sliding around in leather FD seats
 

I have a '93 touring and I'm tryin to figure out how to fix this situation before an upcoming auto-x. It seems like there's a few options, but I'm not sure what to go with, I am trying to be economical.

I can get a racing seat, but I am 6'2" and the only seat that would work headroom-wise is the Bride Low Max seat, which is like $750 and non-adjustible. I would like an adjustible seat for daily driving. I don't have enough headroom with a helmet as-is and am planning on shaving the seat cushion to get another inch.

I could get a racing harness, but I have no bar or cage. I am also planning on doing some HPDE's and I have heard that if you have a 4, 5, or 6-point harness then you need a cage or bar in case you roll, or else the harness will hold you snugly in place while your roof and skull get crushed. would a 3-point harness work or would it be the same scenario?

I suppose I could reupholster the seat in some sticky suede-like material? Not sure how much it would cost but I'm sure it would be expensive...

I could buy and R1 seat. Think this would be cheaper or the reupholster?

What do you guys think would be the most economical way to solve my slippery situation?

Try a CG-lock first. They're $40. http://www.cg-lock.com/

Your next logical option would be trying to find an R1 seat, if you aren't willing to install a rollcage and all of that (which is understandable). You can find a pair for a lot less than a single Bride Seat (which are nice), but it might take you a while to find a set in good condition.

Awesome! I was doubtful that there was a cheap solution to my predicament. I'm definitely gonna give that cg-lock a try, thanks Rynberg!

The CG Lock is pretty good. Lots of people around here have used them, I just got one myself.

Try spilling a can of rootbeer on it :) Tasty too!

damn didn't know about that CG Lock cool stuff.

If you're having trouble with sliding around a 5 point harness might be your best bet.

You can get your stock seats reupholstered in the R1 type suede. This helps a little bit but not a whole lot. I have it done. Cost me $800 for both seats but I think you could probably get it done cheaper if you live in an area with cheaper labor.

I added a Schroth 3 point to my '94 PEG leather and it holds me in place pretty well for autocross.

Tomas

And what does the shoulder strap bolt to?

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hlight=harness


As I said in the thread. This is for AutoX only but works excellent for me.

Tomas

I had a similar situation as you...the tan seats were simply too slippery for track driving. I think you should try the cg-lock first, which I also bought and had a good experience with. If that doesn't do it for you, I'd try to find a good pair of R1/R2 seats in decent condition. I tried looking but couldn't find any in good enough condition at a reasonable price, so I ended up buying a tan seat with suede inserts from leatherseats.com. I think they have group buys going on at times, and I've documented my experience with the install HERE. The install of the seats did take quite a bit of work FYI.

Good luck!

4 point retractable harness
 

I purchased a OMP 4 Point retractable harness, I too was sliding in my tan seats
when I was autocrossing, It installs with the factory lap belt bolts and the retract
installs into the trunk area were the factory 12mm bolt hole right under the carpet behind the hatch panel .

Note NASA was giving me a hard time with this belt when I Was doing a HPDE
at Pocono raceway ! They said it's for autocross ! I would need a %point and since I was Scary Fast I should consider a Roll Bar !

Thanks for the advice guys! I actually ordered a CG-lock a few days ago so I will see how that works. I'm sure in the future I will want to install a cage and harness when this car becomes a pure track car, but not now while it is my compromise track car/daily driver.

It sounds ghetto, but it does help - get some of that sticky rubber mat used under area rugs and sit on it (back and butt). With that and the CG-lock, you should be in good shape.

There is also a strap that you can buy that just wraps around your torso and the seat: http://www.racerwholesale.com/catalo...roducts_id=195

This is why when I replaced my seat covers, I got the synthetic suede center panels. Between that and the 6-pt restraints, I'm in my car pretty snug.

there are a lot of other seats other than that bride that would work head room wise. Almost any real racing seat will work just fine. It's all about the bracket set-up.

I just reinstalled my seats after reuppolstering with black leather/ suede inserts (leatherseats.com deal)and cutting ~1" of padding. The suede is far more "grippy". I really wanted to get some sparcos etc. , but after researching decided it would be far too much $$/ time consuming to get them to sit at stock height or lower and retain all the adjustability and comfort.

I am gonna cut the inch out of my foam tomorrow I think. Is the seat still comfortable? What did you use to cut it? I haven't tried taking a seat apart yet, does it take a while?

Lol, hijacking my own thread.

Yes the seat is still very comfortable. A big, serated knife works well to cut the foam. Taking the seat apart is not too hard, it may be a little tricky to reuse the oem hog rings though.

an electric carving knife is what the upholstery shops use for trimming foam - works great if you happen to have one. new hog rings are cheap - wouldn't fool with trying to reuse old ones.

I actually have my seat apart right now, looks like I'll be needing to get hog pliers and hog rings to put it back together.

Just finished up and bolted the seat back in. Gained a good 1.5 inches, maybe even close to 2 inches of headroom! I really went to town on that cushion, kept shaving more and putting it back in the car and sat in until I felt like I had enough headroom. Just used a regular serrated knife, no electrical one around. The leather cover fits a little more loosley, but nothing too bad and you can barely tell by looking. Seat still has plenty of cushion left to be comfortable to sit on.

An added bonus that relates back to the topic of this thread, since the center cushion sits lower, the side bolsters come up higher and fit much more snugly.