The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Tech → What is a Good Race Seat for my Lemons car?
I have a 1984 bmw 318i car that I'm building into a Lemons car. What are some suggestions for a good safe racing seat? I don't what to spend a ton of money on it either, just something that is safe and passes tech.
we've had a lot of luck w/ Sparco Evo seats (specifically, Evo2s). they are also extremely comfortable. they are relatively inexpensive but still not cheap, although you can probably find used examples pretty easily.
i'd recommend not skimping on the seat...first, this is a long race in a car that is not otherwise going to be comfortable, and driver comfort counts for more than you'd think. second, the seat is a major safety item. third, unlike tires, a seat is a durable item; you can reuse a seat many times, or sell it and recoup most of your money.
The only suggestion I would have would be one that holds you in well. Mind you will not be taking turns at 2 g's or anything but a good tight seat will mean less fatigue and sliding around. We have a Butler circle track seat in ours that is a 17" and it seems to accomodate all of our drivers really well.
Is there anywhere near Columbia, SC or Charlotte, NC that has a "show room" where you can look at race seats before buying one?
Is there anywhere near Columbia, SC or Charlotte, NC that has a "show room" where you can look at race seats before buying one?
Isn't there a Simpson outlet north of Charlotte?
I've had great luck with the Corbeau Clubman. http://www.racing-seats-usa.com/20221.html
Used Corbeau Forza's are cheap and hold up pretty well
We used a 17" Kirkey Road Race Intermediate seat and were quite happy with it. Did a great job snugging the driver down so that we weren't sliding around. Bear in mind that any of the aluminum shell seats (Kirkeys and Butlers) require a rear seat back brace akin to this one:
http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchant2/m … ry_Code=IH
I'm not sure if the Sparco seats require those or if they even accommodate it. Cheers.
Our Sparco has the FIA certification so doesn't need the seat back brace.
Like others have said, don't skimp on the seat if you plan to race your car more than once.
An easy (but not cheap) solution for E30s is to buy some type of side mount seat and a pair of these: http://www.massivebrakes.com/accessorie … idemounts/ The seat will bolt right to the stock sliders with the side mount brackets.
Adjustability was very important to me due to my ogre-like proportions (6'3", all torso, and fairly wide). We needed sliders since some of my drivers are about 5'9", and the side mount brackets allowed me to mount the seat in a somewhat reclined angle to give me a bit more headroom. And since I had to buy a wide-ish seat (Corbeau FX1 standard width), there wasn't much clearance around the seat, so the side mount arrangement allowed the seat to be slightly offset to one side for clearance. I'm very happy with it.
Like others have said, don't skimp on the seat if you plan to race your car more than once.
An easy (but not cheap) solution for E30s is to buy some type of side mount seat and a pair of these: http://www.massivebrakes.com/accessorie … idemounts/ The seat will bolt right to the stock sliders with the side mount brackets.
Adjustability was very important to me due to my ogre-like proportions (6'3", all torso, and fairly wide). We needed sliders since some of my drivers are about 5'9", and the side mount brackets allowed me to mount the seat in a somewhat reclined angle to give me a bit more headroom. And since I had to buy a wide-ish seat (Corbeau FX1 standard width), there wasn't much clearance around the seat, so the side mount arrangement allowed the seat to be slightly offset to one side for clearance. I'm very happy with it.
Is it legal (safe and to pass tech) to bolt the seat to the stock sliders?
Is it legal (safe and to pass tech) to bolt the seat to the stock sliders?
Legal? Yes. Safe? Depends on how you do it. The seat mounting must be sturdy and your seat must have a brace of some kind behind it (as discussed in other threads here, search for it).
We use a 16" Kirkey Pro Drag 41500 and here is why:
The Intermediate and Economy due have wrap around rib protection but if the seat is to big for you you have to keep your arms up and elbows out. It isn't comfortable and wears on your race suit.
We did not just look at this and make a decision, my friend brought over his passenger seat which turned out to be a 17' Kirkey Pro Drag, I brought a seat which was also a 17" Pro Drag and a 16" Intermediate, another friend got out his seat which I think is a 15 or 15.5 economy or Intermediate. We tried them out with our gear on. The Kirkey Pro Drag is about the same as the Ultrashield Spec Miata Seat. So take tht however you want.
After three of us tried out the various seats on the floor, we decided the Pro Drag (41000) was the way to go but 17' was a bit big for me and our smaller drivers. So I got a 16" Pro Pro Drag (41500) [ http://www.kirkeyracing.com/index.php?l … e=Series41 ] and then had our biggest driver try it out. It worked for him so that's what we've had and plenty of big guys have tried it out and it works for them.
We made a seat booster for our smallest driver (5'5" #105 female). She fits in the seat okay but is literally shorter then the seat is desgned for so the harnesses did not pull down on her shoulders enough. A little bit of a boost and she is safetly seated in the car with improved visibility.
Anoher consideration is Hans devices. They recommed a 20 degree layback set for a Hans. The Kirkey Pro Drag is 18 degress while the Intermediate is 20.
Our seat is on sliders and I made an adjustable back support for our third race. If your harness bar is within a few inches of the back of the seat, it will keep the seat from colapsing. Do a seach and you'll find the discussion about that.
Here's an UltraShield Race Seat with cover for $225, which is a pretty reasonable price since they're close to $350 new:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/classifieds/908/
I'm not related to the ad, yada yada...
We, too, bought a Corbeau fx something(like the one in the picture). It was the cheapest,$300, I could find on the net. We also bought the slider, $115. The slider bolted right up to the stock mounts. However, the seat was too high for our tall drivers. So I cut the legs down on the slider frame, modified the floor crossmember slightly and raked the seat 12 degrees. In our sentra, we now have about 43" from seat to roof with the seat to the rear. When you add rake to the seat frame, the seat lowers(relative to the roof) when moved to the rear and of course, vice-a-versa when moved forward. Which works out rather nicely. One other thing about Corbeau fx seats....there is only one threaded bolt hole for a back brace. Taking the frabric off and adding more holes is for an upholstery expert. We are going with the one hole. Corbeau seats are made in Utah. If you do decide on a Corbeau, I would suggest calling them to get your ducks lined up. Like avaliability of the frame and seat. Sometimes they have to make the frame and that can take weeks for a rare car. Once you know what to order go to a seat site as they will eat the shipping and Corbeau won't.
Wedge Engineering is another source for seat brackets but they too drag their feet at getting stuff done.
We got the Corbeau Forza, $229 plus $90 for sliders. Free shipping over $300.
What's the difference in the Corbeau FX1 seat the Corbeau Forza seat?
The Forza is a tube frame design, whereas the FX1 is a composite shell design. The FX1 has a provision for side mounting but the Forza doesn't.
Thanks!
We use a Recaro (Profi SPA?) seat with Recaro sliders and side brackets. The rail instilation was a bitch. We wound up welding some nuts to some metal plates, and then welding the plate nut side down onto the chasis.
I own a couple of Forzas and I'm not a big fan. The tube frame is okay for autocrossing, but for track applications I don't think its nearly as strong as a fiberglass shell. In a rear end first collision, I don't worry about the Recaro cracking.
In any case I recomend sliders because of the range of driver's heights.
With sliders what do you have to do for your harness?
Check OMP brand. They make good certified seats for very non-certified prices. Also check the "ricer" forums for people selling their high dollar seats from their civics.
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