Remove front passenger seat for track days and wheel hauling?

[MikeR397]

Is there any reason not to remove the passenger front seat in my R? It’s two simple bolts and easy to do and would make hauling my 4 spare wheels to the track easier when I need to do so. Hell this even makes up for the FPrear seats I installed (to drive my kids on the street) weight gain of a whole 30lbs, easier access to the car seat when I have it in there too! Plus an adult could ride in the rear seat and have all the leg room in the world. I don’t see any reason not to, right?

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[key01]

I see no reason in the way of not doing that.

 

[MikeR397]

I see no reason in the way of not doing that.

I guess past the obvious one I can’t have a passenger at the track that is. Most of the events I do restrict this except for instructors, but this Monday is a private event at grattan I’ll get 7 30 minute sessions and I believe/hope I can have a passenger, so I’ll leave it in for now.

I’ve seen 3 wheels fit in the back with the seat delete, but I have the rear seats and at 6’6” need my seat back quite a way so only 2 fit in the rear, then 1 in passenger and one in the wheel well in trunk and plenty room in trunk for a jack, helmet, ect. Really nice benefit to a track car is being able to fit 4 spare wheels!

Eta: it’s damn close to fit the 2 front 305 wheels in the trunk, but the second just won’t go in. That’s fine though bc the trunk is better for the jack and other crap. Will use more towels to wrap lose stuff and make sure the carbon wheel doesn’t risk any scratches in transit.

 

[mkonrad]

The time you are saving on the track for 30 lbs will be used clearing out airbag and OCSM sensor errors, not really vital but still a bit inconvenient. I watched another GT350 owner get four in with the front seat remaining, so it can be done.

Or put in the roll bar, rear seat delete, fixed back seats and give up.

 

[Tomster]

I saw a Porsche 911 use a small trailer (I mean small) to haul the incidentals. That might be worth looking at.

 

[MikeR397]

The time you are saving on the track for 30 lbs will be used clearing out airbag and OCSM sensor errors, not really vital but still a bit inconvenient. I watched another GT350 owner get four in with the front seat remaining, so it can be done.

Or put in the roll bar, rear seat delete, fixed back seats and give up.

So they just blink a yellow light on the dash while unplugged under the passenger seat? That doesn’t seem an issue, but didn’t think of that so thanks!

The track attack cars in Utah with roll bars sucked for me bc im 6’6” and they limited the seat recline angle so my helmet was literally touching the roof the entire time. Maybe a custom roll bar setup could afford me better space, but at the end of the day I already put the FP rear seat kit in to carry my 1 and 4 year old around when I want to make them smile and I haven’t event gotten as far as being interested at timing myself or data recording at the track. I just show up in my big ass coupe mustang and embarrass any competent driver that’s in less than a gt3, zo6, actual race car, ect. I’ve been tracking for 3 years now, started in my ferrari 360 (tons of head room with thin carbon seats but she’s dated and better suited for the streets and car shows), and I’d like to think pretty damn good driver, but I’m too tall and (275lbs) to worry about being competitive past “ya this old mustang that passed you is stock save camber plates” grin . It’s such a great car!

Maybe in a few more years I’ll look into a track only car and trailer it, but having just did a session in a ZR1 and GT3RS, I’m not convinced the overall experience is better in those street cars vs an R, and I sure as hell like having the extra cash in investments or earning interest. Again, at 6’6” I’m also limited with space with a helmet. Took me 3 hours to wiggle into a shiny new ferrari 488 challenge car and realized how lucky I am to have my pokey mustang that is peanuts in price and tracking cost in comparison

 

[MikeR397]

I saw a Porsche 911 use a small trailer (I mean small) to haul the incidentals. That might be worth looking at.

Nah, you see the above pics, all 4 fit well in the car ;).

