Customer Question: Standard Or GT Cobra Suzuka For My Clio Mk2?
Customer question, Renault Clio Mk2 (2003)
A customer messaged us this week from a 2003 Renault Clio Mk2. The car came with a single Cobra Suzuka T in the driver’s seat and nothing on the passenger side, and the plan is a sensible one: buy one more Suzuka a size up for the driver, move the existing seat across to the passenger side, and end up with a matched pair and the roomier shell where it matters. The question was which size, and what else has to come with it.
Garreth’s answer is the one he gives everybody who is on the edge between two sizes: fit the biggest seat that goes in the car. Here are Cobra’s own figures for the two, what the extra width means inside a Clio, and the exact stack of parts that puts a side mounted shell on a Mk2 floor.
- The GT is the Standard Suzuka T shell made 30 mm wider. Cobra publish that as the only dimensional change
- Standard suits a 28 to 32 inch waist, GT a 32 to 36. On the edge, Garreth fits the bigger one
- Cobra’s figures: 590 across the shoulders, 490 across the base, 900 tall, 730 deep on the Standard
- The Suzuka is side mounted only, so it needs the Cobra Clio Mk2 frame AND a pair of Cobra side mounts
- The Cobra frame arrives with the sliding runner fitted, so there is no separate runner to add
The two sizes, in Cobra’s own numbers
Cobra make the Suzuka T on one shape in two widths. The Standard is the shell in their drawings; the GT is that shell opened out by 30 mm, which Cobra publish as the only difference between them. Height, depth, the cushion and the harness slot positions do not move. What moves is the room across your hips and ribs, and Cobra put the Standard at a 28 to 32 inch waist and the GT at 32 to 36.
The drawing below is Cobra’s own front elevation for the Standard, with the GT laid over it 15 mm out on each side. That is the whole difference, drawn to scale.
Front elevation, Standard with GT overlaid
Read off Cobra’s Suzuka T drawing. Cobra publish the GT as 30 mm of extra width and nothing else changes: height, depth, cushion and harness slot positions are the same on both.
From the side the two are the same seat. The backrest rake, the hooked head restraint, the 730 mm depth and the side mount boss are identical, which is why the same frame and side mounts serve both.
Side elevation
Backrest rake, hooked head restraint, depth and the side mount boss are the same on both widths, which is why the same frame and side mounts serve either seat.
| Cobra’s figure | Suzuka T Standard | Suzuka T GT |
|---|---|---|
| Across the shoulders | 590 mm | 620 mm (Standard + 30) |
| Internal seat width | 350 mm | Cobra publish + 30 mm through the shell |
| Across the base | 490 mm | as above |
| Height | 900 mm | 900 mm |
| Depth | 730 mm | 730 mm |
| Weight, Cobra | 10.9 kg | 11.5 kg |
| Waist range, Cobra | 28 to 32 in | 32 to 36 in |
| Mounting | Side mount only | Side mount only |
Standard figures are read off Cobra’s Suzuka T drawing. Cobra state the GT as plus 30 mm of width and do not publish a second table, so the GT column is the Standard plus that figure, not a separate measurement of ours.
Which one goes in the driver’s seat
The bigger one. That is Garreth’s view on every seat that sits between two sizes, and it is stronger on a fixed shell than on a recliner, because a shell has no give. A Standard that is snug on the day you buy it is tight after a winter, and a bucket seat you avoid sitting in is a seat you paid for twice. Thirty millimetres is not enough to let you slide about; it is enough to stop the bolsters pinching over a two hour drive.
This customer already has the Standard, has driven in it, and asked for the next width up. That settles it. The Standard goes across to the passenger side, where whoever sits in it is not braced against the wheel and will find it kinder than the driver did.
What 30 mm means inside a Clio Mk2
A Mk2 Clio is not a wide car, so the honest question is whether a shell 30 mm wider than the one already in the car clears the door card on one side and the tunnel on the other. Two things answer it.
First, be honest about what Cobra publish. They give the GT as 30 mm of extra width through the shell and do not break it down by height, so plan for 15 mm more on each side at the sill and the tunnel as well as at the shoulders. Fifteen millimetres a side is the whole change, and the seat sits on the same frame in the same position on the floor whichever width you pick.
