Whats the difference between racing seats?

[bpu699]

Never owned one... Haven't seen threads discussing seats...

I see Recaro, Sparco, Corbeau, OMP seem to be the big names... Prices range from $300-$1000 for the common seats...

Whats the difference? Is it a comfort issue? Safety rating? All cosmetics? Whats the deal with Kirkey? It looks like its just an aluminum bucket seat??? - looks painfully uncomfortable...

Is a $1000 seat more comfortable than a $300 seat?

Is the FIA rating worth extra money?

Can one use a HALO seat on the street? (I'm thinking "no.")

Also, no one sells these locally... Anyone have suggestions for seats that fit a 930 and at the same time fit a 220lb 6ft tall person?

Most of the seats I see for sale on this site in the classifieds seems built for 160lb person...

Basically, whats the best seat for the money for drivers ed and the street?

Thanks.

Bo

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by bpu699

Never owned one... Haven't seen threads discussing seats...

I see Recaro, Sparco, Corbeau, OMP seem to be the big names... Prices range from $300-$1000 for the common seats...

Whats the difference? Is it a comfort issue? Safety rating? All cosmetics? Whats the deal with Kirkey? It looks like its just an aluminum bucket seat??? - looks painfully uncomfortable...

Is a $1000 seat more comfortable than a $300 seat?

Is the FIA rating worth extra money?

Can one use a HALO seat on the street? (I'm thinking "no.")

Also, no one sells these locally... Anyone have suggestions for seats that fit a 930 and at the same time fit a 220lb 6ft tall person?

Most of the seats I see for sale on this site in the classifieds seems built for 160lb person...

Basically, whats the best seat for the money for drivers ed and the street?

Thanks.

Bo

They all fit and mount slightly differently
none are as comfortable as street seats because they all use a thin pad backed by a stiff seat core, f/g, c/f or Al. doesn't really affect the comfort, width, angles, length and height do. Once you are strapped in you want a snug but not pinched fit. 911 tend to have the foot pedals o/s a bit from the seat centerline, this can cause issues at the thigh if the seat is too confining in that area. For taller drivers look for a non sunroof car, w/ a sunroof you may have to drive sans the seat pad, I used to use only a thin towel, helmet was still bouncing off the roof.

For tall drivers look for larger/taller shoulder holes, you'll want a straight fetch from your Hans to the roll bar mount behind the seat.

A halo on the street is tough to deal w/ as is a full cage.

There has to be someone w/i driving range that has a selection on display. Often the bigger shops will set up a seat display at races.

[Driven97]

Unfortunately there's no easy answer. But a few notes:

-Seats are an extremely important part of the crash strategy. The various ratings are for passing various safety tests.
- You have to ask what you want. Are you using OE 3 point belts? 5 or 6 point harness? How is that harness going to be attached? All important with seat choice.
- Don't forget many racing seats are intended to be used for an hour long race, tops. Comfort isn't the most important thing in many cases.
- Big bolsters make ingress / egress more difficult. If you use your car for 95% street use, might not be a tradeoff that's worth it.
- The 911 has a crazy tight cabin for seats. There are plenty that fit, but also plenty that are just too damn big. Best to pick from a list of "known goods" by using the search function here.
- There's no good way to shop for a "good fit" on a seat. You either have to find someone local that has a seat you can try, go on the word of others who may be shaped different than you, or just blindly order and hope all works out.

Best of luck, happy shopping.

[Emo993]

Bo, take a trip to Kelly-Moss Motorsports in Madison WI. Talk to Marc Johnson, they build both street and race cars and can get you setup for the correct size and use. Or ask for Jeff Stone (owner). Best, Mark , Central Wisconsin Region Porsche Club of America.

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Emo993

Bo, take a trip to Kelly-Moss Motorsports in Madison WI. Talk to Marc Johnson, they build both street and race cars and can get you setup for the correct size and use. Or ask for Jeff Stone (owner). Best, Mark , Central Wisconsin Region Porsche Club of America.

Anything further south? Milwaukee?

[KTL]

I've found lately the difference is in the fabric. Some older model seats from Sparco had really thin, fragile fabric. Newer seats have much more durable fabric.

I've had a few Cobra seats and they're very well made, on par with what seems to be the Porsche gold standard of Recaro.

Go see the folks at Pegasus. They use what they sell and are great people to work with. Plus they stock a ton of stuff. So you can sit in various seats to see how they fit you. https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/map.asp They currently offer OMP & Momo seats, which are also a very high quality seat. OMP is going to be my choice for the racecar halo seat I need.

Since you're a big dude, you DEFINITELY need to see which seat is going to fit you. Not trying to insult you, because you're exactly right that most race seats are not a good for larger people. I'm 6'-0" 170 lbs and I was shocked how small some of the seats are. I consider myself an average sized guy & rather thin, and I think it's sorta crazy that I need an XL seat to fit me!

