GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I thought I would give a review to share a new product that I located online just by google searching. I ran into a new business called Cipher Auto. This company sells their own mark of racing seats. I did a lot of research but was not very successful in finding much. Although, I did find out that the seats are ADR approved, not many reviews were out there for these seats. I decided to take a gander a bit more and call the business. I spoke to a representative by the name of Selig who has been very helpful in answering all of my questions and has taken very much appreciation at the fact that I was curious about the seats. As I continued on with my curiosity, I then decided just to purchase the seats. I purchased the CPA1013 Black Fabric with Suede in the center racing seats. Those appealed to me much more than any other seats they have but then again, everyone has their own tastes. I also purchased the brackets and the 4 Point Racing Harness, without camlock, from them. During the shipping process, Selig kept me up to date with the tracking information I needed to keep tabs on my seats, brackets, and harness. Once the seats arrived, I wanted to get them in ASAP but due to the fact that I have kids, it took me a bit of time to make time to get the seats in. lol. Well, the brackets were as easy as cutting a piece of cake to install. The holes matched up perfectly for each bolt. Another thing I liked is that the bracket is adjustable in height. Everything, plus some extra bolts, came with the seats. Once I got the seats together, I just couldn't wait to sit on them. Well, the seats were in and so far, I have loved them. I haven't had any issues with the seats. They are nice and firm and are very comfortable. Now I am a somewhat big guy, 262lbs at 5'11" tall and the seats hug me just right. My wife feels very comfortable in her seats as well. Well, here are some pics of the seats. I took my car to show off at the Spring Break Jam Car Show at South Padre Island TX. Ended up coming home with a 1st place award in my class.By the way, even though I have a Pontiac Vibe and my car is not that fast, the seats do look great in the car and are much more sturdy than cheapy seats that you can find on ebay. I had purchased seats off of ebay a long time ago for my 97 Eclipse and they broke as soon as I put some pressure back on the seats. I actually can say that I can compare them to the feel of some Bride Seats that I have sat in before. Well, if anyone decides on purchasing seats, feel free to let Cipher Auto know that Mando referred you. Now for what everyone has been waiting for, here are pics of the seats.

Check out cipherauto.com for more info on the seats if you are interested. I just wanted to share this with everyone who is looking for some nice quality seats for a price less than the name brand seats.

noice... very noice... Did you happen to take photos of the brackets you bought from them?Interesting they adjust up and down.

actually, I can take pics of the brackets tomorrow because I am going to be adjusting my seat. Good thing you asked. lol.

nice looking seats, thanks for the write-up. Any idea what they weigh compared to the factory seats? If there were a decent weight reduction, I'd be tempted.

Quote, originally posted by mando7744 »actually, I can take pics of the brackets tomorrow because I am going to be adjusting my seat. Good thing you asked. lol.Great.... If I had that kinda of cash laying around I would deff buy a set myself

Thnx for the compliments. I just got my cameras charging cable today so ill snap some pics of the bracket since my cell can only take "ok" pics.

Unfortunately, I havent weighed them. Hmmm.... ill have to get the scale out. Lol. They were definitely lighter than the factory though

Those look great! Are the side bolsters not too aggressive making it a pain getting in and out?

they are kind of a pain. not too bad actually. just have to get a groove of getting in and out. taking pics today. sorry it took me a bit. lol

I had a similar racing seat set made by scorpion in my Cr-v and I will tell you now, they look great, but getting in and out is the main problem, I ripped the crotch out of one pair of pants just from stepping your leg up over the seat bottoms, and if the car isn't sitting level on the ground, you tend to have part of your back on the edge of the side of the seat which is uncomfortable, but damn do they look good.

Those are pretty nice looking seats.. One GLARING problem though... At the angle your harnesses are coming out of the back of the seat, it will crush your spine and/or be completely useless in the event of a large accident.. this is VERY bad Mojo if you use these regularly.. Regardless of weather the seat is there to support the harness, it is 100% incorrect.. Not trying to be a jerk here, but this is VERY VERY important.. IIRC the harness should be no more than 30 degrees below horizontal.. I wouldn't quote me on that, I'm sure the various harness manufactures tech sections would tell you.. I can just tell you for sure, that is not correct.. 4 door Subaru guys use a "Harness bar" that attaches to the upper factory seatbelt attachment, and loops around behind the seats... adjustable "struts" that mount the lower rear seatbelt attachment, run up to the bar for height adjustment... otherwise I donno...

actually, incorrect. they aren't coming from the exact back of the seat. They are actually bolted right under the bottom of the back seat. you know how their are some bolts there with a bracket for the rear seat? I just bolted them there. I also spoke to other shops to ensure I was OK and they stated that as long as its not coming from the FLOOR (meaning the furthest bottom point) of the car, I will be fine. Thank you for the comments though. plus, ill be yanking these out soon for a while until the next car show. I will be ordering the harness bar to eliminate having to deal with bolting the harness to that point. the main reason for where i bolted them was so that I can still have function of the rear seats for my kids. They are in car seats so its not bad for them BUT, they like to yank on the friggin harness. ITS ANNOYING. lol

http://www.sparcousa.com/resourceFiles/16.pdfPage 3Quote »Proper Installation is ImportantThe effectiveness of a restraint assembly is also influenced by attachment techniques. The principal precaution for installing the mounting hardware to the vehicle is to minimize bending stress in the fitting. This is achieved by making sure the belts pull from a straight angle against the hardware. The assembly should be installed so that the straps do not rub against any surface that can cause the webbing to fray. The anchoring mechanisms should also periodically be checked so that they don't become loose or weakened.Proper installation of the restraint assembly also means achieving the correct fit to the driver. Belts should be as short as possible to reduce stretching for better control of occupant movement.The attachment points must provide the optimum geometry to minimize movement of the belts. Lap belts perform best when they act at an angle between 45° and 55° relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle as illustrated in part A of the Figure. This angle permits the lap belt to react to the upward pull of the shoulder harness. A system installed with a shallow belt angle, as shown in part B of the Figure, permits the shoulder harness to pull the lap belt up off the pelvic area and into the abdominal region with the likelihood of injury to internal organs.furthermore, the back restraint harnessQuote »The end attachments of the shoulder harness must also be installed at appropriate angles. The ideal position is anywhere between 5° below and 30° above the driver's shoulder, as seen in part C of the Figure.If the upper attachment point falls significantly below the driver's shoulder, then a spinal compression injury is likely to occur. In an accident situation, the shoulder belts pull down and back on the torso as they resist the forward motion of the driver. The resultant restraint force compresses the spinal column and will add to the stresses in the spine already caused by the force of the crash impact.I take these things pretty seriously... shops lie... thanks for playing though, the harness bar is an excellent idea...

At the risk of trying to revive a dead thread, did you ever take pictures of those brackets? Also how have those seats held up? Do they give the rear passengers any less leg room? What about the harness bar?

Ill post for him.. you can also check out my post to see the wedge brackets. Cipher told me to buy wedge ones.

Thanks! I mainly asked because while I do want new seats, I'm not sure I want to deal with new seatbelts or harnesses. The large shouldered seats don't look like they would work well with a stock seatbelt but who knows. I've been eyeing Corbeau gts2 seats which should work fine with the stock seatbelts but I'm not sure...

Corolla XRS seats sit lower...

Are they more comfortable? Out here in AZ I drive up into the mountains a ton to escape the heat. This means switchbacks and at least a 3 hour drive. Do corolla seats offer more lateral support than vibe seats?