Seats...specifically the mounts... - Page 2

titan · 14-09-2010, 03:32 PM

TMS rang me back with some info today, whilst on phone I had a quick chat to JT. His approach is recaro seat, recaro sidemount, BMW mount/sliders, same as what KingM3 is proposing.

I can well see the point of the VAC mounts if you wanted to mount a seat/sidemount straight onto the "floor", but if you want sliders, companies make up seat mounts with sliders that use OEM bolt holes.

For example, Sparco do these for an E46:
http://www.sparcousa.com/pseats_acc.asp?id=537

you then chuck on a track set (or not) and your sidemounts/seats.

Only downside I know of is that sometimes the seat ends up a bit higher than you'd like.

daniel · 14-09-2010, 07:50 PM

I don't think you can use the bmw mounts?

**shimmy** · 14-09-2010, 08:05 PM

I'm surprised John is using that type of seat base mount after his episode at Silverstone. It doesn't look up to much!! I wouldn't fancy being in a crash with one if those thin things

And I think if you read KingM3 post again he says quite clearly TMS fitted recaro runners on his and he doesn't mention the base mount.

titan · 14-09-2010, 08:30 PM

pffffff who knows eh.

What I do know is to take the advice of someone who's done it himself and doesn't have a vested interest in selling products ;-)

So, back onto the idea of Jays "VAC" mounts, sliders and side mounts....do the seats sit nice and low or a bit high ?

I don't really care whether I pay out for Jays mounts or some expensive recaro/sparco base because in the big scheme of things these costs are minimal. But I *do* want something that will work without hassle and not end up creaking under braking cornering like one of the setups I trialled and binned.

**shimmy** · 14-09-2010, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by titan

I don't really care whether I pay out for Jays mounts or some expensive recaro/sparco base because in the big scheme of things these costs are minimal. But I *do* want something that will work without hassle and not end up creaking under braking cornering like one of the setups I trialled and binned.

my drivers seat is Recaro XPG with Recaor side mounts and Recaro runner and VAC extended base mounts. No creaking!

i ran without the runners for about 8 months and it was really low, even i at 6'3" felt and looked like Hazy in the car

. eventually fitted the runner as i couldnt leave it at the garage as they had nobody tal enough to reach the pedals

If i was doing it again id do the same but maybe save some money and get Jay to do the base mounts

_Nathan_ · 14-09-2010, 09:06 PM

I ditched the VACs as at 2m tall (6'7") I really needed the seat as low as possible to move my head away from the cage, ended up cutting out the BMW floor mounts all together and welding new points in lower down that accept the runners directly. from what I've seen the VAC mounts get the seat lower than the subframes though.

Best bet is to try and meet up with someone who has the VAC setup and give it a go, how tall are you?

titan · 14-09-2010, 10:15 PM

I'm not that tall, but a friend with an M3 is going to do the same as whatever I decide - and he is !

Its more that I like sitting down low in a car. Not to mention the numerous seconds saved on a lap due to lower COG ;-)

Jason has been in touch so I'll go with this. A tried and tested formula. And when it doesn't work because I'll be using a sparco seat, I'll scream.

cheers all.

_Nathan_ · 14-09-2010, 11:11 PM

Have a look on the vac website, pretty sure sparco are ok with them.

**cantfind1** · 14-09-2010, 11:17 PM

Sparco also do mounts and sliders, I have them in my car they work very well!! Fit is excellent and the height is spot on. I am running them with Sparco Pro 2000 seats.

titan · 03-10-2010, 07:25 AM

Aarrrghhhhhh seats, bl00dy seats, mounting aftermarket seats is always the same, no two cars are the same, nothing ever fits right !!

Right, I bought Sparco Pro2000. To play it safe I also bought sparco rails and base mounts. (I had a spare pair of sparco sidemounts in my garage)

Although you need a few kilos of nuts and bolts, it all bolts up nicely and fits into the car without issue. As it should !!!

However
1. The seats sit every so slightly higher than stock, rubbish.
2. With steel sidemounts, runners, frames the seat assembly weighs more than the CSL OEM one !! Rubbish.

So - next up I try Jays ally billet mounts. First issue, the runners have to be inverted as the bottom mounting holes do not match up to the billet mount hole pattern. The top ones do. I assume the billet pattern is standard sidemount pattern. Anyway, I can probably drill some holes in the runners but for now I mount them inverted (was the same on the evo)

Next issue - the sparco runners are quite narrow and this means using the rightmost holes on the left mount and the leftmost holes on the right mount - which works! The seat sits nice and low now however is off-centre from the steering wheel. Due to the holes used there is no sideways adjustment.

At which point I pulled out some other seat crap from the garage and lo and behold found a pull bar that my evo tuners made up which is wider!! Thus allowing the runners to fit on middle holes on the billets. Seems just like the reversing rails issue my tuners also had the width issue. Doing this means the sidemounts need to be inverted to meet up with the seat. All works, but looks a bit of a dogs dinner to be honest.

Looking at the pictures of sparco steel sidemounts and their runners, it looks like they use a narrow base section for the runner/frame, then the sidemounts open out to give you the width for the seat.

It also looks like the recaro runners have a wider base and their sidemounts don't need to open out to allow the seat to fit.

