Are you white-knuckling the steering wheel every time you turn a corner in your four-wheeler? It could be because your factory ATV or UTV seats don’t offer enough support to keep you securely in place. If you want to put the pedal to the metal without sacrificing control or comfort, consider investing in aftermarket ATV or UTV products.

Why Upgrade Your ATV or UTV Seats?

Upgrading your four-wheeler seats can improve four important aspects of your overall riding experience: comfort, safety, style, and performance. Aftermarket seats will give you more control so you can ride with confidence, whether alone or with passengers in tow. With great aftermarket ATV or UTV seats, you can drive harder, ride longer, and get more out of your vehicle.

Factory vs. Aftermarket UTV Seats

Most UTVs come with factory seats that don’t offer much support, meaning you’ll have to hang on for dear life when cornering at high speeds. Even with harnesses, there simply isn’t enough side or hip bolstering to keep you safely and securely in place while racing or jumping.

Upgrading to aftermarket UTV seats will help keep your body as still as possible so that you can take corners at high speeds and improve your lap times. You won’t have to rely on gripping the steering wheel to hold yourself in place, which means improved handling and control. More support will also reduce back pain and fatigue if you’re riding for extended periods. That said, because factory seats are less bolstered and bulky, they tend to be quick and easy to get in and out of without maneuvering your body.

To decide whether or not to upgrade your UTV seats, ask yourself which is more important based on your riding experience: convenience and ease of entry or control and comfort. In most cases, upgrading your UTV seats isn’t critical for more casual UTV riders, but it can make a world of difference for those serious about racing or jumping.

ATV Seats: Important Considerations

Most ATV seats, unlike UTV seats, are meant to be straddled. Riding an ATV properly means using your whole body, leaning and shifting your weight to control and turn the vehicle. Therefore, ATV seats need to be large enough to account for the shifting of body weight needed to stay balanced. If you do a lot of active ATV riding, such as riding up and down steep hills or doing high-speed turns, you will need a larger seat that allows you to shift your weight and maintain stability so that you don’t flip over. That’s why ATVs for sport or racing tend to come with slightly longer and more narrow seats. They are not longer to accommodate more passengers but rather to provide plenty of room for active riding.

If you’re not going to be racing, you can afford a bit more comfort and go with seats that are wider and more padded. Some wide ATVs can even accommodate bucket seats with seat belts. Unless your ATV is specifically designed to accommodate more than one person, it’s not recommended to ride with passengers for safety reasons. Two-person ATVs are generally more difficult to maneuver and have fewer off-road abilities.

UTV Seat Options & Accessories

For UTV seats, look for seats that restrain your upper body movement if you’re after more steady steering. Also, deeper seats tend to offer more back and hip support. Below are some popular UTV seat options and upgrades:

• UTV Fixed Back Bucket Seats: This style of UTV seat is ideal for hard driving. You can install just one bucket seat for the driver, or multiple bucket seats to boost passenger safety and comfort.
• UTV Racing Bucket Seats: These premium seats are designed to keep your body completely still, which is important for racing or jumping.
• Front or Rear UTV Bench Seats: Bench seats aren’t as ideal for hard driving because they don’t include side bolstering between each passenger. They are more common for back seats.
• UTV Children's Seating: If you’ll be riding your UTV with children in tow, you’ll need proper seat risers to keep them safe.
• UTV Seat Accessories: Safety harnesses, racing harnesses, pads for added comfort, heat-shield kits to keep your seats cool, seat risers for kiddos, etc. Important note: there are many different types of harnesses (4-point, 5-point, 6-point, etc.) and some races/events have specific requirements.

A few trusted UTV seat brands include Beard, Grant, and Pro Armor. Explore UTV seats and harnesses on our website to learn more.

ATV Seat Options & Accessories

If you do decide to upgrade your ATV seat, there are a few different options to choose from. For racing, most riders upgrade to a firmer, narrower, and longer ATV seat, for the reasons described above. To improve comfort, some people choose to upgrade to an ATV seat with a cushioned backrest. This upgrade can help minimize fatigue and back pain during long ATV rides. Full bucket seats can also be added to ATVs, though this is less common.

Another option is to upgrade your stock ATV seat to a passenger seat. These ATV seats are a bit wider and thicker than most factory seats. If you’re after style points, there are a lot of fun ATV seats to choose from, like camouflage or wild prints. As far as ATV seat accessories, many people top it off with an ATV seat cover for extra cushioning, temperature control, and grippage. A cover also protect your seat from the elements and maximize its lifespan.

We carry some of the best ATV seats and covers on the market, from trusted brands like ATV Tek, Honda, and QuadWorks.

Shop ATV & UTV Seats from ZMPerformance!

If you’re looking for ATV or UTV seats or accessories, we’ve got your back! Whether your goal in upgrading your seat is to maximize comfort, safety, or performance, we’ve got plenty of options in stock to improve your riding experience.