aftermarket race seat - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ChrisZang · 03-17-2009, 11:11 PM

Hey,

I am planning to install a race seat (with holes for 6 point harness) for track days.
I am a bit on the tall side, so I need a seat which helps me sit lower so I pass broomstick (I have a B-K rollbar extension, but it's still a tight fit)
It seems that in GT3 seats you actually sit HIGHER, so they're out of the question.
Also the Corbeau seem to add an inch in height.
I was wondering if anyone has some experience to share.

edevlin · 03-18-2009, 02:07 AM

The B-K seat bracket should help you sit a little lower and tilt you back at a good angle with the GT3 seat, its what I use.

Ed

Topless · 03-18-2009, 08:22 AM

Forum member SBD uses the Sparco Evo2 and drilled new holes in the brackets to lower the seat. I think he is 6'3".

Whatever seat you choose make sure it meets DOT or FiA certification standards so it will pass tech inspection on track day. There are a lot of knockoff seats around with no safety testing or certification and they won't pass tech at many tracks. No reason to get a racing seat if NASA, SCCA, and PCA won't let you on the track with it. Check your rulebook first, then go shopping.

ChrisZang · 03-18-2009, 09:30 PM

Thanks for the tip with the DOT sticker.
So I guess the cheap chinese GT3-seat knock-offs on eBay are out of the equation then

Sboxin · 03-19-2009, 12:26 AM

We made a special floor mounting frame to mount the seat brackets directly onto the floor. This photo is the top of the MOMO seats

If you are interested I'll take a pic of the frame and send along...

Take care,
ED

heyjae · 03-19-2009, 08:50 AM

I found that the BK bracket plus my Cobra seats were about the same height than the stock seats. I drilled an extra hole in the bracket to lower them by 1/2" or so.

Perfectlap · 03-19-2009, 09:12 AM

you sit lower in the GT3 seat. Put the stock seat in the lowest position and its about an inch lower than that. Witht the tock seat in the lowest position I can see all of the hood. With the GT3 seat I'm more "street level".

Go for the GT3 seat if you can swing it. You don't need to deal with any aftermarket brackets or rails and you switch out the GT3 in a matter of like 7 minutes with just one socket wrench. Although my friend is 6-2 and he would not pass the broom stick test, so he would definitely need the Brey Krause set up.

I put my seats in just for summer use during track/autox season and I ended using them year round. Which reminds me I'm planning on having the seat cushions redone. RUF in Texas did some great custom work with these seats so I'm thinking of giving them a call to find out who they use.

ChrisZang · 03-20-2009, 09:03 AM

Hi,

I hope that someone went through this already and can help me out with his experiences.

In all these questions I am taking Sparco seats only as an example

Question 1:
Is it generally safe to assume that seats with side mounted mounting brackets allow you to sit lower that with brackets which attach to the bottom of the seat?
Example:
side mounted: http://www.saferacer.com/sparco-sprint-5-seat.html?productid=768
bottom mounted: http://www.saferacer.com/sparco-fighter-seat.html?productid=784

Question 2:
In order to put the seats into a Boxster (where the bottom is NOT level) do I need all three of those:
a) the side mounts: http://www.racing-seats-usa.com/490nr.html
b) the slider: http://www.racing-seats-usa.com/493.html
c) the "base" a.k.a. "seat bracket" http://www.racing-seats-usa.com/sp.html

Correct?

Thanks

rob76turbo · 03-21-2009, 03:30 AM

Chris,

I am on the same quest as you. I want to add seats / harnesses and the BK extension. It looks like the Corbeau Forza seats would be perfect, but they have no certification...so they are OUT!

The Momo Start looks like a great seat, but because it is side mount, I am wondering how to mount it.

Ed, Would you mind taking a picture of the mount so Chris and I can get an idea of what other people have done?

Thanks,
rlt

j.fro · 03-21-2009, 03:39 AM

Hey Perfectlap,
Did the GT3 seats have electrical connections for the seatbelt sensors? How about the side airbags? I've heard that the side airbags should be deactivated when you install GT3 seats.

heyjae · 03-21-2009, 10:24 AM

One of the biggest PITA projects for me was installing the seats, so I understand. The main issue is the bolt pattern of the sliders to the seat/side mount and on the other side to the car itself. Basically, there are 3 ways to do it from my research.

Easy, sit low but expensive:
Get the Porsche GT3 seats. Bolts directly to your existing Porsche sliders (you save some money there). If you want it super low, you can get BK adapters to bolt them to the floor directly, but you lose fwd/aft adjustment.

Cheap and easy, but seat height is not (much) lower than stock:
Buy your aftermarket seat of choice, get BK side mounts that bolt directly to your Porsche sliders. You can drill a lower hole to reduce height about 1/2", but it's not ideal. The good thing about these BK mounts is that they have an inboard seat belt mounting point on the bracket. Some race orgs don't allow this, since the lap belt should be mounted to the chassis separately in case the seat comes loose. (FWIW, the stock inboard mounting point is on the seat.) I'm using the BK mounts with extra hole, but I'm only 5' 8" and have a cage so I pass the broomstick test easily. My inboard belt is bolted to the tunnel though and backed w/ the proper plate.

More difficult and more expensive (but not as expensive as GT3 seats), but you'll sit lower:
Buy your aftermarket seat of choice, get universal/Sparco side mounts, use Sparco sliders (they are lower profile than Porsche sliders), and use BK Sparco slider to Porsche floor pan adapter. This costs more since you need to buy side mounts, sliders, and the BK slider adapter. There are other adapters as well (like the one in your post. You can try speedwaremotorsports.com. Just be sure to get the flat and not tabbed adapters.). You might need the BK Sparco slider actuating tube since the rails are 16" wide on Porsches and the Sparco sliders are set for 15" or something like that. This is on my to do list as I want to sit lower.

Avoid the height adjustable Recaro sliders. They are really tall.

I hope this helps.

Sboxin · 03-21-2009, 10:41 AM

Rob asked for pics of our DIY seat mounting frame/base ---

The seats are about sold, but the BK Rollbar extension is available...

Take care,

Ed
(or Roy or Arizona-Ed, etc...)

rob76turbo · 03-21-2009, 12:19 PM

PM me with your price.
Thanks,
Rob T.

Mike_Yi · 03-31-2009, 06:27 PM

The GT3 Seats WILL NOT LOWER YOU IN THE CAR. In fact, because they have a more upright seating position, you will sit higher. You can get the B&K mounts, and those will lower the seat a bit (I don't know how much). However, you will not be able to adjust the seat front to back (no sliders). I went with a Recaro Profi SPG XL and it was about 1.5 inches lower than the stock seat or the GT3 seat. This is with the Recaro slides and the B&K side mounts and adapters. Price is within $50 per seat of the GT3.

Whatever seat you decide on, check out the height of the shoulder harness openings. The GT3 and the Profi SPG XL are the only ones I found that are high enough to prevent spinal compression in an accident. There may be others out there, but I know the Sparco Evo2 and Evo Pro 2000 are not high enough.

Here's more info on what I went through trying to find a seat for track days: Forum thread

ChrisZang · 04-08-2009, 10:39 AM

So, I bought the Momo seats from Sboxin and I am attaching a pic which gives you an idea how much lower you sit in these seats compared to the stock 986 seats (around 2" lower).
Just to reiterate: I installed the Momo seats without a slider therefore the side mount brackets sit directly on the console, giving you the lowest seating position possible