Seat Upgrade

[T-Guy69]

I have a 1969 Corvette. The passenger seat is the original seat and the foam is shot. The driver seat is a long discontinued Recaro. I was thinking of up grading my seating. Since I run the car in Time Trials, I will do a roll bar upgrade and seatbelt replacement at the same time. I have an old triangular bar that cuts in front of the passenger seat (1980 technology). Same with the old Simpson belts, 1980’s and time to replace them.

Anyway, I am looking for new seats. Searching other posts I am not really interested in C5 seats or Fiero seats. I need something with a little more lateral support. Plus with the price of those seats, you can get new ones for a bit more.

Questions:

First I’ll go with the seat I may like: The Sparco FIGHTER product number: 00954. Here is the link: http://www.sparcousa.com/pseats_street.asp?id=198

Anyone try that seat? Does it fit? Do you know anyone on Long Island that sells these? The nearest distributor is in New Jersey and is a haul. But I would never buy a seat without sitting in it.

One big down side to this seat is it is not hinged (does not come forward) like the stock seat.

Second, there are probably a number of seats out there I have not considered. Remember, while I do Time Trial the car, I do street drive it and comfort is a consideration, but so is the support at the track. If you have a great seat option for me to consider, please let me know.

Thanks guys

 

[Solid LT1]

Kirkey road race in my 72 Vette bolted to stock adjusters. There is also a company named Ultrashield in USA who has a good selection of aluminum seats close to what Kirkey offers for reasonable pricies.

Link: http://www.ultrashieldrace.com/prod.php?id=8

 

[MYBAD79]

The Corbeau A4 seats seem to be a good compromise between support and comfort, on top of that they recline and fit the C3....

The Forza or FX1 don't recline like the Sparco you linked to, almost half the price though....

http://www.corbeau.com/

 

[T-Guy69]

The Corbeau A4 seats seem to be a good compromise between support and comfort, on top of that they recline and fit the C3....

The Forza or FX1 don't recline like the Sparco you linked to, almost half the price though....

http://www.corbeau.com/

MYBAD79 You bring up a great point, the seat not reclining forward. I was looking at the FX1 Pro. It looks like a great seat. But the FX1 Pro seats do not recline forward. This may be a big inconvenience. I have a C3 (1969), what if I want to put my t-tops back there or change the battery. Seem like not have a reclining seat with be a huge pain in the butt.

I sat in the Corbeau A4. I am now considering the Corbeau TRS. The TRS seemed to have more lateral support and more lumbar support than the A4.

 

[GT6Steve]

I wonder if they could be pinned in to the mounts for a quick four pin removal if required. Or two pins at the front and a captive loop at the rear?

 

[T-Guy69]

I have talked to a few people and I can’t come up with a quick release option recommended by GT6Steve. Also I am now only considering reclining seats. Thanks again to MYBAD79 for bring up this great point.

I tried a few seats out at a local dealer. A number of people have recommended the A4. I sat in the Corbeau A4. However, when doing it back to back with other Corbeau seats, the TRS seemed to have more lateral support and more lumbar support than the A4. They have a $29 dollar option that allows for a 5 or 6 point harness.

The other seat I liked that reclined was the Sparco CHRONO ROAD product number: 00959CR starting at $499.00 However, I would have to drive 3 hours to get to a dealer that has them. I rather not buy a seat without first sitting in it. Plus the Corbeau TRS is $150 cheaper.

 

[greg75vette]

The A4 (wide) was a seat I was looking at last year. Seemed to fit my needs, but I was only able to sit in the standard width one at the dealer. I wound up dropping pursuit since I changed gears and focused on my engine/trans swap.

I'll be watching this thread to see what you come up with because I will eventually want to upgrade my seats as well. Also, hello from a fellow LIer :beer:

 

[gkull]

I have the sparco ultra 12.6 pound seats. They homoginized into what is now called the EVO-Z

I will tell you right now that folding seats are not safe in wreck. So that is why all high end comp seats are one piece.

