nick91civicsi

I have been looking around for a racing seat for my DC teg track car and I am stumped. I tried searching but couldn't find any existing threads on the subject...The price ranges I have seen are from 250-2000 and a lot of the features seem the same! I am currently using the car for track days and am planning on eventually getting my competition license and doing some real racing. My budget so far has been tight but when it comes to the safety equipment I don't want to cheap out but I also don't want to spend an extra $1000 for features I don't need! Any and all advice or first hand experiences are appreciated.

miamirice

While doing DE just get something simple like a Sparco Sprint, New its $375 but I would buy a used out of date seat, prob. $200. When you are acquiring your liscense and AT THAT TIME buying belts with proper dating, fire stuff, window net, kill switch...etc. You can spend money on a seat that is in Date and by that time you likely will have had the chance to talk to folks about their seats, and have sat in them.

Rzoops

+1

Realistically, if you bought everything new right now, it may be expired by the time you have progressed to the point that you want to do a comp school and actually need a current and legal seat, belts, and all of the other safety equipment required (the biggest being a legal cage).

The best option would be an expired FIA seat (ie: Sparco Evo2, Recaro SPG, Racetech, etc). These are typically discounted quite a bit, and you would be able to continue using it in many organizations by adding a seat back brace. I personally prefer an expired FIA seat in good-great condition more so than a brand new Corbeau or something similar. Besides the inherent build quality differences, the higher-end certified seats are often far more comfortable.

Similarly, you can use the same logic for belts, if you're using them. But if you don't already have at least a bolted-in roll bar, I would stick with the factory three point belt and stock steering wheel with your fixed back seat. As always, you're taking a risk when modifying any part of the factory SRS system (including the stock seat) so be your own judge. Also be mindful of the safety requirements of the groups you're currently running with.

Over the years in my various Integras I've used a Corbeau Forza, Sparco Evo2, Sparco Pro2000, Status Ring, Recaro SPG, and Recaro Pro Racer, with different mounting bracket combinations. I'm happy to help share experiences, but at the end of the day, it's mostly personal preference.

Xian

Saved me some typing ^^^

Sit in every seat you're thinking about buying. The biggest difference between brands is going to be personal fitment with the second biggest difference being quality of materials for the cover/foam.

Having used non-winged Corbeau's and winged OMP and Recaro seats, I much prefer winged seats for competition (safer and a little less neck fatigue). I found the Sparco/Momo offerings not to fit me too well (~6'2" and ~200#) while the Cobra Sebring had a good fit. RaceTech was also a good fit as well. These were both almost as much as the Recaro Pro Race which was a little more comfortable. The OMP has great bang for the buck (Trackspeed has great prices on them) but it's not *as* comfortable as the Recaro, RaceTech, or Cobra IMO.

I understand that some of the higher end Kirkey roadrace seats are supposed to be pretty comfy but I don't have any first hand experience with them.

nick91civicsi

Yea I looked at the corbeau forza seats to start with but wasn't sure if the quality was OK. How long are the fia seats and belts good until expired when new? I am probably going to have the rear section of cage welded in for now due to cost and wanted a decent seat to put in that I could also use for competition but if they expire after a couple years then I will just get something cheap for now. Thanks for the feedback and I will be checking out the seats you guys mentioned.

Rzoops

Double check with the organizations you intend to eventually race with. But I think most consider FIA seats to be expired after 5 years. Most organizations will also let you use an expired seat past that with a brace, like this: http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchant...gory_Code=IOPP

Personally I thought that the Corbeau Forza was extremely uncomfortable. That was my last non FRP shell seat. They work okay for an occasional autocross car. Nothing I would want to drive in for extended periods of time, on or off track. I think that the Sparco Sprint is of similar construction.

Xian

Go sit in the seats you're looking at and see if you can feel the steel frame... the Corbeau, IMO, isn't a bad seat for a street car/occasional autoX car but it gets really uncomfortable on track. I'd consistently get bruises on my ribs from the frame...

