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      12-09-2018, 09:17 PM   #1
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Race Seats / Dual Duty

Ok,

So I thought I would throw out here what I've found and see if anyone else found anything better. For race seats on the M3 I went with Sparco QRT-R seats with VAC Motorsports mounts and Sparco sliders. These seem to work pretty well for race harnesses and I think will be great for that purpose... (almost 16lbs btw with the sliders if your'e counting).

For daily driving I could put up with the race seat, but I need to be able to take non race folks out in my car, so a race seat in the passenger location isn't great. The other bigger issue is the stock seat belt mounts in the M3 are both bolted to the seat. The outer is a pretty easy solve, with it being able to be bolted to the same place on the VAC mount as the race harness goes. The inboard though is a fairly large L shaped item and doesn't really mount well. I could rig it for sure, but it would then have the seat belt wrapping over the seat instead of though the seat belt holes. No way around that that I can tell. While this may work it's not ideal and I'm not sure I would want to be in an accident with it mounted that way.

This leaves me with the option of swapping seats for each track day. That also requires coding out the airbags, seatbelts, etc... which I can do myself, but this just adds to the hassle of a track day.

Right now I'm thinking about switching to a Cobra Nogaro seat which is not near as agressive ( ), but could be left in the car daily and is meant to be used with either race harnesses or stock belts.

Anybody figure anything else out?
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      12-10-2018, 07:19 AM   #2
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What about M4 GTS seats?
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      12-10-2018, 09:01 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mindspin311 View Post
What about M4 GTS seats?
https://ind-distribution.com/product?sku=52108072473
There has to be a cheaper option...
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      12-10-2018, 09:01 AM   #4
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I have Pole Positions, which provide plenty of support, but aren't as extreme as a full race seat. When I get a chance I can snap some pics of my setup. Not to mention the price of the seats are much, much less than the Euro GTS seats.
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      12-10-2018, 09:03 AM   #5
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      12-10-2018, 09:22 AM   #6
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Matt,

Do you daily the car with the Pole Positions? Do you use the OEM seatbelts? Really interested in what you are doing with that.

The GTS seats at 16K (or even 10K) are just out. I refuse to pay for two seats what a small car costs.
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      12-10-2018, 09:41 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackey View Post
Matt,

Do you daily the car with the Pole Positions? Do you use the OEM seatbelts? Really interested in what you are doing with that.

The GTS seats at 16K (or even 10K) are just out. I refuse to pay for two seats what a small car costs.
I have my X6M for a daily, however I do drive the car to the office from time to time. It would be doable as a daily; you just need to get the ingress and egress technique down. I have OEM belts in, in combination with my Schroth harnesses. I'll take some pics tonight.

GTS seats are slightly different, but are pretty much the same as the Pole Positions. The GTS seats have a cutout on the inboard side for OEM belt receptacle, and of course the M stripes. The PP seats are not carbon-backed like the GTS, but are still PLENTY light compared to OEM. The Recaros can be ordered in fabric or leather / alcantara. I believe I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $1200 / seat, so much cheaper than GTS.
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      12-10-2018, 10:47 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bravehart38 View Post
https://ind-distribution.com/product?sku=52108072473
There has to be a cheaper option...
jk I didn't realize they were that expensive.
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      12-10-2018, 11:50 AM   #9
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I have been looking into Recaro Sportster GT since they recline, but they are pretty heavy at 33 pounds each.
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      12-10-2018, 12:01 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chetrickerman View Post
I have been looking into Recaro Sportster GT since they recline, but they are pretty heavy at 33 pounds each.
Are you looking for a reclinable seat or a race shell? Race shells will always be lightest.
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      12-10-2018, 03:57 PM   #11
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I started down the dual duty (with track focus) path in my last car and went with the Cobra Imola GT's, ended up being too much for me on the street. For dual duty, wish I had gone with the Cobra Nogaro's instead. I also really like the Recaro Pole Positions but the shoulder holes are too low for me.

On the new car the bolsters of the factory competition seats in combination with a CG Lock are working quite well. Not the same as being harnessed in I know but more street focused at the moment.
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      12-10-2018, 04:03 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tom @ eas View Post
Are you looking for a reclinable seat or a race shell? Race shells will always be lightest.
I would like a reclinable seat that is very light.
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      12-10-2018, 04:06 PM   #13
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Sportsters would be about it, add for mounts also.

Race shells are a different story, The Sparco QRT-Rs are featherlight @ ~10lbs.
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      12-10-2018, 08:09 PM   #14
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So I think my plan is to buy two Cobra Nagaro seats and VAC makes an OEM seatbelt kit. They I will switch the Nagaro for the QRT on race days, which is a very quick switch.
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      12-11-2018, 02:02 PM   #15
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blackey

As promised.
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      12-11-2018, 02:48 PM   #16
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Hi OP, wanted to chime in that after 3.5hr in the Sparco evo II my leg starts to feel a bit numb from lack of padding. I also started to get a bit uncomfortable in Porsche LWB after 2.5hr

Not sure how far your local tracks are or if you wanted to road trip but wanted to offer a perspective on how the racing shell style seats can be after a while.
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      01-03-2019, 07:02 AM   #17
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I run the Sparco Ergo (removable halos) and am able to drive it up to 10h on the street while getting to a track.
Ingress/egress is about forming a habit and then you are ok.

PCA/BMWCCA force you to use the same restraints on both seats which is a PITA.

In terms of running the 3point and the full harness I use the BK mounts which reuse OEM sliders and are, to the closest approximation, a billion times better than the Recaro sliders I had previously
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      01-20-2019, 10:28 PM   #18
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Cobra Milano

These allow for both stock and 6 pt harness. I used the VAC buckles to make a clean install. I don't need to connect to the stock wiring that way.
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      01-23-2019, 10:34 AM   #19
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Seats are coming in from the M3forum Nogaro GB, and someone just posted this video in his M2 (which has the same floor/sliders as the F8X M3/4):



OE BMW power sliders used (though you can also use OE BMW manual sliders), with BK mounts (R-9224-- cobra nogaro and BMW slider specific mounts), which means the factory seat belt attachment point is retained (it's part of the slider). Also means it moves with the seat, so it's always properly located. And no silly swiss cheese plate on the floor.

The Nogaro will be the only fixed back seat that's tested and approved (by Schroth) to be used with the QuickFit, which is a pretty great option for street/track cars that want to run a harness on track but keep full back seat functionality/3 point for the street.
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      01-28-2019, 04:48 PM   #20
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I don't DD in them but I've taken several 2-3 hour road trips in my GT3 with SPG XL Recaros and they were plenty comfortable.
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      06-27-2019, 07:09 AM   #21
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I don't DD in them but I've taken several 2-3 hour road trips in my GT3 with SPG XL Recaros and they were plenty comfortable.
I borrowed a friends M3 with SPG XLs in CA to drive up and down the coast in CA and do a DE at Laguna Seca.

They were great at Leguna Seca.

For the road trip portion... my wife and I had some regrets
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      12-31-2019, 04:23 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcvaughan View Post
blackey

As promised.
Are these VAC mounts still available? It looks like they have 2 or 3 holes for 6pt lap belt and 3pt belts. The ones the offer now only have 1 hole.
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