FYI: if you have recaro Pole positions... street/race illegal

[gliding_serpent]

So I have been educating myself on lightweight seat options and was in the market for a pair of these amongst other options. Use would be street (with oem 3 point belts) and the occasional HPDE (with 5 point harness).

First of all they are FIA approved race seats... or they were until just recently.

In a voluntary field measure with regard to its racing seats RECARO Pole Position SPG (FIA) and RECARO Furious SPG (FIA), produced until November 2014, RECARO Automotive Seating has asked its end customers precautionary to refrain from using these seats. RECARO Automotive Seating had informed the international motorsports-authority FIA about this issue voluntarily and proactively. Subsequently FIA has revoked the homologation of the relevant seats.

Relevant seats can be identified by their parts numbers, RECARO Pole Position SPG (FIA) starting with 070.98.XXX, RECARO Furious SPG (FIA) starting with 070.78.XXX, and by the text “Pole Position” and the common homologation number CS.997.00 on a label on the side of their backrests.

Details here: https://www.recaro-automotive.com/en/product-areas/motorsport/products/recaro-pole-position-fia.html

Next, in my research of this seat as an option, I saw them in many a street car. This, may be somewhat obvious, but they are not street legal in the USA (and I presume Canada where I live, but I need to verify). In germany, the Pole Position ABG is street legal, and I understand the difference is that the waist belt holes are larger to properly accommodate the male and female belt ends. PP ABGs are still not legal in the USA however, and are thus not locally available. I am not sure how well the regular pole positions accommodate OEM belts, but I would be interested to hear from others here.

It looks like lots of people still run these seats on the road anyway (don't ask, don't tell), but I would suspect that if you got in an accident, insurance companies would have a field day if they investigated. I suspect it would be an exclusion for insurability if you provided full disclosure, and an exclusion if you did not, and they found out. I suspect most race style seats fall under the same category. EDIT: That being said, I am talking to an individual that says that it is not seats that are made to DOT standards (for whatever reason), just seat-belts. i.e. use whatever seat you want, just make sure your belt is DOT certified. Who is right?

Mind you, you could still use them for HPDE, and non FIA racing, but your could not drive to and from the track.

a thread in the racing section: Recaro Pole Position No Longer Legal for Racing

[Tippy]

So will they refund your money?

[gliding_serpent]

Originally Posted by Tippy

So will they refund your money?

I have no idea. They have a number to call and say they are working on a solution.

[toddu]

Aren't most headers, brake lines, pedals, seats, etc. usually listed as "for off road use only".

Todd

[Trackrash]

It looks like lots of people still run these seats on the road anyway (don't ask, don't tell), but I would suspect that if you got in an accident, insurance companies would have a field day if they investigated. I suspect it would be an exclusion for insurability if you provided full disclosure, and an exclusion if you did not, and they found out. I suspect most race style seats fall under the same category. EDIT: That being said, I am talking to an individual that says that it is not seats that are made to DOT standards (for whatever reason), just seat-belts. i.e. use whatever seat you want, just make sure your belt is DOT certified. Who is right?

I have never heard that there was a problem with race or sport seats not being "street legal". I would like to hear what the experts have to say.

[gliding_serpent]

Originally Posted by toddu

Aren't most headers, brake lines, pedals, seats, etc. usually listed as "for off road use only".

Todd

You are probably right.

Using armchair logic, when you discuss insuring car, they ask if you have done any modifications to the car. Many companies will not insure if the car is not stock. Probably not an issue with typical claims, but if it came to a big accident, with a big settlement, I will put my money on the table to say that it will be investigated and any loophole will be used to deny coverage. You did not declare the aftermarket seats". Again, speculation.

Heck, read the CAA fine print an they will not tow a car that does not have stock suspension. It is an exclusion be it jacked or lowered. Are uprated torsion bars or shocks not stock if it did not come with the car off the showroom floor? How about euro ride height on a US car? Gets a bit grey. If they will bother to check is another matter...

[proffighter]

Just a note:

The Recaro PP is available in two versions, FIA or ABE (which means legal for steet, at least in Europe), only the FIA version is affected.

[gliding_serpent]

Originally Posted by proffighter

Just a note:

The Recaro PP is available in two versions, FIA or ABE (which means legal for steet, at least in Europe), only the FIA version is affected.

Oops I called it ABG in my first post. The ABE are not sold in the US, as they are still not seen as legal here. OR that is my understanding.