Proper Seat Mounting?

[SicMonte]

What is the proper way to mount a seat in a car with a roll cage? I have seen alot of cars that have some sort of bracket that connects the rear of the seat to the cross bar. I have the Jeg's Sport Seats with 5 point harnesses in my car. The seats are mounted to Corbeau brackets that go right onto the factory seat mounts on the floor. There is about 6-8 inches of space between the rear of the seat to the cross bar. Do I need one of those brackets?

[Bryce]

If you want a safe seat you should attach it to the harness bar. You have a roll bar for safety, add the seat back brace.

[NOT A TA]

The Jegs sport seats don't appear to be built with provisions for a seat brace. I've never seen hinged seats with seat brace mounts.

[Bryce]

There are a few FIA reclining seats that can have a back brace.



side note: If you roll your car and your seats collapse then there is more risk for injury; the seats and roll bar did not do their respective jobs.

[SicMonte]

The Jegs sport seats don't appear to be built with provisions for a seat brace. I've never seen hinged seats with seat brace mounts.

soooo....should I get a fixed back seat? I don't think I've seen a reclining seat with a brace provision either.

The backs of these seats also go forward without moving the mechanism too...that cant be safe. I might just buy some decent fixed back seats.

[SicMonte]

Would this seat bracket be "safe" to use with a Kirkey seat??

http://www.buickgn.com/seatbracketkit.htm

[Randy67]

You can use that bracket with a Kirkey seat, but you will still need to support the back of the seat.

[Bryce]

Kirkey seats need to have a back brace. Most race seats need a support off the harness bar.

[SicMonte]

I will add the back brace to the roll bar...but that bracket will make it easier to mount in the car.

[parsonsj]

Whether or not a back brace is required depends on the seat. Most fixed-back seats do not need a back brace, (e.g. Cobra Suzuka), but you need to ask the seat manufacturer. In fact, FIA certified seats explicitly state that changing the intended mounting method will invalidate the FIA certification. In addition, there are explicit harness mounting geometries for seats that need to be followed for proper seat/driver/harness response in case of severe collision.

jp

[NOT A TA]

Doug, The G body floor to seat bottom bracket mentioned in the link above is designed for use with the # 41 Kirkey seat, and ONLY for the 16 or 18" sizes. The #41 is the Pro-Street Drag race seat. If you go with one of the more road race oriented seats and want to use that bracket I'd check compatability.

As a side note, an 18" Kirkey is HUGE by LARGE! I bought one for the navigator seat in my 2nd gen bird because I have a couple very large buds that wanted to be navigators for Open Road races. We couldn't even get an 18" in the car. About a hundred bucks in shipping later I swapped it for a 16". G bodies have more room to fit seats but get the measurements off the Kirkey site before you order to avoid my costly time consuming mistake. Even the 16" I bought had to be modified to fit because of the height.

Here's the 18" next to my 14" (I'm small).



Here's the 16" after several modifications to the head halo and height reduction. This is a NASCAR type seat so the head halo and shoulder protection is big, their # 45 and #47 are better suited for most PT type cars.

[SicMonte]

Thanks for the info...I will be getting the #47 type seat.

[Randy67]

I have a 36 series 18" seat in my 81 Camaro. It fits but it is close. The containment seat like John shows most likely isn't going to fit. Even with the 36 series, the seat is very close to the rocker bar, not much room around it.

[parsonsj]

John,
Do you mind posting a pic of how you tied the small tube seat mounts to the car on the inside? Do they loop over the transmission hump or tie to the floor on that side?

jp

[Randy67]

Here is a good way to do it (F-bomb Camaro)
http://www.hotrod.com/projectbuild/h.../photo_13.html

[NOT A TA]

John: The seat supports tie to the tunnel. Helps stiffen the car, allows the stock console to fit without mods.

[SicMonte]

Well it has been a year and I am finally getting around to mounting these darn seats!! I decided to take them to Jason's shop, G Force Design Concepts, and have them assist me in mounting them. Here are pics of the seats and the I/O Port Seat Back Braces. Couple questions...

1) Do these seat back braces look like they are enough...if I even need them.
2) What size/kind of hardware do I need to actually mount the seats to the frames?






web site for the braces:

http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchant...tegory_Code=IH

[Bryce]

I think four 3/8" bolts attaching the seat to floor mount and floor mount to the floor is sufficient and meets most sanctioning bodies. It loosk like your seat floor mounts attach to the seat with 6 5/16" bolts. I would use grade 8 hex bolts or alloy steel socket head cap screws. What does kirkey reccomend?

Seats looks great, what do they weigh?

That is a unique seat back brace. I would suggest you use that. Do you have a roll bar already? Do you have a harness bar? Make sure the harness bar is at the correct height for mounting the shoulder straps.

[SicMonte]

I do have a roll bar with a cross bar for the harness bar.

I will wight the seats soon.