Hi,

I have been using my stock "Sport" heated seats, cloth and leather mix, Schroth harnesses without complaint, in my daily driver-track car ....BUT

Want to know what the gains (?weight loss) would be with a racing seat. or 2. Are they hard to install ?? What brackets are needed ? How do I shut off the airbag lights ?

There are SO many to choose from ... Is there a "must have" for the MINI or a "best choice" for track events ?

 

Check the rules for the Club you participate with...

If you are using the Schroth quick fit harness specific to the MINI, and you go to a racing seat, you will have to STOP using your Schroth, as it is rated specifically for the factory seat, and carries warnings and prohibitions against using any other seat.

So you will need a different brand of harness.

Then you will need a harness bar for your new harness.

If your competition requires that any way than this is a moot point.

Our local Sanctioning body, is changing its (high speed) Autocross harness rules this year to say "installed in accordance with manufacturers instructions".

This will allow me to continue using a Schroth with the factory seat, but will require other members of the club using other brands of harnesses to install a Harness bar, as the manufacturers now specify the harness be installed with in "X" degrees of Horizontal.

John

 

As of now, anything goes, no rules in HPDE events

Here are some options:

http://www.corbeau.com/prod_index/prod_index.shtml

http://www.recaro-nao.com/INDEX_FRAMES.HTML

http://outmotoring.com/sparco_torino...ni_cooper.html

http://www.motorsportseats.com/index.html

http://www.soloracer.com/raceseats.html

 

I have Cobra Suzuka race bucket It is so much more comfortable than the factory seat. It is super light and fit like a glove once you get it adjusted right. I purchased the alum. side mount and using the stock slides.

 

Here's another suggestion...

http://www.soloracer.com/evo2formini.html

The Evo II is a good seat, light at 17.4 pounds (I believe that's probably ~35 or more pounds lighter than the OEM sport seats)...

There's pretty good bit of weight loss to be had by yanking the sports seats... Estimates are from 50-80 pounds for both sides, depending on which aftermarket seat you install. You have to fool the airbag sensor, but there are plenty of threads on NAM that describe how to do that.

I concur that if you're going to go with a full racing seat that you'll need a harness bar and new harnesses... I wouldn't want to use the Schroths with that angle over the seat with a rigid back racing seat like the Evo II. If you happened to roll, there's the potential for spinal compression with that mounting angle on the Schroths and a rigid seat... Hardbar has a commercially available harness bar out for the MINI.

If you went with a "street" seat like the Corbeau Targa RS that Solo Racer sells, you can probably get away with the Schroths since the back is hinged like the OEM seats. My estimate on the Corbeau Targa RS seats is that I'd lose approximately 50 pounds if I replaced both sport seats with the Targa RS...

 

Even thought I don't track my car I want a fixed bucket sooooooo bad. Anyways here are my top four:

1) Bride zeta lll (I've never seen a MINI with brides. They are pretty jdm and I guess some people have a problem with that . They are a little pricey but uber nice. They hold you in so good and they are a really popular drifting seat. I think this is the seat that I eventually want to get. )


2) Recaro pole position


3) Sparco pro 2000


4) Sparco corsa or evo



Oh yeah if it's weight that your concerned about you can pretty much get any bucket seat with carbon fiber. This usually costs about twice as much but if you have the money go for it.

 

My Torino's are holding up very well at 40,000 miles. I need to add some more backing, as the foam isn't as 'new' as it use to be and I'm slouching, otherwise, a +400mile drive is no problem.

Have Sparco brackets and sliders, Torino's tilt so people can still get in/out of the back, often without having to slide the seat forward first (you have to hug the seat as you enter/exit the back of the car).

Resistor to trick the airbag sensor. There's numerous threads reagarding this. Once airbag light is on, you have to visit the dealer or BMW Independant shop to have it cleared.

 

If weight is indeed going to be a factor in the decision process, make sure you take into account the side mounts and slider as well. I have not yet found weight figures to include these...

I've done a fair amount of research, and as far as weight goes, you'll be hard-pressed to beat the Cobras. For a fixed, the Suzuka is 15 pounds. For a recliner, their Misano is 22 pounds...

So, while one would think that the delta is 7 pounds per seat, that would not be accurate. The fixed Suzuka require side mounts as well as their slider. The reclining Misano just straight to the slider. The side mounts weigh 3.2 lbs, effectively taking the Suzuka to 18+ pounds, making it a 4 pound delta really (compared to the reclining Misano). The Cobra slider is 13.5 pounds. What our stock one weighs, I don't know...

The side mounts for the aforementioned Sparco will probably be more than 3.5 pounds as they are stainless steel, as compared to high tensile aluminum (Cobra). Also, if you plan to never use your stock seats again, it might be hard selling them w/o the sliders. Just some thoughts...

So, as far as weight to be saved, if thinking Cobra, here's what I figured:

fixed Suzuka = 31.7 pounds (15 + 3.2 + 13.5)
recling Misano = 35.5 pounds (22 + 13.5)

Stock is said to weigh 47 pounds? Can some definitively confirm? Figure on losing at most 30 pounds, if going with 2 seats...

I sat in Peter's (M7) Suzukas, and they felt great. No driving time though... He is actually selling them, if interested. At least I don't think he sold them yet... I'm leaning toward a recliner .

http://www.subesports.com/products?c...ng&brand=Cobra

 

Phil,
If you are thinking about recliners then don't bother if you are fine with the stock seats. I mean to say "performance" gains are pretty much nil and not worth it for the big bucks. There is though a seat that Sparco builds for a Ferrari that is fantastic for a recliner. When I talked with them last year they told me that it was to become part of their product line. I would call them to find out. It's as good as many shell race type seats like the Evo but it also reclines. I do know that you still want to drive your car on the street. If you don't care about getting in the back seat then go with non-recliners.

