All of the people I have talked to except one upgraded to the sport seats with diamond stitching over the racing shell seats. Most have said the racing shell seats are not super comfortable in normal use but are supportive if you plan on tracking the car on a regular basis. I opted for sport seats on my Plus and paid the $5500 up charge.

 

From what I've seen its about two thirds in favour of sports seats on the V10+. My main criticism of the buckets is the front of the base does not go high enough to support my thighs.

Interesting to hear that the sports seats are considered an upgrade in the U.S. In the UK we can select sports seats on the V10+ at zero cost. It's actually a downgrade but you don't get any money back. On the standard V10 which comes with sports seats, the bucket seats are a £3,000 upgrade.

 

The no charge seats you're referring to are the standard sport seats with no contrast stitching. I just went on the UK configurator and to switch from the standard racing shell seats on a V10+ to the diamond stitched sport seats it's 3400 GBP. It adds the fine nappa leather package as well as contrast stitching package. Looks like you have more options in ordering seats than we do in the US.

I like the look of the racing shell seats and would have loved to not pay the extra money to get sport seats but I didn't want to live with completely manual seats and will be taking it on some longer trips so I wanted the added comfort of the sport seats. I also love the look of the diamond stitching!

 

Sport seats for me too. Racing seats even though I like the look are just too narrow for my back. Audi and Porsche need to stop using horse jockey's for their seat measurements.

 

If you have a V 10+ in the US the racing shell seats are standard. They are not available on the regular V 10. If anything, I would consider the racing seats to be an upgrade rather than a downgrade. Now that being said, it is a fact that most people have come to believe that the buckets are more comfortable. I haven't sat in either version. I think it comes down to what you plan to use the car for and where your mind is that with respect to experiencing the car. I have spoken in detail to people that have driven the car with the racing seats.

Of the many comments I heard one did stand out- "The car was so fast that when I drove it I was glad to have the support of the racing seats ". For this reason I have decided to keep the racing seats. Also, on my current car one regret I do have is being unable to fit a four point harness without having to buy brand-new seats. By getting the shell seats that will be easy to do, even though I only track my car a couple to three times a year. Believe it or not, those precious minutes on track versus the rest of the year seem to stand out more and more powerfully on my car ownership Experience then all the relatively invisible and uneventful commuter miles spent in the car the remainder of the year. The consensus I get is that the buckets are more comfortable overall but it's not like the racing shell seats are torture contraptions from the dark ages either.

Ideally I would love to have contrasting stitching everywhere in the car but I will be happy with the contrast stitching that comes as standard on the racing shell seats. Seeing as how this is going to be my third R8 I have learned very well how quickly the interior becomes invisible when you're driving this amazing car on a quiet Sunday morning or to and from work.

I will be doing the extended leather package. But it does not include contrasting stitching on the dash or doors.

 

The consensus I get is that the buckets are more comfortable overall but it's not like the racing shell seats are torture contraptions from the dark ages either.

I know what you mean but the bucket seats are the racing shell seats. US brochure calls them racing shell seats, UK brochure calls them buckets. Both call the standard seats "sports seats"

 

Not so much the back but the shoulder area that is too narrow and angled forwards.

It means you cannot push your shoulders back- almost in the position when you ride a bicycle or motorbike.

(And now I know why Hell's angels guys prefer choppers! Like sports seats to the bucket seat equivalent of the usual bikes!)

But still, they are great to look at, and great when driving the machine as it is meant to be driven.

(And yes, the new Audi R8 is a beast!)

 

Are the side bolsters inflatable or otherwise adjuable?

I have the opposite problem to most here as the regular seats don't hold me in at all. On track I am sliding all over the place even with the CG-lock seat belt attachment cranked down which horribly digs in my side and gives me bruises. I would love to try these racing shell seat out. My mechanic think that they could be retrofitted in the gen 1 cars so I am really considering the idea. Right now I am using diy memory foam pads for track use whcih help a lot but would like a more oem solution.

 

Radius- i've spoken to various people. the new std seats are 25% better for tracking than the old ones. the shells i hear are perfect. they are the only option if you ever plan to use a 4 pt harness without shelling out 2x as much aftermarket. i got tired of feeling loose in my seast on the track. even though i'd say i've spent only 10% of my ownership on the track it accounts for 90% of the experience with this car. unfortunately, my shell equipped car won't be here till later in the year so i can't tell you more. the shells do not have adjustable side bolsters. they have manual fore/aft, power height, and manual tilt. that's it.


plus- they look sexy as hell. not that that matters for any practical reason.

 

The standard bucket seats get uncomfortable fast. Tried them, liked them...until I drove over 100 km in them. They are too thin and barely offer comfort. Depends what you're looking for.

 

I have no complaints about the buckets seats, have traveled over 200km in one journey and had no discomfort at all, but maybe being 173cm tall and weighing 75Kg they fit me a treat...........................for me the right choice for the car.

