Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 22:19:42 -0700 From: Jerry Brown Subject: Re: [uuc] Race Seats? Rob, Personally, I would stay away from tube-frame seats, such as the Forza. I spent literally months deciding which seat to put in my bimmer. After much consideration, I settled on the Kirkey Road Race seat. At ~$650 it's not cheap, but it's the only seat I've found that offers the kind of support I want. It's also apparent that it's very strong, and very easy to mount. I like them so much I have two of 'em in my car. However, IMHO, the best value is the Kirkey Intermediate seat. For around 200 bucks I don't think you can beat it. Here in the SF Bay Area, the sanctioning bodies require seat back braces. IMHO, there is no good/easy way to attach one to a composite seat: the manufacturers' recommend against drilling holes in their seats, and no off-the-shelf braces are available that will provide support without attaching via bolts. Unless you have the facilities and expertise to make your own, a 'wrap around' seat back brace could cost nearly as much as the seat. Whatever you decide, good luck, - -jerry Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 08:54:16 -0400 From: chris hutchins Subject: [uuc] Re: Race Seat Rob: I would second the advice to avoid a tube-frame seat if possible. I have pretty much convinced myself I was going to buy one until I sat in one for a few minutes. That spring poking me in the back was not fun. Later I sat in a Sparco tube-frame and it just didn't feel that great. I would almost use one as a passenger seat for a driver's school car but I wouldn'tuse one for myself. I ended up buying a Sparco Evo. Very comfortable, very supportive, and light also. Consider spending the money to get a good fiberglass seat like that. You might try Kirkey also. The one I've sat in was not outstanding but with just a little more padding here and a bend there it would have been very comfortable. Chris Hutchins '90 325i, future driver's school car Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 11:29:38 -0400 From: "Bryan Watts" Subject: [uuc] Re: Race Seats? Rob V. asks: > A question for all the racers on the list - what brand/model of race > seat is in your track car? Do you have a preferred vendor (based on > price and/or service)? I personally have Cobra Suzukas in my track car. They are comparable in price to the Momo's and other quality fiberglass seats on the market. Here's the good news! Theses seats aren't fiberglass, they are Kevlar. That's right, for around $600 you get a VERY lightweight/strong Kevlar seat for the price of most fiberglass seats. The kevlar versions that Momo and other companies make are $1000+. Add to that the great support that this seat offers as well as the split lower cushioning that allows your legs to move better and keeps the crotch belt always available (it never falls through the hole into the floorpan!! a GREAT feature for anyone who has ever had to unstrap, get out of the car and find the crotch belt!), and you have an excellent seat. You can see the seats at Sube Sports http://www.subesports.com/page4/ . If I remember correctly, their prices were fairly competitive, though I got the seats for cost from a friend of mine who is a dealer and builds a lot of road-racing Mustangs. Everyone who has seen these seats comments positively on them, including the SCCA and BMW CCA CR technical inspectors who assigned my logbooks. I would recommend anyone look into them. For the price of two great Kevlar seats (one for passengers at DR's), I could have only bought one nice seat from any other company. Good luck with your decision. - -Bryan Watts '92 325is KP/ITS #325