Oyishdog

I am installing my kirkey seat today in preparation to run CMP next weekend. Do I really need to install the i/o port seat brace to run an HPDE?

Granted, "why risk, etc etc, etc," however, I figure I would like to adjust the seat today to what feels good now...that might change once I am driving next weekend, so I figure I would need to make addition adjustments, thus having to adjust the seat brace. THoughts? Am I OK for 1 weekend?

Carolina C4 Racer

You are better off than you ever were in the stock seat with or without the back brace.

gkmccready

I haven't used the IO Port brace, but mine's a simple two-collar set up that means an allen wrench is all I need to adjust the seat position front-to-back. Was perfect when the wife and I were both out in the car for a few events.

Maineiac

I'm not running one on my Kirkey Deluxe....

Mojave

I have an I/O Port back brace on my Ultra-Shield.

Oyishdog

I will run without it next weekend. I think I have my seat in the correct place - feels great now, but we shall see once im out there.

jrz1

I just ordered 2 roadrace deluxe from kirkey for my '06 Z. Anyone have a view on the different rail options? Also, is there any trick to installing? Everyone seems to say it's just the 4 bolts but I know it's going to take me longer than it should.

jrz1

I'm getting ready to install 2 Kirkey deluxe road racing seats in my '06 Z 2LZ. Anyone want to offer any pointers, warnings, encouragement etc. Hate going in blind even though it seems like it should be a simple process.

wallyman424

dont worry about it.

hell, with nasa w2w you dont even need a seat back brace unless your seat has an expired FIA sticker.

John Shiels

get some harbar rails

Cobra4B

Ryan... I'm thinking about getting one... but don't know. W/ the hardbar rails the seat is really in place... but when sitting in the car if I press back I can flex the seat back some. Apparently the back brake takes a lot of pressure off of the seat rails.

I'm going to pull the seat and re-torque all the fitting again. Let me know what you decide to do.

J.R.

Ditto for what John said.

Some type of crossbar (RD, Hardbar, Brey-Kruse etc.) is critical to stabilizing Kirkey seat.

Why spend the money for a good seat and loose the safety effect by not stabilizing it completely, especially if you are doing track events.

This also allows you to use shoulder harness to further enhance safety. Even in auto-X the more stable you are the more consisent your times will be.

Cobra4B

^ That's not what we're talking about... we're takling about seat back braces that tie the seat back into your harnsee bar, or in ryan's case his T1 full cage.

AU N EGL

I made my own. 1" square steal tube $16 from Lowes. Steel L-bracket, cut to 3" length. Bolts with nylon nuts. two though the seat back and one though the L-bracket and square tube. U-bolts though square tube and around Harness bar

Sawsall to cut the steel to size.




If I grab the seat and shake it side to side, the car moves on the suppension.

Falcon

Boys, after seeing how a seat flexes when stress is put on it, IMHO, a seat back brace would be essential.

Remember, that's just thin guage aluminum that makes up that seat and it won't take much to bend it. If you're going to all the trouble of installing a seat, go the little extra and put a brace on it.

davidfarmer

In a front impact, the belts do the work, from the side, extra bracing is definitely nice.

As for seat mounting, I got some 4" 1/4" aluminum channel on ebay, and made my own mounts. Problem is the OEM mounts are spread waaaayyyy apart, so most off the rack rails aren't long enough to reach them. And DO NOT EVEN THINK about mounting it to the wood floor.

Anyway, the beauty of an aluminum seat is that it sits really low, and gives good headroom, which most adults need in a C5/C6 with a helmet on. I'd either get hardbar mounts, or make your own as I did, and mount is solid to the OEM mounts. Watch out for rear mounts that will "poke" you in the back in a rear impact, but some sort of mount is highly recommended from the safety data I've seen.

jrz1

I bought a set of hardbar mounts. Start disassembling this weekend.

Jess03Z06

I installed the hardbar seat mounts and the kirkey intermediate about 3 weeks ago so it is fresh in my mind. Really was pretty straight forward, the instructions are easy to follow, you will be fine. The intermediate doesn't have rails with holes so i had to drill my own. I measured carefully and even that went okay. The biggest thing i spent time on was just the mounting of the lap belt and antisubmarine belts. Just getting those close to the right length so you have adjustabilty without lots of headaches at the track. If you don't get close you will end up at the track with the buckles going back through the openings and all sorts of woe, but as far as the seat and the mounts, its a piece o' cake. Also, i can swap in the stock seat in about 5 minutes. I drilled out the holes on bottom of the stock seat so i can always leave the hardbar studs in place.

DREGSZ

I can't vouch for what other region tech inspecters are doing, however...
As a NASA Norcal HPDE Event Director,, Tech Inspector, cook and bottle washer:

Kirkey seats Must have a back brace, I'd also reccommend a wide plate between the brace and seat to distribute the load. (being impaled by your seat back brace post though the spine and out the sternum can really take away some of the joy from your track day experience)

This holds true for HPDE events. Here is the NASA Tech position in the Norcal region, paraphrased :

If you show up w stock seats and belts then you are riding on GM design, safety testing etc. as soon as you modify that setup, even in HPDE, you now have to meet the racing rules, ie seatback brace tied to cage, (or harness bar),
Racing harnesses must be secured properly to the cage or pan and tripled over all buckles seat and shouder.
FIA seats do not need braces and HPDE does not require "in date" harnesses

Reclining seats in a car with harness bar etc, bar must be low enough or potentially contact a solid part of the seat and must not be able to decapitate you if the recliner fails

We look for this stuff like hawks, We will instruct drivers on the proper way to adjust harnesses and easy fixes for problems before they go out, like removing harness bars that are too high.

This is for your and our protection and since I'm the guy who will hopefully pick you up at the hospital and bring you back to whatever is left of your car after a crash with transport, tech and safety are very important to me at the personal level.

Unfortunately, I have sent people home with zero laps if their cars don't pass tech.

Lack of seat back brace and harness bar location too high are about the only 2 reasons that come to mind for reasons that have sent people home and it happens every few events. Lots of "fix its" before each event.

The I/O port brace gets a pass every time in HPDE and will probably make it through race tech as well.
Custom braces need wide plates to distribute the load. Custom fabricated braces will get extra scrutiny for this in racetech but probably make it through HPDE tech w a frown and fix it warning if not quite up to snuff.

Do it right the first time.

You should see the collection of deadly camera mounts we pull out of cars

Evan

AU N EGL

Evan They have passed though three times. I am a stickler about that. That is just the extra belt after the buckle. I just did not zip ties the loose belt part prior to this picture.