If you go with a shell type race seat then you really should add a roll bar. Some clubs insist on this.

The easiest way to go is with a bottom mount seat like the Sparco Fighters. These are an easy install with the Sparco slider and Sparco Mini base. Note to scobib, these add a good amount of weight . Most race seats are side mounts, as required by FIA. Not sure you can adapt a side mount to a slider, but someone most likely has done so. Otherwise the side mounts bolt to the floor and have several side mount holes for some adjustability.

Fixing the airbag plug is a very simple thing to do. Just don't attempt any of this though until you get that done first with the battery disconnected.

I would recommend Sparco Fighters for DEs and some club racing that does not require seats to be FIA certified. They have great support, are very light, can use the factory mounting points and use sliders. They seem to work fine with my Hans also.

 

I see Tony got some good info before I posted....

I'll weigh the stock seats and the Sparcos with mounts after the game (UCONN women B-Ball)

 

Thanks Greg, I look forward to that figure (stock seats).

Also, Greg mentioned about going straight to floor, or no slider. I inquired about this, and was told that if you ever have a need for instruction, it won't happen if the driver's seat won't slide. That's part of the reason I want to maintain a slider, also for others to drive my car (only been Randy so far though), and while I don't have back seats, I like being able to slide the seat to get under the dash. The weight delta, as I shared, is not that much. If you can afford more for a recliner (why I'm still waiting ), you might want to do it. Also, as Greg said, a fixed or shell might make a bar necessary at some events. I'd like to avoid this, at least on my MINI...

 

If your really serious about this you should look at the Bride low max Gias seat. It's really light, reclinable, very strong, very supportive and it's suppose to be real comfortable too. The only downside is that it's $1800 per seat!

 

Would you be able to provide a link? That's one I don't recall researching... Thanks.

 

Factory leather heated seat ready to bolt in minus the seat belt clip mechanism is 45 lbs
Sparco Fighter with slider and mounting bracket including the seat belt mech is 32 lbs. (note, my sub. belt was still on the Sparco)

ALSO NOTE: If you want to use the factory seat belts I think a side mount seat is out.

 

onasled
Greg what does BMWCCA Club Racing require for seats.
Phil what does NASA require for their club racing.
As Greg said you should check with the group you intend to run with and where you want to be with your car down the road. Why get seats you may have to change out of in another year.
Greg can you post pics of your seats and are you changing yours for BMW Club racing.

 

Greg, thank you. So one would have to assume that a non-heated seat would be a pound or two less. Maybe 43 pounds...

It's appearing more and more that weight-saving will not be that great, especially if going with a recliner... at most 7 pounds or so. Good info re stock belts maybe not working with side mounts. I thought Peter had the stock seats working with his Suzukas one time, but maybe I'm mistaken...

Greg, would you happen to have a weight on the MINI slider?

 

If I run in the OneLap of America and in The Phil Wicks Series, Any seat is fine and I would remove the passenger seat anyway

I would have to get some type of modest roll bar ( I have the dredded sunroof too)

FYI: NASA has a class for MINI Challenge !!!! Pages 16-17 of this:

http://www.nasaproracing.com/proraci...-To-Choose.pdf

Bilsteins, Toyo RA-1 205-17-40, etc..... 17" wheels must be at least 13 lbs

Sounds like my cup of tea !


NASA has TT (Time Trials too) Look here to class your car: http://www.nasa-tt.com/rules.php

 

Tony, I think the Fighter is about 20 lbs

Larry, pic is below. Yes, I'm getting serious race seats now. Might be these ...

 

Red Fury
Greg's car has a sunroof and his rollbar is just fine. The maker of his and also Autopower have bars for sunroof cars. I have the same problem. I should have known myself from years ago about a sunroof. It's about the only thing I wish I didn't have on my car.

 

Greg
Who's seat is in the pic? I can't make out the name.

 

Another strong thumbs up for the Cobra Suzukas which I have in my 911. Very comfortable seat and quite rigid with little flexing. If I were to do it all over again, I'd go for the Halo version, but if you're continung to drive on the street, I wouldn't recommend it. If I remember correctly, they were one of two seat that had actually been tested to 70G, well above the FIA standards and remained intact.

 

If I can hijack the thread for a second...

When I start looking at seats, should I stick with places that have MINI experience? Might I run into problems were some seats just don't work well, or at all, in a MINI?

Not that I know of any nearby places that sell seats... but avoiding a long distance trip to test-sit, buy, install, etc would be nice. There must be someplace in MA or NH that does that kind of stuff, but I only know of Turner and HMS that have MINI experience.

And I'm not looking forward to losing my heated seats. How possible is switching between the stock seats and "race" seats once a year?

 

Greg, sorry, I was referring to benthevegan's post: If your really serious about this you should look at the Bride low max Gias seat. It's really light, reclinable, very strong, very supportive and it's suppose to be real comfortable too. The only downside is that it's $1800 per seat!

 

Jason
You should ask Greg. I know he has done a lot of hoework on seats. I believe Yarrow Sport carries seats up your way too.

 

Larry, that's a Kirkey seat.

Jason, HMS has a decent inventory to sit in and that where you need to start, sitting in them. No two are a like so anyone who want's a seat really needs to sit in it first.
Width is the biggest problem with the Mini. My driver seat had to be shimmed up about 1/4" on the outer side so the shoulder wing thing on the seat would clear the door. Not noticable at all.
I would say that most seats will fit a Mini. The EVO 3 will not I'm sure.