[winders]

I am 6' 3" and 225 lbs and fit great in the standard Cobra Sebring Pro seat. I would absolutely buy that seat again.

By the way, The 911 has plenty of room for a race seat. I have not seen a race seat that would not fit.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by bpu699

Anything further south? Milwaukee?

It's pretty common to have to travel a fair distance to find a decent race shop.

Check local road-race circuits; many have racing-oriented businesses nearby. Possibly even some of the drag strips might as well.

Note that, like helmet fitment, there is no substitute for actually trying the specific item you are trying to buy.

--DD

[RichardNew]

Here's more than you probably need to know about seats. NASCAR may have the best seats in the world right now but they cost about $40,000+.

If you're going to Sebring this year check out the seats that are being used. This all came about as a result of the Dale Earnhardt accident a few years back.


Richard Newton
Car Tech Stuff

[wildcat077]

Sit in as many different seats as you can beforehand ... i bought a OMP Halo seat for the race car,put it in a tire and sat down for 30 minutes to watch tv in the basement and returned it the next day and changed it for a Cobra Sebring that was $300.00 more but fit me like a glove at the shop !

Don't cheap out on comfort !

[bluetick]

There are lots of good suggestions in this thread and I'll add my experience in choosing a seat about six months ago.

I am 5'10 and about 173, fwiw.

I've been slowly converting a non sunroof SC toward Club Racing use. Most of the people around here in similarly prepped cars have installed a Recaro Pole Position or a Sparco Evo. I sat in those seats and none of them seemed very uncomfortable to me - too narrow, too tight, too confining. I also sat in a Sparco ADV halo seat in a 997TT. The halo just wasn't for me.

At a PCA social gathering, I mentioned to a friend that I was searching for the right seat. He had replaced a Sparco ADV halo seat (the halo wasn't for him either) with a Sparco Profi XL in his race car. He invited me to come sit in it. I did and it immediately felt right. It was easy to get into and it didn't feel confining in my shoulders or my thighs. I went home and ordered one for myself along with some Recaro seat mounting brackets.

This seat is large. The standard Recaro brackets I ordered were too narrow to accommodate the width of this seat, so I ordered some Sparco mounting brackets with the ability of wider adjustment. I robbed some sliders from the Recaro sport touring seat I had removed from the car, but they didn't work either as they made the seat height much too tall for me and there wasn't much clearance for fore and aft adjustment.

After some careful assessment of where I wanted the seat, a friend and I ended up drilling new holes into the car's existing seat mounts and bolting the Sparco mounting brackets. This leaves me with no ability to adjust the seat.

In this configuration, I sit slightly higher than the stock position. I can heel and toe just fine. I may need to adjust the clutch pedal toward the seat slightly though, so I don't have to extend my left leg as far to engage it.

I have completed one DE weekend since getting the seat and I really like it. Using a five point harness, I felt securely planted. I never felt like I was sliding around as if the seat was too big for me. I also had adequate range of moment in my shoulder and thighs and never felt confined or cramped. Pain in my hips, especially my left hip, that I used to get at this track apparently due to the lower bolsters on the sport touring seats was eliminated.

Apologies for the novel. I am happy with my seat and I wanted to share how I made my choice as well as illustrate that my choice resulted in some compromises I didn't anticipate.

[gliding_serpent]

The difference is fabric, foam, fit.

The issue with some of the very wide, and very narrow seats, is clearance of the shoulder "wings". As seats get narrow, or large they can touch one another, or the door. Be mindful.

I got momo supercups. Decient quality, not great. But then my goal was to recover anyway. The supercup xl would have been too wide for the car. I had no ability to test fit in my car. What i did was find out on here what seats fit, and what were close, and thrn looked up their criticsl dimensions. I used those as a guideline to evaluate other seats. I literally made a spreadsheet.

Here is what i am up to:

[tonythetarga]

A number of clubs are pretty strict about seats for DE use. Same seats for driver and instructor; date of FIA seat is important even if not racing it. Standard seat belts may not work safely with racing seats. If you have seats and harnesses you will need roll over protection. Harnesses also have a five year life span before they expire etc, etc. You need to really examine the club tech rules and get good advice before you go down that road.

[crashmy911]

I like my Kirkey seats. I like a seat in my race car that is one with the car. No flexing or moving around. Had evo 2 seats before and they flexed some. My car is a race car so comfort is after thought.

[winders]

Originally Posted by bluetick

There are lots of good suggestions in this thread and I'll add my experience in choosing a seat about six months ago.

I am 5'10 and about 173, fwiw.

I've been slowly converting a non sunroof SC toward Club Racing use. Most of the people around here in similarly prepped cars have installed a Recaro Pole Position or a Sparco Evo. I sat in those seats and none of them seemed very uncomfortable to me - too narrow, too tight, too confining. I also sat in a Sparco ADV halo seat in a 997TT. The halo just wasn't for me.

