Upgraded Seats

[Bluemustang]

Who has upgraded seats? I'm thinking about ditching the base GT seats at some point and wanted to see what folks have done. The car is driven on the street mostly but will see time on the track. I do not have a harness bar and roll cage in it yet, as I am still debating it, however, it would be smart to get a seat that will also go with that. Don't want to do it twice. I welcome any and all suggestions, cheap and higher priced ones doesn't matter. Let me know what you got. Thanks.

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[nbjeeptj]

I put the roll bar in mine, removed the rear seat, and went with a fixed back race seat with 5 point harness's and that was the end of using the car to drive around town. It is a lot of work to get in and out of the car being 46 years old and out of shape. I would say if you are still going to want to drive the car for non track use then stick with factory style seats, and you will be happier.

 

[Brian@BMVK]

Who has upgraded seats? I'm thinking about ditching the base GT seats at some point and wanted to see what folks have done. The car is driven on the street mostly but will see time on the track. I do not have a harness bar and roll cage in it yet, as I am still debating it, however, it would be smart to get a seat that will also go with that. Don't want to do it twice. I welcome any and all suggestions, cheap and higher priced ones doesn't matter. Let me know what you got. Thanks.

If you are ok with more work, you can swap seats ahead of track events, assuming you already have the roll bar and 5/6 pt harness installed, and keep the factory 3 pt for stock seats only. This will make your backseat completely unusable. Every org is a little different with respect to how they feel about harness bars (not roll bar w/ integrated harness bar).

 

[strengthrehab]

I had the whole rollbar, fixed back seat, harnesses deal doing and it was hell driving to events. I'd swap the seats in and out for events or "daily" driving. Now, I have stock seats, harnesses and rollbar. Makes driving to events better. If I fit better in Recaros (factory) and wanted to spend the cash, I'd get them without a doubt.

 

[Bluemustang]

I had the whole rollbar, fixed back seat, harnesses deal doing and it was hell driving to events. I'd swap the seats in and out for events or "daily" driving. Now, I have stock seats, harnesses and rollbar. Makes driving to events better. If I fit better in Recaros (factory) and wanted to spend the cash, I'd get them without a doubt.

Really? That bad, huh? If I got everything I wanted I'd have the FP Recaros. I'm pretty thin so they'd probably fit me pretty well. But only problem they are bloody expensive at $3K.

So I thought if I can get by not spending as much, but buying something that can't work with a harness or have provisions for a 5 pt ASM to be added,it doesn't make much sense at all.

For street and track situations I'd be happier with a seat that keeps me more in place, even if there's no harness involved. But as I mentioned I have to plan for future endeavors and want to avoid doing it twice.

If you are ok with more work, you can swap seats ahead of track events, assuming you already have the roll bar and 5/6 pt harness installed, and keep the factory 3 pt for stock seats only. This will make your backseat completely unusable. Every org is a little different with respect to how they feel about harness bars (not roll bar w/ integrated harness bar).

If I did swap before the event I need to find something good quality for race purposes and with provisions for the 5 pt. I am noticing mixed or poor feedback on some of the cheaper options and some don't have provides for the 5th point. Not sure where to begin.

 

[Brian@BMVK]

If I did swap before the event I need to find something good quality for race purposes and with provisions for the 5 pt. I am noticing mixed or poor feedback on some of the cheaper options and some don't have provides for the 5th point. Not sure where to begin.

Sparco Evo 2, Cobra Suzuka are good options and not too expensive. It's definitely worth getting an FIA cert seat if you go down this path.

The one downside is that if you do events with instructors, most will want/mandate the same level of safety equipment on the passenger side too, so that's another seat and harness.

 

[strengthrehab]

I have a re-branded GP-Race seat and it is a good seat FIA rated and what not. European brand.

Keep an eye out on Marketplace or whatever for GT recaros--They come up every once in a while, but playing the lottery on if they will be local.

I'm doing 6 point harness with my stock seats (seat took minimal work to get it to work). There is a guy on TMO forum who makes the bracket to use harness with sub belt with stock seats.

IF you are going to buy a fixed back seat--do whatever you can to sit in a seat before you buy one. At events, try out as many seats as you can and make notes of the brand, size, etc.

 

[Grintch]

Aftermarket seats lose the side airbag, and the old resister trick doesn't seem to work to get rid of the airbag warning light with newer "smart" airbag systems. So it's more work now to change them than it used to be.

