911rox

No airbags= not road worthy= no insurance plus illegal to drive on the street in most parts of the world.

Reason, you have deactivated a mandated component of the car's safety system, ie seat airbags...

paver

the adaptive sport seats are not suitable for track use...well maybe if you track it twice/yr they are good enough, but if you really go at it they are crap. The sport buckets are pretty good for track, and imo, they are not a problem for street. The cars look a ton better with them too.

probably only fear of insurance issues that always get brought up on this forum. It's damn sure cheaper and lighter to go aftermarket. And regardless of issues or not, it's been done many, many times.

mike2727

Nothing wrong with that, if you use it as a track car, but for street use you would get into insurance issues if you get into an accident

But the whole point of the seat discussion is that Porsche knowingly did not certify some sort of bucket seat for the 991 GT3, reasoning behind that decision is unknown, and we can only speculate
But that it is a total fail in a track oriented car is clear
Because they have had ample time (since the introduction of the 991 C2) to make it happen in time to bring it as an option for the 991 GT3

I do not believe in the assumption that the US Government changed the certification rules for bucket seats at such short notice that Porsche was not able to come out with bucket seats in time for the GT3

If the certification rules were changed, I am sure the car manufacturers are given ample notice before the rule goes into effect

Just my 0.02
Mike

StirlingMoss

Yup. Street legal and no issue with insurance here.

Macca

I have no understanding of how your insurances works in the USA.

In the countries I own and drive vehicles there is always a provision to notify the insurance company of modifications made to the vehicle. As I modify almost every sports car I keep, I notify the insurance company at the beginning of my my policy by way of writing and a detailed list and I have never had anyone turn me down or question the modifications. If you use a pair of FIA approved $850 USD each Recaro Pole Position seats in the car and advise the insurance company of this modification I can see no reason they would have issue. Firstly a one piece composite 12kg FIA race shell is probably stronger than a steel framed 35kg seat in an accident and secondly seat airbag technology is relatively new and dependent on the type of incident it would be very difficult to determine if it would make any difference to the injuries endured. The "situation of risk" for teh vehicle doesn't change - you have an accident or you don't, its not a driving related system to fail, the issue is the physical harm component and im sure you can contract out of this.

Anyway as I say outside of the USA this simply isnt an issue. The aftermarket seat option is not only much cheaper but also a wider range of size and fitments, finish and design and they are lighter and often FIA approved. Porsche race Recaro so its also consistent with lineage.

Macca

StirlingMoss. You must have posted as I was writing. This is exactly my point. As far as Im aware Australia, NZ and UK and most of Europe also the same.

I think people need to look at their insurance policy carefully and choose to notify the company of their "modifications". If the company accept these and they are on file then it would be very hard to dispute. Im no expert tho...

911rox

Problem is not the aftermarket seats, its the mandatory air bags being removed from the car...

StirlingMoss

Yes. Here in Switzerland the pain point is that the modification must be certified for public road use and then entered in the vehicle papers. If this is done, then no problem with police or insurance whatsoever.

If the modification is not approved, then is an entirely different story

DrJay

It would be nice if Porsche could put the side impact airbag in the door instead of in the seat.

Nick

[QUOTE=paver;10362812]the adaptive sport seats are not suitable for track use...well maybe if you track it twice/yr they are good enough, but if you really go at it they are crap. The sport buckets are pretty good for track, and imo, they are not a problem for street. The cars look a ton better with them too.

I agree that if one had to choose a seat for a track event and the choice was between the adaptive seats and sport bucket the sport bucket are preferable. Certainly if the car is solely for track, the car should be equipped with bucket seats.

That said, the 991GT3 is designed primarily for street use with occasional track work. The adaptive seats serve both purposes. Also, the adaptive seats are more than adequate for use on the track. The various adjustments in the seat to secure the driver are excellent. There are few tracking venues or events where these seats would not meet the needs of a performance driver.

paver

If you're lapping in the novice group maybe they are fine. Like I said, when you pick up the pace they don't work so good. But yeah, if the 991GT3 is primarily for street they are fine.

Mike in CA

I'm still hopeful that the seat issue will be resolved before production begins for US cars. Deliveries won't start here until Nov/Dec which means cars probably won't get built until at least August/September. A lot can happen between now and then.

If it's not resolved, I'll likely go with the base sport+ seats at no additional cost. When revised sport buckets certified for the 991 chassis in the US become available, and they will eventually be available, I'll retrofit them. Maybe I can even work something out up front with my dealer. It will cost a little extra, but one way or the other, problem solved.

Life is too short to get aggravated over stuff like this; I'm trying to keep some perspective. If getting suitable bucket seats for my $150K Porsche is the biggest crisis I have to deal with going forward, I'll consider myself lucky.

MaxLTV

Has this been verified in any way? Not to doubt the poster, but MOST cars on the road are without side airbags, and, according to NHTSA: "Unlike front air bags, SABs are not required by NHTSA. Because they are not required safety equipment, the federal government does not mandate that vehicles be equipped with SABs."

Also from DMV.org "Because SABs aren't standard equipment yet, there are no real guidelines about activating SABs in new cars. Some SABs are more safe for children than others, because part of the safety issue depends on what type of SAB it is. "

So it's definitely not a mandated element in the USA.

It may influence insurance eligibility though, because insurance companies calculate risks based on assumption that standard (for that model) safety equipment is not tampered with, but I am not sure about that.

Z356

Ok, I still have my seat belts on...but now I have moved to the couch!



Saludos,
Eduardo

MaxLTV

Damn, this was not an accurate statement - I meant to write most vehicles on the road now. According to Farmers insurance, it's under 50% now and is expected to reach 95% by 2028. Of course most new vehicles sold do have side airbags as standard.