Racing seat help
 

I have a 99 and I am thinking about getting 6 pt. harness seats. Is there a manufacture that makes a racing seat that is easy to remove to swap back and forth with the original seat. One that will attach to my original tracks or is that not possible. I would like to use 6 pt. seat when I do DE so I have the option of running with the top down.

The original seats are fixed to their tracks. You can get them apart, but that's probably not the way you want to go if you're looking to switch back and forth. The easiest swap is with the Porsche GT3 seats (by Recaro). Not cheap, but then again, none of the racing seat setups are cheap.
whatever you do, don't forget to disconnect the battery before you start any of the work. If you don't, your airbag light will come on.

You may not like this option once you find out how much they cost but your best bet will be the GT3 seats.

They are an easy direct bolt in option. It takes 20 minutes tops to swap seats. I just installed a pair of GT3 seats in my 01 S and I love them. Very comfortable seat even for daily driving, getting in and out is a little bit of a PITA but not too bad.

They can be found new at Suncoast Porsche or used on eBay

racing seats are not supposed to be inexpensive. Its kinda like buying a cheap parachute to save money. Most racing seats are made for looks, they will bend under you like a Pepsi can on impact. Most meet only the most minimal of safety standards, in other words your stock seat is much safer. Save up for one GT3 seat. They can be swapped in and out with just one socket and a torx bit in less than 20 minutes.

Exactly. The GT3 seats are the best option, as they are "plug and play" with the car. There are good Sparco's, Recaro's, Cobra's, etc. but those aren't cheap either, and you'll have to use different brackets and rails to install them. All the cheap stuff you see on eBay I wouldn't ever dream of using on a car I drove (may be OK for a show car that gets trailer'd around I suppose), as the engineering and safe construction just isn't there.

Sure if you have no problems to shell out more than $3k for ONE GT3 seat :eek: then just go right ahead. If you are "a racer on a budget" like me, then you can do this much cheaper

Here's just an example:
http://www.bkauto.com/porsche/r9044.php ~ $200
http://www.saferacer.com/sparco-side-mount.html?productid=766 $75
http://www.saferacer.com/sparco-tec-seat.html?productid=767 $475 (make sure you pick a seat with side mounts)

don't bother with sliders, they just make you sit higher.

That's your plug-n-play solution for less than $800

I didn't spend $6K on my seats. I picked them up second hand $2K for the pair.
I often see used GT3 seats on Ebay or being offered for sale in the Rennlist and Pelican classifieds. Buying new would be a last resort thing.
here's a tan/brown pair which look like they're going to go for what I paid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-Euro-GT3-Recarro-Seats-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2ead41a5dfQQitemZ20047 5256287QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

a pair of OEM seats (and not Chinese knock-offs) that's a sweeeeeeet deal :cheers:

I didn't know dyeing from black to brown was possible. Interesting. Makes me wonder why he didn't dye them back to black for a quicker sale. Must not be cheap to do or he's too busy to bother.

Ok, a couple questions first: How serious do you want to get? How big are you? What safety requirements does your track day sanctioning organization have?

If your near term goal is doing a few DEs a year I suggest to my students to stay with the stock seats and run quality street tires. If Time Trials or other forms of racing are in your near future but you want to stay street legal I suggest a quality FIA tested/approved seat from Porsche GT3, Sparco, Recaro, Cobra, Momo, or others. Why FIA tested? Because safety is very important in a seat. A stock Porsche seat or FIA seat are unlikely to fail in an accident resulting in you being ejected from your car. Choose wisely and avoid the cheapies with low prices and zero safety testing. Before buying do a meet and greet with other drivers at the track next time. Ask them about their racing seats. If you find someone near your size ask if it would be ok to sit in it. Most will share a great deal if you ask politely. For reference I am 5'10 and 175lbs with long torso. The Cobra Imola Pro is mounted in my car and I am very satisfied. It was about $900 each including seat, mounting hardware and tax. Good luck.

You can also use the inexpensive CG-Lock with a stock seat which keeps the seat belt tight.

CG-Lock works - but it is only a slight improvement over the stock setup. Note that Suncoast has a new but slightly scratched 996 GT3 seat for sale for $1500. I have been thinking about new seats as well but the loss of an airbag in my 987 makes me shy away from the 996 seat. The 997 GT2 seat is much more expensive ($6800 for a pair at Suncoast to be precise) and I am not sure if I want to spend that much to improve a four year old car. I have seen Cayman's swapping their seats (with airbag for the street and 996 GT3 for the track). I am quite big (6'1", 230 lbs) so that limits my choices as well. Any ideas?

I got a pair of GT3 seats in black, Scroth 6 point harnesses, sub belt mount bar, and BK quick disconnect tunnel mount parts for 2750 on EBAY. They are worth the money. Easy install and probably cut a ton of weight in the car. My car is not a daily driver but even if it was unless I had to drive 50+ miles would I say the GT3 seats are not a good all rounder. The stock seats for whatever reason hurt my back and the GT3 seats do not. I love them and think the pair look great in the car together. I also remember running with a track group which required you to have the same seats / safety provisions for driver and passenger. Not sure if this is a common rule but why screw your passenger anyway??

I have a pair of Corbeau fixed back seats that I bought with their sliders to bolt right up to my 986. I originally looked at Recaro but was surprised at how much flex was in the seat I sat in (flexed more at the shoulder than I expected but it could've been the seat I sat in). The Corbeau seats were much cheaper (it was nice to have the direct bolt in sliders) and I found them to be quite good for what I do (autocross). I coupled the seats with a Simpson 6 point harness and bolted the harness directly to the car (no sub-mount).

If I had to do it over again I would've definitely considered a reclining back seat as I don't like to take the seats in and out and could use a little extra comfort. If I were a die hard racer than I would stick with the fixed back seats as they weigh so much less.

:cheers: