IMELFJR

I have an '09 Z06 and at 6'3" I do not fit in the seats with a helmet on. Plus when I really get on it at 250 lbs. the stock driver seat sometimes releases and flies backwards which has made for a couple hairy turns. Definitely NOT A DESIRABLE SITUATION!

Any suggestions on what seats I should replace the stock ones with?

I do about 5 autocrosses and two track days a year, but still need something that is comfortable enough for my wife and I to drive the car to Vegas a couple of times a year.

I would like seats that are light and have a five point harness option, it doesn't matter if the driver seat reclines, in fact it is probably better that it does not, but the passenger seat does need to, so that my wife can sleep on long trips.

So I need two seats with different functionality that are matching in color and different in design but not enough so that they look totally different.

I would like to stay aroundd $1,500 a piece but honestly for the right seats, price is of no concern.

Hirohawa

I believe Arizen has a lower seat.

reasonable suspicion

There is a set of seats for sale here that would be perfect for u.

IMELFJR

Which ones?

MTPZ06

I'm guessing he's referring to these: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...er-tracks.html

duhveed

Get a racing seat and hardbar rails. I had mine bolted on the floor with no sliders

reasonable suspicion

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-parts-for-sale-wanted/3575384-caravaggio-seats-vetteworks-hardbar-teamtech-belts.html

Racingswh

Seats without guide holes for the lap belt don't pass tech with us. I see them a lot and folks are disappointed when I tell them they don't pass.

Z06_1

Could you expand on your point please? Is this an HPDE / track day org we are talking about, or a racing org?

Is there a situation where a car could show up with a "racing" seat and stock seat belts and fail a track inspection, whereas on that same day a car with stock seats and belts would pass?

Jasonoff

OEM belt is designed lock so it pulls your hips back when your torso moves forward into the shoulder belt. If the lap belt is over the seat frame it will prevent that action.

Even a low impact crash can cause serious injury.

Glad to see people with unsafe equipment are denied entry

Racingswh

HPDE

Yes they fail.

I just recently, especially after my Wife's horrific roll over in her GS last April, started regularly turning away unsafe cars at events themselves. If she had not had a proper system in place she would be dead. Stock seats and belts? More than likely ejected. Race seat and stock belts with essentially nothing holding her at the waist? Definitely ejected during the first hit when the roof was torn from the car. Luckily she was in Race Seats, Hardbar mounts and brand new belts I had cinched down myself super tight before she went out.

I would say a few years ago exceptions would have been made for novices in borderline cars but not anymore. Even though it's highly unlikely at an HPDE something is going to happen it's better to be safe if it does.

My club has sponsored tech events 2 weeks prior to every event to make sure Driver's aren't surprised their car fails when it gets to the track.

After this past season I can say I have seen about everything but I will say that again next year.

I personally would not use a true high sided FIA approved racing seat with stock belts on the street. Stock seats = stock belts, True approved racing seats with proper guide holes = properly anchored, approved racing belts.

Z06_1

Makes sense, thanks for the input. I don't feel so bad now letting those slightly used Daytona GT's in the for sale section slip through this week.

One last question, if someone showed up with an aftermarket steering wheel with no air bag, and stock seat and belt (seat air bags and passenger air bags still fully functional), would they fail?

Z06_1

One last question, if someone showed up with an aftermarket steering wheel with no air bag, and stock seat and belt (seat air bags and passenger air bags still fully functional), would they fail?

AzMotorhead

So to be clear this seat would not pass tech with your organization correctSparco Street series seat

Racingswh

In my club seats like that pass with no issue as long as it is mounted properly and used with the factory belts. That is not a high sided fixed back racing seat.

The issue for my club regarding seats like that is that they have no center hole for proper sub strap mounting and 4 points are not allowed. That's why I mention the use of factory belts.

I am not a fan of using reclining seats without a seat back brace. I have seen the reclining mechanisms fail and in a recent case the driver was ejected from his seat into the back of the car leaving the instructor to steer the car from the passenger side after the initial impact.

In the end it's all a compromise when we host people enjoying their street cars on the track. We just compromise less now than we have in the past.

Racingswh

I would pass that car as long as the rest of the car was safe and the aftermarket wheel was deemed to be mounted properly. Many of the vehicles driving with us do not have airbags just because of their age.

Z06_1

That is a fair answer, and good to hear, since that is my situation.

Your previous posts and other threads have convinced me to skip an aftermarket fixed-back seat, but, those Sparco R600's may be in my future!

iwantaz06now

The only legit street/track seats that can safely run the oem belts are the recaro pole position abe's (from the UK) & the sparco roadster 2's. Arizen is working on something similar to the recaro pole position abe (has a larger lap belt hole to fit the stock seat belt buckle

To make sure you fit in the seat, get aftermarket rails to keep the seat "low." If you mount these to the stock rails you'll never fit.

CliffyDeuce

Please excuse the dumb question...

If you run a 6 point harness, don't you negate the pass-thru concerns? And as another tall guy, I always have the seat back as far back as it goes (against the structure of the car). If I could get a seat that lets me sit an inch or two lower and had pass-thru for the chest straps, would that not be good? Recline or not can't really move, and with 6 points I don't have a belt coming thru the seat bottom.

Am I missing something here? Any seats that would work that way?

Racingswh

If you have a fixed back race seat with high sides it needs pass through holes for the lap belts and sub straps to pass tech with our club. The premise is that the high sides of the seat without the proper lap belt guide holes will hold the lap belt off the occupants waist and not allow the lap belts to be cinched down properly. Sub straps that come over the front of the seat no longer pass. They need to be mounted rearward of the sub strap guide hole.

I will say also that this is low on the priority list. I have never talked about seats as much as I have in this thread. Making sure vehicles are structurally sound and in decent mechanical working order is more critical. Older Porsche 911's with their exposed oil lines that have been inadvertently used as jacking points will have a blow out right on the track potentially taking out other cars. Avoiding these types of incidents are much higher on the priority list. People are running around on track with 30 year old brake lines and wheel bearings thinking it's ok.

If it ever happens that one of these cars has a problem resulting in the loss of control and ends up smashing into any of us while we are driving our Z06's it's better for us, our families and anyone else that cares about us to have proper safety gear than not.