Hundreds Of Products Ready Today. Dispatch/Collection Customer Question: Affordable Bucket Seats For A Honda Civic EP2
Customer question, Honda Civic EP2, 2001 to 2005
A customer rang this week wanting bucket seats for his Civic EP2 and asked for the best affordable option. It is a fair question and one we had never written down, because until now every Civic page we had was about the Type R.
So here is the EP2 answer specifically, and it starts with good news. The fitting frame is the same one the Type R uses. M2 Motorsport list their Civic subframe for the EP2 and the EP3 together, which means the expensive-sounding part of this job costs an EP2 owner exactly what it costs a Type R owner.
After that it is just how much you want to spend on the seat, and the honest answer is that you can do this properly for well under GBP 600 a side.
- The M2 Motorsport subframe is listed for the EP2 and the EP3, so it is one part for both cars
- Three FIA approved seats start under GBP 285, and all three mount either base or side
- A dual fitment seat on the M2 frame is the cheapest proper setup on this page
- Step up to a fibreglass side mount shell and you need side mount brackets as well
- The Mirco RTX-7 is the one listed for drivers over 6ft, so it is the tall driver answer
- Two cages are listed for the EP2, a DIY half cage and a full multipoint
What is on this page
Start with the frame, and it is the same as a Type R
This is the part EP2 owners assume will be a problem and it is not. M2 Motorsport make a direct fit subframe for this chassis and their listing covers the EP2 and the EP3 on the same part, because underneath the badges the floor is the same car.
It is a steel direct fit, so it bolts to the factory seat mounting points with no drilling on a standard floor, and it is handed, so you pick driver or passenger side. It is listed as a pair, which is the sensible way to buy if both sides are going in.
That is the whole mounting decision on this car. Get the frame right and every seat below will go on it.
The affordable answer, and it is a proper one
These three are where we start almost every conversation like this one, and not because they are the cheapest things we could point at. All three carry FIA 8855-1999, which is the same homologation as shells costing three times as much, and all three mount either base or side.
That dual fitment matters here. It means the seat bolts straight down onto the M2 frame without needing side mount brackets on top, so the cheapest seat is also the cheapest to fit. On an EP2 build where the whole point is value, that is the combination.
The OMP TRS-E is the least expensive and the one to look at if you are slim, because it is listed from a 28in waist where the other two start at 32in. The Sparco Sprint is the only one of the three listed for all driver heights. The Cobra Monaco Pro is the one people know, and it is a slightly deeper shell than the Sprint.
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Frame plus seat, FIA approved, bolted to the factory mounting points, no brackets to add and nothing adapted. If you are slim take the OMP TRS-E instead and save a bit more. Garreth would spend what you save on the harness and the belts before he spent it on a fancier shell, because on a car like this the seat is only half the job.
If you want to spend a bit more
The step up from a dual fitment seat is a proper fibreglass side mount shell. They hold you better, they are lighter, and they sit you lower because the shell hangs between the brackets instead of sitting on top of a base.
The trade is that a side mount shell needs a pair of side mount brackets between it and the frame, and those are a separate part. Budget for them from the start.
The Sparco Grid Q is the fibreglass shell we sell most of and it is roomier inside than it looks. The Mirco RTX-7 is the one to look at if you are tall, because it is listed for drivers over 6ft as well as under, which most shells at this money are not, and the RS2 sits alongside it for all heights. The OMP WRC-R is the one for genuinely serious support and it is the shell we would put somebody in who is doing regular circuit days.
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If you already know you want the Grid Q, we list it as a package with the M2 frames, which is the tidier way to buy it. One line on the order instead of three, and everything arrives together so nothing is waiting on anything else.
Buying the pieces separately is not wrong and sometimes it is cheaper, particularly if you only need one side doing. Ask us to price it both ways and we will tell you which is better for what you are actually doing.
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Matching it to harnesses
The seat holds you sideways. The harness holds you into the seat. On a car used on track, fitting one without the other is doing about half the job.
Before you order belts, work out what is going behind you. The shoulder straps need a solid anchor at or above shoulder height, which means a harness bar or one of the cages below. What you must not do is run them down to a floor point behind the seat, because that angle loads your spine instead of holding you back.
The split is simple. The Sparco 4 point bolt in and the TRS Clubman are road and track belts with the familiar push button release, and they never need renewing. The OMP 801, the Sparco Club Racer and the TRS Magnum carry FIA 8854-1998 with a twist release, which is what scrutineering expects, and they carry a date on the label.
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If the EP2 is a fast road car that sees the odd track day, the Sparco 4 point bolt in at GBP 97.20 is plenty and it never expires. If you are entering anything with scrutineering, take an FIA belt and check the date on the label against your season. Cameron will match the belts to whatever bar or cage you are running if you tell him what is in the car.
Cages, and the cheap way in
Two are listed for the EP2, and they sit at opposite ends of the money.
They sit at opposite ends of the money because they are for different people, so here is each one on its own terms.
The cheap way in. The JP Cages DIY half cage kit is a rear half cage you build in yourself, and on an EP2 it is the buy that makes everything else on this page work. It gives you the solid anchor the harnesses need, it leaves the front of the cabin alone, and it costs less than most of the seats above it.
For a fast road EP2 that does track days, this plus a seat plus a belt is the whole job done properly for sensible money.
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The competition answer. The Custom Cages multipoint is listed for the EP2 and the EP3 together, exactly like the frame at the top of this page, so an EP2 is not the poor relation here either.
Check what your championship actually asks for before ordering, because the regulations name the specification and it is not a preference. Send us the class and we will confirm which kit you are allowed to run.
Questions about EP2 seats
Do I need an EP2 specific frame?
No. M2 Motorsport list their Civic subframe for the EP2 and the EP3 on the same part, because the floor is the same underneath. So you buy the same frame a Type R owner buys, at the same price, and it bolts to the factory mounting points without drilling.
What is the cheapest setup that is still proper?
The M2 frame with one of the three dual fitment seats, and the OMP TRS-E is the least expensive of those at GBP 239.40. All three are FIA 8855-1999 and all three bolt straight to the frame with no side mount brackets to add. That is a genuinely proper installation, not a compromise.
What is the difference between the cheap seats and the fibreglass ones?
Weight, how hard they hold you, and how low you sit. A fibreglass side mount shell hangs between its brackets so you sit lower, and it wraps you more. It also needs side mount brackets as an extra part. The dual fitment seats bolt straight down and cost less to fit as well as to buy.
I am over 6ft. Which seat?
The Mirco RTX-7, which is the one on this page listed for drivers over 6ft as well as under. Most shells at this money are listed under 6ft only. Send us your height and waist and we will confirm it before you order rather than after.
Can I fit harnesses without a cage?
Yes, with a harness bar, and plenty of EP2s run exactly that. What you cannot do is fit them with nothing solid behind you. If the bar is not in yet, keep your standard belts and fit the seats first. That order costs you nothing and it is the right way round.
Is there a guide for the Type R?
Yes, we have a separate Honda Civic EP3 bucket seat guide covering the full range for the Type R. The frame is the same part, so if you have an EP3 the mounting advice here applies to you too.
Tell us your height and what the car does
Send us your height, your waist measured over what you drive in, and whether the EP2 is a road car, a track day car or something with a rule book attached. That is enough for us to give you a combination and a number instead of a list of options.
Ring 0115 9893488 or come to the showroom and sit in a few. Two minutes in a seat settles more than an hour of reading, and it is free.