Zen06

I have been looking at racing seats for the Z06. I will eventually be putting a harness setup in it. Man, are there a lot of choices out there. I am looking to spend between $300-$350 each for the seats. I would like something that at least matches the quality and comfort of the stock buckets, since I drive the car on the street sometimes, not just at the the track. Are there seats that bolt to the existing mounts or is there a lot of stuff that has to be done to get them to work? Also, I would like to be able to use all the electronics and memory. Any suggestions, experiences, advice? Thanks.
:steering:

John Shiels

Race seat will not have the quality and comfort of stock. They are designed for a different purpose, to keep your butt planted. Most I have seen need seat brackets that are 200 ea seat. If you are tall the existing electronics will not fit below the seat, even 6 feet. Kirkey makes some road race seats the delux is 650 which is lighter than the regular one which is about 350 then you need brackets. Some companies make seats with the electronics and more comfort for thousands. They are not a race either they just look sporty.

3X2

Another thing to consider when installing a true racing seat- you can't use the production seat belts.

Mark
Phoenix Performance

ghoffman

Actually, our rails work well with the stock seat belts, but all the other requirements you mentioned such as stock electronics, etc, are not available. The biggest conflict on your requirements are street seat ease of entry with a racing seat. No matter how you mount it, the very nature of a racing seat that makes it a racing seat, makes it less easy to get in and out of. The best thing is to use the street seat for the street, race seat with our rails on the track since it is a 15 minute swap once it is all set-up the first time. We offer a complete bolt in package with Harness bar, seat, rails and harness that all work as an integrated system.
Gary Hoffman
Hardbar.net LLC
603.682.8073

see the URL John put up for detailed views:
http://www.c5forum.com/diy/hardbar.php

(The kit has been improved since this article, but essentially the same)



[Modified by ghoffman, 9:30 AM 1/26/2004]

3X2

Gary, can you explain to me how to use prouduction seat belts with a racing seat? I have a few customers that want racing seats installed, but I don't see how oem seat/lap belts would work with this type of seat. All the racing seats I have put in street cars, I've also installed racing seat/shoulder/sub belts.

Mark
Phoenix Performance


[Modified by 3X2, 5:49 AM 1/27/2004]

John Shiels

I think Gary means both sets of belts can be installed, stock and six point. I did it in my car so if I go to the store I'm not wearing a six point which is illegal anyway. I'm sure he'll chime in soon.

ghoffman

Exactly, the only problem is the hole in the side of a Sparco type seat. You have to put the stock seat belt over the side, not thru the seat hole. If the seat is not as aggressive on the sides, it is no problem. The link John posted shows the setup with a Sparco EVO 2, which is the widest seat that fits and it is very tight in the car. Here is another article on the install, using a Sparco EVO (thanks to Rik Johnson) http://www.2phast.com/Corvette/sparco.htm

That is an older model of our seat rails, and they have been improved in several ways since, but it details the stock seat belt setup.




[Modified by ghoffman, 1:28 PM 1/27/2004]

Midwayman

$300-350 a seat pretty much means you are getting corbeau. Sparco etc, the cheapest Ive seen is about $900 a pair. (or $550 ea)

The Corbeau forza you could put in brackets included for under $350 a seat. The quality and comfort arent that of the stock seats though.

Unless you're buying a reclineable seat, belts will be an issue. (I really liked the Recaro SRD, but supposedly they wont fit :( ) That and reclineable are even more spendy.

95jersey

Zen06,

Gary is the man to talk to about the seats. I did not want full blown racing seats, but wanted something better than the stockers. Something I can use semi-daily, but will work at the track as well...take a look at these:
http://www.sparcousa.com/pseats_street.asp?id=97

Now as far as the price...no way you'll spend $350. The seats alone are around $500 and the rails are like another $300 per seat. A set of two will cost you well over $1k.

Again, I agree with these guys, no way to use stock electronics. Keep in mind race/competition seats have fixed backs and are mounted in a fixed spot, no adjustment is possible.

Unless your willing to make these sacrafices, stay with stock.

ghoffman

BTW, we are a Sparco dealer now, so you now can do a one-stop-shop for this from us.
Gary Hoffman
Hardbar.net LLC


[Modified by ghoffman, 5:15 PM 1/27/2004]

3X2

Thanks for the info. We use a lot of Evo 2 seats for our, ahem, portly drivers. Looking at link you provided, the Evo 2 have higher sides and a production lap belt would be useless (unsafe). Some of the owners we install seats in, do change back and forth when needed.

Mark

cgh1

Jason Hunsaker of Hunsaker Sports also has a nice seat that he sells on ebay for between $369-$429 a PAIR(!). They are very narrow though, so if you are bigger than a 32" waist, look elsewhere. He throws in the brackets.

Only issue right now is:
they are great for schools and auto-X, but he is still waiting on SFI and FiA certification/homologation - which means they are not yet race legal. He will provide labels to all past purchasers upon acreditation though at no extra charge. The Hunsakers are a nice, cheap & very comfortable alternative if you don't plan on racing and are relatively small.

Outside of that, Sparco Evo / Evo2 is the best bet in my opinion. And having dealt with Gary Hoffman for years (since some of the first Hardbars), I can tell you that he knows what he's talking about and is excellent to purchase from. His stuff is the real deal.

Hope this helps, Zeon06...

Mike Schriber

I'll chime in that I have a Sparco Evo seat in good condition for sale. I used to use it in my C5 Coupe for road racing but now I have a dedicated race car and no longer need it. It was mounted with Gary's rails and harness bar (with Team Tech harnesses) and worked great.

$350 plus shipping.

Mike :flag

tcmc5

I just installed a Corbeau Forza in my car and I think it's going to work very well for me. The seat and the sliding mount cost only $306.00 and the install took about 45 min.-very easy. The quality is acceptable but not comparable to Sparco, Momo etc. It is, however, to FIA standards, pretty comfortable and looks fine. I'm 6'1 220lbs 36" waist and the seat has plenty of room, almost too much for autocrossing. It also sits at least 1" lower than the stock seat and weighs 20lbs less.