When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Just picked up a used C5 and would like to start doing track days. What are you guys mounting racing seats with? Ideally I would like to keep the seat belt buckle for street driving and not have to swap the seats constantly.
From what I have seen I have two options:
AMT Motorsport - Great but I don't see how I can leave my regular seat belt buckle. I don't see these being used with adjustable seat rails though.
Marrad - I think the Marrad doesn't have the sub belt and side belt mounts in the "proper" location. They sell an adapter which mounts to the back where you would then secure side and sub belt to. PLUS is you can use seat rails to adjust seat.
So in summary:
AMT - How to use Stock buckle, no adjustable rails
Marrad - adjustable, stock buckle connector
I just went through this mess a year ago. I'll tell you what I did and the results and you can take what you like. 1. Using the seat belt buckle with a racing bucket: I also wanted to do this, but in the end decided not to do it. Most of the true certified racing seats don't fit well with the 3 point. Also the C5 belt retractor is on the bottom, it's huge, and it might be in the way of your seat bracket particularly if you mount your lap belts to the seat mount. Some go to a C6 retractor. Then on the other side you need a way to mount the receptacle to your new bracket. Also keep in mind if you use the brey krause harness bar as I did, the posts come down to and go over the rear outside seat screw on each side of the car.
I went with the AMT seat rails. My seat is not on a slider. Makes it harder for other people to drive the car, if you desire that. I just wanted two identical seat and harness combos which I got. PCA wants equal protection for driver and passenger for HPDE. I think you can be successful with either setup. You just have to decide what your maximum priority is and how you are going to do the lap mounts. The BK bar, cobra seats, schroth harnesses, and AMT mounts are solid as hell in my car, however I gave up on the 3 point (although I could do it if I really tried) and only people of similar builds can drive my car.
One of my main criteria was being able to install rails so my wife can also drive the car. As much as I like AMT products, I had to go with the Marrad base for this one. I got the one with the welded on rear section for the harness. My Racequip harness came with clip on ends and the eyelets which screw into the Marrad base.
I dont have any pictures at the moment, but for the buckle end I call me local Chevy dealer and told them I need a seat belt extension for my car. Because this is a safety concern they will give it to you for free and it will work with the factory belt end. I cut the belt off it and kept just the female receiver end. I ordered a 2" wide roll of seat belt material off amazon and used a left over clip on end from my harness (the shoulder straps wrap around the harness bar and not clip in, so I had extra) and made a lap belt receiver to the length I need. It is long enough that it can be used whether the seat is all the way back of forward, and rests on my hips not above. I use the 3pt for street driving and the 6pt for track.
So do you just drive it on the street like that? I guess it's safer than a 3pt but more of a pain in the ***. I guess I could do that then swap the seats for inspections. Don't think it would pass otherwise.
So do you just drive it on the street like that? I guess it's safer than a 3pt but more of a pain in the ***. I guess I could do that then swap the seats for inspections. Don't think it would pass otherwise.
I swap the seats out after track season is over. Usually around Halloween. Then get it inspected. Then put the track seats back in March. But I don't drive around much with it. It's probably 80 percent track car.
I run 5-point and 3-point belts in m C5, and I just tuck one set out of the way depending on whether or not I'm wearing a helmet & Hans.
Marrad makes a seat bracket with lap-belt anchor provisions on the back of the bracket. Or at least they did, because that's what I used. There's also a crossbar suitable for attaching the crotch strap.
I used early-C6 3-point belts, which have no retractor on the door sill. I'm not sure that was really needed, but it does free up some space down there.
The Marrad brackets have two drawbacks:
- they're heavy
- I had to hog out a couple of holes to get the bracket to fit over the factory studs.
Neither is a showstopper, I'm happy with the results. My car is (obviously) dual purpose so the weight doesn't bother me, and the anchor provisions made installation pretty straightforward.
For a dedicated race car I'd recommend AMT's brackets instead, just to save weight.
So do you just drive it on the street like that? I guess it's safer than a 3pt but more of a pain in the ***. I guess I could do that then swap the seats for inspections. Don't think it would pass otherwise.
I can use the factory 3pt or the 6pt with my setup. Both belts stay in the car.
Like mentioned, the biggest thing I dont like about the Marrad base is the weight. Thing weighs a ton. But it is low in the car and the light seat with all the brackets still weighs less than the OE.
I'll throw this out there as an option, I mounted my seat to the stock power seat track and retained the stock seat belt. I'm using a low bolster Marrad st3 seat but any side mount seat can be mounted this way as long as it's narrow enough to fit in a C5 and you are willing to do a little fab work. The rear mounting point is now fixed and you will have to get all the play out of the track mechanism but it's doable.
I'll throw this out there as an option, I mounted my seat to the stock power seat track and retained the stock seat belt. I'm using a low bolster Marrad st3 seat but any side mount seat can be mounted this way as long as it's narrow enough to fit in a C5 and you are willing to do a little fab work. The rear mounting point is now fixed and you will have to get all the play out of the track mechanism but it's doable.
Do you have any additional info about how you did this? It’s definitely something I am interested in.
I just switched from my really nice AMT mount to the Marrad sliding one. I wanted my wife to be able to drive the car at autox events as well as in general. I tuck my 6 point harness behind the seat unless it’s on course or track.
I was able to attach the stock buckle to the AMT mount and added an L bracket to the Marrad one when I switched. Neither is probably ideal, but the belt works. The Marrad mount is heavy, but accomplishes the purpose of adding a slider.
also, the AMT mount has been in my car for almost 5 years and was difficult to fit with the seat belt retractor. The Marrad one literally doesn’t fit at all with the plastic cover on the lower retractor(which would have bought the AMT more room had I removed it). Either way, remove it do the C6 belt conversion and still remove the plastic and cut it up to the point you didn’t really need it anyway.
Corbeau Evolution X (fixed back) mounted to a Corbau dual locking slider and a Corbeau bolt in bracket. Pick up a Sharkbar 5/6pt bolt in harness bracket behind the seat. Lap belts bolt to Sharkbar, I have my sub belt wrapped around the seat bracket crossbar under the seat.
You'll need to strategically cut a hole in the seat base since these do not come with a sub belt hole option. I also removed the stock rear bolts for longer ones.I keep both 5pt and use stock 3pt belt with no modifications to the stock belt system in the car.
If you want a more race oriented seat, the above approach also works for a Corbeau Forza seat. The Forza seat was too cramped for extended drives for my liking since I also daily my car a lot.
Last edited by smitty2919; 07-27-2023 at 08:51 AM.
04-01-2022, 01:44 PM
New to me C5...track day seat mount questions
