[964Cup]

I stopped by the dealership at McLaren Dallas. Very nice folks. Simon helped out and was a totally helpful and very nice gent. And he was also supremely well informed. A very nice gent, and highly recommended.

Anyway, he let me check out a few colors. I got to sit in the 750 and remember yes it is tighter in there than in a 12C, but the glass roof does give us taller folks a couple of extra inches of head room in the spider.

I got to touch the plastic piece that was on the side of the bezel by the dial/buttons. It does not finger print. It's very solid. The black titanium also does not fingerprint. Both are nice. The dark titanium obviously the more premium, but the dark black plastic feels very solid, so for my stealth reasons, will be fine. The metal on the steering wheel is very nice. It feels like terminator materials.

The metal titanium gearshift paddles are nice. They are bigger. They dont feel like ingots I was hoping for. They feel a bit light, and almost plastic'y. But feel fine for the task.

Lastly, I was shocked and saddened regarding the seats. I did get to sit in the Senna seats. All I can say for those that love them, is bless your heart. Just exhaling sitting in them, I felt like a snake was going to constrict on me. Getting in with the top down was not terrible. Getting out even with the top up was not fun, and I cant imagine doing much other than crawling out with the top down. Worse, even sitting in the thing, I just wondered when my punishment would be over and I could get out. It just jabbed at me. The seat had some thinner pads, so I more or less fit in it, but this was not for me.

They did not have the sport seats for me to try (it was raining hard out so they may have some in inventory, but really couldn't get out to it).

The sad news is the 'new' comfort seats stink compared to the old comfort seats. First, the base seat will not tilt up or down. Second, it is much more narrow in that the bolsters on at your butt dig into you there more to hold you in, but that kind of feels like a pea in the mattress at your buns/hips. The side bolsters are more prominent too, but they are ok. Third, the materials are way more firm cushions than the old comfort seats. Overall, it's just bleh, terrible. I don't get how no one has commented on this shift from the old comfort seats (that I guess were standard up to around 2015), to these new awful comfort seats. It's the pits.

Worse, there really is no other option. I guess we have the P1 seats I need to try. But oh my, it's a sad state of affairs in comfort and Mclaren seating. For those that enjoy long road trips, Im not sure what you are to do.

One option that was presented is to maybe get the manual version of the comfort seat. I was told it's possible to manually adjust the rake of the manual seat bottom a little bit, but it will be permanent, so it would have to work for me and my girl equally, which is not ideal.

Im honestly wondering if I can retrofit the old comfort seats into the car. I guess I need to find and try the P1 seats and pray they work better. I guess I can live with the new comfort seats if forced, but they are a major step down from the original comfort seats, which are just fantastic for long road trips etc. I dont get why no one has mentioned this garish 'upgrade' and step down in comfort. And I think they still weigh a lot, so what the heck was the reason to move to these, other than to make everything worse? Bizarre.

How do I put this? Are you a "larger" gentleman? I find the comfort seats exactly that - comfortable. I have about 12,000 miles in them across three 7x0s and have never had a problem. I have a 675LT "P1" seat as an armchair, and while it's amusing for that, I can't imagine doing long trips in it because of the shape of the backrest - much like the 918 seats in my 3RS, which I am not especially looking forward to spending many hours in next week, however much they will be ideal around Spa itself.

Seats are of course personal and comfort is relative. Some friends did a multi-thousand mile Italian tour with us in their 600LT spider with Sennas. Each to their own - they seemed happy enough - but I was very glad of my comfort seats. Which of course are also heated - a nice thing if you live where I do.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

How do I put this? Are you a "larger" gentleman? I find the comfort seats exactly that - comfortable. I have about 12,000 miles in them across three 7x0s and have never had a problem. I have a 675LT "P1" seat as an armchair, and while it's amusing for that, I can't imagine doing long trips in it because of the shape of the backrest - much like the 918 seats in my 3RS, which I am not especially looking forward to spending many hours in next week, however much they will be ideal around Spa itself.

