Wildcat767676

Are the comp seats really good enough for track days? Looking for firsthand experience. Thank you!

HEX122

I think it depends to a greater extent on the driver's body configuration and to a smaller extent on the driving experience/level.

Video shows g-forces during a not-too-slow lap, including a side view of me in the Competition seat (stock car on OEM MPSS):



I can not complain yet about the seat for track days; also great on the 1.5 hour drive to/from the race track.

Only annoying thing while going to and from the track is the left thigh issue (discussed here, but I do not know if that is specifically about the Competition seat: C7 seat thigh pain fix - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion); my workaround is to rotate the top of my left foot to the right when resting it on the dead pedal to the left side of the clutch pedal.

Diabolis

It depends on your size and also your skill level. If you weigh <200 lbs and are driving on street tires, chances are you'll find them just fine. If you are on the heavier side and/or experienced enough to use full slicks, then IMHO they're not.

Wildcat767676

Thank you guys for the quick first-hand experience replies! You mentioned not having lower body support on your legs and just wanted to mention the angel wings pads I used to use in my other Corvettes previously. They work fantastic and might be a great compliment with your competition seat. You sit on the vinyl portion and the “wings” are large pads that wedge you in once the door is closed. I also used to use “Bolster Booster” to a lesser extent. Basically sticky backed pads that sat on each side of your lats with adjustable strings between them. Worked pretty good surprisingly. Not sure if these items are still for sale anymore. I believe they were developed by guys on the forum as a side business. I also really had good luck with the device called the CG lock which you can lock the seatbelt down as tight as you want around your waist which holds your lower body in..

but circling back my whole point of this post is with this car it is so nice that I don’t want to change the seat out, but I don’t want to carry all these extra pieces I have to put in every time I get in the car. Love the Comp seat looks and can keep airbag, power mirrors, heated cooled seats etc. Some have said they aren’t much of an improvement and others the opposite so I’m gathering real feedback I guess.

thank you!

HEX122

I soon had to add a cushion for the left side of my left knee, as I did not want to fight the forces and just let it rest on the door. No problem though for the right side of the right knee...
Having the ventilation through the seat is great on track, although it seems that the car switches off the A/C during WOT; would be nice to have a setting somewhere so that the driver could decide that.

Wildcat767676

The only problem with that is the ventilated seats are not connected to the AC, they are just a fan

Diabolis

Most lapping day organizers usually require that you run with the windows down for signalling purposes, which may or may not be the case at your particular events. In my experience having A/C - or for that matter vented seats - during a track session is probably not even going to register, much less be a concern. On the drive to and from the track, absolutely, but not when you are on the track during your sessions(s).

HEX122

From the videos I have watched, point by using hand or arm with at least the driver's side window down seems to be mainly a thing in the US.
What about driving in the rain? Does it get wet inside?
And I presume that a full face covering helmet is required?

Here in Germany, the organizations I drive with require you to have all windows almost closed, with point by being optional via the turn signals.
For me, the A/C and ventilated seats are really helpful.

Bill Dearborn

I fashioned a door bolster that I velcro to the door when I track the car. The bolster fits like an extension of the seat bottom bolster. It is above and forward of the seat bottom bolster and takes up the space between the leg and the door. The tunnel provides support on the right side but I have been thinking of adding another bolster there. Between the door bolster and inflated seat back bolsters the seat does a good job of holding me in place.

The biggest drawback of the Comp Seat is the height of the shoulder belt pass-through holes. They are several inches lower than the pass-throughs in a real race seat thus limiting the height of the driver that can use the seat with race harnesses. My grandson is 6'1" tall and can sit in the seat with the belts fitting properly but other people who are the same height with different body proportions whose shoulders are too tall to work with a race harness shoulder belt and the low pass-through.

Bill

Wildcat767676

Thanks, Bill! Would you go with the ASM four point system or a six point with all the bars mounted(shark bar and anti sub bar?

mfain

I will comment about the comp seats that I have in my C8 Z06 - I believe they are very close to the C7 configuration. I am only 5' 10" and 175#, so the seats are quite comfortable and I sit down between the bolsters so I get a lot of lateral support. I use a TeamTech 7-point, "Jet Pilot" harness which keeps you from moving around at all. The one bad thing I will point out is that the seat is not properly aligned with the torso with respect to pedal locations. It is angled slightly to the right, so when you sit where you are comfortable with the pedals, the left side bolster pushes hard into your thigh. This would be even worse in a 3 pedal car. I was able to make a minor adjustment, but to completely correct the situation I will have to modify the seat mount bolt holes so I can rotate the seat to the left. I don't know if this is a problem with the C7, but it might be worth checking.

Wildcat767676

The C8 seats are much better than C7. Still, good info thank you! BTW, what is a "Jet Pilot" harness?

mfain

The "Jet Pilot" harness is TeamTech's track harness that has straps around the thighs like a rock climber (or jet pilot) harness. These straps secure to the lap belt which keeps you from submarining. Technically you would not have to include a sub belt. In my case, I have the 7-point harness that has 2 sub belts. You sit on those and they run between the seat back and seat cushion to anchor points behind the seat. Hope that makes sense. This photo shows an optional lumbar strap that I don't use - good for off-road trophy trucks, but not a big advantage on road courses.


Jet Pilot Harness

Diabolis

The problem with using indicators for overtaking is that sometimes you can turn them on by mistake - or leave it on by mistake - and bad things happen. Furthermore, some people will use, say, the left indicator to to indicate which way they want to go and others will use to indicate on which side of the track they wish to be passed on, and again bad things can happen. Using your hand to point someone by is a much clearer indication to the driver behind that you are aware that they are trying to pass you and indicates on which side they should pass you on. One point-by = one pass.

