Originally Posted by jtswenson

I live in northern MN. Not much around here for guys racing c6s I bet. There's a few guys last year running them but they were stock interiors.

Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn

Yes, have had some big gentleman sitting in the seat. One of the things about an aluminum seat is the sides do expand. I believe Kirkey and Ultrashield use the same rule for sizing their seats. Sit on a bench and have somebody use a tape measure to measure the distance from one side of your butt to the other where it meets the bench. What ever is read on the tape measure is the size ordered for the seat. If you are a 16.5 a 17 inch seat will be a little loose and a 16 will be a little tight. When I sized my seats I weighed around 217 lbs and stood 5'10".

My seats are the Ultrashield Pro Road Race Seats Part Number 64306 (not sure last number is a 6 or a 9 from my picture, the seats are in the garage attic so I can't just look at them). The Pro Road Race seat is almost identical to the Kirkey 47. The current $490 price includes a full black seat cover. I think the Kirkey price for the 47 with a full cover is 476. The big difference is whether you want a 10,15 or 20 degree layback. The layback is something to consider but you can compensate for it by choosing how to mount the seat on the rails. For example if you look at the 20 degree layback driver seat and 10 degree layback passenger seat when installed in my car the seat backs are at pretty much the same vertical angle. The difference is the seat bottom. The 10 degree seat bottom raises up a fair amount in the front and basically raises the knees of the occupant. That is what I meant by it folding taller passengers. I can get a wider range of passengers in the car with that seat back although it might not be as comfortable for some as a 20 degree would be. They definitely will not slide forward in the seat since it basically cups there butt in a recess.

It is a lot to think about but I spent several years working out what I wanted after I got the seats. The advantage of aluminum as one racer told me is if it doesn't fit just right get a saw out and cut it to fit or bend it to get it to fit. Can't do that with a fiberglass seat.

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn

How far away from the Minneapolis area are you? It might be worth your while to call/visit Doug Rippie Motorsports (DRM) in Waverly, MN and see what they recommend. I am sure there are some racers in northern Minnesota that have the kinds of seats you are looking at. To get an idea of what they feel like the seat doesn't necessarily need to be installed in a Corvette. Somebody has to go to the track at Brainerd.

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn

To illustrate how tight the 17 inch seat is in a C6 installation I am including some picture that may not show up as well in my installation document.

Originally Posted by naschmitz

I have two 18" Kirkey Intermediate Road Race seats in my 2006 C6 mounted in HardBar seat rails. The outboard shoulder wings leave an impression in the door cards (a permanent one it turns out).

If you do not position the belts and buckles correctly when you install the seat, you will be removing the seat to fix that error as there is no room on the tunnel side.

Originally Posted by jtswenson

Great tip! Thanks! I think I will just opt for one race seat and I'll either trim back that shoulder wing or bend it in slightly.

Does anyone have links to these hardbar seat rails everyone keeps talking about? Thanks again to everyone. These forums make this process so much easier and less frustrating. Thanks for paving the way everyone!

Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn

Hardbar went out of business in 2014. The closest product I can find that is equivalent to them can be seen at this link: http://www.vetteworksonline.net/cata...jmo9optgsdk466

The only thing that isn't pictured here are the required stud extenders that Gary used to sell so the rails could be mounted in the car. I believe Marrad still provides stud extenders http://www.arizenracingsports.com/pr...asp?prod=M18SE .

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn

Hardbar went out of business in 2014. The closest product I can find that is equivalent to them can be seen at this link: http://www.vetteworksonline.net/cata...jmo9optgsdk466

The only thing that isn't pictured here are the required stud extenders that Gary used to sell so the rails could be mounted in the car. I believe Marrad still provides stud extenders http://www.arizenracingsports.com/pr...asp?prod=M18SE .

Bill

Originally Posted by vettedan

Vetteworks will be manufacturing the original Hardbar seat rails kit within a month.
Dan