Racing Seats!!!!!!!!!

[BrentMalone]

what are the most common racing seats used out there for land
speed racing?
I have been looking at kirkey racing seats, which ones are
good to use and worth the money??

Thanks for your help,

Brent

[Rick Byrnes]

Brent
While working with Ford on the Fusion project I worked pretty closely with Butler Built.  They were the only supplier I could find with test data and could or would build a "custom" 30 degree seat.
Butlers flexibility helped a great deal and we had the seat when they promised!  For a program that built the car in 6 months, that was very important.  They were cost effective and competitive.

Not cheap, but then my fat little body is worth more than a grand......or at least I think so.

[McRat]

I like my Kirkey Intermediate seat.  It exceeded my expectations, and wasn't expensive.

[doug odom]

Brent, The problem with your question is you have lumped all LSR cars together. Door slammer type cars can use a NASCAR type seat and they are probably the best safety/cost wise. Lakester/streamliner type need a lay down seat that you are going to have to have made or make it yourself.

[ISP]

I found this topic when doing some searching on this site, you may want to consider the products from Innovative Safety Products.

You will find that 10 year old crash test data is good for 10 years ago, give Kris VanGilder a call he was at the sled labs about 3 weeks ago with the intent of taking the hardest hits with the longest duration.  Needless to say it was a pleasant surprise, feel free to swing by the shop and checkout our test data and seats that have and have not survived testing. The improvements we have made in safety every year since ISP opened have been monumental.

Just ask anyone who does more testing and product improvement, then ask them to prove it with testing footage.

Scott Wydra
Web Admin
ispseats.com

[Cajun Kid]

I have seen the ISP  facility,, seen the crash sled results and then had them measure me for a seat and thay are building my Studebaker seat as we speak. Should have next Friday..  I also retro fitted my Kirkey seat with there ISP 202 Stealth head and shoulder restraint/support kit.. Nice stuff ... I am only 45 minutes drive from there shop, so was easy for me to get measured by them,, for others they have a good worksheet for custom seats..

Good luck

Charles

[LVMAXX]

 

[Cajun Kid]

MAXX,,,  I have a bunch of pics on the shop build, and various other pics of the Stude build and Vicky etc..  Click the blue photobucket link below any of my posts...

Take care,

Charles

[LVMAXX]

 

[A2WindTunnel]

La Joie Seating make custom fit seats for lots of the NASCAR teams and other series as well.  I have several friends that run this seat and say they would never go back.  One friend in particular has had several hard crashes and the last one was in a Sprint Car where he wrecked so hard (flipped 8 times) it ripped the straps mounts from his helmet completely off for his HANS device.  He said he would not have walked away in his old seat.  

http://www.joieofseating.net/

.

[A2WindTunnel]

(I hit post before I finished)

I also know a lot of people that run ISP seats as well.

http://ispseats.com/

[jww36]

Brent;
Regarding racing seats, I'm in the process of building a Gas Roadster, and came up with a carbon fiber seat that I made a mold off of.
Please go to the SCTA Rule Question forum, and see my post "Requirements for a Carbon Fiber Seat".
John Weatherwax

[LVMAXX]

 

[jww36]

Thanks for your inquiry.
By "they", I assume you mean the SCTA. I don't think they require approval of metal or composite seats as long as they comply to rule 3.D.1, which states "All vehicles shall use a seat designed for racing. The seat shall be made of a metal, alloy or composite material, no "plastic" seats will be allowed. The seat shall be securely fastened...". If the SCTA had to approve every metal or composite seat being built and used today, it would open a can of worms of biblical proportions. That being said, I can assure this carbon fiber seat is stronger, safer, and offers more protection then any production seat out there today, period.

In designing and building an LSR car, if more common sense was used, the rule book could be a lot thinner. Let's keep in mind, a lot of the SCTA rules or requirements are MINIMUMS. Thats not so say you can't EXCEED these rules and make it safer or stronger. For example, under rule 3.B1 Roll Cage, it states "MINIMUM requirements for the roll cage structure are 1-5/8 " round steel tubing with a MINIMUM .120" nominal wall thickness or E4130 chromoly tubing with a MINIMUM .095" nominal wall thickness...". I exceeded these requirements on my gas roadster. I used 1-3/4" DOM tubing with a wall thickness of .187". My main frame rails are 2" x 6" x .187" in thickness. My bare frame weighs 750 pounds. Is this over kill? Does it make  sense to build as strong a frame as possible, with the weight as low as possible, OR, make a light weight frame, then add 400 to 500 pounds of lead, which does absolutely nothing towards the integrity of the car (Besides, have you priced lead lately)? I am a very conservative individual, and have put as much thought and effort into the safety aspect of my car as I have speed and reliability. I exceeded the SCTA requirements in almost every area of my car. For fire suppression, 16 pounds is the minimum. I have a 10 pound Firefox liquid/foam system for the engine bay, which not only extinguishes the fire, but also cools the headers to prevent flare up, AND, a 10 pound Firebottle Halon system for the cockpit. Even though I am running a car with a class record of 229 MPH, I am running two chutes. I am running Wilwood four piston calipers with NASCAR vented rotors. Some people might say it's ridiculous, but if I only have to use them once to get me stopped in a hurry, it's worth the extra cost and effort.

I will however show my seat to Kiwi Steve at the next El Mirage meet for approval.
John

[LVMAXX]