Seat options?
- Thread starter darrinps
- Start date
Hi darrinps ? this is a link to my car it has DRB seat shells padded by a local guy. I was looking for a modern look. hope this helps.
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/all-gt40/27217-drb-46-now-road.html
Darrell
DRB#46 LS1 G50
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/all-gt40/27217-drb-46-now-road.html
Darrell
DRB#46 LS1 G50
Ian Anderson
Lifetime Supporter
I once looked at a Tornado that was for sale and it had toyota MR2 seats in it.
But those seats, my 6 foot 3 and a GT40 were not about to fit together
I'd also think twice on lowered seat - that would make your arse the lowest part of the car and when you hit a speedhump or similar object guess what takes the impact!
IAn
But those seats, my 6 foot 3 and a GT40 were not about to fit together
I'd also think twice on lowered seat - that would make your arse the lowest part of the car and when you hit a speedhump or similar object guess what takes the impact!
IAn
I hear you on that! I don't plan to lower it much. I'll look into the Toyota MR2 seat or similar. I am 6'2" BTW.
Thanks Darrell. Those look nice!
I was hoping for something I could adjust a bit. That might be a tall order though.
Darrinps,
There are lots of options for you in the seat category. I think you will be limited with adjustability though. When you put runers under the seat, it raises the entire seat up at least one to two inches, which makes it tough on your head. Maybe with a Gurney bubble? You might consider a movable pedal assembly instead.
I didn't particularly like the GT 40 seats. The few that I rode in left me with a feeling of sliding around in turns and at speed I felt I had to have my hand on something to keep me steady especially with a three point belt. I may not have moved in the seat, but I had the feeling that I was not secure in the seat. So I looked elsewhere. I also wanted something that I could use a six point harness with as well. I will do some track days, and maybe some Nasa events after I learn my car. So I went for the seats made by Racetech. They aren't cheap . They originate in Australia and have a USA branch. If you look at their site you will see that they give you all the dimensions of the seat so you can decide if you will fit. With my car, the available area for the seat was fairly narrow. So I looked for those seats that would go into the area. That narrowed the choices rapidly. I could have made a seat, but I am not that handy. I am 5-9 160 with a 33 inseam and 33"waist. I found the Saker seat by Racetech was just what I needed. It holds my hips in place, as well as my chest. It fits the area I had for seats and it is setup for the six point. The bottom of the seat is less than 1/2" from the floorboard. The seat itself is light and is very comfortable. The top openings for the shoulder harness are parrallel to the bottom of the rear window and that is where the belts will be mounted. The only drawback which I don't see it that way, is the seat is more for racing, and sits high, partially blocking the rear window. The top of the seat is above the occiput of your head and the padding acts as a safety item in a rear collision. Here are some pics of my setup.
Its reclining angle matches the bulkhead slope to a T.
It isn't the tradiional seat but the function is great. I will later on purchase a set of more traditional seats(with more support) for show events.
Bill
There are lots of options for you in the seat category. I think you will be limited with adjustability though. When you put runers under the seat, it raises the entire seat up at least one to two inches, which makes it tough on your head. Maybe with a Gurney bubble? You might consider a movable pedal assembly instead.
I didn't particularly like the GT 40 seats. The few that I rode in left me with a feeling of sliding around in turns and at speed I felt I had to have my hand on something to keep me steady especially with a three point belt. I may not have moved in the seat, but I had the feeling that I was not secure in the seat. So I looked elsewhere. I also wanted something that I could use a six point harness with as well. I will do some track days, and maybe some Nasa events after I learn my car. So I went for the seats made by Racetech. They aren't cheap . They originate in Australia and have a USA branch. If you look at their site you will see that they give you all the dimensions of the seat so you can decide if you will fit. With my car, the available area for the seat was fairly narrow. So I looked for those seats that would go into the area. That narrowed the choices rapidly. I could have made a seat, but I am not that handy. I am 5-9 160 with a 33 inseam and 33"waist. I found the Saker seat by Racetech was just what I needed. It holds my hips in place, as well as my chest. It fits the area I had for seats and it is setup for the six point. The bottom of the seat is less than 1/2" from the floorboard. The seat itself is light and is very comfortable. The top openings for the shoulder harness are parrallel to the bottom of the rear window and that is where the belts will be mounted. The only drawback which I don't see it that way, is the seat is more for racing, and sits high, partially blocking the rear window. The top of the seat is above the occiput of your head and the padding acts as a safety item in a rear collision. Here are some pics of my setup.
Its reclining angle matches the bulkhead slope to a T.
It isn't the tradiional seat but the function is great. I will later on purchase a set of more traditional seats(with more support) for show events.
Bill
Very much like Wally described, I really didn't like the Superformance seats.
There's no lateral support.
The grommets come out.
