Racing Seat Poll

[GT240sx]

What kind of seat do you have in your racecar and if you don't mind, how much was it? I don't have one yet, but I need one very soon, roll cage fabrication is about to happen and I would like to incorporate seat position into the design. Right now I am looking at either an FIA approved fiberglass seat or a kirkey road race seat.

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Russell White
Indianapolis, IN
'85 Toyota Supra
ready for ITS in 8 months....maybe

[Greg Amy]

Both of my cars have a Momo Start FIA-approved 'glas seat, purchased from LTB Motorsports (http://www.ltbmotorsport.com/) Current advertised price is $260 (free Ground Shipping).

Give Louis a call; nice guy and he'll answer all your questions. - Greg

[RacerBill]

Russ: I have a Kirkey Intermediate that was purchased a couple of years ago as a Christmas present, so I can't give you a cost.

One problem I ran into with an off the shelf seat is that the hole for the shoulder straps was too high (I am vertically challanged, but that's goes along with the territory when you're a leprechaun. With the hole in the stock location, the belts would have to go up from my chest to the hole instead of straight back at a 90 degree angle to the spine (see GCR page 140).

Make sure you get the seat and locate it in the car before you get the horizontal bar behind the seat cut and welded, as the seat and its shoulder strap hole(s) will determine where the horizontal bar should be mounted.

Tell Terry Garrett I said hello.


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Bill Stevens
Mbr 103106
BnS Racing
83 ITA Shelby Dodge Charger

[Racerlinn]

Russell, I have a Sparco Ultra. Coming out to IRP this weekend?

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Steve Linn
'92 ITA Sentra SE-R
www.indyscca.org (http://www.indyscca.org)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/Racerlinn/SideSER2.jpg

[GT240sx]

Steve, I completely forgot about the races here this weekend, I was planning to get out there and take some pictures and I worked tech last time which was actually not to bad. I am going out of town Friday afternoon so I am giong to miss it, but good luck, hopefully the weather will clear up.

Russell

[jc836]

I'm using a Sparco REV. It is quite snug for my shape and fits in the CRX the way I want it. It is fully FIA so NO back brace required, if one replaces it every 5 years. That is the only downside IMO. Price for the new version is $599. Theremay be a few 2004 units available for substantially less than that (I got one). I might add that the 2005 model has been slightly revised.
The most important thing you can do is test fit a seat, regardless of brand or price-try it before you buy it. That is what I did. I went to OG Racing and sat in several different seats for differeing amounts of time. Also take into consideration that a firesuit will be worn and that will affect the fit-so take yours with you and put it on.

Happy racing

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Grandpa's toys-modded suspensions and a few other tweaks
'89 CRX Si-SCCA ITA #99
'03 Dodge Dakota Club Cab V8-Patriot Blue gonna tow

[This message has been edited by jc836 (edited May 02, 2005).]

[joeg]

I use a Recaro SPG.

The Germans make the best seats that fit!

[spnkzss]

I run the Kirkey INTERMEDIATE Road Race. I love it and wouldn't run anything else. I believe the seat was $195 and the cover was $75 ish. I don't know with the cost of metal lately if that's gone up or not, but I found it to be the best bang for the buck. You can get them in 15" 16" and 17". I heard a rumor that the make them in 19" now, but don't quote me.

HTH

Spanky
#03 ITC '90 Honda Civic WDCR

[PFM Racing]

We always use Kirkey Intermediates and really like them.

They run around $200.00 if I remember correctly.



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Jennifer Rudder
PFM Racing
www.pfmracing.com

[dave parker]

Russ
I have the following seats:
My car Sparco EVO 2 or EVO L(as it is currently called)
Wife's car Sparco EVO 2

I have had in other cars:
ITB Golf, Kirkey Deluxe Aluminium Road Race seat, expensive seat but super comfortable used in a multi driver car.

The seat choice comes down to one thing, what is most comfortable for you. Try to sit in each of your choices and get what is best for you.
cheers
dave
wdcr ITC#97

[racer-025]

I use a 16" Kirkey Intermediate Road Race. Very confortable and fits me well.

http://www.geocities.com/mcnuttracing/im002117.jpg



[This message has been edited by racer-025 (edited May 02, 2005).]

[GT240sx]

racer-025, I have been looking at that specific seat(kirkey intermediate road race), cost and feature wise it looks pretty good. I noticed on the deluxe road race it has holes for the mounting brackets, how does your intermediate mount to the car?

[Daryl DeArman]

I know you only listed a couple of potential seats but please consider that the seat is also a piece of the safety equipment package. Not only must if give you good support and feedback, it must protect you as well.

Look at the Racetech seats and the LaJoie seats. If you don't care for either of those lines or the co$t$ then get an open wheel car and get a Nomex lined Beadseat in a kevlar shell. http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/biggrin.gif

[gsbaker]

Originally posted by Daryl DeArman:
...Look at the Racetech seats and the LaJoie seats. If you don't care for either of those lines or the co$t$ then get an open wheel car and get a Nomex lined Beadseat in a kevlar shell. http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/biggrin.gif

Oooooh, goin' high end, eh Daryl? http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/wink.gif

Those are some very nice products. However, if a driver is serious about seats as both a comfort and safety product, they may want to wait a while if possible. Some very slick design concepts are going to be tested in the near future, but not in time for this season.

