Mounting an OMP seat


#1

Hey guys, this is my first race car, so I have had many many questions.

Right now I’m trying to figure out mounting a seat. I’m looking at http://www.ompamerica.com/racing/seats/ha762/ My question is how do you go about mounting the seat to the car? OMP’s mounts all look like they mount to a flat floor, which the bottom of an e30 isn’t.

If anyone has any suggestions as to how to mount these seats, or suggestions on alternatives I’d really appreciate the advice.

If you have any advice on affordable harnesses, I’d love to hear that too!


#2

[quote=“kingofpoptart” post=66360]Hey guys, this is my first race car, so I have had many many questions.

Right now I’m trying to figure out mounting a seat. I’m looking at http://www.ompamerica.com/racing/seats/ha762/ My question is how do you go about mounting the seat to the car? OMP’s mounts all look like they mount to a flat floor, which the bottom of an e30 isn’t.

If anyone has any suggestions as to how to mount these seats, or suggestions on alternatives I’d really appreciate the advice.

If you have any advice on affordable harnesses, I’d love to hear that too![/quote]

Check out bottom mounting pieces from VAC. The seat would attach to a pair of side mounts, which would then attach to the VAC mounts, which bolt to the car where the stock seat does. Make sense?

VAC Mounts: http://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac---floor-mount-adapters-e30-inc-m3-p352.aspx


#3

Gotcha, that makes a lot more sense now. Thanks!


#4

Sure thing. Of course that’s not the ONLY way to do it. Something could likely be fabbed up for less money and a more custom fit. But it’s hard to beat the ease of these type of mounts. Which is not to say it’s easy… seats are just a pain in the ass, in my book.


#5

Yeah, I actually just emailed the guy who’s installing my roll cage right now to see if he can come up with a simple and cheap solution. I agree, I’m slowly learning that these seats are a HUGE pain.


#6

A couple years from now, having wrenched and fab’d your way thru some major shit, you’ll look back at this seat install issue and laugh at how trivial it was.


#7

My logbook inspector said my homemade seat mounts were legal but dangerous and stupid. That’s just how I roll though!


#8

On the plus side, I can usually refer to the Bentley manual for most things. This seat install I felt like I was going in blind! Thank goodness for forums.

I can’t wait to drive the car again, the roll cage is currently being installed and the new (new to me anyways) goes in as soon as we get the car back!


#9

G-Force makes a line of harnesses that offer good value. The 5 strap latch and link type harness (Pro Series 6000BK) can be had for a little over $50 but is only SFI16.1 rated, that is has to be replaced every two years. FWIW NASA et al recommend a 6 point harness. If you can step up to the $150 dollar range you get a nice camlock release and a 5 year FIA certification. The 487th time you have to screw with the latch and link you’ll wish you’d spent the extra hundred.