Does anyone have strong feelings or recommendations for seats and harnesses? If I’m like most people, I am wearing extremely thin on the build budget and would like a good setup at reasonable cost.
Seats
tomzzy
#5
I got the Kirkey intermediate road race seat at Summit Racing $210.99, plus the cover $136.69 for total of $347.68
Igor
#6
motormuncher
#7
Do you have a five dollar brain?
Then don’t put it in a five dollar seat and harness.
Safety is the one thing you can not compromise.
I have a Sparco Evo with Schroth Hybrid 3 harnesses for the Hans.
Since i havent purchased the Hans i Run Autopower 6 point cam locks from www.ioportracing.com
I love the fit of the sparco and Schroth combined.
My advise is sit in every seat that you come across.
AJ had some guy test fitting his seat last week at thunderhill.
See what works for YOU.
goldfish
#8
I have the Racetech 4009 I got from Walter too. The guy sitting in it was one of my former instructors Tim and he liked it, although he said his current seat had higher thigh bolsters (?). He’s looking for a HANS compatible seat for his E36. I have had a few people want to sit in it, and that’s key. After the basic features it’s a fit thing - gotta feel right. I can tell you that the non big/tall 4009 is a bit tighter than the Sparco 2000 that I used to have but the shoulder harness holes are higher on the back of the seat to accomodate the appropriate angle for the HANS harness. I’m 6’, 190# and it fits me well. I really like the fit, and am glad that Walter was able to get us a group buy.
victorhall
#9
I recommend getting FIA certified belts. Some are ONLY SFI certified (like the Simpson ones I believe).
FIA cert = 5 years.
SFI cert = 2 years.
You will need to replace the belts when they expire. With the budget in mind, get the FIA belts. I have Sparco Camlocks. No issues - they’ve been great.
-Vic
erupert66
#10
G-Force has a 6 point harness with camlock, pull-up tabs on the shoulders FIA certs for a bit over $100. Check www.apexperformance.net
I love my Ultrashield aluminum seat. Have had the pro for several years and am going to order the one with the halo in the next couple weeks. The Pro seat is $220 and $113 for the cover. I just ordered a brand new cover for $113 and it’s like getting a brand new seat. The seat itself is about 5 years old. Can’t do that with any of the molded seats. The lighweight seat with halo is $571 plus $142 for the cover. www.ultrashieldrace.com
4bimmers
#13
Motormuncher, I am not about to shortcut on safety; I like my "five dollar brain". But obviously there is a wide range of pricing involved and it is good to get input from those who have made the decision already. Thanks for all the feedback.
dpspeed
#14
I’ve sat in the Pro Road Race seat made by ultrashield…it is comfortable. I have a Miata currently and had to go with the rally sport model (it has lower sides to make it easier to get in/out).
Don’t forget to get an i/o port back brace and side mounts for mounting the aluminum seat.
I also use the G-Force 6 point belts with no complaints. Definitely a more budget friendly setup.
Dave
dpspeed
#15
I’ve sat in the Pro Road Race seat made by ultrashield…it is comfortable. I have a Miata currently and had to go with the rally sport model (it has lower sides to make it easier to get in/out).
Don’t forget to get an i/o port back brace and side mounts for mounting the aluminum seat.
I also use the G-Force 6 point belts with no complaints. Definitely a more budget friendly setup.
Dave
Teufelauto
#16
dpspeed wrote:
[quote]I’ve sat in the Pro Road Race seat made by ultrashield…it is comfortable. I have a Miata currently and had to go with the rally sport model (it has lower sides to make it easier to get in/out).
Dave[/quote]
The fit on ultrashield seats, esp the pro, is unforgiving on bean poles. There’s no cheating the shoulder belt angle: you have to be able to fit under the wings. The kirky seems the most tall for the width. this is all just my own uneducated opinion. this is a picture of my fit to my kirky. Yes, my head does turn with the wheel.
Ex36
#17
dpspeed wrote:
[quote]
Don’t forget to get an i/o port back brace and side mounts for mounting the aluminum seat. [/quote]
I ordered an I/O Port seat back brace and I felt it was incredibly insubstantial. It’s marketed as helping restrain a seat from sideways motion in addition to rearward motion, but I doubt it’s up to the task (not only is it flimsy, but the geometry doesn’t seem right for it to operate in this manner). Instead I’ve installed a Brey-Krause seat back brace and it seems well worth the price premium. Having seen both, there’s no question what I have more faith in for my safety.
Sasha
erupert66
#18
Ex36 wrote:
[quote]dpspeed wrote:
[quote]
Don’t forget to get an i/o port back brace… [/quote]
I ordered an I/O Port seat back brace and I felt it was incredibly insubstantial.
Sasha[/quote]
I made one for under $50. Pretty simple, go to the Home Depot (Lowes, etc) and get two pieces of black pipe. 1" and 1 1/4". They slip inside each other. Get a Grade 8 bolt for the bolt to hold the position and SS "U" bolts Then, go find your handy welder guy and get him to make a plate from 1/8" steel and weld it up. I had about $15 in the pipe and my welder charged $30 to cut the steel and weld it together. To get the proper angle, I used a piece of cardboard perpedicular to the seat and a carpenter’s level to get the vertical line. THis gives you the angle that you need so that the plate touches the seat properly while keeping the pipe horizontal to the ground.
jensscott
#19
motormuncher wrote:
[quote]Do you have a five dollar brain?
Then don’t put it in a five dollar seat and harness.
Safety is the one thing you can not compromise.
I have a Sparco Evo with Schroth Hybrid 3 harnesses for the Hans.
Since i havent purchased the Hans i Run Autopower 6 point cam locks from www.ioportracing.com
I love the fit of the sparco and Schroth combined.
My advise is sit in every seat that you come across.
AJ had some guy test fitting his seat last week at thunderhill.
See what works for YOU.[/quote]
My brain’s worth five bucks (almost)… can I use a five dollar seat?
Ex36
#20
Eric,
Your homemade seatback brace looks pretty stout, and matches the angle of the seat better than the installation I achieved, but it does differ from my Brey-Krause brace in a significant way; it appears that your brace could rotate around the harness bar. With the Brey-Krause bolt-in, you actually drill through the harness bar so the brace cannot rotate without shearing the bolts. If you got your welder to run a bead around the U-bolts, you’d prevent rotation and still have saved a lot of money compared to what I spent even if you pay another $30!:pinch:
Sasha