Racing seats for dual purpose car?

[dbyrd]

I'm considering racing seats for my dual purpose M3. How bad is it getting in and out of a racing seat in business attire? What are some other considerations?

I'm thinking that both seats should be on sliders and driver's seat with removable halo.

[OG Shark]

Originally Posted by dbyrd

I'm considering racing seats for my dual purpose M3. How bad is it getting in and out of a racing seat in business attire? What are some other considerations?

I'm thinking that both seats should be on sliders and driver's seat with removable halo.

To me it depends on a combination of how voluptuous you are and how huggy are the seats. Not a removable halo seat so not an option for you - but I know I would destroy business attire trying to get in and out of my OMP HTE-R. Also depending on how aggressive a fit you go with could see wrinkles being an issue. It's worth it though

[SQ13]

My old seat had small side bolsters at the front (Oreca Start FG). I didn’t have issues while wearing business casual attire. I could see it being more difficult with a Sparco Ergo since the side bolsters are higher.

[PrimeBMW]

I'm not willing to go without the side airbags that come with the OEM seats. It's just not worth the risk and exposure.

[dbyrd]

Originally Posted by SQ13

My old seat had small side bolsters at the front (Oreca Start FG). I didn’t have issues while wearing business casual attire. I could see it being more difficult with a Sparco Ergo since the side bolsters are higher.

I would be going with a seat with high bolsters so good point. I'm thinking that with sliders, I could move all the way back for exit/entry. Passenger seat would go for comfort with lower bolsters.

[///Mobbin]

On my last car I went with the Cobra Imola Pro-Fit GT seats that have low bolsters and while they were brilliant on track it ended up being too uncomfortable for me for street duty. I would consider the following options if I did it again.

(1) Leave my spare seats in the garage so they are easy to get to and swap my OE driver's seat (or possibly both seats) back in for street duty -- the swap of a complete seat itself isn't particularly difficult (4 bolts/seat plus wiring harness connector, I would also have two sets of 3-point receivers and keep them on each seat), but the airbag coding part is more time consuming so you might have to get creative if choosing this option and find a way other than coding to make the swap work. Maybe a module you plug in to avoid the error lights when the race seats are in (if that exists).

or

(2) Go with a more street focused seat such as the Cobra Nogaro Circuit. I haven't seen one of these in person yet but imagine the comfort is better than a more track focused seat. I'd also use the BK harness bar or a roll bar for either setup.

I'm currently using OE seats with a CG Lock, it's not the same as being harnessed but getting me by for now.

[///Mobbin]

Obioban has a nice write-up on the Nogaro's and 3-pt seat belt considerations: LINK

[dparm]

The term "racing seat" is pretty broad. There are a lot of milder designs that are more of a hybrid, sort of like what you see in the M4 GTS and the like. Those are generally fine for street use.

I would suggest visiting a place like Winding Road Racing (easy day trip for you) and sit in lots of different seats until you find what you think is a good compromise. The really aggressive race seats will be punishing on your back when driving around, and aren't really designed for easy ingress/egress. And yes, they will wrinkle the shit out of your clothes since they're supposed to be very snug.

These look like they'd be livable on a daily basis:
https://store.windingroad.com/sparco...eat-p3070.aspx
https://store.windingroad.com/tuner-seats-c247.aspx

[tom @ eas]

Are you looking for a Race shell or touring seat (reclinable)?

For touring seats, the Sparco SPX or Sportster GTs are good choices. Race shells on the other hand, aren't exactly simple to get in or out of in a daily driver.

[dbyrd]

Originally Posted by ///Mobbin

On my last car I went with the Cobra Imola Pro-Fit GT seats that have low bolsters and while they were brilliant on track it ended up being too uncomfortable for me for street duty. I would consider the following options if I did it again.

(1) Leave my spare seats in the garage so they are easy to get to and swap my OE driver's seat (or possibly both seats) back in for street duty -- the swap of a complete seat itself isn't particularly difficult (4 bolts/seat plus wiring harness connector, I would also have two sets of 3-point receivers and keep them on each seat), but the airbag coding part is more time consuming so you might have to get creative if choosing this option and find a way other than coding to make the swap work. Maybe a module you plug in to avoid the error lights when the race seats are in (if that exists).

or

(2) Go with a more street focused seat such as the Cobra Nogaro Circuit. I haven't seen one of these in person yet but imagine the comfort is better than a more track focused seat. I'd also use the BK harness bar or a roll bar for either setup.

I'm currently using OE seats with a CG Lock, it's not the same as being harnessed but getting me by for now.

What's up Ryan - you should've kept the GT4!

I hear what you and most others are saying, but I want a racing seat rather than a street-focused seat. I run WRL in a Boxter, and I can do a 4-hour double stint and still be comfortable in the racing seat. I appreciate you suggesting going back-and-forth, but to be realistic, I wouldn't go back and forth for every track event.