Seats are of course personal and comfort is relative. Some friends did a multi-thousand mile Italian tour with us in their 600LT spider with Sennas. Each to their own - they seemed happy enough - but I was very glad of my comfort seats. Which of course are also heated - a nice thing if you live where I do.

Im 6’4’ish, 230, big shoulders. Waist way more narrow. So I’m not small, but I’m not small in my 12c with the old seats either, and those are the most comfortable seats I’ve ever experienced in any car.

I fit fantastically fine in the old comfort seats and they are way more configurable and just nicer seats. The fact that a Miata will let you tilt/angle your seat bottom/ thighs more than a McLaren is somewhat a sad state of things imo, ymmv.

Super glad the comfort seats work great for you. These things are highly subjective. I’d invite you to try the older seats. I think you’ll find them far more configurable and comfortable, then again you might not. Subjectivity and all. That said, the old seats are objectively more plush (for some that might not be a good thing) and more configurable. It’s a strange downgrade imo. That said, if most are happy with them, then the complaint might be limited to a demographic of 1.

 

[964Cup]

You've got 3" and 50lbs on me. Even if most of it is in your upper body, I doubt the P1 seats will work for you. They're tight on my hips and I find the upright backrest and the curvature of the shoulder "wings" a little uncomfortable. You also presumably have to have the backrest much more reclined to get enough headroom, which will be why you need the squab rake. Do you need your partner to be able to drive the car? If not, you could look at having MSO make up a custom squab. Otherwise, I'm sure you could get the old seat model to fit and have a pair retrimmed.

 

[invisiblewave]

I stopped by the dealership at McLaren Dallas. Very nice folks. Simon helped out and was a totally helpful and very nice gent. And he was also supremely well informed. A very nice gent, and highly recommended.

Anyway, he let me check out a few colors. I got to sit in the 750 and remember yes it is tighter in there than in a 12C, but the glass roof does give us taller folks a couple of extra inches of head room in the spider.

I got to touch the plastic piece that was on the side of the bezel by the dial/buttons. It does not finger print. It's very solid. The black titanium also does not fingerprint. Both are nice. The dark titanium obviously the more premium, but the dark black plastic feels very solid, so for my stealth reasons, will be fine. The metal on the steering wheel is very nice. It feels like terminator materials.

The metal titanium gearshift paddles are nice. They are bigger. They dont feel like ingots I was hoping for. They feel a bit light, and almost plastic'y. But feel fine for the task.

Lastly, I was shocked and saddened regarding the seats. I did get to sit in the Senna seats. All I can say for those that love them, is bless your heart. Just exhaling sitting in them, I felt like a snake was going to constrict on me. Getting in with the top down was not terrible. Getting out even with the top up was not fun, and I cant imagine doing much other than crawling out with the top down. Worse, even sitting in the thing, I just wondered when my punishment would be over and I could get out. It just jabbed at me. The seat had some thinner pads, so I more or less fit in it, but this was not for me.

They did not have the sport seats for me to try (it was raining hard out so they may have some in inventory, but really couldn't get out to it).

The sad news is the 'new' comfort seats stink compared to the old comfort seats. First, the base seat will not tilt up or down. Second, it is much more narrow in that the bolsters on at your butt dig into you there more to hold you in, but that kind of feels like a pea in the mattress at your buns/hips. The side bolsters are more prominent too, but they are ok. Third, the materials are way more firm cushions than the old comfort seats. Overall, it's just bleh, terrible. I don't get how no one has commented on this shift from the old comfort seats (that I guess were standard up to around 2015), to these new awful comfort seats. It's the pits.

Worse, there really is no other option. I guess we have the P1 seats I need to try. But oh my, it's a sad state of affairs in comfort and Mclaren seating. For those that enjoy long road trips, Im not sure what you are to do.

One option that was presented is to maybe get the manual version of the comfort seat. I was told it's possible to manually adjust the rake of the manual seat bottom a little bit, but it will be permanent, so it would have to work for me and my girl equally, which is not ideal.