Diabolis

I would NOT use a harness in a car without a without a proper roll cage (or at least a roll bar / half cage). Period.

Wildcat767676

Wow, I've never seen one of those. Very cool! Thank you so much for sharing the photos and info.

Some have said here NOT to use a harness if you don't have a cage or roll bar. Pretty confusing!

mfain

I guess it comes down to options. If you are going to track, you could just use the factory 3-point seat belt - pay your dime/take your chances. Lots of people do. A harness holds you much more securely, and if it is attached to a properly designed and installed harness bar, it is at least as strong as the factory shoulder belt. The bar doesn't hurt the structural integrity of the existing substructure, but it admittedly doesn't enhance rollover protection - but that is a different issue. Look at the following C7 photo. A properly installed harness bar where the blue line shows is not much different functionally than the bar in a proper cage - just not as integral or as strong, but it will give in sync with the factory "hoop". If the roof collapses, some say that a 3-point seat belt will allow you to "fold over" out of harm's way, but if you have gone that far the harness is probably the least of your worries. I guess it's like not wearing a seat belt so you can get out of the car easier after it runs into a lake. I run a Paragon harness bar in my C8Z, and my ACR has the same type of set-up (from the factory) and came with eye hook provisions for the harness. My track car has the full cage and preferred mounting of the harness. However, I won't cut up the C8 to put in a cage, and I do track it - aggressively with top speeds over 160 mph. I need a harness for better car control.


C7 Harness Bar Location

Full Cage with Integral Harness Bar

Elektro

Yes, you might get a little bit wet if it rains. and cold. It's a riot!



I have heard two things: windows down obviously makes driver extraction easier in an incident, and it also keeps broken glass from going all over the place.

I've never driven with a track or autocross organization that allows the driver window to stay up. Sometimes the rule is if the seat is occupied, the window needs to be down, so... depends on passenger, back windows can sometimes stay up, etc.. I trust there are lots of safety experts that make these decisions with a wealth of data and study so I am curious about the reasoning in Germany to keep the windows up? Like, if I rolled my window up on track I would be probably black flagged by the next turn. Big no-no.

Personally, I would not drive without a full face helmet after seeing enough otherwise-not-that-bad wall brushes etc where debris such as the side mirror comes close to or bounces off the visor. Still, sometimes I forget to put it down, but I'm getting better. I also drive karts sometimes for fun (and used to own a convertible) so having one helmet that can be used for all activities and vehicles is nice.

I can see the rollover argument on some cars (like old tin can hondas) but I think the corvette has a quite strong roof frame. This is just an opinion of course. Personally, I wouldn't wear a harness without also wearing a neck restraint and prefer a 3 point at least in a modern car with airbags if there is no neck restraint. If I don't have a neck restraint, AND there are no airbags or 3 point, that is just a ride I'm going to skip...

There is a spectrum in most rule books for track day orgs that allow from just an open face helmet and a t-shirt to a full suit, gloves/boots, halo seat, auto fire system, etc. Really it comes down to a lot of uncomfortable personal decisions and compromises regarding driver comfort (when there is not an incident 99% of the time), risk assessment when most of us are definitely NOT experts on this field, and of course cost. I don't think anybody will turn you away for having "too much safety" (except SCCA, and even then they just bump you into a higher competitive class than your car would otherwise be appropriate for...)

Diabolis

Unlike a three-point seat belt, a harness is designed to keep you pinned against the seat. If you don't have a roll bar / cage and your car rolls over, you can't fall to the side as the roof caves in. A spinal compression from a hit on the head usually results in you becoming a quadriplegic, or death.

No half-decent HPDE organizer anywhere will allow harnesses without a roll bar, and I definitely wouldn't get in in the instructor seat in a car that has harnesses but no roll bar / cage (we wouldn't let a car so equipped out on the track in the first place).

In other words, it's either containment seat + harness + roll bar, or street seat + three-point OEM seat belt and NO roll bar. The three always go together.

mfain

For Wildcat767676, I respectfully offer a mitigating opinion of the use of harnesses without a roll bar. We know an aftermarket roll bar/cage is not a good idea for a street car. Since the early 2000's, federal safety regulations have dictated some pretty stringent rollover protection standards. The B-pillar in modern cars like the Corvette, while not a round tube, are FE designed and are considered strong enough by most HPDE/TT sanctioning bodies to be adequate for rollover protection. Some have even accepted the C8 HTC. If you are comfortable enough with the modern designs to believe that a roof collapse is unlikely in an HPDE event where you may be performing at much higher speeds and cornering loads than were possible a few years ago (race car speeds!), then the next question becomes whether to use a harness. A harness gives you more positive control of the vehicle at high cornering G's. In the event of a rollover and landing upside down, the harness may keep you from dropping to the roof and injuring your neck - more common than the roof being crushed into your head in modern cars. A locked 3-point seat belt is, in effect, a "harness", but only on the left side. You could not "duck" right toward the center of the car even if you thought you could. The next obvious point is that the shoulder straps of a harness must properly mounted and at the proper angle. A quality harness bar will be made of high quality materials (heavy wall DOM or CM) and be attached at points at least equal in strength to the factory shoulder strap mount provision. Bottom line - if you plan on using a 4/5/6/7-point harness in a car that is not modified with an aftermarket roll bar/cage, then you are accepting the probability that the B-pillar will not collapse in a rollover, in which case the benefits of a properly mounted harness far outweigh using a street 3-point seat belt. JMHO