Once you've tried a nice seat, it's tough to go back to anything lesser. The extra support pays huge dividends in comfort and reduces driver fatigue. The extra safety factor is icing on the cake.

As far as expiration, SCCA doesn't "expire" FIA seats. NASA does but a seat back brace "fixes" the problem. Belts are (IIRC) 2 years for SFI rated ones vs 5 years for FIA rated belts.

nick91civicsi

Ah OK the thanks. I don't think we have many shops around here that carry seats that I can go sit in to try out so I guess I will have to wait till my next trip to the track and ask ppl to try theirs lol. If anyone does know of ashop in the Houston area let me know!

miamirice

Good info. I am shopping belts and will now look FIA

Xian

Yeah, check out the price gap between SFI vs. FIA and also check out the companies that offer discounted "re-web" services for their SFI belts. In some cases it's cheaper to buy SFI and get them re-webbed when they expire. Also, leave the belts for your absolutely last purchase since they age out the fastest (compared to helmets and seats).

Oh yeah, last thing... if you get a chance, play with different belts before buying. There's a big difference in webbing softness/comfort, hardware quality, and ease of adjustment between bargain stuff like G-force vs. Willans/Scroth/Hooker. For the small amount more, the higher end belts are worth it, IMO. Way easier to adjust on grid and keep tight. One of the Hong cars has some cheapo G-Force belts that, for the life of me, I can't get tight from the driver's seat. Thankfully we've got crew but still...

Driven

Summarized from other posts, as well as some other tips:

- Go to a race, autocross, etc... and ask to sit in people's seats, take photos of the seat's label so you don't forget

- Check the manufacturer's site for measurements and see if it'll fit in your car. This is especially helpful for those with tight cabins (ie. S2000s, Del Sols, etc).

- If you can, get a seat with removable padding. It's nice to be able to wash those every so often.

- Get a halo'ed seat. After seeing the Miata rollover vid at the bottom of my post, I made sure to have a halo'ed seat.

- Take into consideration how the seat mounts to the brackets... bottom mounts vs. side mounts. Do you need a slider? All things to consider into the overall height of the seat.

- Some seats have high sides which cause a bit of a concern getting out if you have a fixed steering wheel...

- Belts can be re-certified at a relatively cheap price. if you find some outdated belts, consider having them shipped out to be tested and re-certified.

- 5 points or better. do not use aftermarket 3 points or 4 points.

Presidential_Detail

^^
Wow! Thats frightening!

nick91civicsi

^^^ great info and scary video! Thanks for the help! I found a local shop that is supposed to have a good selection of seats to sit in...those halo seats are the most expensive from what I've seen but I guess its well worth it.

Driven

yep... I went with this seat:


Had I had to do it again, I'd get one with an open halo:


The s2000 already has a lot of blind spots with a hardtop, add in a halo seat with a HANS and you're not going to be able to easily see left or right.

Billy Elliot

If you're looking for a low buck, fiberglass shell, winged seat. OMP I have found makes the cheapest one on the market with the OMP RS-P.T. 2 Racing Seat. It's under $700 but I have not physically sat in one. Personally, I run Sparco PRO ADV seats in my car.

Us rally guys typically like the winged seats because we go over bumps a lot. Take my video here we had a Right 5 over kick but it was more of a big jump.

Check this video at the 1:14 time and just look at my head and my co-driver's head bounce between the head wings. They're a real nice thing to have in the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...NpdglA9A#t=73s

Xian

I've never used the open halo style... but I've never noticed the wings once I'm up and moving on track. In a street car it would almost certainly be a different story though.

1998GsRIntegra

www.jjcraceandrally.com has pretty reasonable prices on a wide variety of seats. They are based in the UK, but the price to ship a seat to the states isn't bad.

TPB

Also keep in mind that a number of seats don't accommodate a hans device well unless specifically designed to. I had an OMP Pista which really limited the hans from doing its job so I switched to a Recaro Pro and it made all the difference in the world.