Does anyone have ANY clue on what NHRA wants to see for a seat brace. According to NHRA rules I need a seat brace, however in the rule book it only has information for seat braces for aluminum (Kirkly seats). However I have a fiber (composite) seat, yet most companies say to NOT drill into the seat.

I was looking at pictures online and it appears that some people (Jason Hunt, DTR, and various local people) welded a small 1 1/2" or so tube to the harness bar and welded a plate against the bar which presses against the seat. I know Jason Hunt uses stock seats and runs in several sanctioned events with a similar setup, so is that way legal?

This has been driving me crazy because it appears that everyone has a different idea on whats legal. Some say a bar w/plate pressing against the seat is legal and some say you have to drill into the seat to make it legal, however some seats say not to drill into them.

 

the main thing they are looking for is some extra bracing to make sure the seat is not being overly stressed under a hard launch.

in my jetta i just did a bar with a plate going to the back of the seat and i did drill holes for to put in two bolts. if they see you too the effort and have such seats that would be ruined by drilling into them then you may be good with just a plate that contacts the seat for extra support. best thing to do is write them at info@nhra.com-they will get back to you rather fast most of the time.

Anthony Dowd


Modified by 95GLX at 6:46 PM 10/1/2003

 

thats what I figured. As for contacting NHRA, I E-mailed them and left phone messages a long time ago, however I have yet to get a response.

any other idea's?


Modified by Rboosted717 at 2:55 PM 10/1/2003

 

NO you dont have to big a BIG DAWG...Thats BS all you guys seriously gotta stop with that. Id be glad to help been overwlemd with work havent had time to sit on H-T 24/7 but anyways lots of people would be glad to help. Dynospot, you guys are up north, Im sure you know Danny from DTR. He had to make a seat brace from sonoma.to put it simple, It is only required if your seat is not touching your back bar. You can make is adjustable or permanent depending on how many drivers there are.It is there for a safety issue, incase you crash we dont need an extra 3-5 inchs of momentum to break your back on the roll bar. Please post your FAX number and i will draw a picture and send it up cus im not that great with paint or photoshop. I will have to fax you a drawing or someone on here will take a pic and reply to this post. Basically get a 4x4 plate and weld the 1 1/2 tube to your adjustseat. It would be nice to bolt and nut the seat onto the plate. Make sure you have padding or it might hurt your back. dont get to technical with me guys. This is just a opinionated advice.

CALL NHRA office there number is 626-914-7551 ask for tech dept.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by camp1320.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">NO you dont have to big a BIG DAWG...Thats BS all you guys seriously gotta stop with that. Id be glad to help been overwlemd with work havent had time to sit on H-T 24/7 but anyways lots of people would be glad to help. Dynospot, you guys are up north, Im sure you know Danny from DTR. He had to make a seat brace from sonoma.to put it simple, It is only required if your seat is not touching your back bar. You can make is adjustable or permanent depending on how many drivers there are.It is there for a safety issue, incase you crash we dont need an extra 3-5 inchs of momentum to break your back on the roll bar. Please post your FAX number and i will draw a picture and send it up cus im not that great with paint or photoshop. I will have to fax you a drawing or someone on here will take a pic and reply to this post. Basically get a 4x4 plate and weld the 1 1/2 tube to your adjustseat. It would be nice to bolt and nut the seat onto the plate. Make sure you have padding or it might hurt your back. dont get to technical with me guys. This is just a opinionated advice.

CALL NHRA office there number is 626-914-7551 ask for tech dept. </TD></TR></TABLE>

According to the rule book...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">6:2 Upholstery, Seats
Except as noted in SFI Specifications, seats must be bolted with four bolts (and nuts and washers) on the bottom and one bolt in the rear into crossbar; all bolts must go into frame or crossbraces.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Now can you tell me where to find the SFI Specifications outlining that the brace that does not bolt into the seat is legal for your specific seat? That happens to be what RBoosted717 is looking for.

Austin

 

I just talked to Pat at NHRA and he said that he recommends a bar welded to the harness bar with a 4x4 plate pressing the seat is OK as previously mentioned.

The rule does vary however depending on how the seat is mounted to the chassis. Since I mounted my carbon composite seat using dual locking sliders which are mounted to the stock floor, the method of a plate pressing against the seat is OK.

I'm just making sure that I will pass the NHRA certification as well as pass tech at various events. Each tech person is different, however I would make sure you double check with NHRA, etc... if your unsure regarding your exact setup.

 

hey... MIke...remember what i did to lawrence's car and my car for sonoma.... that is all thats required to run.. if you dont have a aluminum set all it needs to do is rested against a plate or the bar...

 

yeah I remember. I just wanted to be 100% sure that it would work for NHRA certification rather then to just pass tech.

 

The reason you need the solid seat back mount is because in an accident or even acceleration, if the seat back flexed backwards, the shoulder harness would loosen up to the point you would fall out of the harness.

 

Is NHRA getting real strict on these? Overall or just the pro cars?

 

They are getting strict overall....

Its safety and simple to make a device for it.

 

Strict or not- as stated- it is for your safety. Don't take short cuts or when that item is needed to keep you from harm it won't work if you take a short cut.

My car may be ghetto but no short cuts on safety.

anthony

 

Anybody have photos of their setup?

is this needed for cars under 135 and over 9.99?

 

As the rules are now, 5 years later, any car with an aftermarket seat must have a seat brace, even if you don't have a roll bar!

 

How we did ours... Nut and bolt through the seat, and 2 welded chassis tabs on the cage.
A little over the top IMO but it was spare parts we had kicking around the shop.




Click image for full size.

 

here is my car. i havent bolted it up yet. dont really see a point when your harnesses got u jacked in tight as hell but it does get rid of play by having it pushing against it.
[IMG][/IMG]

 

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by h22 civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> </TD></TR></TABLE>

that looks heavy

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rota92 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wow, 5 year old thread FTW haha</TD></TR></TABLE>

old school is comming back, wait im old school lol