I've experienced a lot of different seats. For safety ratings, there isn't really anything besides FIA certification which is an expensive test process and only the companies who really compete in motorsports will go through this. So companies like Sparco, Recaro, OMP, Cobra and a few other companies are doing this. I think Racetech is another one and I'm sure there's a couple others that I can't think of right now. I don't think that Bride is FIA certified, I heard that some of their newer seats might be, but I think they're too expensive for what they are.
There are also some other companies making decent seats that aren't FIA certified. There's kirkey aluminum seats that with a good cover can be comfortable. Buddy Club makes decent seats, their normal seat is pretty small though, so if you're an average american size or bigger, you'll probably want the wide. And then there's probably other companies making decent seats that aren't FIA certified.
The ebay/autozone/super cheap seats, are cheap for a reason. The construction isn't that great, the bucket seats are flimsy. The reclineable ones don't adjust properly and can lose adjustment. But if you get in a bad enough crash to kill you, they probably won't be the only reason you die. I have a pair of the original bride brix knockoffs from a couple years back and they weren't as bad as what's out there now, but I wouldn't buy them again. The bolts holding the seat back to the base are small and broke once while I was getting in the car. The seat won't stay in the position I want it, the adjusting mechanism will slip sometimes. Not too much a safety issue but an annoyance as you're taking off from a light, the seat just falls away from behind you, it kind of sucks.
I have put buddy club seats in customer cars before, for the price they're pretty good, but the quality doesn't compare to the more expensive seats. They are a lot sturdier than the ebay specials though and I would feel a lot safer in one of them than one of the ones off ebay.
I have an OMP seat that I will be using in the supra this season, it is one of their cheaper fiberglass seats. It could use more padding which you would get with their more expensive seats, but it works for me for now. Padding is available from OMP. The only padding it really needs is a little thicker butt pad because it can be a little annoying after a longer drive on rougher roads.
I have driven in and installed other OMP, recaro, sparco and bride seats. It really depends on how much you want to spend and what you want. Any seat is going to be lighter than the stock supra seats and the boat anchors they hid underneath of them. It depends if you want a bucket or a reclineable.
Your best bet is to find somewhere that has the seat that you might like and go and sit in it. Whether this is a shop that sells seats or you go to a meet or event and people have the seats in their cars. But unless you're racing, an FIA seat probably isn't required. But brands that carry FIA seats usually have higher quality non-FIA seats than the cheap stuff that's available everywhere.
In the supras I've always done custom rails. I'm not really sure what's available. If bride rails are available, they usually fit some sparco and recaro side mount seats. Some other companies probably offer rails for their seats, but you have to watch out because sometimes the new seat will sit higher than stock and that alone can ruin it.
And just something cuel said in the last post, he mentioned a good seat mounted correctly, so he can stay belted in. Belts shouldn't be attached to the seat, this is not a good way to do it. Belts/harnesses should be mounted to the chassis so that you aren't relying on any seat to hold you in place. This is how the stock belts are and how any harness installed should be.
Tim
