Tillet Racing Seats

[EGLITOM]

Hi

i´m contemplating the purchase of a Tillet Racing seat Type B4 for my RCR 40.

Tillett - B4 race car seat

Has anyone tried a B4 or any other Tillet seat to fit in his GT40. HOw did it fit ?

Thanks
TOM

 

[Jason Ferraro]

B4 really does not work, I could not get it positioned in the car well. You should use a Tillet B1. However even then the angle you need to tilt them back in an RCR can present a mounting challenge. However once in they are in they would be a great seat. I could not get B1's in country, no stock, so I sourced similar seats that I could customise the mounting lugs on.

 

[Julian West]

Hi Tom,

Not sure if this is relevant to your application, however I have a pair of Tillett B4's in my GTD.

For me they work extremely well and are highly supportive. The Tilletts also allow you to correctly install 5 or 6 point harnesses in accordance with FIA/RAC specs. I also have a full roll cage installed.

There is an enormous increase in driver feedback with a 'shell seat' like the Tillett, especially when combined with a correctly fitted Harness.

I hope this is of some help to you.

Kind Regards

Julian West

 

[EGLITOM]

Jason and Julian

thanks for your feedback;
Jason as i contacted you already to ask if i could source your seats and you denied, has there anything changed to that ? Do i understand correctly that you sourced them locally and adapted the mounting points only. would be interrested in that local source. Would be great if you could provide that source to the forum

Julian
how tall you are and do you have a dropped floor installed. Pictures of your installation would be appreciated.

Thanks
Tom

 

[andy loveday]

Hi Tom
Try Demon tweeks, they do TILLETT SEATS and Kirkey aluminum seats, Hope that helps, Andy :thumbsup:

 

Tom I would check the angles of the seats in relation to the rear bulkhead angle . I found that they were not quite right for me.
There not cheap seats so you dont want to waste your hard earned cash.The seats are really well made though.
I know Steve Tillet very very well, send me your e mail address and it may save you some money if you decide to buy.

FORGET Demon Tweeks there just middle men

 

[EGLITOM]

Thanks Keith,

I did exactly what you recommand and also found that the angles are not quite matching and therefore the seat will have to move more forward, thus shortening the available footwell space.
If you know Steve well, why don´t talk him into making a seat for GT40´s , like his B6, but with an adapted backrest angle.
From the look i realy do like Jasons seats and it seems that they have been made with a Tillet seat as basis modell(looks close to a B1), doing exactly this.

TOM

 

[Julian West]

Tom,

Enclosed pictures as requested. FWIW I am about 5'11" & I have set the seats to fit me perfectly. The seat brackets allow for a certain degree of adjustment. I fabricated some additional bracing to rigidly mount the seats to the chassis floor.

I spent many hours carefully adjusting the position of the pedal box and the steering wheel aswell as the seat & tried several variations until I got a driving position I was happy with.

As previously discussed, different drivers have different seating requirements & as such the Tilletts won't work for everyone. For me, my helmet is just shy of the ceiling and my knees almost touch the underside of the dash & I am held firm by the harnesses. This alone greatly improves the driving experience.

I find the seats very comfortable despite the absence of any padding. If you decide to try a different brand of shell seat, be sure to buy a double skinned seat, as a single skin can have serious safety issues if it were to break in an accident.

I hope this is of some help to you.

Kind Regards

Julian West

 

As you can see the Tillett seat above is quite high also, you cant just cut a lump off.
There's ally brackets that give some adjustment but I found the the underside of my ' short ' legs were uncomfortable.
If Steve Tillet thought there was enough market for GT40 customers I know he would consider it. But even in these financial times I know he's busy.
The moulds for a seat would take many weeks / months to make so the demand would need to be good
I will suggest this again soon, meanwhile the process that he uses to make all his seats is impressive and the robots cut the finish products. He also makes bespoke parts for Caterhams, Prodrive and others.
If your ever in Kent, UK I can get Steve to show you the factory.

 

[Troy]

These guys do some impressive bits and pieces too...

Reverie Universal Racing Seats

I remember looking at the Tillets a while back and for some reason I thought the B6 would best suit the GT40s.