Im honestly wondering if I can retrofit the old comfort seats into the car. I guess I need to find and try the P1 seats and pray they work better. I guess I can live with the new comfort seats if forced, but they are a major step down from the original comfort seats, which are just fantastic for long road trips etc. I dont get why no one has mentioned this garish 'upgrade' and step down in comfort. And I think they still weigh a lot, so what the heck was the reason to move to these, other than to make everything worse? Bizarre.

From what you're saying, you won't like the P1 seats either. Keep your old seats and have them swap them over.

 

[Firstkill]

Im 6' and 200, and it has taken me about 1/2 hour to truely fit my electric seat. The manual seat has less adjustment so its quicker, but I dont think its wider where it counts. Shoulders and hips.

Its been too many years since my 12c, but I found the seat all about the same. Maybe broken in a little more that is more comfortable.
I notice no difference between the 750 compared to 720s I had.

On the buckets. P1 or Senna, I think my hip/ knees/feet rotate out more than most people, so they both cause me back pain after about 1 hr.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

You've got 3" and 50lbs on me. Even if most of it is in your upper body, I doubt the P1 seats will work for you. They're tight on my hips and I find the upright backrest and the curvature of the shoulder "wings" a little uncomfortable. You also presumably have to have the backrest much more reclined to get enough headroom, which will be why you need the squab rake. Do you need your partner to be able to drive the car? If not, you could look at having MSO make up a custom squab. Otherwise, I'm sure you could get the old seat model to fit and have a pair retrimmed.

Im 6' and 200, and it has taken me about 1/2 hour to truely fit my electric seat. The manual seat has less adjustment so its quicker, but I dont think its wider where it counts. Shoulders and hips.

Its been too many years since my 12c, but I found the seat all about the same. Maybe broken in a little more that is more comfortable.
I notice no difference between the 750 compared to 720s I had.

On the buckets. P1 or Senna, I think my hip/ knees/feet rotate out more than most people, so they both cause me back pain after about 1 hr.

Well 12C seats (at least in my ancient 2012 model) let you tilt the angle of the seat bottom, which is a pretty significant difference, at least for me.

And correct, since I like to lean the back of the seat rake, the tilt of the seat bottom is important to better support my legs up. I find this super comfortable not only for head room reasons, but instead of all your weight being supported by your back down to your spine, much of your weight gets distributed on to the back of the seat leaning back, and allows me to drive a lot further on road trips. 7hour drives are no big deal.

Sadly, the seat bottom tilt does not seem possible on the newer electric comfort seats (although the controls are awful so perhaps I missed them, but the people at the dealership also said that it couldnt be done with the new electric comfort seat, but could be done a little with the manual versions, but it would be permanently locked in a tilt position).

As for the softness and break in. Perhaps age has made my seat fluffier. I think it was always a touch softer and more plush, but memory fades, and holding my fat ass in it for 12 years certainly will have some effect, so I really cannot argue the point (other than I dont think it was as firm a seat in the beginning, but I could easily be wrong). I do think the bolsters in the new seats by the hip are more intrusive than on the old seats, but must also admit, time may have affected that as well (albeit I do think it wasn't as intrusive on the older comfort seat).

It probably would be interesting to do some fine measurements between the 2 seat types to see how much they have actually changed.

Yea, I may need to enquire on swapping in the old comfort seats, or even see if that is an MSO option that might be done straight away!

No, my girl doesnt need to drive the car, but she does enjoy it from time to time. And I like when we go on road trips that she can drive for a while and I can encourage her to break the speed limit by 5mph and then she feels 'dangerous'. She's a great driver, so it's fun to see (her and other) people you love enjoy it too.

I appreciate all the feedback from y'all. This would have been quite the blindspot if I didnt go in and investigate.

 

[invisiblewave]

Well 12C seats (at least in my ancient 2012 model) let you tilt the angle of the seat bottom, which is a pretty significant difference, at least for me.

