Seat?

[Spinnetti]

So, I got to fat for my seat I've had for 17years, and time for a new one. Any strong feelings/recommendations? I'm 6'2" 230. I've got a sparco sprint available, and I fit, but its a bit snug and the sides don't come up far enough. and there's no shoulder support. I like Sparco in general but would look at any similar brand. I've heard Kirkys are good, but I just don't like how they look - too dirt track for me. Thoughts?

[rsportvolvo]

I've been research seats and I'm going with the Racetech Viper seat. It was the basis for the new FIA seat spec and has the highest G load rating of current seats. Otherwise I would look at a custom aluminum seat. Seems the leading safety folks put more emphasis on a good seat these days.

[Xian]

You might also want to look at the Cobra Sebring GT and the Recaro Pro Racer XL. The Cobra is a bit wider than the Recaro but both will probably fit you pretty well. Personally, I went with the Recaro as I preferred the fit for me. The Racetech's were nice but they were the same price or higher than I could find the Recaro and the fit wasn't any better. I'm about 6'2" and 205-210.

Christian

[JimLill]

The Sparco EVO models come in large and even portly.........

[Spinnetti]

Thanks for the tips folks.... Do you know if the mounting for a given brand is generally the same across race seats? - e.g. all sparco seat mounts are x" apart one way and Y" the other? (would make mounting and swapping easier..)

[ltblouis]

The Sparco and MOMO Seats usually have the same mounting pattern.
Look at the Sparco EVO 3 that should be a good seat for your size.

Louis
LTB Motorsports

[Xian]

FWIW, Louis at LTB is really good to work with on seats. Great customer service and smokin' good prices!

[tom_sprecher]

I have a Kirkey Lightweight Layback with the full cover and love the lateral support it provides.

The best thing would be to lose some weight. Feel better and save money at the same time. Not as easy as it sounds though.

[joeg]

If you don't want Aluminum adn you are on the large side (like me), go German.

I have a new Koenig...nice fit for a fatso. Recaros work well too.

[Blix]

I second that "usually" but not "always are the same". There are a couple of different widths for sparco seat mounting. The side mounts are the same height off the bottom, but the bottom mounts are not always the same distance from the outside of the seat or width apart.

[Spinnetti]

Man, I'm really feeling like a lardo now! I've had the same car and seat for more than 17 years, and am in middle age now. Yeah, I need to lose weight (I should be 190-200 for my frame and am 230), but I don't think I'd ever fit into my TRD seat ever again regardless. I have a new Sparco sprint a friend gave me, but its a bit snug, but worse, it doesn't give any support of shoulders or ribs. I hate leaning off my doors for support. I'm looking for something to sit "IN", not "ON".. I'll check out the Koenig ("King" in German). Maybe the Evo 2 would do it too.. hard to do this stuff mail order and not know what you will end up with. PS, I plan to bottom mount. Side mounts don't help since my floor is way uneven and the side brackets would be useless anyway. (man, the price of seats makes baby Jesus cry!)

[Sandro]

If you want a seat that you sit in not on, I recommend the Sparco Circuit or similar seat. Since I got my circuit, I feel like I just sit there and drive the car, not drive the car and try to brace myself. You also mentioned you want to bottom mount your seat, not side mount, be careful because any of the Sparco seats that are halfway descent are all side mount.

[joeg]

Most race shells will be side mount (and that is the best way to mount them anyways). You can readily adapt the floor to these mounts.

[mr. black]

I had the same problem with the new ride I bought about a month ago. I'm not as tall but I have a big arse. The new ride has a Race Sheild seat. I was looking around for a replacement and found that the Sparco Evo L had everything I was looking for, including halos if I remember correctly. Fortunately I was able to hit the bike and move the belts around and make the RS work for me. That being said, I need an instructor/passenger seat and found the JEGS Pro Highback II race seat for about 125.00 complete. Is this good enough and or legal if I have up to date belts?

[timo944]

What's the thinking about the strength of aluminum vs. fiberglass? I hear (from vendors) that Aluminum is unsafe, but then I think about it and Aluminum will give (ie bend) where fiberglass will crack. Also all of the stock car guys including, I believe NASCAR, use aluminum. I think the vendors like to up-sell to the fiberglass option.

FWIW I've used a Kirkey for years and really trust it but want to upgrade to a seat with head support.

[ltblouis]

I have nothing against aluminum seats, my 1st race car had a Kirkey but it was not confortable, I switched to Fibergalss even before I started selling them, my friend David Boles in Melbourne FL always used aluminum seates until he tried one of my fiberglass and now he only uses a fiberglass seat.
If you don't want to spend the money look at the Sparco Sprint 5 or MOMO Tframe ( MOMO is out of seats until 2010), it is a tubular seat FIA approved and very confortable, I had the Sprint 5 last year in my ITC car and loved it, great for endurance racing.
As for safety, I think I would rather have an approved FIA seat over a non approved one.

[rsportvolvo]

What's the thinking about the strength of aluminum vs. fiberglass? I hear (from vendors) that Aluminum is unsafe, but then I think about it and Aluminum will give (ie bend) where fiberglass will crack. Also all of the stock car guys including, I believe NASCAR, use aluminum. I think the vendors like to up-sell to the fiberglass option.

FWIW I've used a Kirkey for years and really trust it but want to upgrade to a seat with head support.

Actually composite seats are making a break through in NASCAR:

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/columns/story?seriesId=2&columnist=newton_david&id=3161760

FIA composite seats are tested to standard, albeit not the best one ever. Not sure if the aluminum seat manufacturer's test their seat designs. I would think they would, but I haven't seen it advertised anywhere.