ok I guess I was mislead by the lack of info again; I was told that Corbeaus are the best bang for the buck. What would be the something along those lines, so I have something to compare the sparcos to.

 

I have checked it out,

Kirkey should stick to circle track and drag racing

Victor

 

any fixed back seats will do from corbeau... they are all steel frame (which can be REALLY uncomfortable), but they are great bang for the buck:

dependent on your budget... anything that reclines can't be called a race bucket because it is not designed so... here's the easiest comparison between say a sparco torino:


the APC you like also happen to fall into this category, reclineable seats are designed more for looks, they are comfortable to live with day in and day out, but will never equal the support of a full bucket

here's one by sparco that is probably the most serious bucket


notice, that it is fixed in the back and that it is one piece? compared to the two piece of the torino? also notice the lack of cushioning? hope this helped

 

Drew,

I really want to help you,

So here it is,

The cheapest seats that are worth it are
these are steel tube frame
the Cobra monaco $269
the sparco sprint $299

then you have the inexpensive fiberglass
sparco ultra $479
cobra imola $529

Better (these are all over $600)
Recaro Pole Position
Sparco rev, pro2000 or evo
cobra suzuka

Now remember, the seat needs to fit you properly, some seats are narrow, some large and some extra large.

I will need your waist size anh height to direct you to the best seat for you.

Regarding corbeau seats, stay away from them, it's junk, and I heard their seats just failed the new FIA test.

Victor

 

Well I plan on sitting in whatever I plan on getting, I'm 6' and have a 34 inch waist; but I've sat in MOMOs (which claim racing cert and pedigree) and a few other seats and found what I really prefered is a seat I sit "in" not "on" because I can get so much more instant feedback from the car. The only other person I knew comfortable in that seat was 5'5" and 100 lbs.

 

How well do the Cobra Monacos and Sparco Sprints fit in the MINI? anyone have photos.

 

This will be my last post on this subject,

Race seats should not be tied to roll cages.

If you do, when you hit the wall, the energy impact will be transfered directly from the roll cage to your back.

this is why the FIA recommends isolating the driver seat.

Every race car driver has his own opinion, and we all like to justify how we spend our racing dollars.

When I see you guys at the track,
I will for sure be sitting in my Recaro Pro racer SPG Hans race seat.

I am not an expert on seats, but if this seat is good enouth for most of the WRC rally drivers, and all Porsche factory race cars, it is for sure good enough for me.

Happy Road racing
Victor

 

Victor, what have you checked out??? If you can teach me something then please do. I'm always open to learning new things. When you looked at and sat in the 5300, what did you think was so unsafe about it?

We all know that NASCAR only has minor fender benders and anyway, they have no money behind them to do what would be best.
(Note, small 5" oval sticker only cost STP $1,000,000 to put there... )
I'm wondering why NASCAR is making such poor choices then?

 

You are one of those lucky guys that actually fits in one of those things ....
Last I remember, WRC had some big sponsorship money from Recaro. Hey, those guys don't even wear H&Ns...

 

Onasled,

Wait and see.....

If you look closely at Nascar, they already started changing their belts from the old latch type to the FIA style camlock (Schroth and Willans)

Next, my prediction is : seats,

 

I have talked with the director of saftey for NASCAR, they have about 5 years of experiance when it comes to real saftey understanding. THey have LOTS and LOTS of money, but their developments are a guess and see engineering with test dummies. They have made huge strides, mandating HANS, SAFER barriers, but I would by no means say they are the top of the todem pole yet; but with that funding it shouldn't be long. Again I'm the novice here so take it with a jar if salt.

 

Drew,

The sprint and the monaco will fit just fine in the mini,

In order to install these you will need a universal slider either sparco or cobra (around $50)
And a seat bracket, this is a flat bracket that will bolt directly to the floor to the existing factory seat mounts. (around $100)

With these two parts, the installation is very easy,

Also keep in mind, the airbags will still work, but the light will be on since you do not have the factory seat,if you want the airbag light to not come on, there is a resistor that you can purchase to plug into the seat wiring harness.

hope this will help you
Good luck

Victor

 

Of course they are going with Scrhoth, Joe is making sure of that....
Not sure we will see NASCAR bolting plastic seats to the floors anytime soon Victor. Not sure they would be happy if they were moving around like this... or this

Hey Victor, I'm not spatten with ya, just a bit of debating. Hope your cool with that.

