Has anyone integration their seat mounts into their cage? Any pics to share?

In my current car/cage, the seat is mounted to the stock locations using the VAC plates. However, in the new car, I plan on shifting my fat a$$ as far back as I can. That places the seat pretty far behind stock mounting locations so I'd like to come up with a better/more secure method. The outboard side is straightforward, but how to tie in the inboard side to the cage so it isn't hanging out there is space is the question.

Hey John
Talk to Chris Turrissi, UUC should be able to get you in touch with him. We were checking it out at NHIS, pretty snazzy.

Here are a couple shots of mine. Also in the BMWCR rules PDF you will see a typical setup picture there.



http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/sledmini_roto25.jpg

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/seat1.jpg


http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/sled88.jpg

Here are a couple shots of mine. Also in the BMWCR rules PDF you will see a typical setup picture there.


What's the seat attached to at the bottom? Is it that bracket with the three large lightening holes? I take it that's a steel bracket that's welded to the tubes.

Just curious.
Carlos.

Yes, that bracket is welded to the tubular seat frame and it's chromoly The seat was manufactured to be mounted at that point so I just made the bracket to match the bolt holes.
If interested I'd be happy to take more pics.

Its not tied into the cage yet (b/c the cage is not started lol), but the back cross brace will tie into a cross bar that goes between B pillar. There will also be a sub belt mount below, so the sub belts are in direct tension. The drivers side will have the X brace from the cage, and then the side impact protection/cell between door bar and door skin.

http://jaffster.com/E46M3/10-2-06/main/pa010006.jpg

http://jaffster.com/E46M3/9-8-06/main/p9070001.jpg

My Kirkey seat is mounted via a custom mount to the four stock floor pans sites. The head/shoulder area is attached to the roll cage by six welded tabs.

http://www.msnusers.com/bimmershots/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1[/IMG]

No offense to the kirkey seat users, but unless its fully constrained (i.e. nascar spec/style applications), I always get a chill when i see them installed with small tabs as bracing. There is an extreme amount of force exerted on those little tabs, even at slow speeds, and its always a worrisome area IMO without adequate support. I'm not sure I have ever seen a kirkley/aluminum frame seat used in any other GT/Sedan racing worldwide.

Tell me more Steven, I can't see why my Kirkey seat with six welded attachments to the rear of the seat plus the four to the floor is less safe than a fiberglass seat. But I am willing to learn.

Well, in most cases the install is not done properly, and the tabs are insufficient or misplaced for taking the loads exerted during a crash.

Btw: You need to remove the extra http on your link, and the pic will work.

Do you have a closeup picture of your tabs and how its mounted on the base?

Its not necessarily not as safe, but like any safety component, it relies heavily on quality and precision of the install. Just like your harness. Many people feel safe by just bolting it anywhere, with any grade hardware, etc.

For reference here is Kirkley's installation guide, notice how close it is and how straight all the braces are.

http://www.kirkeyracing.com/images/install/54installpg2s.jpg

Good info, thanks Steve. I've never seen that illustration before. I'll be looking at my installation a bit closer this winter for possible upgrading.

What it really comes down to is having a safe solution. Hopefully, within 3-5 years, side impact protection systems, and more developed hans systems will be mainstream in club and pro racing.

Thanks Steven, I had found those pics on the Kirkey site. The Butler seat site has a custom tab that covers the width of the seat. I am removing the seat to a lower position this winter.
they recommend attaching the seat base to the roll cage or a structural component, does the OEM site meet this recommendation? I'll find some close up pics of the current tabs.
Which would you consider to have a higher margin of safety, properly installed aluminum race seat or a FIA approved fiberglass seat?

...... does the OEM site meet this recommendation?.....


No, you really can't have an aluminum seat attached to the chassis at all as far as I know. Must be all part of the cage.

Here is the installation recommendations from the Kirkey site:

How do I mount a KIRKEY RACING seat?

How you mount is really up to you, however we do recommend the following. One, that the seat be mounted to the roll cage or structural member of the frame. Two, that you bolt the seat in six places, four on the seat bottom and two at shoulder height. We recommend against the use of stock sliders and adjusters as these can let go in a high impact crash. For entry level classes we do offer a mounting kit but a roll cage is required to use it. Be sure to check with your sanctioning body and / or track for their rules and regulations on seat mounting.

The question is, in a unibody car is the stock site considered a structural member of the frame?

The answer to this would be in your club racing rules I believe. Been a while, but I think SCCA says something about it.

Thanks for the info so far, it helps.

To get back on topic/a little more specific, my situation is for mounting a Recaro Pro Race HANS in an E30. Since it's an E30, it doesn't have the "beams" for welding too like the E36. Still searching...

Here are a couple of ideas maybe.

Not a great pic, but you can see the two round tubes running across the floor welded to the rocker and to the tunel. The driver side was the same way.

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/otherseatframe1.jpg

And here is another Mini that removed it's factory seat frames and replaced with something stronger.

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/otherseatframe2.JPG

Thanks for the info so far, it helps.

To get back on topic/a little more specific, my situation is for mounting a Recaro Pro Race HANS in an E30. Since it's an E30, it doesn't have the "beams" for welding too like the E36. Still searching...

Glad you started this thread, appears easier to do with a tube framed car, never thought about welding the mount/reinforcements into the frame.

The answer to this would be in your club racing rules I believe. Been a while, but I think SCCA says something about it. The SCCA site does not add much else, the BMWCCA CR says be careful/buyer beware. These are excellent examples. Think a welded mount and using the hoop tabs will be a good upgrade

I have lowered the seat mounting positions on a few cars, no BMW's but it should be similar. This is for side or bottom mount seats. I do it by cutting out the factory mounting brackets and welding in angle iron in a position similar to the red Mini above. I weld it on the ends and stitch weld or gusset it to the floor for good measure. It works best to have a template with all of your mounting holes on it to make sure they are placed properly, this can easily be done with wooden board or steel frame with the holes drilled into it.Tack it up, test fit, then weld it solid. The angle works well because it allows you to drop the seat really low and it gives you easy access to the mounting hardware. Check your rulebook but I don't think cage attachment points are required unless you have an aluminum seat..