911vet

I'm ready to buy seats for DE events.
I need to retain the ability to move the seat fore and aft on rails. But I'm confused on the various options to achieve this.

Do I have to buy bottom mount seats so I can install them on the OE seat rails? Or are there other ways to do it?

I'd appreciate any advice. I was looking at a pair of Sparco Evo but they are side mount only so I assume they won't work. Advice on seat selection is greatly welcome.

My criteria:
1) will use harness for DE but must be compatible with 3-pt OE seat belts for street driving
2) must be able to move forward/backward on sliders
3) max price $800 per seat

I just completed my second DE at Mid Ohio and I'm hooked and ready to spend money I can't afford to spend but have decided that I can't afford not to!

Thanks.

David in VA

I have side mount Recaro Pole Positions attached to Recaro sliders. Everything bolts right up, currently have stock belts and six point harnesses installed.

Scootin159

My solution meets all your criteria - I'm using side-mount fixed-back seats (proper racing seats), with aluminum brackets which convert them to bottom mount, where they are bolted to the stock sliders. I'm not sure exactly what brand the brackets are, but they're commonly available. The brackets don't exactly match the sliders, but the sliders were just drilled to accept the brackets.

APKhaos

Look for seats that will accept side-mount brackets, and mount them using Sparco [or similar] sliders. Stock sliders are useless - they lock one side only.
The real advantage of the side mount brackets is that they provide adjustment for seat rake which can be very handy to set things up just right.

smlporsche

Agree w/ what Tony and others have said.
Suggest you contact someone like OGRacing (a site sponsor) and they'll be glad to walk you through all the components you'll need.

Circuit Motorsports

+1

If you need to retain the sliding get a better slider system than the stock setup.

RedlineMan

Hey;

Either Sparco or Momo sliders will work, and they are both quite well made.

You will have to use side mounts, because the holes in the bottom of the seat likely won't correspond to anything on the slider (unless you drill), let alone - and more to the point - the width of the holes in the floor mounts.

The real key here is to get FLAT SIDED side mount brackets. Some of them have steps in the side, but they do not allow you to get the seat as low. The flat sided brackets will allow you to drop the seat down between them right to the top of the slider mechanisms, or even down on the carpet in some cases.

As Tony mentioned, side mounting allows you to fine tune the seat back rake. What you set them at usually never works quite perfectly the first time, and you will also find that your preference will change, likely from a more laid back street position to a more upright position for better leverage and control. Lastly, if you are considering a HANS device, the angle adjustment is crucial to getting the proper belt architecture for optimized HANS use. Mark my words... being able to change this angle will prove handy.

Unless you are pretty handy, I might suggest getting some professional guidance here. It can be a real trick to get a good setup, especially with off-the-shelf stuff. I usually end up just making everything custom, because I've found generic pieces always seem to force me into compromises that I can't justify.

N_Halbert

I went with an aluminum seat from Ultra shield, dual locking sliders and seat mounts from Summit Racing and fabricated mounting brackets from flat stock. Ened up being around $350/seat. See Ultra shield seat post.

deep_uv

I tried Sparco sliders with my Sparco Evo 2 and side mounts in my SC. It made the seat sit too high and also felt very wobbly. I ended up just perma mounting the side mounts. Feels much more secure and gives me more headroom. One set of Sparco sliders are available.

Mike O

For DE/Street, Recaro Speed seats on double locking sliders bolted directly to the OEM seat mounting points. I'm 5'9" and we had to put 1" spacers in so that I could see over the windshield wipers in my 968.

My Speeds have the sub hole and I have 6 point Schroth Profi-II harnesses. The shoulder harness is attached to a Redline bolt-in roll/harness bar.

Papamurphdog

Did the same thing with my Recaro sliders; sliders perma-mounted to the seat and bolted directly to the OEM holes (after drilling matching holes in the slide rails.) Much lower.

911vet

I am 5'3" and had to install a seat elevation kit on my OE seats. So sitting "too high" isn't likely for me. But I don't like the idea of it being wobbly.
I am uncomfortable with perma mounting and losing the ability to micro adjust depending on driving situation. AND... I have a roll bar and without sliding seats forward it's almost impossible to access the back.

(by the way, Steve, you need to talk to Lynn Gibson - he needs to buy your wheels if you still got them)

fast_freddy

I have Recaro Pole Positions with side mounts and manual sliders. I use a Brey Krause harness bar, a clip in Schroth 6 pt.harness with Brey Krause lap mounts with eye bolts for the anti sub mounts. It works like a charm. It takes about 20 minutes to install the harness bar and the harness and about the same amount of time to remove when not in use. Itially it took me about 4-5 hours to install the seats as there was a bit of a learning curve in mounting it all together along with the BK mounts for the lap belt and extinguisher. Now, seat removal/installation takes about 90 minutes tops. I use new Porsche OE bolts for the sliders every time I install them. It costs just a few bucks in an area where no expense should be spared. The seats have full fore-aft movement to the point where my kids can get in the back no problem when the harness bar is not installed. I also "custom drilled" the side mounts to get the angle I like on the seats and to get them as low as possible. Beware of mounting them too low as the bottom of the seat can interfere with the eye-bolts for the anti-sub straps.

911vet

You bring up a solution I hadn't considered. I could swap my OE seats back in when not running the track. Then I wouldn't necessarily need adjustable track seats. Right?

I've got a Cab and I leave the roll bar in even off track. It stiffens the car and I see no reason to remove it. (I've heard arguments on that point!)

911vet

OK - I have to admit my ignorance on this subject. Is this how it works?

The side mount brackets attach to the frame of the seat. They then either:
1) bolt directly to the car, or
2) attach to optional sliders

And then.... the sliders either:
1) mate up with the OE rails, or
2) utilize new rails that hook on to the risers on the floor of the car (where the stock OE rails are).

Hope I'm not being an idiot. But I've never seen how non-OE seats bolt in.