Second, we have fitted a GT into this exact car before. The Clio 172 we wrote up in Renault Clio with Cobra seats and Sparco harnesses went out with Suzuka T GT RT shells and Sparco harnesses, so it is a fitment we have done rather than one we are reasoning about. Cameron’s only caveat is the usual one: if the car has been retrimmed, or the door cards are not the factory ones, put a tape across from the card to the tunnel at shoulder height and tell us the number before you order.
The full stack, per side
A Suzuka does not bolt to a Clio floor. It is a side mounted shell, so it needs a base frame on the factory points, a runner on that frame, and a pair of side mounts the shell bolts through. The side mounts are Cobra’s generic steel pair, not a vehicle specific part: the frame does the Clio specific work and the side mounts simply bolt to the runner on top of it. With Cobra that is fewer lines than it sounds, because the Cobra Clio Mk2 frame arrives with its sliding runner already fitted. Sparco, OMP, Recaro and Corbeau sell the runner separately; Cobra do not. So there is no runner to add to this order.
The mounting stack, per side
Four layers, bottom to top. The frame is the only vehicle specific part; the side mounts are Cobra’s generic pair and bolt to the runner on top of it.
Two frames exist for the facelift Mk2 and they are different parts: one for a car on standard springs and one for a lowered car. It is the most common mistake on this pair of listings. If you are not sure what the previous owner did to the suspension, measure from the arch to the centre of the wheel and send us the figure with the order.
And because the existing seat is moving to the passenger side, that side needs its own frame and side mounts too. Nothing carries over from a seat that was fitted on its own.
| Per side | Road and Track shell | FIA 8855-1999 shell |
|---|---|---|
| Suzuka T GT, the new driver’s seat | £577.00 | £724.20 |
| Cobra Clio Mk2 Facelift subframe, runner included | £255.00 | £255.00 |
| Generic Cobra steel side mounts, pair | £74.40 | £74.40 |
| Driver side total | £906.40 | £1,053.60 |
| Passenger side, mounting the existing Standard | £329.40 | £329.40 |
The passenger side reuses the seat the customer already owns and needs only the frame and side mounts. Prices as listed on the day of writing.
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Both widths in both approvals. The RT is the same shell without the FIA homologation, which is the right buy for road and track days; the Pro-Fit carries the FIA label for a scrutineered series.
The standard height frame, the lowered frame, and the side mounts. The rest of the Clio range is in the Clio Mk2 bucket seat guide, and every Cobra frame we list is in Cobra car specific fitting frames.
Matching a seat from its serial number
The customer sent the serial off the existing seat and asked us to match it. We cannot decode a Cobra serial into a specification, and neither can most of the trade, so the honest answer is to work from the label instead. If the seat carries an FIA homologation label with a date on it, it is a Pro-Fit; if not, it is a Road and Track shell. For a car that is not going through scrutineering the two can be mixed on the same floor without anybody minding, so the passenger seat does not need to match the driver’s seat’s approval, only its shape.
Common questions
Is the GT taller or deeper than the Standard?
No. Cobra publish the GT as the Standard shell plus 30 mm of width. Height, depth, cushion and harness slot positions are the same.
Can I put a Standard and a GT in the same car?
Yes, and it is a common way to end up with a matched pair when one seat came with the car. They mount identically, so the frames and side mounts are the same part on both sides.
Do I need to buy sliding runners with the Cobra frame?
No. The Cobra Clio Mk2 frame arrives with the runner fitted and it is in the price. Other makers charge for the runner separately, which is where that question usually comes from.
Which Clio Mk2 frame, standard or lowered?
Standard if the car is on its original springs, lowered if it is on aftermarket springs or coilovers. If you are not sure, measure from the wheel arch to the centre of the wheel and send us the number.
Will the Standard seat I already have need anything new to move it to the passenger side?
A frame and a pair of side mounts of its own. Nothing from a single seat installation carries across to the other side of the car.
Can you tell me the spec of my seat from its serial number?
Not from the number. Look for an FIA homologation label with a date on the shell. With a label it is a Pro-Fit; without one it is a Road and Track shell. The shape is the same.
The Suzuka T Standard and GT are on the showroom floor in Nottingham. Ten minutes in each answers this better than any drawing. Or ring Garreth and Cameron on 0115 9893488 with your waist size and whether the car is lowered, and we will build the order with you.