With the Euro seat at too much $, I am researching alternatives for my incoming RS. I have narrowed it down to the "old" GT3 seat in leather, the Sparco DTM Carbon Fiber leather/suede (photo attached), and the Recaro Pole Position leather. Does anyone have experience with these options? Thanks, Stu

 

Whoops, the DTM is the "small" photo.
Thanks.

 

Has anyone had any experience with theses seats? http://www.sparcoracing.com/images/D/101.jpg

 

I have had the Pole position before. It is a nice seat, but not super supportive at the track.

I also have the Cobra Technology Suzuka GT (wide version) Carbon - which is a much nicer seat (it is somewhat more expensive, about $1.8K), It is light, comfortable and very supportive for the track. The seat pads are all made of memory foam. You can order in leather or if you get it in race trim it comes in Alcantara. If you go that route you need to request you get it with no logo stitching otherwise it has the big Cobra logo on it.

You can check out on www.subesports.com under seats, then click on Cobra. They have a lot of options, but Suzuka Technology fits the RS best being lightweight and looking great in carbon.

JCM

 

I had the pole positions in cloth in my Viper GTS. I have the GT3 seats in my GT3 which I like better. Cobra seats are excellent from what I have heard, but if I were doing it, I'd get a set of the older CF GT3 seats.

 

Thanks for the link to the Cobra seat. Good details, and looks to be as nice or nicer than the Sparco DTM.

 

That is a sweet-looking seat!

Do you have it mounted in your GT3? If so, what equipment did you need to purchase?

Thanks in advance,

BerryS

 

I have that seat in my Cup car. I use the Cobra side mount and have it bolted to plates on the floor (it does not move). It would work with the stock rails, but my head was too high in the car, so we go rid of the sliding rails to drop me down about 3" in the car.

JCM

 

How tall are you, that you had to ditch the sliders? (6'3" myself and figured I would have to do the same with any fixed back seat)

Thanks

 

I heard the 996 GT-3 seats are a direct bolt in. That would be alot less expensive.

 

I looked at both the DTM and the Recaro PP. I went with the Pole Position in Leather and Suede and i'm extremely happy with the seat choice. I went with the Pole Position because it was more narrow than the DTM and I was looking for a really tight fit for the track. The PP is quite narrow, in fact more so than the 996 GT3 seats that I had previously. I personally fit better in these seats and feel more a part of the car. If you are l6' tall or less and weigh ess than 190 lbs I think you will be very happy with this seat. I would say that if you are taller than 6' you may want to make sure the seating position will work. I had mine custom installed (I had to modify the brackets) and they are as low as they can go in the car. If I was taller it wouldn't work with a helmet.

I hope that helps

 

So you bought an overpriced taped decal and winged special from Porsche for 6 figures (and I think the RS is $25K overpriced to begin with) and you are looking to shave a few bucks off the price of seats ?

Pardon me for sounding sarcastic and I don't mean to offend you....but for the price of the ride.....spending the difference on the correct seats is what ? $2-3K more than these items you are looking at ?

Get the correct seats and be done with it.

 

The 996 GT3 seat is a direct bolt-in. There is an update to the seat belt buckle some time during the 996 production, but they're still compatible. 993 seat belts are not compatible.

As for after-market seats, choose a design with large harness belt guide openings. The early Pole Position design (as shown in leather, above) has a narrow guide hole -- if that doesn't line up with the top of your shoulder (especially if it's at all below your shoulder) you will have trouble fitting the HANS installation specifications.

I just saw the Recaro Profi XL in a 997 and they're a lot better fit and easier to adjust for the given driver's torso length. For the track, I have the HANS equivalent (with "ears") which might not be too convenient on the street, but it's a quick change to get set up.

 

I believe the factory 997 GT3 seats (RS and Club euro spec) are about $10K per set (they come in left and right now because of the recess for the belt buckle.)

The Recaro seats will save weight, but they're a plastic resin and fibreglass construction. Much less expensive in materials and manufacturing process costs. The factory seats will save a pound or two more because they're a carbon-fibre shell. Looks great. Wildly expensive to manufacture.

Even for a $100K+ car, $10K just for nice seats is pretty steep. I don't anticipate Mr Porsche dropping prices or at least parts prices haven't trended downwards in the last decade or so (with some exceptions, especially as 993 stuff was clearing out.)

The other option would be to look at OMP since they're the factory race equipment for Porsche this season. I don't know their products all that well, but the shell in the Cup car is as good as any Recaro I've seen.

 

Go with the 996 GT3 seats. They are a direct bolt in and look good in the car.