Hundreds Of Products Ready Today. Dispatch/Collection Top 5 Bucket Seats For Your Mazda MX-5 Mk4 (ND), And One Kit That Fits Them All
Mazda MX-5 Mk4, the ND, 2015 on
A customer messaged us this week about bucket seats for his MX-5 ND, and our own website chat drew a blank. Not because we have nothing for the car. We stock seats, frames, rails and lowering kits for it. It drew a blank because every listing said Mk4 and his logbook says ND, and nothing anywhere joined the two names up.
That is fixed now, and this page is the follow-through: the five small buckets we would actually put in this car, and the one fitting kit that covers all of them.
- Mk4 and ND are the same car: ND5RC on the logbook, Mk4 in UK listings
- All five seats carry FIA 8855-1999, so the approval does not decide it
- One PCI kit per seat covers all five: frame, slider and side mounts in one part, £330.00
- The ND cabin wants a small shell, which is exactly what these five are
- Every route bolts to the factory floor points, no drilling anywhere
Mk4 or ND? Two names, one car
Mazda call the fourth generation MX-5 the ND. The chassis code on the logbook is ND5RC, or NDERC if yours is the RF with the folding hard top. UK listings and the trade say Mk4. American sites and most owner forums say ND or ND Miata, and the 2018 engine update gets called the ND2. Every one of those names points at the same car, built from 2015 on.
So if you have been reading a US forum thread about ND seat swaps, everything below is the UK version of what they are fitting. And if you ask us about an ND on the phone or the chat, we now know exactly what you mean.
The fitting kit: one part per seat
This is the easy bit, and it is why the MX-5 is such a satisfying car to do seats in. The PCI Racing sliding sub frame for the Mk4 (ND) is the whole job in one part: the frame that bolts to the factory floor points, the slider, and the side mounts that carry the shell. £330.00 a side, pick the side of the car when you order, and there is a pair listing at £756.00 if you are doing both.
One thing to be clear about: it is a side mount design, so it suits the fixed-back buckets on this page. If you are after a reclining seat instead, that is a different route through the Planted bracket, and the full Mk4 (ND) vehicle guide covers it.
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From £275.00 Excl. VATKlarna ReadySelect options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
The five seats, cheapest first
All five are FIA 8855-1999 homologated, all five are in stock, and all five are small shells, because the ND cabin is tight on width and the door is close to your shoulder. Prices include VAT.
Sparco Sprint, £252.00: the budget door in
The cheapest route to a full FIA bucket in this car, and the odd one out here because the shell is steel where the other four are fibreglass. Steel makes it heavier, and it is also where the price comes from. Velour trim, 32 to 36 inch waists, all heights, and it comes in black, blue or red.
If the budget is the deciding vote and the extra kilos on a road car do not bother you, this is the honest answer.
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From £210.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
OMP Champ-R, £381.60: the tailorable one
OMP’s small fibreglass bucket, and the one with the cleverest cushions on the page: the lumbar and leg supports are removable, so you tune how the shell fits you instead of living with a fixed padding set. Medium side bolsters make it easier to climb over the sill of a low roadster than a deep-bolstered race shell, and there are five harness slots when you want them.
Velour trim, HANS friendly, drawn for drivers under six foot with a 32 to 36 inch waist. There is a pair listing at £696.00 if both sides are getting done. This seat has been on our MX-5 recommendation list for years, and at this money it is the strongest all-rounder here.
Sparco REV QRT, £414.00: the entry QRT
The way into Sparco’s QRT fibreglass range, and a properly narrow shell that suits this cabin. Velour trim, 32 to 36 inch waists, listed for all heights, HANS friendly.
Same approval as everything above it in the range, so what you give up against the dearer QRTs is trim and width, never the certificate.
Sparco Grid Q, £438.00: the one on our own shortlist
Same shell family as the REV, but trimmed in fabric that breathes better and holds its shape longer than velour, which matters in a car whose roof spends the summer down. Six point compatible, HANS friendly, 32 to 36 inch waists.
This is the seat that has been on our Mk4 (ND) tried-and-tested list the longest, built from customer cars we have actually done, and it is where Garreth points people first when they ask what he would put in his own one.
Sparco Evo QRT, £570.00: the size up
The standard width Evo shell, and the most widely fitted seat in the QRT range. If the REV and the Grid Q feel a squeeze across the shoulders, this is the same construction with more room in it, and it still fits the ND on the same PCI kit.
One honesty note from our own listing: the harness and HANS attributes on this product page are not filled in yet, so if that detail decides it for you, ring us and we will confirm it against the shell in the showroom before you order.
The five compared
| Seat | Shell | Trim | Waist | Price inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparco Sprint | Steel | Velour | 32 to 36 in | £252.00 |
| OMP Champ-R | Fibreglass | Velour | 32 to 36 in | £381.60 |
| Sparco REV QRT | Fibreglass | Velour | 32 to 36 in | £414.00 |
| Sparco Grid Q | Fibreglass | Fabric | 32 to 36 in | £438.00 |
| Sparco Evo QRT | Fibreglass | Fabric | Standard Evo width | £570.00 |
Every one of them carries the same FIA 8855-1999 approval, so the ladder is about shell material, trim and how the shell fits you, never about one being more legal than another.
Getting the size right in this cabin
The ND cabin is narrow, and the difference between a seat you love and a seat you tolerate is usually a shoulder measurement, not a brand. Waist figures are on each listing above; if you are on a boundary, say so before you order. Cameron will check your numbers against the shell dimensions, and the showroom has shells on display you can actually sit in, which settles it faster than any chart.
Over six foot, or above a 36 inch waist? The OMP WRC-R XL is the escape hatch: 50mm taller and wider than the standard small shells on this page, £618.00, and it goes on the same PCI kit. And if you are wondering how far the car can go the other way, we have already written up the biggest seat that fits in an MX-5.
Common questions
Is the Mk4 the same as the ND?
Yes. ND is Mazda’s code for the fourth generation car, ND5RC on the logbook, NDERC for the RF. Mk4 is the UK trade name for the same car. Everything on this page fits it whichever name you use.
Does this kit fit the RF with the folding hard top?
The RF sits on the same ND platform, and our PCI listing is written for the Mk4. Before you order for an RF, ring us and we will confirm it with PCI against your exact car. Two minutes on the phone beats a returned frame.
Do I need to drill anything?
No. The PCI kit bolts to the factory seat mounting points in the floor, and the seat bolts to the kit through its side mounts. The car goes back to standard with a spanner.
What about harnesses?
All of the seats here take a harness through their shell slots, and the Sprint, Champ-R, REV and Grid Q are listed HANS friendly. For what to run and how to anchor it, our MX-5 harness guide is the place to start.
My car is a left hand drive import. Which side do I order?
Our side options name the physical side of the car, not who sits in it. A left hand drive car with the seat going where the driver sits needs the Passenger Side (L) part. Put “LHD car” in the order notes and we will double check it before anything is picked.
That is genuinely all we need. Cameron will check you against the shell dimensions, confirm the side of the car, and put the seat and the PCI kit through as one order so nothing turns up that does not bolt together.
Where to go next
Ring 0115 9893488 with the car, your height and waist, and whether it is the soft top or the RF. Five minutes and you will have a seat, a kit and a price, and if you are near Nottingham, come and sit in the shells first. The full Mk4 (ND) vehicle guide has the reclining routes, the rails and the harness options beyond these five.