pcarplayer

I am looking into a better seat for track days. Sabelt, OMP and Sparco are contenders. Does anyone have any experience with fitment? Would i need a base plate along with rails and side mounts? If i don't run a harness bar would i need an adapter for the seat belt receiver?

John McM

The 964 can't (easily) cope with seats that widen out from the base, that's one of the reasons Dave had a lot of issues.

My set up was done by Steve:
Cobra seat with narrow base;
Bolt in harness bar (top seat belt mounting points);
Bolt in lower harness points.

I say get it done by someone that knows these cars. I had headroom problems prior to this and now fit perfectly. I have it in place permanently.

pcarplayer

Thanks John, There's a place out west that sells OMP and Sabelt. They have a number of seats in stock and i' will go out and try a number of them for fit first

Macca

If you are under 6 foot tall I would strongly consider Recaro Pole Position with Recaro side mounts and sliders. There are a tonne of installs of these on the 993 & 964 boards and they fit and work and are more or less period correct. Probably one of the cheaper options too if you go for fabric rather than leather. You could buy the drivers side and have it installed for under 2500.

In all honesty if track day improvements are your focus seat and harmed are nice to have but make you go no quicker. Paul Miller had spent years circulating HD in both his P Cars and had only stock seats in both cars. He put in a low 16 in the 993 with the couch seats when 964s with bucket seats are only just cracking a 1.20 after years of circulating. If it were in order of priority I would look for Porsche 911 specific tuition as first and foremost. This really made a difference for me. I was the quickest air cooled at Manfield and Taupo very first time ever driven on our first NITT simply because I took an instructor for the first two laps. same with HD first day out ever was 1.22 on road tyres (first ever track day) and second and last time out with the 993 was a year ago was 1.16.8. repeat for SITT apart from Highlands. whereCar had plenty of work done in between mind you. Brings me to second on the list tyres and brakes and Geo. tyres make the biggest single relative difference to lap times IMO. r comps to roadies in the dry no comparison at lease 2 seconds but more about control and confidence. Close third is suspension. These are old cars but you can improve them over their original equipment due to aftermarket industry and modern gear. Lastly is weight. That's a tough one and best left to the end as it gets expensive but not as pricey as engine work or gearbox ratios. For me the seat would fall into a work stream after tuition and tyres/brakes but maybe before further suspension work. It's more about comfort on the track then possibly safety. However lounge seats have never stopped folks like Chris B, Steve R in the RSR, Richard snow or Neil D in the GT3s hold sprint records on the track!!

All IMO. You probably knew all this already....

John McM

I think that's where the seat in the Grinch came from, which was ex Walter and ex Dave. Dave spent a lot getting the seat to fit the 964 and I don't think he was ulitmately happy, which is why he sold it to Walter.

John McM

This 993 lap is reaching mythical status. I'd love to see the AIM trace to see where the time was made up. I believe it was also before the suspension was done, no bucket seat, no harness, maybe a SW chip. Paul, I can collect the AIM if you are technically challenged

kiwi 911

Toughen up Pete.......... just sit right inside their rear vision mirror and wait for them to over-shoot the apex trying to out brake you to shake you off............

Easiest way to clear the track I find.

kiwi 911

Warwick - if you have forward and back electric seats - I will show you a trick to lock yourself in. Basically slide the seat back as far as it will go, pull your seat-belt fast so it 'locks', then slide your seat forward until you almost pop (to keep the belt lock on)

I do this in the 993 and you get reasonable support. Only works with electric seats as you can't manually slide it forward tight enough.

Plan B is to buy old turbo seats from a 44 off Razzo and get them reupholstered. The big side bolsters will keep you in.

Race seats are uncomfortable as a full time proposition.

Macca

John. The "mythical" 993 lap isnt actually a myth as I was there to witness it that day :-)

Paul has posted the screen shot of his AIM device on here for this July lap before. He did it in the session following his forst tuition for a long long time (Stuart Owers). I think he also has the trace but was too tech challenged to post it - maybe you can help him?

FYI car was set up as good as it ever was and now backed off for road use. Had full coilover suspension, firmer roll bars, RS uprights/tierods, solid rear suspension mounts, engine mounts etc and was running fresh 214s on the front with 221s at the rear. Car had been fettled by Peder Alder in the geo department a few times to improve grip and get to RS height etc. She was in rude health that day and although it was cold it was dry and all our cars were running quicker than on a hold humid summers day.

July last year was my second time to HD (the last time Ive driven the 993 on that track) and I confess Paul just walked away from me in the corners. My car was better set up than his (new build gearbox, new big red brakes, lighter and with bucket seats), but 18 months between sessions at HD, lack of experience and familiarity with the track etc meant I was never going to be a threat to Pauls timet. I still couldn't. I haven't improved at all on HD since July last year (havent driven the 993 there since that day either but quite honestly even if I had it wouldnt have made any difference the last 3 days at HD in April etc have not been quick ones for me).

To me its one of the best examples of the dilemma. Pauls car had a fast driver first, then tyres, pads, fluid and suspension, then the driver got tuition and then it did a PB lap. This took 6 months, $15,000+ and never touched seats, weight reduction or engine.

Pel

I've got the same problem, being 6'2 has me crumpled in.

John McM

I'm 6' 4" and my head doesn't hit the headliner even with a helmet on. It is possible with a narrow based seat as Steve dropped the rear inside the rails.

John McM

Happy to help as I'm keen to know where the seconds were saved.

Paul, just give me a text and I can swing by your place with the laptop and download the AIM data.

kiwi 911

Ha ha - sure - I will bring the AIM on 18 July (bring your lap top)

I have moved on to wanting to see Matt's traces now. The new mythical milestone is a 1.13.XX ?

Only goal for the next 6 months is not to crash. I think I'm about to go on a steep learning experience with setting up a GT3 and learning to drive it.

996tnz

Just be very careful to check serial numbers and manufacturing dates if you think about going with Pole Positions. There has been a recent recall on these as they were found to be unsafe (broke off the base too easily), and I believe their FIA cert was rescinded:

http://buildraceparty.com/recaro-pp-...-legal-racing/

Recall notice:
Recaro Pole Position Recall Notice.pdf

Rennlist thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-a...l-updates.html

Macca - may pay to check serial and manufacturing date on yours?

kiwi 911

This is because I learnt how to use to use the settings on the PSS10's and Peter set my geo up similar to yours (which was a lot better than before – thanks  )

On the SITT, it was the opposite, you have the better syspension set-up and were quicker in the corners as I left my shock settings at 5 front and rear. Once I experimented at HD and changed to 9 rear and 7 front, a second instantly disappeared off my times. Aonther 0.5 with Peter's geo. It goes to show you need to learn how to use these fancy suspension thingies and how to set your car up to get the most out of it.

Technically your car is lighter and has better suspension, so should be capable of a 15 in yours/my hands if you have the time and inclination to spend days setting it up.

Easier to just take the 991 GT3 :-)