And correct, since I like to lean the back of the seat rake, the tilt of the seat bottom is important to better support my legs up. I find this super comfortable not only for head room reasons, but instead of all your weight being supported by your back down to your spine, much of your weight gets distributed on to the back of the seat leaning back, and allows me to drive a lot further on road trips. 7hour drives are no big deal.

Sadly, the seat bottom tilt does not seem possible on the newer electric comfort seats (although the controls are awful so perhaps I missed them, but the people at the dealership also said that it couldnt be done with the new electric comfort seat, but could be done a little with the manual versions, but it would be permanently locked in a tilt position).

As for the softness and break in. Perhaps age has made my seat fluffier. I think it was always a touch softer and more plush, but memory fades, and holding my fat ass in it for 12 years certainly will have some effect, so I really cannot argue the point (other than I dont think it was as firm a seat in the beginning, but I could easily be wrong). I do think the bolsters in the new seats by the hip are more intrusive than on the old seats, but must also admit, time may have affected that as well (albeit I do think it wasn't as intrusive on the older comfort seat).

It probably would be interesting to do some fine measurements between the 2 seat types to see how much they have actually changed.

Yea, I may need to enquire on swapping in the old comfort seats, or even see if that is an MSO option that might be done straight away!

No, my girl doesnt need to drive the car, but she does enjoy it from time to time. And I like when we go on road trips that she can drive for a while and I can encourage her to break the speed limit by 5mph and then she feels 'dangerous'. She's a great driver, so it's fun to see (her and other) people you love enjoy it too.

I appreciate all the feedback from y'all. This would have been quite the blindspot if I didnt go in and investigate.

You might want to try the touring P1 seats, just to be sure, but I suspect they'll still be a problem. You can set them to tilt, but they're still going to be much tighter than comfort seats. The adjustment they're talking about with the manual seats is the same as with the race seats, the seat itself is bolted to the rails with 4 bolts, and the rails have multiple holes to allow for different seat positioning. I spent a few days with mine trying different positions. For the driver's side it was pretty easy, full tilt with the rear bolts in the lowest holes was best. I have the passenger side set less tilted to allow marginally easier access.

I completely agree with you about the comfort seats, they're an awful compromise, and a tilt function would make them substantially better.

The one other thing I would suggest is that you try the club sport seat in the Artura. They have an electrical adjustment on the side which lowers the rear of the seat and makes them tilt. Assuming they're better, and that it's possible to put them in a 750, persuade them to fit those instead.

 

[Firstkill]

I’m pretty sure you can adjust the rake.
It doesn’t work if the seat is “too far” back

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I’m pretty sure you can adjust the rake.
It doesn’t work if the seat is “too far” back

There are 2 rakes you can adjust. The seat back, and the seat bottom.

_| the bottom of the hockey stick and the stick part. Both can be adjusted in the old comfort seats.


\| so in the old seat, the seat bottom can be tilted up. Obviously not quite as much as my ascii art to the left there.

Both the old and new comfort seats can lean the back of the seat, however. _/

 

[Firstkill]

There are 2 rakes you can adjust. The seat back, and the seat bottom.

_| the bottom of the hockey stick and the stick part. Both can be adjusted in the old comfort seats.


\| so in the old seat, the seat bottom can be tilted up. Obviously not quite as much as my ascii art to the left there.

Both the old and new comfort seats can lean the back of the seat, however. _/

im pretty sure the seat bottom rake can be adjusted. Not just up and down. But next time I’m in the car I’ll confirm

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

im pretty sure the seat bottom rake can be adjusted. Not just up and down. But next time I’m in the car I’ll confirm

That would be great to learn! The seat bottom moves up and down, but the tilt doesnt change. Or at least, I, and the folks at the dealership couldnt figure out how!

Here it is from the 750 manuals:

And here are the 12C controls:

 

[964Cup]

There is no rake adjust on the P14/P28 electric comfort seats. The manual Artura seat is an interesting idea - they're a good looking seat as well. The issue will be whether the brain for the electric controls (lumbar and seat height, which certainly looks like it might be more of a squab rake) is integrated into the seat or is a function of the Artura body controller. If the latter, they won't work in the P28. The seat itself should fit - as far as I know it's essentially the same tub. I imagine the manual seats also lack heating, but it's probably warmer where you are...