I'll try to sit in as many seats as possible, and I appreciate the recommendations. I'm not quite ready to stop driving this car on the street, but perhaps I should be satisfied with instructing with the car as is and getting my door-to-door kicks in WRL. That said, racing seats make such a difference, and I'd probably lose 150 lbs losing the OEM beasts.

[dbyrd]

Originally Posted by OG Shark

To me it depends on a combination of how voluptuous you are and how huggy are the seats. Not a removable halo seat so not an option for you - but I know I would destroy business attire trying to get in and out of my OMP HTE-R. Also depending on how aggressive a fit you go with could see wrinkles being an issue. It's worth it though

Voluptuous - that's funny, and I may have some of that going on. The Sparco Ergo has detachable head protection/halos, but I'd consider a seat with no halos. Deep bolsters are a must.

[dbyrd]

Originally Posted by PrimeBMW

I'm not willing to go without the side airbags that come with the OEM seats. It's just not worth the risk and exposure.

This is a great point, and not just for me. I would frequently have a passenger including my wife and kids.

[M3MPH1S]

I have the OMP First R seat which has very tall side bolstering and I never had any significant issues with business casual attire while dailying it for a year. Fixed mounting, no sliders. Biggest inconvenience was the rear of my shirt coming loose (but not untucked) and needing to tidy it up after getting to work.

[jid2]

I swap the race seat in for track days, takes like 10 mins.

[SAMM3Y]

I have sportsters. No air bags though. A big improvement over stock and firm but comfortable easy to get up and down in. Weight savings isn't stellar. Quality though.

[M3MPH1S]

Originally Posted by jid2

I swap the race seat in for track days, takes like 10 mins.

I hope you're replacing the floor bolts periodically. Repeatedly torquing those bolts will weaken them...and that's the only thing holding your ass in the car lol

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by dbyrd

Voluptuous - that's funny, and I may have some of that going on. The Sparco Ergo has detachable head protection/halos, but I'd consider a seat with no halos. Deep bolsters are a must.

I run this seat in two cars. I don't drive them a lot in the street because I have others better suited to that, but I can wear a suit and take the car to work without issues. Sliders are certainly a must.

I can do 10h drives in them and it's not wonderful but I'm not dying either. That's how long it takes to get to MidOhio or VIR from NY sometimes.

The removable halos are a must for me.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by dbyrd

That said, racing seats make such a difference, and I'd probably lose 150 lbs losing the OEM beasts.

I weighed the F80 with a full tank of gas with oem fronts and rears.
Then replaced the fronts with Ergos, removed the rear bottom and back, added the BK harness bar and the belts.
(I forgot to add that I also swapped electric F80 seats for manual sliders on the Spargo Ergo seats)

Total net weight loss of 60lb


So not much in weight delta. I do it because it's a huge improvement in safety. Using a 3 point on the track is too dangerous if you're fast

[M3MPH1S]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

I weighed the F80 with a full tank of gas with oem fronts and rears.
Then replaced the fronts with Ergos, removed the rear bottom and back, added the BK harness bar and the belts.

Total net weight loss of 60lb


So not much in weight delta. I do it because it's a huge improvement in safety. Using a 3 point on the track is too dangerous if you're fast

Interesting...the F80 rear seats must be a good bit lighter than the E92 rear seats

I was at 3,595 with OEM seats and all else the same aside from 19x10,19x11 wheels
Versus 3,460 with fixed backs, no rear seats, BK harness bar and 18x10 wheels

So 135 lbs savings - if the net savings for the seats is 60, that leaves 75 lb difference for the wheels which seems too high

I should probably just weigh the wheels/seats, but what's the fun in that??

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by M3MPH1S

Interesting...the F80 rear seats must be a good bit lighter than the E92 rear seats

I was at 3,595 with OEM seats and all else the same aside from 19x10,19x11 wheels
Versus 3,460 with fixed backs, no rear seats, BK harness bar and 18x10 wheels

So 135 lbs savings - if the net savings for the seats is 60, that leaves 75 lb difference for the wheels which seems too high

I should probably just weigh the wheels/seats, but what's the fun in that??

They didn't feel much lighter but it's possible they are. Carrying them around they seem similar

The car stayed on the scales the whole time during the conversion so it's as apples to apples as you can get

I forgot to add that I also swapped electric F80 seats for manual sliders on the Spargo Ergo seats

[M3MPH1S]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

They didn't feel much lighter but it's possible they are. Carrying them around they seem similar

The car stayed on the scales the whole time during the conversion so it's as apples to apples as you can get

I forgot to add that I also swapped electric F80 seats for manual sliders on the Spargo Ergo seats

Well can't argue with the scales lol

Yeah I guess the sliders probably add ~10 lbs each?

Anyway, there's probably something else I ripped out that I failed to account for

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by M3MPH1S

Well can't argue with the scales lol

Yeah I guess the sliders probably add ~10 lbs each?

Anyway, there's probably something else I ripped out that I failed to account for

For sure they add weight, no idea how much. I use the BK seat and harness hardware on both cars and they allow me to use OEM sliders.

Prior to this I used MS hardware and Recaro sliders. To the closest approximation the BK setup is a billion times better.