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Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2014 9:43 pm
by Timmeh
I went down to Racer Industries today to try out some race seats.
Luckily I did this because I didn't notice how tight the fit is in a Sparco Sprint V.
I'm not the biggest guy (163cm/80kgs) but with quite broad shoulders.
I tried some other seats which I sat in quite comfortably, but had no idea if they would fit in my NA.

I'm stuck in a position now where I don't know the answer of the equation, Seat I fit in x Fit in mx5 = all good.

I have however found this spread sheet, but I don't know how correct it is:
http://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/seats.php

In relation to the guys who do run Sprints I noticed that some say they are a quite tight fit in the car with a shoulder wingspan of 520mm.
One of the seats I tried, OMP First R, was quite comfortable but has a wingspan of 620mm. Now I'm afraid of this fowling on the door/trim.

I have contacted Racer Industries this afternoon, awaiting reply, to see if I can bring my car down and test fit a couple of seats.

I'm just after some input of the guys that don't fit into a sparco sprint v, what seats they are running, just to give myself a starting point so i know what seats can be fitted, then the only factor is how I fit.

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2014 11:22 pm
by sailaholic
Depends on what seat bracket you intend to run. Figured that out yet?

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2014 11:30 pm
by sailaholic
Just checked the sparco size sheet. The Evo 1 is 3.1 inches (about 77 mm) wider at the shoulders then the sprint V. It touched the door (door would slam shut) when I tried it on garage star rails. Don't like your chances with a wider seat again.

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 1:10 am
by Trackphotos
BMI is completely pointless because it doesn't take muscle mass into consideration. If you're built like Arnie, you're going to be considered obese. It's only a useful tool if you happen to fit the average muscle mass. Not to mention, what's it got to do with it? The question was not 'How do I fit in a Sprint V', the question was 'What alternative are there to the Sprint V?'

The Sprint V is a steel frame seat. You can bend the wings if you absolutely have to. Whether they will foul on the door cards will depend on where you need the extra space, high up the wings or down lower. As is, there's very little room without bending them outward. I don't know of many seats that can fit in an MX5 properly, there are a handful of Sparco seats, also Cobra and Monza I think it might be..? I believe the Bride seats that fit tend to be a tighter fit than the Sprint V, so they won't do you much good.

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 11:26 am
by Timmeh
I haven't decided on rails yet. Id say a seat would take priority then make rails fit.

BMI has nothing to do with the topic.

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 12:19 pm
by sailaholic
Rails determine if a seat fits also though as "fits" depends on how high the seat is relative to the floor and how tall you are ie how far back you put the seat and also what angle you put the seat on.

Do it will be really hard to do a legit test fit with out rails.

It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation.

If you happy to make / have made custom rails then it gets easier

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 12:31 pm
by ausbuoy
VELO GP 90
I'm 82kg-5'9"-works a treat, & has a engineering mod plate.

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 1:54 pm
by sailaholic
What rails are you using?

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 4:42 pm
by Timmeh
ausbuoy wrote:VELO GP 90
I'm 82kg-5'9"-works a treat, & has a engineering mod plate.

Is this a standard Velo GP90 or GP90 XL?
I sat in an GP90XL and I fitted quite well.
The only difference between the two is 20mm wider base
And 30mm widrr wingspan.

Would you say there is atleast 15mm from the door to the shoulder wing?

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 4:50 pm
by ausbuoy
STANDARD GP-90 (fixed position on floor) & I did 'clip' its right wing to eliminate belt fouling.

Re: Aftermarket FIA Approved race seats

Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 4:40 pm
by MattR
I know a Sprco pro2000 won't fit in a NA6 on standard rails and my current OMP HT seat has buckleys chance of fitting with any type of mounts for me to fit in the car because of the head wings.

You maybe lucky and have the first R fit, but it would depend on the width and where you need to position it for you to drive the car, and how much you can offset to the left to clear the side of the car.