 

[invisiblewave]

There is no rake adjust on the P14/P28 electric comfort seats. The manual Artura seat is an interesting idea - they're a good looking seat as well. The issue will be whether the brain for the electric controls (lumbar and seat height, which certainly looks like it might be more of a squab rake) is integrated into the seat or is a function of the Artura body controller. If the latter, they won't work in the P28. The seat itself should fit - as far as I know it's essentially the same tub. I imagine the manual seats also lack heating, but it's probably warmer where you are...

Exactly. I suspect they'll physically fit, but the electronics may be a problem.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I was hoping to get everyone's thoughts on spec'ing 2 items. The fender louvers and the senna brakes.

Louvers
What do you guys think about the fender louvers? I'm personally not a fan, and the configuration I have, I think would be 'cleaner' without them, aesthetically. However, I think they are actually useful.

I'm not tracking the car (maybe once a year), but I do get to top speed every now and then. I remember that the 12C is VERY stable, to the point of boring at 186mph. After about 192, it starts to get a touch floaty.

So in theory, the extra downforce at that speed might have helped the old 12C once you get around 200.

But does that hold with the 720/750. My guess is that there is so much more downforce with the 720/750 (splitter, general design) that perhaps it's a bit unnecessary for those not regularly tracking the car?

Senna Brakes
Would appreciate your thoughts on the senna brakes. I like how they look filling out the wheel well more.

If the senna brakes last, essentially 'forever' since I'm not really tracking the car, the extra $20k is meh, not that big a deal. Obviously if I need to replace them more often, the regular carbon ceramics will do better since I think those are the same as the corvette ceramics. I cannot get a straight answer from McLaren on if the senna weigh more or less (my guess is they actually weigh more).

Seems to me if the senna brakes last a long time as 'road brakes' then amortized over a life time, of just better stopping power, might not be a terrible deal.

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[xvinay]

I was hoping to get everyone's thoughts on spec'ing 2 items. The fender louvers and the senna brakes.

Louvers
What do you guys think about the fender louvers? I'm personally not a fan, and the configuration I have, I think would be 'cleaner' without them, aesthetically. However, I think they are actually useful.

I'm not tracking the car (maybe once a year), but I do get to top speed every now and then. I remember that the 12C is VERY stable, to the point of boring at 186mph. After about 192, it starts to get a touch floaty.

So in theory, the extra downforce at that speed might have helped the old 12C once you get around 200.

But does that hold with the 720/750. My guess is that there is so much more downforce with the 720/750 (splitter, general design) that perhaps it's a bit unnecessary for those not regularly tracking the car?

Senna Brakes
Would appreciate your thoughts on the senna brakes. I like how they look filling out the wheel well more.

If the senna brakes last, essentially 'forever' since I'm not really tracking the car, the extra $20k is meh, not that big a deal. Obviously if I need to replace them more often, the regular carbon ceramics will do better since I think those are the same as the corvette ceramics. I cannot get a straight answer from McLaren on if the senna weigh more or less (my guess is they actually weigh more).

Seems to me if the senna brakes last a long time as 'road brakes' then amortized over a life time, of just better stopping power, might not be a terrible deal.

Thanks for any thoughts!

I skipped the louvres for the same reason (and am happy I did).

I agree the Senna brakes look much cooler. However, it wasn’t worth the upcharge TO ME.

My 2 cents. What’s the rest of your config?

Good luck!

 

[invisiblewave]

I was hoping to get everyone's thoughts on spec'ing 2 items. The fender louvers and the senna brakes.

Louvers
What do you guys think about the fender louvers? I'm personally not a fan, and the configuration I have, I think would be 'cleaner' without them, aesthetically. However, I think they are actually useful.