At a PCA social gathering, I mentioned to a friend that I was searching for the right seat. He had replaced a Sparco ADV halo seat (the halo wasn't for him either) with a Sparco Profi XL in his race car. He invited me to come sit in it. I did and it immediately felt right. It was easy to get into and it didn't feel confining in my shoulders or my thighs. I went home and ordered one for myself along with some Recaro seat mounting brackets.

This seat is large. The standard Recaro brackets I ordered were too narrow to accommodate the width of this seat, so I ordered some Sparco mounting brackets with the ability of wider adjustment. I robbed some sliders from the Recaro sport touring seat I had removed from the car, but they didn't work either as they made the seat height much too tall for me and there wasn't much clearance for fore and aft adjustment.

After some careful assessment of where I wanted the seat, a friend and I ended up drilling new holes into the car's existing seat mounts and bolting the Sparco mounting brackets. This leaves me with no ability to adjust the seat.

In this configuration, I sit slightly higher than the stock position. I can heel and toe just fine. I may need to adjust the clutch pedal toward the seat slightly though, so I don't have to extend my left leg as far to engage it.

I have completed one DE weekend since getting the seat and I really like it. Using a five point harness, I felt securely planted. I never felt like I was sliding around as if the seat was too big for me. I also had adequate range of moment in my shoulder and thighs and never felt confined or cramped. Pain in my hips, especially my left hip, that I used to get at this track apparently due to the lower bolsters on the sport touring seats was eliminated.

Apologies for the novel. I am happy with my seat and I wanted to share how I made my choice as well as illustrate that my choice resulted in some compromises I didn't anticipate.

Are you using a Hans Device? Why the 5-point harness and not a 6-point? Do you understand why you would want to use the halo seat? Do you have a right side net installed instead? Are you using the stock 911SC seat slider?

[gliding_serpent]

Originally Posted by tonythetarga

A number of clubs are pretty strict about seats for DE use. Same seats for driver and instructor; date of FIA seat is important even if not racing it. Standard seat belts may not work safely with racing seats. If you have seats and harnesses you will need roll over protection. Harnesses also have a five year life span before they expire etc, etc. You need to really examine the club tech rules and get good advice before you go down that road.

Good point. The very popular pole positions have lost their fia homoligation. All years. Withdrawal of FIA - Approved Safety Seat | Federation Internationale de l'Automobile

A little bit silly for non-racing however. The thought of being able to bring 40 year old seat to the track for hpde, but not a modern seat that is 5 years and one month old (even if never mounted). Mind you, any group that is that hardcore about seats would probably not let you use a 40 year old original seat.

The trick with seats is inspection, especially post accident. Cracks are game over. I dont think I would reuse one if there was any level of major impact involved. I am sure there are rules aroud it.

Not all race series require fia, but i am not sure that is a good thing. Some series allow you to extend the usable life of a seat with a back brace.

[bluetick]

Originally Posted by winders

Are you using a Hans Device? Why the 5-point harness and not a 6-point? Do you understand why you would want to use the halo seat? Do you have a right side net installed instead? Are you using the stock 911SC seat slider?

I have not been but will be using a HANS device. I have a 5-point harness now because that is what I have and what the seat I removed accommodated. The harness is good for another year and I is comfortable, so I'll keep it for now and replace it with a 6-point harness next year. I understand why someone would want to use the halo seat. Do you understand why someone else wouldn't. You understand vendors sell seats that aren't halo seats? I wasn't advocating that the OP reject a halo seat and apologize if it came across that way. I do not have a right side net installed at this time (full cage is to be built beginning next week). I am not using a slider, stock or otherwise.

This whole exercise requires compromises among safety, comfort, and available funds. Do you have a fire suppression system? Do you have the absolute lightest helmet available? Do you understand why a lighter helmet is safer than a heavier helmet?

[wayner]

[mikl911]

[QUOTE= The supercup xl would have been too wide for the car. QUOTE]
Especially in a sunroof car! Found this out the hard way. Still looking for a wider seat that you can wear a helmet with. I'm 6'1" 240LB any suggestions?

[Trackrash]

I'm 6'2" so a couple of things I did that may be of interest.

I sat in my seats before buying to make sure my rear fit.

I mounted my seats very low, in fact on the floor. I have floor mounts, not sure how low you can go with the newer style side mounts. My seat has a slider and there is no sunroof.

I used thin pieces of foam rubber to pad up the lumbar area, to better fit my body.

For the street I made an extra foam pad I sit on.

Originally, I figured I would switch out my seats after each track event, but found my Momos to be adequately comfortable and just leave them in. (my wife may not agree with this)

I drove three hours to Laguna Seca last year to do a DE. I don't imagine I would have felt any better upon arrival if I had used the stock seats.

JMO