 

Well I already have an airbag light for a warranty issue so when I get it fixed I was going to talk to the tech about a way to disable all bags for the track (one of those come out back and I can tell you unofically things) and I'm aware of the resistor trick. Leaning towards the sparco now, but I gots to sit in them first before I know.

 

Thanks for the help, I'll post more after I decide.

 

Drew, compared to what? If it were not for NASCAR, we might not even all know about the HANS. Where was any class of racing 5 years ago?
What's a NASCAR bar?
What's an interior right side net?
These are all things that "roundy rounds" have been using for a while and now they are becoming madated by most road racing clubs, SCCA and BMWCCA to mention two.
Don't say that NASCAR is behind in safety at all. More like the leaders I think.

 

Hello Onasled,

I like this little debate,

I saw the videos,
and all I can tell you by experience being a Recaro master distributor for over 3 years, these seats are made to flex or move when the chassis moves.

Now in those two videos, these are amateur racers, we do not know how or who install their seats, are they using the proper side mounts?
Now this could be related to the installation.

 

Well I know the HANS was actually building in popularity and use before the 2001 Daytona 500, and several NASCAR drivers were using it in that race; it may not have been madated if it weren't for NASCAR, but it wouldn't have been uncommon by know. I'd say that F1 and Indy have put far more effort into making cars safer. Much of this is no doubt because those racing ogranizations have delt with losing driver with the much higher speeds involved. It has only been about a year now that NASCAR is looking at significantly changing aero packages to deal with making the speed safer, plus NASCAR is setup in such mannner that after somethingnis offical, even asking why something is done in a particular manner is frowned upon, they are not open to change and it is something that has to be fought for in that organization. It seems as though every year F1 is resiving bits of aero or adding protection here and there to do everything they can to make it so drivers can walk away froma crash. Also they are still in two different theorys of engineering NASCAR is a rolling brick wall desgined only to loose body planels in a crash, F1 cars in a severe crash work like the the MINI were the rest of the car is sacrificed to save the driver compartment absorbing impact and tearing away.

 

But like I said I'm the novice so take what I say with a jar of salt. Also the director of NASCAR saftey described the process of developing saftey features as a reactionary process of having somethin g happen, guessing what the problem is, changing it and seeing if the same issue happens again; not very inspiring

 

Greg

You make some excellent points. Of note, I am now recovering from an L1 compression fracture sustained on 2/5/06. My injury was caused by me slamming into my seat when the rear of the car came down post impact. I do not want to mention, nor will I mention the make and model of my seat but I can say with extreme confidence, the most important part of a seat is the belts and how they secure you in the seat. I was lifted out of my seat even though I thought my belts were very tight. Kerby is an excellent seat, I am now considering one. Also, it bothers me to hear money being a factor when looking at something as important as a seat in a racing/track environmnet.

Mark

 

Hello Mark,

I do not think we have met, I am sorry you got injured,

As you mention in your thread, the problem was with the belts and not the seat.
The belts were either not tight enough or the belts just stretch too much.
I have raced many times with a seat just like yours, and I will still trust their product.

I do agree with you that we should be more concerned with safety, there is other areas were you can save a few dollars, but when it comes to safety, you have to buy the right stuff.

Hope you will get better soon.

Victor

 

Check out this seat supplier: http://www.joieofseating.net/

Probably not FIA approved, however a whole lot of NASCAR teams use their products. Custom built and proven.

 

Look what I came across,

Now! this is a real road racing racing seat, and guess what, it is on a mini...
But wait this is actually a Recaro, and it is not attached to the cage.

At least it makes me feel good that this seat is good enough for BMW and John Cooper Works.





Victor

 

Well its all Xs but I know which ones you're talking about unfortunately its not good enough for the US DOT unless you want to pay 3x what you normally would. Of course for those who go straight to the track it isn't that big a deal if its DOT legal.

 

Drew,

I do not know what seat you are looking for,

I do not understand your DOT question,

All Sparco, Momo, Recaro seats are legal for sale in the US.

Victor