I'm not tracking the car (maybe once a year), but I do get to top speed every now and then. I remember that the 12C is VERY stable, to the point of boring at 186mph. After about 192, it starts to get a touch floaty.

So in theory, the extra downforce at that speed might have helped the old 12C once you get around 200.

But does that hold with the 720/750. My guess is that there is so much more downforce with the 720/750 (splitter, general design) that perhaps it's a bit unnecessary for those not regularly tracking the car?

Senna Brakes
Would appreciate your thoughts on the senna brakes. I like how they look filling out the wheel well more.

If the senna brakes last, essentially 'forever' since I'm not really tracking the car, the extra $20k is meh, not that big a deal. Obviously if I need to replace them more often, the regular carbon ceramics will do better since I think those are the same as the corvette ceramics. I cannot get a straight answer from McLaren on if the senna weigh more or less (my guess is they actually weigh more).

Seems to me if the senna brakes last a long time as 'road brakes' then amortized over a life time, of just better stopping power, might not be a terrible deal.

Thanks for any thoughts!

I'd take the louvres every day of the week and twice on Sunday, but for aesthetics. I doubt they make much difference, especially for road driving.

Senna brakes look great, and the rotors may well last a lifetime for road use, but the pads are much more expensive, they're not interchangeable with Corvette rotors or pads, and you might want to check out their operating temperature since they might not be great for road use. You can replace them with Surface Transform, but if you're going to do that, just specify the 750 brakes and swap those out, although the rotor and caliper are smaller and probably won't fill out the wheel as much.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I skipped the louvres for the same reason (and am happy I did).

I agree the Senna brakes look much cooler. However, it wasn’t worth the upcharge TO ME.

My 2 cents. What’s the rest of your config?

Good luck!

I'm still finalizing it. Part of it will depend greatly on what they can do for MSO. I may become the record holder for the worlds most boring MSO interior order EVER.

I want 3 things from the MSO build. Basically start with the TechLux interior in boring as F black. But I want to get rid of the little alcantara stripe up the power electric seat so it's all leather. Second, instead of the bezel surround on the infotainment screen being the titanium, I want it it to be the pitch black plastic, so it looks more invisible. And lastly, if possible, I want to see if I can get the old P11 Ultra Comfort seats put instead of the standard 720/750 comfort seats.

I'm between 3 colors, but 80% chance I'm going to just get Onyx black because I cannot help myself with black cars. I know they are boring as F but I just end up loving them jet black. But Volcano yellow is the other option, that I have no problem getting with the body paint louvers. And the one that I'm shocked is in contention is Ludus blue, but that would be with carbon fiber lovers, which I'm surprised Im liking.

Oh, I'm getting every electronic gadget possible, the glass roof, and no aesthetic carbon (except the tub sill since I know people will put their feet on it and get the leather dirty otherwise).

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I'd take the louvres every day of the week and twice on Sunday, but for aesthetics. I doubt they make much difference, especially for road driving.

Senna brakes look great, and the rotors may well last a lifetime for road use, but the pads are much more expensive, they're not interchangeable with Corvette rotors or pads, and you might want to check out their operating temperature since they might not be great for road use. You can replace them with Surface Transform, but if you're going to do that, just specify the 750 brakes and swap those out, although the rotor and caliper are smaller and probably won't fill out the wheel as much.

Oh, that's a good point. If they are worse for road use, then it's a no brainer, I'm going with the regular ones. Didnt think that could be an issue, but good point!

 

[WheelsNY]

I thought about removing the exposed CF louvres from my build because it was getting pretty pricey, but the sales manager talked me out of that. They offer a cool aesthetic and the trailing edge of mine will be painted in Cerulean Blue (along with a bunch of other details) so I decided to keep them. Adds a little more aggressive look I think.

 

[invisiblewave]

Oh, that's a good point. If they are worse for road use, then it's a no brainer, I'm going with the regular ones. Didnt think that could be an issue, but good point!

I don't know for sure. Even if they're not at peak performance they're probably fine anyway. It's probably the sort of question it'll be hard to get an answer to.