Crossmember for Nurburgring Seats

luvndasun · 02-01-2006, 09:03 AM

Hi -
I have determined my seat height and now want to fabricate the crossmembers necessary to mount Nurburgring seats in my 72T. I need to fabricate two crossmembers for each seat. How have you fabricated these crossmembers? Is there a part available that I could buy?
Thanks!

RSBob · RSBob's Garage

There is no part available from GTS, but Stephan can give you the dimensions if you want to make your own or have one made. But I bet some one on this BB has already made them.

jtkkz · 02-01-2006, 09:36 AM

I made my own, just head to your local hardware store and purchase flat bars maybe an 1" wide and drill your holes paint it black or have it powder coated.

luvndasun · 02-01-2006, 09:55 AM

I guess that I was making this too hard. My problem was with bending the steel. I bought 1.5" wide x 3/16" thick bar stock and was trying to bend it to lower the seat height. I'll just use the striaght bar and if I want to lower the seat, I can put the bar underneath of the side rails and I can also use square washers to adjust the height if it needs it. FWIW - I had a 20" length of bar stock in my vise and was heating it up and pulling on it to bend it. I ended up ripping the vise and a big chunk of my bench top off of the work bench.....that sucked, now on top of mounting my seats I have to fix my bench and mount the vise.
Thanks!

RSBob · RSBob's Garage

The flat bar solution is very easy. I was thinking more of the lowering the seat to just above floor height, if that is what luvndasun is after.

Jim Garfield · 02-01-2006, 01:19 PM

I just made a pair last week, you need to bend them or you will sit too high. The front cross member needs to drop .75" and the rear 1.25"- 2". I gave up trying to bend mine and took it to a welding shop. I have a drawing that Stefan sent me, if you PM me I can fax it to you.

jpnovak · 02-01-2006, 02:40 PM

Here are mine. A couple of sections of angle iron welded together. Cost a few dollars in materials, no bending necessary. The overall drop was about 2". I also welded a nut on each side in the rear to attach the inboard seat belt anchor like the factory.

I now have the ST seats and had to mount those to the floor. They are wider than the Nurburgring seats and would not fit inside these brackets.

luvndasun · 02-01-2006, 03:16 PM

Looks like I can get the seats lower in the car without having to make the bends, I'll just have to do some welding if I do it myself.
Jim - I sent you a PM with my FAX.
Jamie I have seen pics of your car and was hoping that you would have a chance to respond.
Thanks for the help

Jim Garfield · 02-01-2006, 03:33 PM

Jamie, your fax line is busy. I'll try again later.

GTSinLV · 02-02-2006, 12:39 AM

Hi All,
I am sorry to cause so much confusion and sweat.
But I had in mind the perfect seating position for each individual driver and that's why we do not supply these crossmembers.Maybe I have to rethink the idea and offer a generic seating position.
I have attached a few pictures of other customers bending and making these.
As far as the Rallye STS, the seat has been redesigned and is now narrower at the base but not in the mountings, oterwise we would get a much narrower seat.

again I am sorry for the confusion and extra work.
I will try to find a solution for all.

luvndasun · 12:42 PM

Hi All - Here is what I ended up doing. For the crossmebers (xmbrs) I used 1.25" Wide x 3/16" Thick flat steel bar stock, and mounted the xmbrs below the side rails with spacers to adjust the height. For the front xmbr the spacers that I used are 3/4" Long with a 3/8" hole and 1.5" x 3/8" bolts. For the rear xmbr I used 1.125" spacers with a 3/8" hole and 2.0" x 3/8" bolts. I dont plan to adjust the seat height in the future, but if I wanted to, I could just change the spacers.
To make the crossmembers requires cutting the steel bar to the proper length and then drilling the mounting holes. This is one of those tasks that is simple but not easy to actually perform. Drilling 16 holes (4/Xmbr)with my Costco/cheap drill bits through 3/16" steel took alot of time and effort. One word of advice is to measure each and every hole before drilling to ensure that the hole is properly located.
Before you install the seats into the car, mount the seats on the crossmembers, attach the side rails with the spacers to the xmbrs and then drop the complete assembly into the car and fasten the side rails to their mounts. I like the xmbr with the bends but for now this aproach will have to do. My .02c on which xmbr to include with the seats would be to bend each xmbr (Fr & Rr) so that they locate the seats as low as possible w/o causing interference. If somebody wanted to raise the seat height, they could use spacers between the xmbr and the side rails.
Below are three pictures of my install.
The 1st pic shows the side rail with the xmber mounted underneath.

2nd pic shows the rear spacer.
[img]
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads7/IMG_05391139088319.jpg[/img]
3rd pic shows front spacer.

Jim Garfield · 02-04-2006, 03:49 PM

Nice installation Jamie, it just goes to prove the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention".

Shuie · 03:02 AM

Look 'Ma, no welding.

My little MIG converted welder wouldn't burn this stuff so I just bolted them together. (2) 3 ft pieces each of 2" angle, 1" angle, and 1" flat steel and a handful of hardware. Just pay attention and line everything up strategically if you have to fit a DME under the seat.

luvndasun · 02-06-2006, 09:33 AM

Jim - thanks, I am happy with my installation, just wish it didnt take soooo long.
Shuie - Nice! Its amazing to see all of the creative solutions that people come up with.

PcarPhil · 02-06-2006, 09:54 AM

Very nice. Just to confirm...the Nurburgring seats from GTS fit down between the stock early car seat rails? What about between SC seat rails?

Thanks for the info,
-Scott

GTSinLV · 02-06-2006, 10:57 AM

Hi Scott,
even between the mountings of your SC , mounting point distance 16 in will our Nurburgring fit as the bas is only 14 in wide.I have atached a few pictures of a custom bracket for a very low seating position in an 911 SC with sliders and tilting bracket.

If you have any question please call me.
Stefan GTS 702 353 7175

Jim Garfield · 02-06-2006, 01:56 PM

Hey Stefan, I went for my first real drive since installing the seats on Saturday. Wow, what a difference! It's hard to believe that seats would make such a change in the feel of the car. I feel even more connected to what the car is doing now and I never realized how much the stock seats allow a person to move when cornering. I thought that the ST might be a bit too large for me, but after spending 5 hrs. in it I think that it's perfect. My son also says the Nurbugring is more comfortable than the stock seat too. I am very pleased with the seats, thanks for your help.

GTSinLV · 02-06-2006, 02:16 PM

Hi Jim,
I am glad that you enjoy the new driving impression.
Thanks for you comments and i hope you put in a few miles for me at the East Coast......
I will be at Hershey in April, maybe you come down and we can finally meet in person.
with warm regards
Stefan GTS classics 702 353 7175