 

[Troy]

Also, these guys...

seats - Carbon-fibre High back race seat (for narrow installation) buy online - Fluke Motorsport Online Shop - carbon fibre for Westfields, Caterhams, performance braking parts, race fuel

 

[EGLITOM]

Thanks for all your input.

looking at the datas of all this seats i think they all have an issue with to steep of a backside angle (60°) and therefore with height (>800mm). Angle should be more like 50-55° and height around 780mm max.
Jason would be great if you could measure your seats and post the datas, because their fit looks pretty perfect.
TOM

 

[Troy]

This could be an alternative. You should email them and ask if they can do a custon seat minus the coverings in Carbon. I know these have been fitted to a few GT40s, and were in fact designed for the Saker - also built in New Zealand.

Racetech RTSAKER : Racetech Race Seats, Home of GoPro

*Edit - Just emailed them myself, will let you know their response*

 

[Bill Musarra]

Since I have the Racetech seats, I thought I would show you how they fit in my 40. Also the mounting hardware for them. The back angle is aprox. 50º and matches up with the rear bulkhead rater nicely. The width is just enough to fit into the compartments. The base of the seat sits about 1/2" from the floor. Just enough to allow for some of the wiring and battery cable(+) to run underneath it. As you will see in the pics, the aluminum mounting hardware can be drilled to adjust the angle if you think you need to. I found that it matches the bulkhead to a T. In my car the rear bulkhead is part of the welded framework of the car, so it will be utilized in the mounting of my shoulder harness. The standard way of mounting them with the bolted mount bent 90º won't work unless your seat is moved far enough forward for the adjuster to not hit the seat. I am 5-9 with a 30"inseam and that would put me too close to the front. I thought about adding a cross bar behind the seat and use the wrap mount, but the cage is too close to the bulkhead to weld in. So rather than add a cross bar, I am working on another way of mounting the shoulder belts. It will be revealed when done. At any rate here are the pics of the seat, its mounting pieces and the seats installed in my car.

Bill

 

[Troy]

Racetech have said that they can custom trim the Saker seats with the leather / eyelets look. Just email them for a quote.

They say that they can't do that seat in carbon / epoxy as the moulds won't hold up to it.

 

[Jason Ferraro]

Hi Guys. I'm 6ft 2" so fitting in my car is a challenge. I do not want Gurney bubbles and I need to wear a helmet. Thus I positioned the base of the carbon seal 2mm from the allow floor. This required me to custom position seat mounting points in the seats and also customise mounts as per below.

Mounts were bonded into the seats before the inner and outer shells were assembled. I then customised alloy mounts and machined alloy washers to lock the seats in securely. Seat above is shown before I polished them. Below seat has not been trimmed yet and I had not fitted the belt protection in the seat openings yet. I then made small leather headrests over a fiberglass form with thin rubber padding to protect my helmet.

The back of the seats are 3mm from the rear roll bar so that I can fix a small rubber pad to the bar and the cage will take full load in the event of a shunt from the rear. The seats should be strong enough but the bar is there so I used it.

I have added the second bar like Tom and used a micro-slip three bar plate to wrap the shoulder belts. This ensures the 20deg angle is achieved and no adjusters foul with the seat or my shoulders.

Its all a very tight fit but the result is great. By angling the seats I can fit in the car with a very low seating position that is comfortable. Because I have long legs the seat base angle suits me as my knees sit up anyway with the pedals pushed far into the foot well on a custom milled adjustable plate. The seat is fixed and the pedals and wheel move. If you are short this installation will not suit as it may push your knees up too high and you will not reach the pedals. If you need dimensions just ask what you want and I can measure it. I have also got a set of leather traditional seats that fit the same mounting points for road driving without a helmet (I sit higher in these).

Julian at about 5ft tall this is how your seating position will be!!!! This would also be Fran's seating postion

Notice the braking difficulty and issues with 1st, 3rd and 5th gear engagement depending on your transaxle!

You can see the concern with the setup from this young test pilot!

By the way this is not my GT40, I am told by my daughter below that it is HER GT40!