not publish a driver height or waist figure either. Both are listed FIA 8855-1999. We are not going to guess at how they fix, so if one of those is the seat you want, ask us and we will get it confirmed with Motordrive before you order. We have flagged the gap on our side as well.

Three cover 36in to 40in waist: the Mirco RTS-2 Velour at 349 pounds, the Sparco Circuit II QRT at 468 pounds and the Corbeau Sprint X System 5 XL at 800 pounds. The first two also cover 32in to 36in on the same listing, so they suit a range of drivers rather than one. The OMP ARS-R covers 36in to 38in. Among the reclining seats, all three Corbeaus cover 32in to 38in.

Corbeau list several of theirs as two seats on one line. The PSR at 465 pounds, the two Sportline RRS at 830 pounds and the two SVR Vinyl at 850 pounds are each a pair, so halve the figure for a per seat comparison. The PSR pair works out at a shade over 230 pounds a seat, which is the cheapest way to change both front seats on a B9. If you only want one, ask us first, because some of the single listings have been retired.

Only if you add a runner. Side mounts on their own hold the seat in one place, which sits lower and suits a car one person drives. The Sparco sliding runner kit at 34.95 pounds is the usual answer on a base mounted seat, and the Cobra premium runners at 70 pounds are the better made option under a Cobra seat. Neither is FIA approved, so treat both as road and trackday parts. On a B9 that is still somebody’s daily, the adjustment is usually worth having.

No. There is no car specific belt for the B9, so you are fitting a universal harness and working out the mounting yourself. That is the harder half of the job on this car. Send us a photo of the area behind your front seats and we will tell you what the shoulder straps can bolt to before you spend anything on belts.

If your class asks for FIA, the Sparco Competition H-3 at 185 pounds is the cheapest current option here, a 6 point steel belt rated FIA 8853-2016 and listed HANS friendly. The Schroth Profi 3×2 and the TRS Magnum 6 Point Superlite are the same standard at 370.01 and 245 pounds. If nobody is going to scrutineer the car, a Takata Drift II or III or a TRS Clubman covers it for less, as long as you are not running a head restraint, because those four are listed as not HANS compatible.

No, and we would rather say so. SW Motorsports build their half cage for the B8, and the Custom Cages A4 kits are listed for the car from 2000 onwards, which is the earlier platform. We are not going to sell you a cage made for a different floor because the title says A4. If you need an anchorage for the shoulder straps, a fabricated harness bar made to fit the car is the usual answer and a much smaller job. Ask us and we will also check with Custom Cages whether anything is planned for this shell.

FIA means the belt passed a test to a written standard. Whether it suits your car is a separate question. Every FIA belt carries a date that ends its competition life whether the belt has been worn or not, so you are buying a clock along with the harness. Buy FIA if your class requires it. For a fast road B9 that will never see a scrutineer, a road and track rated belt does the same job for less money and does not expire.

Usually yes, and it is worth checking properly. The original buckle stays where it is while the seat around it moves, so once the seat is bolted down make sure you can reach the buckle one handed and that the shell is not fouling the stalk. Sort it while the trim is still out and it costs you two minutes instead of an evening.

It is a fair question on a car this age and one we cannot answer for you, because it depends on your dealer and your policy rather than on the parts. What we can say is that the Planted frame bolts to the existing seat mounting points and does not require drilling or cutting, so it is reversible: the standard seats and runners go back in. If you are worried, keep the original parts and speak to your dealer before you start.

More help

If your car turns out to be an earlier A4, the B7 guide and the B6 and B8 guide cover those chassis and the different frames made for them. If you want the fit on your B9 confirmed against a specific seat before you spend anything, or you want us to chase Planted for the SB375 bolt pattern or Motordrive for their mounting, the contact link is the quickest way to get it looked at.

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