 

To each his own. I so wanted to love them and use them on the track. But then Audi loaned me a car for,a,weekend and after 3 hours in the car one day they were just too narrow. And I'm 5'9" and 162 lb. I sat in a new Huracan a week later and there were 2 inches of extra width. I don't know why Audi/ Recaro made them so narrow. Too uncomfortable for any distance. Mine is coming with sports seats

 

Thanks for your mini review of the racing seats all. I am about the same size as Ducatiman and Maverick. Still, seems I would have to try them for myself. Unfortunately looks like most of the US bound cars are spec'ed with the sport seats so I am going to have a difficult time locating a test unit.

 

Had a call from my local Audi dealership at the end of last week to see if I was prepared to take out a potential customer so he could be a passenger in a car with bucket seats fitted, all their remaining R8's only had sports seats. Took the customer for a ride today over a range of different roads and at the end also agreed that the car was right with the bucket seats...................Out of interest I tried one of the demonstrators with the sports seats again, comfortable I don't disagree, but I am really pleased I have the bucket seats.

For me when you get in the car and slide into the bucket seats you know that you are driving a special car........................

 

I'm taking the plunge your way. Mine is coming with the buckets (i call them race seats or shells) can't wait. Won't get here till Dec or Jan, though!

 

...................................

 

Thanks for the pict. There are not a lot of details to be found online with these. I dug up this 360 video with Mr. von Moltke demonstrating the new R8+ at the track. You can pan around the cabin to get an idea of the seats and how he (being quite lean/thin and racer body frame) and fits in them.

 

i can't direct link to it but go to the audi.co.uk website and pull up PDF of the R8 catalog. it has an awesome very detailed review of the seat there. it shows well that the black seats actually have subtle contrast stitching.

 

Got it. Thanks RXBG.

Here is the page extracted from the catalog. Very nice and it retains the ability to fold the back rest for access to the rear deck like the standard seat.

 

Just found this thread about this bucket seat thing while building on audiusa.com. Totally dig it. And it's $5k cheaper. I slide around way too much in my current R8 seats. Anyone know any dealer has bucket seats in the showroom in SoCal? Pretty sure I want them but would love to test them out.

 

I found the Recaro page on the “US Racing Shell Seats”, aka “UK Bucket Seats”.

https://www.recaro-automotive.com/u...us/original-equipment/products/audi-r8-v10-plus-2015/audi-r8-v10-plus-2015.html

Unfortunately, its not a wealth of information.

 

I don't track the car, bucket seats too hard and literally a pain in the ass after sitting for few hours, no thank you.

 

Not comfortable at all if driving regularly much less any distance. Add to this; limited adjustments.

 

I have just taken delivery of my 2016 sypder and don’t really like the bucket seats ( didn’t try them first!). Firstly is it possible to swap for the standard seats? Secondly- would anyone want to swap standard seats for my bucket seats!? They are in the light grey colour. Located in UK

 

Yes, mechanically they can easily be swapped however, I do not think the wiring harness needed for the standard seats is exposed. I suspect that you will have to pull back the carpet and locate it.

I agree that the bucket seats are terrible for driving any distance.

Enjoy your new car.

 

Hi All,

I have just upgraded from gen 1 coupe to gen 2 Spyder, both have the buckets so thought I would give my feedback. After a 600 mile round trip dropping my old car off and collecting the new one, all I can say is the gen 2 buckets are more comfy than the gen 1 and I really don’t know what all the fuss is about! Driving position is awesome and I still have 2-3” of travel left in the rails if I needed if it. It took me nearly 6 hours driving home with only a 10 minute stop and no complaints from me. I am 95kg and 5’9”.

Also I am amazed how different the cars are, both are plus models with ceramics but in the gen 2 they are just no where near as grabby, very nice. Turn in also feels much sharper in the gen 2 which has dynamic stearing. Even the engine seems so different which is weird, gen 2 seems far more grunty, must be the sports exhaust / revised mapping / fuelling?

As for the updated electronics, wow

 

Congrats on getting the new car and thanks for sharing your experience viz-a-viz to each one. Pop up some photos sometime.

 

Was looking for some information on the bucket seats and this thread was the most useful by far.

I'm picking up a Gen 2 V10+ soon and as a track instructor was worried about the more commonly found in the US diamond seats versus the race/buckets (that are not really buckets) real-world reviews.

Based on the above, I'm limiting my search and will only buy a car that comes with the race seats. I can't stand holding myself in my seat by the steering wheel and dead pedal.

Thanks all

 

I have the bucket seats. I'm fortunate that I fit them perfectly, drove 1500km around Scotland in three days and they were spot on. Only improvement I could ask for is if they could be lowered further.
Test drove a non-plus, diamond stitching looks nice but I'm glad I didn't have to have the comfy sofas in my sports car