To anyone who has a set of recaro sliders, could you do me a favour and measure the distance between the runners?

cheers

14-09-2010, 08:05 PM	#13
shimmy CSL Register Uber-poster! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Uk Posts: 14,646 Casino cash: $43909	I'm surprised John is using that type of seat base mount after his episode at Silverstone. It doesn't look up to much!! I wouldn't fancy being in a crash with one if those thin things And I think if you read KingM3 post again he says quite clearly TMS fitted recaro runners on his and he doesn't mention the base mount. __________________ . Last edited by shimmy; 14-09-2010 at 08:09 PM.

14-09-2010, 09:06 PM	#16
_Nathan_ Driving it like I nicked it Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 2,099 Casino cash: $13060	I ditched the VACs as at 2m tall (6'7") I really needed the seat as low as possible to move my head away from the cage, ended up cutting out the BMW floor mounts all together and welding new points in lower down that accept the runners directly. from what I've seen the VAC mounts get the seat lower than the subframes though. Best bet is to try and meet up with someone who has the VAC setup and give it a go, how tall are you? __________________ Nathan

14-09-2010, 11:11 PM	#18
_Nathan_ Driving it like I nicked it Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 2,099 Casino cash: $13060	Have a look on the vac website, pretty sure sparco are ok with them. __________________ Nathan

14-09-2010, 03:32 PM	#11
titan S5 - Full Throttle Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 268 Casino cash: $1363	TMS rang me back with some info today, whilst on phone I had a quick chat to JT. His approach is recaro seat, recaro sidemount, BMW mount/sliders, same as what KingM3 is proposing. I can well see the point of the VAC mounts if you wanted to mount a seat/sidemount straight onto the "floor", but if you want sliders, companies make up seat mounts with sliders that use OEM bolt holes. For example, Sparco do these for an E46: http://www.sparcousa.com/pseats_acc.asp?id=537 you then chuck on a track set (or not) and your sidemounts/seats. Only downside I know of is that sometimes the seat ends up a bit higher than you'd like.

14-09-2010, 07:50 PM	#12
daniel S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 247 Casino cash: $11332	I don't think you can use the bmw mounts?

14-09-2010, 08:30 PM	#14
titan S5 - Full Throttle Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 268 Casino cash: $1363	pffffff who knows eh. What I do know is to take the advice of someone who's done it himself and doesn't have a vested interest in selling products ;-) So, back onto the idea of Jays "VAC" mounts, sliders and side mounts....do the seats sit nice and low or a bit high ? I don't really care whether I pay out for Jays mounts or some expensive recaro/sparco base because in the big scheme of things these costs are minimal. But I do want something that will work without hassle and not end up creaking under braking cornering like one of the setups I trialled and binned.

14-09-2010, 10:15 PM	#17
titan S5 - Full Throttle Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 268 Casino cash: $1363	I'm not that tall, but a friend with an M3 is going to do the same as whatever I decide - and he is ! Its more that I like sitting down low in a car. Not to mention the numerous seconds saved on a lap due to lower COG ;-) Jason has been in touch so I'll go with this. A tried and tested formula. And when it doesn't work because I'll be using a sparco seat, I'll scream. cheers all.

14-09-2010, 11:17 PM	#19
cantfind1 S5, Sport Off, DSC M-track Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 675 Casino cash: $6490	Sparco also do mounts and sliders, I have them in my car they work very well!! Fit is excellent and the height is spot on. I am running them with Sparco Pro 2000 seats.

03-10-2010, 07:25 AM	#20
titan S5 - Full Throttle Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 268 Casino cash: $1363	Aarrrghhhhhh seats, bl00dy seats, mounting aftermarket seats is always the same, no two cars are the same, nothing ever fits right !! Right, I bought Sparco Pro2000. To play it safe I also bought sparco rails and base mounts. (I had a spare pair of sparco sidemounts in my garage) Although you need a few kilos of nuts and bolts, it all bolts up nicely and fits into the car without issue. As it should !!! However 1. The seats sit every so slightly higher than stock, rubbish. 2. With steel sidemounts, runners, frames the seat assembly weighs more than the CSL OEM one !! Rubbish. So - next up I try Jays ally billet mounts. First issue, the runners have to be inverted as the bottom mounting holes do not match up to the billet mount hole pattern. The top ones do. I assume the billet pattern is standard sidemount pattern. Anyway, I can probably drill some holes in the runners but for now I mount them inverted (was the same on the evo) Next issue - the sparco runners are quite narrow and this means using the rightmost holes on the left mount and the leftmost holes on the right mount - which works! The seat sits nice and low now however is off-centre from the steering wheel. Due to the holes used there is no sideways adjustment. At which point I pulled out some other seat crap from the garage and lo and behold found a pull bar that my evo tuners made up which is wider!! Thus allowing the runners to fit on middle holes on the billets. Seems just like the reversing rails issue my tuners also had the width issue. Doing this means the sidemounts need to be inverted to meet up with the seat. All works, but looks a bit of a dogs dinner to be honest. Looking at the pictures of sparco steel sidemounts and their runners, it looks like they use a narrow base section for the runner/frame, then the sidemounts open out to give you the width for the seat. It also looks like the recaro runners have a wider base and their sidemounts don't need to open out to allow the seat to fit. To anyone who has a set of recaro sliders, could you do me a favour and measure the distance between the runners? cheers