"Race" Seat?

[Jiveslug]

Hi again everyone. I have a question regarding the rules as they pertain to seats. The GCR for IT states that “The driver’s seat (only) shall be replaced with a one-piece bucket-type race seat.” What exactly does that mean? Does it mean that you cannot use any seat that was originally used in a production car? The rules further specify that the seat needs to be attached according to the GCR rules in section 18, basically that it needs to be braced properly if its not a seat that meets “x” standards. So what Im wondering is, if I say get some seats out of a street sports car that are more supportive than my stock ones, and then brace it properly, is that legal? Im reading the rule as stating that I pretty much have to buy an aftermarket seat, but I want to make sure. Thanks!

Jive

[JamesB]

I have seen some racers using stock seats, but most use aftermarket like the Kirkery aluminum. They are lighter weight and much more supporting in the heavy turns. And yes they will need to be braced to the cage.

[Bill Miller]

Jive,

The way the rules are now written, you cannot run any kind of seat that has seperate bottom and back sections. In other words, if the seat is hinged, you can't run it. If you can find a one-piece seat out of a production car, you can run it (at least that's the way I read the rules). May not be the intent, but that's the way the rule is written. I remember many years ago, there were one-piece fiberglass seats in the Saab Sonnett. I suppose that it would be legal to run one of those, were it properly braced.

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

[JLawton]

Trust me, you don't want to use a stock seat. You need all the support you can get. If you're worried about staying in the seat, you're not going to be able to concentrate on your driving. The Kirkey seats give a lot of support for little $$$. Get one of the "off the shelf" seat back braces. On my first car, I bolted the seat to an aluminum plate and bolted the plate to the floor. Make sure to use BIG backing washers/plates.


What kind of car??
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Jeff L
#74 ITB GTi

[This message has been edited by JLawton (edited July 08, 2005).]

[Greg Amy]

I agree with all the above: you cannot run a hinged production-based seat. You can build your own one-piece seat out of sheet aluminum, but no hinged seat.

The reason? Back in "the good ole days" when Showroom Stock was showroom stock we had to run factory seats (and pads, and lines, and shocks, but that's another old guy tale.) Occasionally we'd see a failure of the hinge point on the factory seats during crashes and the seat back would fall, leading to potential injury. The first way we addressed that was to add horizontal main hoop bars to the rollcage to "catch" the seat back, and eventually we required adjustable seat back braces. Finally, the club decided this was still unsafe and allowed - then mandated - one-piece unhinged racing seats.

Today, that evolution has progressed to where FIA-tested and -approved racing seats can forego the evolutionary adjustable seat back brace.

Spend the money on a good seat (the Momo Start FIA-approved seat can be found for around $250). As Jeff noted, it's worth it. - GA

[Jiveslug]

Thanks for the input guys. Ill take a look at the Kirkeys and the Momo. Im just looking at all of my options.

The car is going to be a TE72 Toyota Corolla (80-82). Dont let the spec sheet fool you. heh.