How Do I Fit OMP Champ-R Seats Into My Mini R56?
Seat fitting guide, OMP Champ-R in a Mini R56
R56 owners ask us how to fit OMP Champ-R seats, and we have two ways to do it. One is a Sparco frame with OMP low profile side mounts under the Champ-R. The other puts the Champ-R on Endurance multi-point side mounts bolted straight to the floor. Both are below with their prices.
- The seat is the OMP Champ-R, £381.60 inc VAT, a fibreglass shell approved to FIA 8855-1999
- Route A, the Sparco frame and OMP side mounts, is £538.98 inc VAT for one seat
- Route B, the Endurance mounts straight to the floor, is £433.20 inc VAT for one seat, and needs measuring and some modification
- Route A keeps the factory seat belt bracket and a slider option, and Route B is the lowest and simplest
- The Champ-R is about 590mm across the shoulders, which fits an R56 but needs mocking up
The two routes, from the floor up
Both routes start at the Mini R56’s factory seat mounting points and finish with the same seat. The Champ-R is a side mount shell, so it needs side mounts either way. The only difference is what sits between those mounts and the floor.
Route A puts a Sparco frame there, which is where the slider and the factory belt bracket come from. Route B puts nothing there. The mounts bolt directly to the floor, and that is why the seat sits as low as it can.
Why the Champ-R
The Champ-R is a fibreglass shell of about 8.9kg, approved to FIA 8855-1999 and HANS friendly. It has five harness slots, and the lumbar and leg support come out so you can tailor the fit. OMP list it for drivers under 6ft with a 32 to 36 inch waist, and it is a side mount seat supplied on its own.
Shoulder width is what limits a Mini. Retailer drawings of the Champ-R give about 590mm across the shoulders and 520mm at the base, and our guide to the widest seats in a Mini R50 to R56 puts the easy fit at about 600mm and 500mm. That makes it inside on the shoulders and 20mm over on the base, so mock it up before the final tightening. Send us your height and build and we will check it for you.
The parts in this guide: the Champ-R, the Sparco R56 frame, the OMP low profile side mounts and the Endurance multi-point side mounts.
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From £97.44 Incl. VATPayPal CreditSelect options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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Route A: Sparco frame, OMP side mounts
The Sparco R56 sub-frame bolts to the original floor mounting points and has a 345mm x 271mm top plate. It is handed, so you choose driver or passenger side, and it comes with a metal bracket for your original seat belt buckle. On the R56 that bracket needs a small adjustment, which our seat belt bracket guide explains. It sits the seat a little higher than the OMP frame.
The OMP low profile steel side mounts bolt to the sides of the Champ-R and carry it down to the frame. They are 350mm long, FIA approved and made from 3mm powder coated steel, and their three holes let you set height and angle without drilling. A Sparco sliding runner kit goes between the frame and the mounts if you want the seat to slide.
Route B: Endurance mounts to the floor
The Endurance multi-point M8 side mounts are steel brackets with several rows of holes for seat height and tilt, and slots in the base so they suit a range of mounting widths. They can be turned around to suit a narrower or wider seat, and they take the M8 bolts used by most side mount FIA seats.
Our customer car post shows a Mirco RS1 fitted this way in a Mini listed there as an F56. Its floor points were flat and 405mm apart, one bracket was turned around to close the gap to the seat, and two holes in the side mounts were drilled out so the factory M10 floor bolts would pass through. We have not published the same measurements for an R56, so measure your floor first. The seat ends up as low as it can go, but it has no slider and no mount for the factory belt, which makes it a harness only setup.
