This winter I'm thinking of mounting a Kirkey Intermediate Road Race seat in my C5Z, I currently have stock seats with a Brey Krause Harness Bar and Clip-In Harness Mounts and a Sparco 6-Point Harness.

My question here is who has used these seats? What is the best way to mount them (I would like to retain some adjustability if possible) and how will I mount my clip in belt mounts once that are bolted into the stock seats?

I've seen several different mounting options and I'm just not sure what I really need.

 

How wide will your seats be? Seat width affects the solutions available. If you need the widest 17 inch seat it will be difficult to to use inner BK lapbelt mount since there is no room for it.

I have seen the Kirkeys mounted on C5 manual seat tracks with bars welded between the two sides of the track for sub belt mounting. Remember you do need to reinforce the seat back with a brace running to your BK bar. You can get adjustable braces so you can move the seat back and forth but you need to do all of that before you get in the seat.

Here is a link to the I/O Port Brace: http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchant...tegory_Code=IH

When I installed Ultrashield seats in my C5Z I did a combination of things. The driver's seat was mounted on a set of Hardbar rails and I fastened the lap and sub belts to the rails. You can't adjust the seat once it is in the car but you can get it in the proper place with some trial fits moving the uprights back and forth and moving the seat around in the uprights. I used an I/O Port Seat Brace mounted to the roll bar. On the passenger side I used a C5 manual seat track which didn't interfere with the stock mounting of the lateral G sensor. I used another I/O Port brace with this seat. Typically I ran the seat all the way back put the pin in the brace and left the seat in that place and just adjusted the lap and shoulder belts based on passenger size. I still use this same setup in my C6Z. If you want to do the manual seat track on both sides here is a link to a recent thread where I posted pictures showing how the seat was fastened to the tracks and how the tracks were modified to mount the lap and sub belts http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1580101384-post19.html . The seat is 17 inches wide which is the widest you can get either the Kirkey or Ultrashield seats. The seat width forced us to build a special bracket for the seat track. None of the available brackets were wide enough to bolt to the tracks and fit around the sides of the seat.

If you use a mount similar to the Hardbar or aftermarket brackests with sliders you will be able to get the seat a couple of inches lower.
Bill

 

Thanks for the info man.

I would really like to find a way to mount them with an adjustable track so that I can have shorter co-drivers (i'm 6'3")

I'm not sure what width I need. I discovered the Kirkey Intermediate Road Race at an event at Putnam Park Road Course. There was guy with a nicely prepped Electron Blue Z06, had black wheels with orange lips. He was running a pair of these seats and the fit me like a glove. So far I've tried alot of other seats and they all seem to be the wrong width. Sparco Evo's are way too narrow and Evo2's are way too wide. These Kirkey's were perfect. I'm going to guess they were 16's but I'll have to do some more research to figure that out.

 

I just finished mounting a Kirkey model 47700 17" seat in my Zo6 last weekend. I used the Hardbar seat rails and IO-Port back brace. The installation took about 3 hours, 3 beers and worked out great. If you are looking for easier / quicker at the track adjustability, do a search on the forum for Arizen seats and tracks. http://www.arizenracingsports.com/ There was a thread about 6 weeks ago on his new adjustable track system. They are not cheap, I seem to remember that the tracks were $2-300 each. Being 6'-3" head clearance might be a problem. You will need to use a back brace with the Kirkey, the IO-Port unit can be drilled in several places along the tube for ease of changing seat location.

 

2 questions:

1. Why would head clearance be a problem? do these rails raise the seat significantly?

2. Why do the Kirkey seats require a backbrace? how do I know which seats do and which seats do not require a back brace?

 

I'm 6'-2" and using the stock seat and rails, I had head clearance problems wearing a Bell helmet. Had to lean the seat farther back to keep from rubbing the headliner and restricting head movement. The Arizen rails are at least the same height and maybe a small bit taller than stock ones. Unless you lean the seat farther back you will probably rub. Seat angle will play a big role in head clearance.
A FIA rated seat can be used without a back brace. The rating means that the seat body is strong enough to withstand impact without deformation and possible loosening of the restraint belts. Kirkeys are not FIA rated so a back brace is absolutely needed for safety. The Kirkey body is reinforced aluminum and is not strong enough without the extra brace to insure no deformation in a crash situation. They are a great seat IMHO, lightweight and reasonably inexpensive. The IO-Port brace is about $110 shipped so it's not a big expense.
If quick at track adjustability for different drivers is an absolute must have, then maybe you should consider a different FIA rated seat that can be used without a backbrace. That seat would allow for use of sliders like the Arizen ones.

 

im thinking about doing this for my car that ill be taking to the drag strip alot. only question is can you mount a kirkey to the stock electric seat brackets? i would prolly run a 16in kirkey

cause everytime i get in the car i am moving the seat because im never confertable in the same position as the last time i was driving the car

 

I use an Ultra-Sheild almost the same as Kirkey

And use Hard Bar mounting rails.

I am also 6-2 and I have 3" of clearance above my helmet

 

im 5'10'' btw about 185