Installing a Sparco Sprint - Which floor mount?

[Highrise]

After looking through a lot of other posts about this, I decided to pick up a Sparco Sprint for my '02 986. I'm 6'6" so I'll be using side mounts attached directly to the floor so I can get as low as possible.

My question is, do I need the Brey Krause side mounts which have a reenforced hole for the factory seat belt buckle, or can I use one of the open holes on the Sparco side mount?




I'm sure the Brey Krause is the best way to go, but its more than double the price, and Sparco is more than a reputable/trusted manufacturer. Just want to make sure I don't spend an extra $100 ($200 including the passenger seat) unnecessarily.

And here's the Sparco Sprint. I really wanted to get the repo GT3 seats off ebay since I'm going for a factory look and didn't want a fabric Sparco seat. But once I found a vendor in Germany who sells the eco-leather wrapped Sparco Sprint, I had to jump on it. Especially since they're FIA compliant.

Apparently they don't offer the eco-leather (i.e. vinyl) in the US. Has anyone else heard of this?

Thanks in advance for your input.
-Michael

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by Highrise

Apparently they don't offer the eco-leather (i.e. vinyl) in the US. Has anyone else heard of this?
-Michael

Michael,

I have a set of black Recaro with "fabric upholestry" on the Alfa and they are very comfortable, specially on warm weather.

IMHO, the leather imitation (aka vinyl), are not too comfy on warm/high humidity weather..

[steved0x]

The bottoms of your seat brackets don't conform to the floor mounting points in the Boxster. The backs could probably line up, but the fronts are at a slight angle down. You need something like the below to attach the side mounts to, unless you want to drill through the floor.

R-9041 Seat Track Adapter

Or this (I have these)
R-9044 Seat Floor Mount Adapter with Integrated Sub Strap Mount - R-907X Series Seat Mounting Brackets, 996/997/986/987 Porsches)

Edit: I don't think I was answering the right question, you were asking about seat belt receptacles. I guess you could mount the seat belt receptacle directly to one of the holes in the side mount, but you probably want to back it up with some washers or flat plate so it is reinforced, similar to how when you mount these types of attachments to the body.

Another solution is to shim a seat belt receptacle adapter between the floor and your side mount, BK makes one but it is pretty expensive:

http://www.bkauto.com/R_9005_Harness_Mounting_Kit_p/r-9005.htm

Jegs has a generic one for around $15: (I couldn't find it but here is another one - they also have one very similar to the BK one)
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performance+Products/555/70019/10002/-1


and there is a Porsche OEM part from the 964 that is around $15-$20. The downside there is you have to then shim the other mounting points by the same amount (around 3mm)

[Highrise]

Originally Posted by steved0x

The bottoms of your seat brackets don't conform to the floor mounting points in the Boxster. The backs could probably line up, but the fronts are at a slight angle down. You need something like the below to attach the side mounts to, unless you want to drill through the floor.

The Sparco Sprint seats have bottom as well as side mounts. I'll be utilizing the side mounting point to get as low as possible.

Essentially it will be the same setup that Truegearhead from this forum has on his 986 (see below)



I just spoke with TJ over at OG Racing in sterling Virginia (about 20 min from my office) and he gave me a similar response. It looks like I'll need the following parts:
R-9005 Harness Mounting Kit
R-9041 Seat Track Adapter
R-9060 Side Mount Brackets for Sparco Evo/Pro2000, MOMO Super Cup Seats

I wont need the 9044 with sub strap mount since I will be using the factory seat belts, which is why the 9041 track adapter will work, since it seems to accomplish the same goal as the 9044, minus the sub strap.

[Highrise]

I guess the main area which confuses me, is why doesnt Brey Kraus make a direct floor mount option for the Sparco seats, like they do for the GT3 seats.

If I'm not mistaken, the only things you need to install the GT3 seats directly to the floor would be the R-9080 mounts, like Truegearhead used.

Just seems like Brey Krause could simplified the process if they made a GT3 style mount to mate up with the Sparco side hole pattern.

[steved0x]

The BK 9080 also requires a floor mount adapter:

Floor Mounting Brackets for Porsche GT3 Seats for 986 Boxster

Installing race seats is a sticker shock - the mounting and all the hardware can cost more than the seat itself...

[Highrise]

Originally Posted by steved0x

Installing race seats is a sticker shock - the mounting and all the hardware can cost more than the seat itself...

It appears to be that way. Thankfully I grabbed the Sparco Sprint for a great price.

OG Racing is a BK distributor so I'll probably end up making my way to them once the seat comes in.

[Highrise]

Update:

Just got back from OG Racing in Sterling and picked up the BK 9041 Track Seat Adapter. The adapter is made for Sparco sliders, but since I wont be using sliders, I'll be drilling new holes through the mount once I determine how far back the seat will need to be.


As far as seat belt mounting goes, I went with an Omix-Ada seat belt mount. It has a 2.5" washer with a 7/16-20 nut welded to the back. Its an OEM part for a jeep, but it seems to be the best option for my application since its being placed between the seat and side mounts.


Here you can see the seat belt mount placed between the seat and side mount. The only real modification needed was drilling out the hole to 1/2" for the factory 7/16 bolt to clear.




I should have everything installed and wrapped up in the next few days and will post final pictures then.

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by Highrise

Here you can see the seat belt mount placed between the seat and side mount. The only real modification needed was drilling out the hole to 1/2" for the factory 7/16 bolt to clear.

I like it! No shimming between the side mount and floor mount!

When you go to install the seat, this tool will be your friend:

http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-9221-Double-Ratcheting-Wrench/dp/B000HBF5LQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Since you are floor mounting without sliders you will have to wriggle your hands around the back and under the seat to get the floor mount bolts in. Once you get it going you can use this to ratchet it down.

For final tightening I used the smallest wrench from this set (since I was afraid I would ruin the ratchet mechanism on the other one)

7 Pc Metric Universal Combination Wrench Set

What worked for me was to start all the 2 back seat mounting floor bolts very loosely, then the front 2, and once all 4 were started, go back and tighten them up the rest of the way.

Your seat belt receptacle mounting hole may be a fair amount bigger than the bolt, if a sleeve/bushing didn't come with your Omix-ada seat belt receptacle adapter you would want to get something like SR s65 from here:

https://www.schrothracing.com/competition/hardware/bolt-in-hardware

This will allow your seat belt receptacle to pivot and will spread the load around, instead of concentrating it onto one contact point on the threads of your 7/16 bolt.

[Highrise]

Originally Posted by steved0x

Your seat belt receptacle mounting hole may be a fair amount bigger than the bolt, if a sleeve/bushing didn't come with your Omix-ada seat belt receptacle adapter you would want to get something like SR s65 from here:

https://www.schrothracing.com/competition/hardware/bolt-in-hardware

This will allow your seat belt receptacle to pivot and will spread the load around, instead of concentrating it onto one contact point on the threads of your 7/16 bolt.

Since I'm using the factory bolt (7/16-20) to attach the buckle directly to the side mount/Omix-Ada backing plate (also 7/16-20), I'm hoping it should go together without any issues. That way I'm keeping it as close to the factory design as possible.

But I do see what you're saying about the belt being able to pivot as a way to spread out the load. Since the seat wont be changing positions, I'm planning on setting it and leaving it since that seems to be how the oem bracket is designed. Well, at least I've never really noticed any back-and-forth movement with the buckle attached to the factory seat frame.

I'll post updated pictures as soon as I dig into this a little more.