TAI2

I want to change out my seats and I am undecided between fixed back or reclining. I do about 10 AutoX, 4-5 DE's and 2-3 open track days per year. I find that I am spending too much energy staying in the seat and I want to improve safety by going to a 5 or 6 point harness.

My car is a daily driver so I want to be able to get to the rear. I have a roll bar so the rear is not for people, just stuff like brief case, gym bag, tool bag for the track, etc.....

There are a number of nice "sport seats" out there that work well with harnesses and still give you access to the rear. The reasons (in my mind) for the fixed back race seat is that they offer more safety and there are more choices. With a fixed back seat, how easy is it to get stuff in/out of the back by sliding the seat forward? Any other ideas or words of wisdom are welcome. Thanks.

Tom

Flying Finn

Since you don't need the back seats, definitely get fixed bucket seats and 6-pt harness.

TheOtherEric

I'll answer it this way: I fill up my car for track days, which includes stuffing the back with 2 big folding chairs, my long thin track box, an overnight bag, etc. It can be a little tricky stuffing it all in, but I've never once thought "gee I wish I had folding seats." Why? I'm reassured by the safety of fixed back seats and the money I saved could be spent on other safety stuff like a Hans.

I haven't seen many folding seats that offer the lateral support as fixed seats either, so that's a huge factor.

If I only did a couple track days per year, I'd probably want reclining seats but that's mostly for comfort instead of the folding feature.

ninjabones

With fixed-back seat on sliders, it's relatively easy to access the rear for storage (just not passengers). I was able to get a large duffle back, lounge chair, cooler, and other goodies back there when I used to drive to the track.

bobesser

What about a fixed back for the driver and a folding seat for the passenger? That way, if you really need to get the seat out of the way to fit something back there, you can put it in on the passenger side?

TheOtherEric

Good idea. But it *might* violate the "equal restraint" DE requirements, depending on what region you're in and how they interpret the requirement. Just a thought.

TAI2

Thanks for all the great input. I'm going to check out the "equal restraint" requirement as I think the fixed back would work just fine for me and my wife would like the reclining feature. I don't want to end up with something that looks goofy either.

I think I'll head over to Stable Energies and do a butt check and see where I end up in this regard as well. Thanks again.

Mark in Baltimore

With as much track/autocross time that you're doing, I'd go with fixed-back seats and figure out how to get soft-sided cargo in the back. As the others have said, it's no big deal. If it starts to be a problem, get a trailer that you can pull behind the 993.

icelatte

You can mount the passenger side fixed back seat in the most forward position possible to maximize your access to the rear seats. I've done this and my 5'4" 100lb wife can still get into the back seat (not that she normally wants to).

bobesser

Agreed. This sort of thing is probably very regional and organizational as well. I have done ride alongs with many instructors in NASA that had a fixed back and a regular seat. Both seats had the same harness, so, NASA said the restraints were the same. I could see someone saying that the seat is a fundamental part of the restraint system and nix it.

Bob