Foam seats

[EVLEE]

I am from a Indy and road racing background and we use foam formed seats that help support your body alot in a car and weight almost nothing and increase safety alot.Almost all of the cockpit pics I see have just aluminum with not much form fitting support for the driver?? Is this the norm or have they removed the foam for the pictures??
               Just curious Lee

[Glen]

Thick or soft padding is not necessary in dry lakes and Bonneville racing. Drivers need to be secure in the seats and no compression of the seating in case of a crash that would allow the driver to get loose and bounce around in the cage area.

[EVLEE]

At Collision you want some compression to absorb the MASSIVE G forces  most  Major Racing series require them as part of driver protection.If there is not give, then ALL of the Gs are directly transferred to the drivers body and harness that holds him in place.The 2 part foam and foam bead seats have very little give and are molded with the driver while he is sitting in the car.This is very comfortable and safe as the driver is fitted in the cockpit like a glove and will not move around in the car near as much as with a Metal seat.
                            Lee

[Sumner]

I might be wrong, but I think you are talking about a foam that is like that used in helmets and roll bar padding (relatively hard) and glen might be talking foam as used in regular seat or bed use (soft).

I could see where the "solid" type foam might be ok and even good in the type of racing that you are talking about, but maybe hard for the SCTA to inspect and feel comfortable about in our many different types of cars at this point.

It might be one of those things that if you provided a lot of documentation on how you were going to use it that might be considered, but that is merely a guess on my part.

c ya, Sum

[jimmy six]

If your seat padding is not over 1" thick(plus covering material) you meet rule 3.D.1. If you are over that thickness a question to the chairman of car tech is in order. Correct formed seats, for single use driver, are similar to headrest and roll bar padding in compression.

I have never seen a race car with an approprate racing seat denied because of padding thickness. I have seen plastic or an improperly braced seat denied. I have seen a race "looking" seat in some production cars highly questioned. Usually these seats are best used out of competition.

New products are being accepted by many competition associations and ours is one of them. We however do not demand changes just for the sake of new products.

IMO what you are doing sounds like it would pass inspection with me, however you might not get me for an inspector. good luck..

[EVLEE]

Formula One and High performance Road Racing Series use what is called a BEAD seat. You sit in the car and take beads out of the bag (that the beads are in) when the driver is low or fit (feels right) in the seat.They mixup Epoxy resin and mix it with the beads this sitsup in the bag with it and the driver belted into the car forming a very(memory formed) mold around the driver.
                    Lee
 Have rule book will travel!!