When you buy any seat look at the sparco seat dimension PDF. The "B" and "D" widths are very important in a roll caged car. The 45 degree shoulder bar interfers with wide at the chest seats even when you remove the door arm rest and have the bar outboard as far as you can.

The Ultra now Evo seats are very comfortable up to about 200 lbs on a 5'10" frame. I have gotten back down to 175 lbs and I'm very comfy in my total fire suit. I've actually driven more than 15 hours in a 24 hour period in that seat.

Lake Tahoe, Nevada

 

[T-Guy69]

I will tell you right now that folding seats are not safe in wreck. So that is why all high end comp seats are one piece.


Thanks gkull.

Folding seats can be an issue on impact or rollover. However on a Corvette, as well as a Miata, the bulk head will act as a back support as well as the horizontal harness bar for additional support at shoulder height. The head rest is one molded piece with the back rest-that just needs to be supported in one or both of these locations. If the harness bar is too far back a brace can be added. I think it is best to have the bar made with the seat so the guy making the rollbar can put the bar at both the correct shoulder height and sufficient forward to support the back of the seat at shoulder height.

If I had a Mustang it would be a totally different story-but again a seat back brace (possibly two) would be added to the roll bar to prevent the seat back from collapsing.

gkull is correct, this is a really big issue. Without the back brace, if you hit the back of your head on the harness bar it will kill you-so the concerns are very valid.

I will get the back of the seat up against the rear bulk head of the corvette up to at least the rib cage level. At the top of the shoulder, the horizontal harness support bar will act as a support for the upper part of the seat back as well as the head rest. In this configuration I feel it will be safe to use a folding seat. If I were using stock seats with a roll bar, I would need the same type of back and head rest supports.

This all be an integrated system take one component out of the system and it will not work.

If my seat ends up too far forward I will add a brace from IO Port, but with my driving position (in my car) I don't think it will be necessary.

http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SBB15&Category_Code=IH

The above link is the brace I have seen in a friends race car because he do not have an FIA rated seat, thus his seat (even though it is one piece) requires additional back support. This would also be mandatory for a folding seat to brace it to the horizontal harness bar on the roll bar.

However, in cars with high rear bulkheads - Like a C3-C4 Corvettes, if the back of the seat is up against the bulk head (or very close to it) the bulk head can be used as a seat back support.

The SCCA GCR states that if the head rest is not molded with the seat back , the head rest will require additional bracing, you see an extra strap on some roll bars (see this link) in the head rest area.

http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchan...=PROD&Product_Code=70380&Category_Code=AP7380

I never really came across a car that needed additional head rest support because all modern seats have the head rest molded in with the back rest-but my "vintage" Recaro seat (another reason I am changing it) has a separate head rest and would need to be supported if I kept your current seat.

Again, having the roll bar custom made, allows me to address these issues, but if additional bracing is needed I can add the brace in the top link and make a folding seat safe.

Also understand my car while not a “daily” driver (gas would send me to the poor house as I drive 75 miles a day) rear storage access is an issue. So I think that I would be ok so long as I can use the rear bulkhead for support and then I go over the car with the fabricator with the seats I plan to use, as the fabricator suggested.

What we don't want to let happen is that if I am hit in the rear (probably occurrence in street driving) or crash rear first (probably occurrence in track driving), the seat back collapsed on impact, and you strike the back of you head on the harness support bar. A friend knows of someone was killed in a 911 a couple of years ago in this exact scenario, as the folding seats are very popular in street 911's. Same would be true if we kept the stock seats in a car with a roll bar.

 

[RobRace10]

I really like my C5 Sports seats in my 69 for street driving. I have the shark Bar to hold the shoulder belts. But as far as a track car they don't lend them selves to the right distance for a a good mounting of the submarine belt unless you cut through the seat.