Recaro Pole Position '87 Carrera install best practices? Southbound Trimmers mounts?

[Larmo63]

I'm reading this and wondering if the stock sport seats can be lightened up by ditching the electric motors and the ancillary parts/wiring underneath?

I love my leather sport seats, but they are heavy mofos.

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by Larmo63

I'm reading this and wondering if the stock sport seats can be lightened up by ditching the electric motors and the ancillary parts/wiring underneath?

I love my leather sport seats, but they are heavy mofos.

I've asked around and searched for same, but haven't found anything.

Factory manual standard seat still weighs 39.43 pounds. Even if you could do a motor-ectomy in your stock sport seats (50.57 pounds), I doubt that would get them down to that figure. As such, I'd argue that the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze.

[mray2686]

Frank, couple years since installing these pole positions. Any final update to your seat mounts, seatbelt situation or kept it the same? Thanks!

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by mray2686

Frank, couple years since installing these pole positions. Any final update to your seat mounts, seatbelt situation or kept it the same? Thanks!

Ok, first thing, let's normalize on these terms going forward (they're per Seatbelt Planet. More on them in a moment.)...

the Buckle (left: Porsche Rear | right: Lotus Elise Front)...


the Tongue (Lotus Elise)...



Well, in the interim, I installed a set of Pole Position Carbons in my project car (~13.5 lbs each. DROOL!), utilizing a similar mounting setup as before...








...and I came to the same conclusion.

Of all the options that I've tried, two are ok if you want to route the belt over the side bolster... Either the stock front buckle (receptacle) from the "comfort" seat or the ~1" longer buckle from the Sport Seat.

If, however, you want to route the belt through the opening in the side bolster, you need to use the shorter overall stock rear buckle. It's suboptimal though as it places the release in a semi-awkward spot.

I want a buckle that's as short as possible. Enter the Lotus Elise buckle. This will allow the seatbelt tongue to route through the opening and interface with the buckle in a more optimal spot (both for buckling and releasing / unbuckling). The Lotus setup's shouldered mountimg bolt and washer / spacer, plus the spring will keep the buckle from flopping around. The added bonus is that buckling the seatbelt with this setup will be a one-handed operation.

The downside is that you need to have the Lotus tongue installed on the Porsche seatbelt webbing. This is where Seatbelt Planet enters the chat. I explained my conundrum and they're the ones that strongly recommended using the matching pair of buckle and tongue. So, I sourced both...








...and I plan on sending my old belts to be A) rewebbed and B) have the Lotus tongue installed at the same time.

So, the summary is... There are easy paths that re-use the front Porsche buckles or re-purpose the rear Porsche buckles. You can pair the over the bolster routing with the Porsche rear buckle. In this instance, fastening the seatbelt will be a two handed operation for most occupants.

[mray2686]

Thank you! Trying to get these installed today. If overall height is not a concern, the RS seat buckle mount is sandwiched between the Recaro side rails and the Recaro sliders, correct? If so, one needs to drill a second hole to fit bolts through to secure the seat belt mount safely, right?

Holes for me don't line up between the side mounts, RS adapter, and Recaro rails.

Am I thinking through this correctly?

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by mray2686

Thank you! Trying to get these installed today. If overall height is not a concern, the RS seat buckle mount is sandwiched between the Recaro side rails and the Recaro sliders, correct? If so, one needs to drill a second hole to fit bolts through to secure the seat belt mount safely, right?

Holes for me don't line up between the side mounts, RS adapter, and Recaro rails.

Am I thinking through this correctly?

Correct, you also need leveling washers all these are 3mm thick as is a 996GT3 subbar if used.






and yes you will need to drill holes

[911MANN]

Lots of good information here. I am trying to decide how best to strap in to my Recaro SPG Profi in my '83 911SC. I have previously used a harness, even for street driving. It felt great and was really not inconvenient for me; I just don't need it for street driving, and it makes me appear as I'm trying to pose as a racer, when I'm not. Here are my questions re: another couple of options using the factory 3-point belts. I will not use the lap belts over the bolsters, as it defeats the snug fit I want.

1. Install the 90* 964RS slider bracket and 3mm washers. Buy a rear seatbelt receiver (expensive) and have Seatbelt Planet install a longer (custom-length) webbing. When I called, they indicated they would do that for me. I would keep the plastic support sleeve and just let another couple of inches hang into my seat bolster. But they strongly pushed me to replace both the tongue and receiver with their matching products. They pushed it so much, I wondered if they would actually perform the custom-length webbing for the rear receiver I requested.

2. FVD Brombacher sells the 964RS bracket and tunnel-side short steel strap extension. I was thinking I could use this along with the rear belt receiver, to yield the proper extension without having to modify the webbing. Even if that extension is a bit too long, I could simply drill another hole in the strap extension a bit closer to give me the length I need.

Does anybody like these alternative ideas?

[911MANN]

Here is a photo of the FVD Brombacher Tunnel-Side Short Steel Strap Extension for information. This looks to add maybe 3 inches to the rear belt receiver, which will bring the receptacle into the seat area more than merely peeking in, as the earlier thread photos showed. And if this extension proved a bit too long, a new hole could be drilled in a better location.

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by 911MANN

Lots of good information here. I am trying to decide how best to strap in to my Recaro SPG Profi in my '83 911SC. I have previously used a harness, even for street driving. It felt great and was really not inconvenient for me; I just don't need it for street driving, and it makes me appear as I'm trying to pose as a racer, when I'm not. Here are my questions re: another couple of options using the factory 3-point belts. I will not use the lap belts over the bolsters, as it defeats the snug fit I want.

1. Install the 90* 964RS slider bracket and 3mm washers. Buy a rear seatbelt receiver (expensive) and have Seatbelt Planet install a longer (custom-length) webbing. When I called, they indicated they would do that for me. I would keep the plastic support sleeve and just let another couple of inches hang into my seat bolster. But they strongly pushed me to replace both the tongue and receiver with their matching products. They pushed it so much, I wondered if they would actually perform the custom-length webbing for the rear receiver I requested.

2. FVD Brombacher sells the 964RS bracket and tunnel-side short steel strap extension. I was thinking I could use this along with the rear belt receiver, to yield the proper extension without having to modify the webbing. Even if that extension is a bit too long, I could simply drill another hole in the strap extension a bit closer to give me the length I need.

Does anybody like these alternative ideas?

I'm having a hard time envisioning your question (I am getting older tho, so there's that). PM me your number, so you can walk me thru it / we can discuss.

FWIW, Seatbelt Planet wanted to ensure I was using matching tongues & buckles for my application as well. Their abundance of caution makes sense.