I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I did overhear this at a bus stop. http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif

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Gregg Baker, P.E.
Isaac, LLC
http://www.isaacdirect.com

[ITANorm]

Kirkey Economy in the old Honda - it was (barely) adequate. When the MR2 needed a new seat I upgraded to the Intermediate. It's both comfortable and reasonably priced. I believe the $200 figure mentioned, including cover, was about what I paid.

Oh - and you fabricate your own mounts.

[This message has been edited by ITANorm (edited May 02, 2005).]

[racer-025]

Originally posted by GT240sx:
racer-025, how does your intermediate mount to the car?

I have determined that the mounting brackets from Kirkey dont really fit the curved & contoured floor of our Hondas. So, I normally build a custom floor bracket that utilizes the existing front seat bolt holes and I make new rear holes thru the floor. I usually beef up the floor area with 1/8" plate and use grade 8 bolts with big washers. Then I drill 4 holes in the bottom of the seat and attached it to the custom mount. Also included is a steel back plate all custom mounted to the roll cage. I like this seat and recommend it.

Currently, the seat is out of the car. I'll take a photo of the bracket if you want to see it...

[This message has been edited by racer-025 (edited May 02, 2005).]

[pgipson]

I have an Ultrashield "Pro" road race seat
[url=http://www.ultrashieldrace.com/prod.php?id=7]

About 300 with cover. The problem is that I can't get my head in a comfortable position. I took the foam padding out of the headrest area, but when my head goes back against the seat it pushes forward (and down) on my helmet . It is very uncomfortable, and results in some significant discomfort in my neck at the end of a race. It almosts feels like I need to bend the headrest back a couple of inches (but I don't think that will happen -- this thing is built like a beast).

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Spec RX7 #11
Scottsdale AZ

[racer-025]

it sounds like you have the seat mounted too vertical. Perhaps you need to mount it so that it has a 10-20 deg layback. Then the back headrest will have an inch or so between the seat & your helmet.

[Knestis]

Recaro SPG Racer and Recaro Pole Position (for enduros with wider co-drivers). I'm all about the structure.

K

[Prophet]

Corbeau Forza II (bigger version) I use my car on the street and it allows me easy access in and out. However, I don't really like it as it doesn't offer the side (rib) support that I would like. After some hard racing, I got out and my ribs (mid-section) were hurting pretty bad for about 1/2 hour after climbing out of the car. The seat was an eBay special at $125-$150 w/ outdated seatbelts. New I believe they are $300.

I wouldn't recommend this seat if you it is a dedicated race car.

-Jeremy-

[Richy Gonzalez]

Cobra Monaco for big and tall people http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif
I bougth it from Sube Sports but if you want Momo or Sparco www.ltbmotorsports.com (http://www.ltbmotorsports.com) is the only place to go!

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Richy Gonzalez
GB Racing<A HREF="http://groups.msn.com/TheGonzalezFamilyRichySheilaandNyah/projectitacrx.msnw" TARGET=_blank>
#24 ITA CRX For Sale LOW PRICE $7000.00</A>
LAMIN-X Protective Films (http://www.lamin-x.com)

[GT240sx]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Did I hear the FIA rule correctl? You must replace an FIA seat every five years? Also, I almost purchased a sparco corsa seat, but it is a fiberglass seat and it seemed to be pretty flexible just sitting still in the store. Are most fiberglass seats like this?

[Bill Miller]

I've got one of the orginal Kirkey deluxe road race seats. I sat in the thing in the store, and was pretty much sold instantly. I liked it better than the Sparco and the Corbeau that they also carried. When I got the HP car, it cam w/ a Kirkey intermediate seat in it. Due to the way it was mounted, I couldn't easily drop the deluxe seat in, so I decided to go w/ it. It works, but it just doesn't compare to the deluxe road race seat. That thing is a work of art!



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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608

[jc836]

I did say that one MUST replace every 5 years or use a back brace behind the seat after the tag expires. I chose to buy another seat. As to the quality of the Sparco REV-it is very solid. Even the cover is well made. I will agree that the Kirkey and Butler seats are extremely well made-but require a back brace as they do not have FIA tags. Wish they did, but no luck.

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Grandpa's toys-modded suspensions and a few other tweaks
'89 CRX Si-SCCA ITA #99
'03 Dodge Dakota Club Cab V8-Patriot Blue gonna tow

[JLawton]

I have a Butler and like the way it holds my torso and legs in. I've had Cobra's in the past and found I would twist my back against the G's in the corners. Always came away with a sore back.

The only thing I don't like, is when I'm sitting on the grid (hands OFF the steering wheel), the rib part presses against my upper arm limiting blood flow.

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Jeff L
#74 ITB GTi