I am 6' 2" and need to sit as low as possible. (I have no Gurney bubble, but the cars I have sat in with the bubble all had the bubble too far forward, so it was no help.)
They didn't look very nice after use... the 'cloth' starts looking very sad.
I talked with Fran at RCR and he was nice enough to send me his seats, but they weren't even close to fitting in an SPF.
Dennis Olthoff aid he has tried to find seats, but none really fit the GT40 _and_ give you enough head room when you're tall. His red race car has a seat made out of aluminum. I tried sitting in them at Road America, but they were too narrow for my backside.
So... I decided to make my own. They ain't fancy and there's no grommets (although I'm still considering using Fran's inserts), but the lateral support is good and I can sit in the car with my helmet on.
I made a template from cardboard and used the Recaro seats in my Pantera as a guide for the sides. I bought some aluminum sheet and some foam and then had them covered in leather.
I learned quite a bit during the process and would do them slightly differently if I had to do it again.
The driver's side works great for me. I extended the bottoms for more leg support and, as you can see in the pictures, I added a 'headrest'.
Pros:
- I can wear a helmet at the track with the seats in (I took the bottom out at RA and slid around a lot while on the track)
- The lateral support is very good and is great at the track.
- They are easy to remove
Cons:
- They aren't stock and have no grommets
- The passenger seat gets very narrow with the sides on it. The foam SPF seats just squash when someone wider sits in them... my seats don't....
- The lateral support is good, but it is now more difficult to get into the car. I am now obliged to take the steering wheel off to get in and out.
- The head rests are nice, but if you thought that your rear view vision was minimal before, it is REALLY minimal now...
- The foam on the bottom is 1/4" so I sit as low as possible. That isn't much padding.
FWIW,
Kirby
Attachments
Very much like Wally described, I really didn't like the Superformance seats.
There's no lateral support.
The grommets come out.
I stand directly on my seats with driving shoes on for ingress/egress going on four years now and my grommets have not come loose at all.
Andy offers "low profile seat runners" that allow the seats to track fore and aft while only being about 1 inch thick.
Ian Anderson
Lifetime Supporter
A while back I looked into seats as I was doing track time and needed to wear a helmet but could not as my seats lifted me too high. They were damned comfortable but too high.
I bought a set of rcr seats as someone wanted a different colour interior and they work well for me.
But I did find back then there were a few seat manufacturers out there who make seats where the runners bolt to the side of the seat thus allowing the seat to touch or skim the floor allowing maximum use of the restrictive height. They fitted width wise in my car and would require the runners and side brackets be fitted first and then the seat fitted thereto. A bit of a fiddle but fully adjustable seat.
Ian
I bought a set of rcr seats as someone wanted a different colour interior and they work well for me.
But I did find back then there were a few seat manufacturers out there who make seats where the runners bolt to the side of the seat thus allowing the seat to touch or skim the floor allowing maximum use of the restrictive height. They fitted width wise in my car and would require the runners and side brackets be fitted first and then the seat fitted thereto. A bit of a fiddle but fully adjustable seat.
Ian
I've found you can get 19mm high runners, ebay do them for about £30 or £25 from somewhere like KDR Seating - Seat Runners - CSLR Single Locking Runners
Although saying that some makes stick steel bands across the bottom (Tornado didn't used to, I'm not sure if they now do) which would add ~3mm to the minimum in comparison to a chair sat on the floor.
I've seen seats where there is a small 'step' either side to accomodate the rails/runners, the foam then covers this and is just a bit firmer either side. I haven't sat in one though.
I found one thread where someone had copied the #1043 interior including the seats.. Here we go http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-build-logs/18042-1149-mono-replica-26.html#post354727 I really like the look of those and I'm *very* tempted to copy that myself.
Although saying that some makes stick steel bands across the bottom (Tornado didn't used to, I'm not sure if they now do) which would add ~3mm to the minimum in comparison to a chair sat on the floor.
I've seen seats where there is a small 'step' either side to accomodate the rails/runners, the foam then covers this and is just a bit firmer either side. I haven't sat in one though.
I found one thread where someone had copied the #1043 interior including the seats.. Here we go http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-build-logs/18042-1149-mono-replica-26.html#post354727 I really like the look of those and I'm *very* tempted to copy that myself.
Some very good looking seats on this thread. I'm thinking more along these lines though with either slightly lowered seating or a Gourney Bubble to compensate for the slightly taller seating area (shouldn't be more than two inches or so with low profile rails).
http://autoplicity.com/masterimages/full//ovrd/ecf7d0eb-7f04-4fe5-9133-2957200705c8-800.jpg
http://autoplicity.com/masterimages/full//ovrd/ecf7d0eb-7f04-4fe5-9133-2957200705c8-800.jpg
Similar threads
