Racing Seats, are they worth it??

[THEMASH]

I am thinking of getting aftermarket racing seats "shells", the ones you cant adjust(the back)will only go front and back. like the some Sparcos, MOMOs or Recaros.
For those who have them on their Vipers of have been in a Viper with them on. HOW ARE THEY?

Do you regret installing them? How do u like them? Are they comfortable? Do they rattle? Can you still use your 3 point belts? Are they worth it?

Does it make that much of a difference on a race track compared to stock seats?

I heard the seats fit really low? And that the seating position was a bit off, is this true?

I do/will race my car every time i get a change, but i also drive my car all the time "rain or shine/to and from track events"
Any input would be great, thanks.

Here are some of the seats i am referring to:
http://www.sparcousa.com/pseats_competition.asp?id=91
http://sportscar-parts.com/mivastore/merchant.mv?Screen=PRO D&Store_Code=www.sportscar-parts.com&Product_Code=MM1070

 

[Al Roberts]

I have a sparco II seat. It has about 2-3" of adjustment front-rear. I like it a lot. It helps me when I race, I can feel the car quicker so I can respond fast to save the car. I do remove it once in a while, if we are not racing for a while. You can buy adjustable ralls for it and it won't be too low. I can use the three points when in town.

 

[JonB]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by THEMASH:
I am thinking of getting aftermarket racing seats "shells", the ones you cant adjust(the back)will only go front and back. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mash........

The biggest complaint is the lack of padding. If you have enough "natural padding" like me, it is not a big deal. But on long trips, the total lack of cushioning is a PAIN. The inability to adjust your seat recline makes it worse.

The OEM belts can be used, but if you buy a shell as you describe, you are likely fooling yourself as to OE harness functionality.....you would blast thru underneath. The automatic tensioner is designed to work w/ the OEm seat, and not a stiff, deep shell. {I did not vivit your choices)

That said, we have some 2-color SPARCO options in Viper colors from $575 !!!

 

[Mark Young]

I'm in the process of doing this myself. I have a sparco pro2000 that is going in when I get a free weekend. Since I haven't actually raced in it yet I'll save my comments, but just sitting in it I'm looking forward to the extra lateral support.

It literally takes about 15 minutes max to swap the seat in and out so don't be too concerned about street drivability, just swap the stock seat back in if you want and save the race seat for track weekends.

The only tricky part is getting adapter plates to mount the aftermarket seat to the Viper's bolt pattern. I have some right now I'm not too happy with, but Brian Nightingale from RaceCraft makes a nice bracket that looks like it'll do the trick (for the sparco).

 

[99t1]

A race seat is much safer and mandatory in many racing series...I like the new Kirkey road race seat...good lateral support

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Absolutely worth time on the track, and the extra safety is worth the bucks. Call Bobby Archer Motorsports at 817-877-1772 ( ask for Bobby or Keith ) as the have installed alot of seats and they are a Sprco distributor. Most of the guys in Viper Days are running their seats and they can give you experienced first hand advice on what works best in the Viper.