Speaking of this though, my first real sports car was a 2002 911 turbo I bought used when I finished law school in 2010. Had it for 8 years, great car, even saw one with a open snowmobile trailer on a hitch and got crazy ideas for trailering sleds to the MI UP with my snow tires (in the end got a Raptor which does the job much better with 4 passengers sharing gas $, jokes, and the 4 sleds in a 6,000lb trailer! I loved the turbo, but it disappointed me on track, was tiptronic and silly downshift was out of reach with a 9 and 3 track grip and the turbo lag was abysmal, even with a tune, no cats, exhaust, and 525hp! I sold it, the only car I’ve ever sold in my life, to a good friend shortly after trying to track it. Needed garage space for other toys and it just didn’t excite on the road anymore or perform the way I wanted in a linear response, great sounding, track car. My ferrari 360 still fits the bill except i boiled brake fluid (srf) twice, and didn’t want to blow up a stupidly expensive ferrari part or pay $8k for upgraded brakes. My 17R with a 8yr extended warranty and 5yr wheel/tire packages satisfies in all regards, cheap without need for much mods, and enough space inside! Thank you Ford!

Edit: plus the blasphemous weight added of a hitch! Lol. While 6’6” and sorta muscular still, I did once weigh 200lbs 10 years ago in law school, so maybe I should look at trying to lose 75lbs of my own mass first...

 

[Tomster]

Nah, you see the above pics, all 4 fit well in the car ;).

Speaking of this though, my first real sports car was a 2002 911 turbo I bought used when I finished law school in 2010. Had it for 8 years, great car, even saw one with a open snowmobile trailer on a hitch and got crazy ideas for trailering sleds to the MI UP with my snow tires (in the end got a Raptor which does the job much better with 4 passengers sharing gas $, jokes, and the 4 sleds in a 6,000lb trailer! I loved the turbo, but it disappointed me on track, was tiptronic and silly downshift was out of reach with a 9 and 3 track grip and the turbo lag was abysmal, even with a tune, no cats, exhaust, and 525hp! I sold it, the only car I’ve ever sold in my life, to a good friend shortly after trying to track it. Needed garage space for other toys and it just didn’t excite on the road anymore or perform the way I wanted in a linear response, great sounding, track car. My ferrari 360 still fits the bill except i boiled brake fluid (srf) twice, and didn’t want to blow up a stupidly expensive ferrari part or pay $8k for upgraded brakes. My 17R with a 8yr extended warranty and 5yr wheel/tire packages satisfies in all regards, cheap without need for much mods, and enough space inside! Thank you Ford!

Edit: plus the blasphemous weight added of a hitch! Lol. While 6’6” and sorta muscular, I did once weigh 200lbs 10 years ago in law school, so maybe I should look at trying to lose 75lbs of my own mass first...

Ah, a hitch would be like jacking rails, easily removed. Anyway, sounds like you have it figured out.

 

[MikeR397]

Ah, a hitch would be like jacking rails, easily removed. Anyway, sounds like you have it figured out.

Holy hell, remove my jacking rails for track days! You are hardcore! I am way too lazy!

 

[Tomster]

Holy hell, remove my jacking rails for track days! You are hardcore! I am way too lazy!

12 pounds is 12 pounds. A seat is only 30. The battery is where you can drop a bunch in one step. Lithium.

 

[RugbyRef]

Mike - have you ever considered a car hauler? Your Raptor would be able to pull one with the "R" on it with no problem. Put your track tires in the bed of your truck...problem solved!

 

[MikeR397]

Mike - have you ever considered a car hauler? Your Raptor would be able to pull one with the "R" on it with no problem. Put your track tires in the bed of your truck...problem solved!

I don’t have any place to store one (already have a snowmobile trailer, they are not cheap, and towing a trailer with a truck is boring and a pain in the ass to load/unload/secure. One of my favorite parts about the R is driving it to/from events. I don’t go more than 4 hours away but get it’s a risk eventually of getting stuck and figuring the situation out if something breaks on the car.

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