What it costs
Every price here includes VAT, and Route B comes out £105.78 cheaper per seat before any drilling.
| Part, all inc VAT | For one seat | For a pair of seats |
|---|---|---|
| OMP Champ-R fibreglass FIA seat | £381.60 | £696.00 (the 2 seats listing) |
| Route A: Sparco R56 sub-frame, one per seat. Choose driver or passenger side. | £97.44 | £194.88 |
| Route A: OMP low profile steel side mounts, one pair per seat | £59.94 | £119.88 |
| Route A total | £538.98 | £1,010.76 |
| Route B: Endurance multi-point M8 side mounts with bolts, one pair per seat | £51.60 | £103.20 (the 2 pairs listing is £90.00, so ask us whether it includes bolts) |
| Route B total, before any modification | £433.20 | £799.20 |
| Optional on Route A: Sparco sliding runner kit | £41.94 | £83.88 |
On Route A we check the OMP mounts against the Sparco frame before anything ships. On Route B we go through your floor measurements with you. Ask us for the manufacture date on the seats too, since an FIA seat’s expiry date is set by when it was built.
Which route we would pick
Garreth: If the Mini is still a road car I would take Route A. You keep the factory belt bracket, you can add a slider, and nothing is drilled, so the standard seats go back in on the day you sell.
Cameron: On a dedicated track car I would look hard at Route B. The seat sits as low as it can, which matters with a helmet on, there are fewer parts, and it costs £105.78 less a seat.
Garreth: The Sparco frame does sit the seat a little higher than the OMP one, so headroom is the thing I would test first.
Cameron: Sit in the car in your helmet before you order either route, and that settles it.
Garreth: Route B needs more care than it looks. The mounts get turned around and drilled to suit the floor, so measure first and be sure you want a harness only car.
Cameron: Which is why I like to see the car, and our guide to Sparco and OMP frames covers the same trade for the R53.
How the fitting goes
On Route A, bolt the OMP side mounts to the Champ-R first and set the frame in the car on the factory points. Then offer the seat up and choose the height and angle through the holes before you tighten anything. On Route B, bolt the Endurance mounts to the seat, offer it to the floor points, and drill the brackets only once you have measured.
Start every bolt by hand, sit in the car, and check the clearance to the door card and the tunnel. Torque everything down and recheck it after your first drive. Set the seat position before you fix your harness anchor points (our harness fitting guide covers that), and tell us what the factory seats carry, such as side airbags, before they come out.
One seat or a pair
The 2 seats listing is £696.00 against £763.20 for two single Champ-R seats, a saving of £67.20. Frames and side mounts are sold per seat, so order each twice. Pick driver side or passenger side on the Sparco frame.
You can fit the driver side now and add the passenger side later. Drop us an email or click to open a chat if you want it checked against your car. Our Mini R53 and R56 seat guide and R56 reclining seat guide cover the other options.
Questions about OMP Champ-R seats in a Mini R56
How do I fit OMP Champ-R seats into a Mini R56?
Two ways. Route A is a Sparco R56 frame, OMP low profile side mounts and the Champ-R, which is £538.98 inc VAT for one seat. Route B is the Champ-R on Endurance multi-point side mounts bolted straight to the floor, which is £433.20 inc VAT for one seat and needs measuring and some modification.
Which route keeps the factory seat belt?
Route A does. The Sparco frame comes with a bracket for the original belt buckle, which needs a small adjustment on the R56. Route B has no bracket for the factory belt, so that car runs on a harness only.
Can I slide the seat?
Route A takes a Sparco sliding runner kit between the frame and the seat, and on Route B the seat is fixed.
Will the Champ-R fit in an R56?
It measures about 590mm across the shoulders and 520mm at the base. That is inside our 600mm shoulder guide for a Mini and 20mm over the 500mm base guide, so we mock it up with you and check your height and build before you order.
Are the R56 floor points the same as the Mini in your customer car post?
We do not know yet, because the post has no R56 measurements. That Mini had flat floor points 405mm apart and factory M10 bolts, so measure your own floor before you order the mounts.
What about the OMP frame instead of the Sparco one?
The OMP R56 frame is £122.82 inc VAT per seat and takes both the 345mm x 271mm and 405mm x 290mm patterns. It sits the seat lower than the Sparco, and it has no bracket for the factory belt. Tell us what you are building and we will say which suits.
Tell us about your Mini
Come and see the Champ-R, or ring Garreth and Cameron on 0115 647 8650. Give us your car, its year, your height and your waist size. We will put the seats and mounts together for you.
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