Plenty of options for size and configuration depending on whether you want a street oriented sport seat or a race seat. One of the best capabilities is you can lower the seat quite a bit. Which reduces the center of gravity and helps taller drivers fit, especially when wearing a helmet.

New the OEM GT Recaros are pricey, and the OE GT350 Recaros are pretty narrow. But in theory you can swap them without dealing with the air bag issues (though verify there are no compatibility issues between years or trims).

I had Recaro OEM Evo 8 seats (pre airbag, ~Speed model in the aftermarket range) with the Recaro sliders and Planted mounts on the passenger side (~1" lower than stock) and a custom mount on the driver side (~3" lower than stock). 100 times better for the track or autocross, 10 times better for the street (I don't have to crane my neck to see redlights). Going a lot lower (-3" )will feel a bit weird at first on the street.

Try to find a (race) seat dealer so you can fit test any seat you are looking to buy, and sit in it longer than a few seconds. Those seats that start to hurt after 30 minutes or so can be agony on long trips. Personally swapping seats is a big pain, I would not do it before and after every event.

 

[Bluemustang]

Aftermarket seats lose the side airbag, and the old resister trick doesn't seem to work to get rid of the airbag warning light with newer "smart" airbag systems. So it's more work now to change them than it used to be.

Plenty of options for size and configuration depending on whether you want a street oriented sport seat or a race seat. One of the best capabilities is you can lower the seat quite a bit. Which reduces the center of gravity and helps taller drivers fit, especially when wearing a helmet.

New the OEM GT Recaros are pricey, and the OE GT350 Recaros are pretty narrow. But in theory you can swap them without dealing with the air bag issues (though verify there are no compatibility issues between years or trims).

I had Recaro OEM Evo 8 seats (pre airbag, ~Speed model in the aftermarket range) with the Recaro sliders and Planted mounts on the passenger side (~1" lower than stock) and a custom mount on the driver side (~3" lower than stock). 100 times better for the track or autocross, 10 times better for the street (I don't have to crane my neck to see redlights). Going a lot lower (-3" )will feel a bit weird at first on the street.

Try to find a (race) seat dealer so you can fit test any seat you are looking to buy, and sit in it longer than a few seconds. Those seats that start to hurt after 30 minutes or so can be agony on long trips. Personally swapping seats is a big pain, I would not do it before and after every event.

Thanks, Grintch I appreciate your feedback. Sounds like the best option for me would be PP or GT350 Recaros. Might be best to just save up some money for when the time comes. I'll do some further research and see if I can find a dealer to try some out.

 

[mikeD4V]

OG Racing in Sterling, VA has a bunch of seats in their showroom. They also have several HANS devices to try out.

Watson bar, OMP WRC-R XL, OMP sliders, Planted seat mounts, Schroth 6 point. I don't DD the car anymore but drive to Summit often and fair weather drive it with no complaints. I don't use the 3 point belt but can by feeding it through the side holes and adding the female connector.

 

[kz]

Aftermarket seats lose the side airbag, and the old resister trick doesn't seem to work to get rid of the airbag warning light with newer "smart" airbag systems. So it's more work now to change them than it used to be.

Airbag light on makes entire SRS system disabled - so in a reality you lose all the airbags even though they're physically obviously there.

 

[Grintch]

Mixed opinions on that. Unfortunately (?) not a lot of volunteers to test it.

Several accounts of people who had a crash and the airbags deployed, despite having aftermarket seats and/or an airbag warning light. It would certainly be a rather dumb design decision. Kinda like disabling all coil packs if any was bad (it would be a lot easier to get home or to the shop with 3 or 7 cylinders working than 0).

Personally I have bet that it is a myth.

 

[boardkat]

Airbag light on makes entire SRS system disabled - so in a reality you lose all the airbags even though they're physically obviously there.

not true. a fellow racer (who may chime in, he's on here but doesn't drop by all that much anymore) rolled his '16 GT @ an event a few years back with race seats and SRS light on; airbags deployed.

 

[kz]

not true. a fellow racer (who may chime in, he's on here but doesn't drop by all that much anymore) rolled his '16 GT @ an event a few years back with race seats and SRS light on; airbags deployed.

That's good to know - I've been told that in Ford dealership by Ford technician when I took the car for airbag light on. Should have expected they don't know shit.

 

[ModularKid21]

I picked up a set of used leather recaro’s for my car for just under $2k. Hit me up if you wanna check them out sometime

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