Sparco Sprint Seats
 

How are the Sparco sprint seats? I have considered Momo starts and some of the Corbeau seats (Forza, FX1 Pro). I am looking for FIA seats that are in the $200 to $280 each. My FC is used for daily driving and track days. What seats would you get and why?

sprint is good for entry level. stay away from corbeau (at least american marker, UK market corbeaus are awsome), they suck ass. unless you are overwieght, ir have over a 38 inch waist, corbeaus suck.

Are those seats tube frame? Some sanctioning groups want you to use a seat back brace, and you can't easily attach one to a tube frame seat.

The Sparco Sprint seats are tube framed. I do not have to worry about sanctioning groups since it will not be used for racing. I do want to replace my seats with safer seats for track days. The Corbeaus do come in smaller sizes like in the FX1 Pro which can be side mounted and has 5 holes for my harness. The Sparco Sprint is FIA approved but, does not have 5 holes for my harness.

A friend of mine has a Corbeau Forza in his race car, and I think it works great and fits me pretty well (tall & thin). I've been codriving with him all this year and I've got no complaints about the seat.
I'm not sure I would use it in a daily driver, but I guess there are sacrifices to be made when you have a dual duty car (street/track).
Good luck

My Sparco Evo is probably more comfortable than any factory car seat I've ever sat in... ran a 2-hour stint in my car and I thought I was pitting "early" (which means an hour:15 or hou:30). With it laid back like it is now, I can even catch a few z's on the grid! :D

If they weren't so expensive, I'd put a pair of them in the Elva.

You should read this before buying a seat !
 

LEARNING FROM TRAGEDY. By Tim Spencer

Thursday October 16th started like any other thursday before a big race weekend. Organising all the team equipment, last minute food purchases, and generally a thrash. Billy (Our driver) flying in from the east coast. We had done all of this before, but there is always something new every race weekend. This time we were to be on a local radio show in Bakersfield friday morning to help promote the RealRide Racing team and some of our dedicated sponsors; Pennyweb, Pyrotect and Day Wireless Systems. Everything got done and we are off to Buttonwillow Raceway Park. The Radio show goes well even though a competing race series has bought time on the radio program and the host won't let us mention our race series, American Stockcar Challenge(ASC). After the radio gig we are off to the track for a half day of testing. Testing goes well and Billy is doing well and posting very competitive times. All looks good for saturday. A good time out with friends of the radio show and then to sleep we go.

Saturday starts with practice going well. No problems and Billy looks to be one of the fastest ASC cars in practice. We install a new set of tires for qualifying, but it does not go well. Billy is pushing too hard under braking and is taking turn one way too fast. He never gets a clean lap for qualifying. Billy has to start near the end of the field. The team rallies together and plots a strategy for the whole weekend. Billy will start slowly and keep the car on track conserving his tires and he will see what happens in front of him. Doing this will help conserve the tires so he can be more competitive on sunday when he has better rubber than the rest of the guys. The start of the race goes as planned. Billy is following the plan as we agreed. He has made some changes to his driving line and braking points and is keeping his position. Unfortunately early in the race Billy looses control and goes off the track impacting an earthen berm. The car impacts the berm on the passenger side and comes to rest on top of the berm. The track safety crew starts to work to get him out of the car. We all help to get him to the hospital as fast as possible, but unfortunately he does not survive. The ER doctor describes the injury as a ruptured carotid artery in his neck causing sudden blood loss and death. I still have a hard time understanding how this accident killed a good friend and fellow racer. The part of the track he went off is not a high speed section and he went off the track side ways. After any accident fatal or not we try to analyse what happened. Here are some things we found.

After a short bit of research I find that even slow speed accidents at certain angles can be fatal. It turns out that impacts to the passenger side of race cars can cause serious and sometimes fatal injuries to the driver. Most injuries are to the neck and head. The seats in most race cars do not have any side head restraints, so even a small impact can cause the head and neck to be over extended. Alot of work has been done to help with front and rear impacts, but what we needed was something to prevent the type of injuries sustained in a side impact. Seems this should be handled by the seat. Alot of testing and research has been done on seats in race cars after some of the deaths in NASCAR. Most race seats used by racers of all types(pro and amateur) are very similar. Large side bolsters to keep you in the seat and rib or shoulder "wings" to keep you from sliding around under hard cornering forces and a headrest of some type to keep your head from going backwards in a front or rear impact. Nothing on either side of your head. This for many years has been the "standard" in racing seats and is made by many companies out of aluminum, fiberglass, and carbon fiber. I set out to find a better alternative. One that would give the driver a chance in an accident such as Billy's. Several of the stock car seat companies have been testing and building seats with head restaints since Dale Earnhardt's accident. Butler and Richardson have seats available with heavily reinforced headrests/restraints. They supply almost all NASCAR teams with seats and have a alot of experience with NASCAR stock cars. I also contacted Recaro as they have a new line of seats with a large head rest/restaint also. These seats are very new and as of this writing I have not been able to see one in person. Recaro has alot of crash data and has a good reputation in the racing seat business. The seat I finally bought for myself is built by Racetech. The seat was designed and built for the new Dodge Viper competition coupe race car. Daimler-Chrysler commisioned Racetech to build a seat capable of high G impacts that would protect the driver. Racetech and Daimler-Chrysler designed a seat that meets all of my requirements and is reasonably priced considering the other options. The seat has been tested at some of the highest G loads. The minimum requirements for Daimler-Chrysler were well beyond what the FIA requires of seats(the only organization that has specifications for race seats that I know of). It is used in the new Viper race car from the factory. The seat is also available in several sizes to fit nearly anyone, and this has been a problem for me since I am near 300 lbs and 6' tall. It has a wrap around headrest/restraint, extended shoulder restraints, heavily reinforced back brace area, built in bosses for extended passenger side window nets, and bosses for the back brace attachment. It is a side mount seat that can be adjusted for nearly any seating position. It is compact and light weight.

Finally I hope that our tragedy will inspire other racers professional or amateur to look at their safety gear. Make sure you have all required items properly installed and then look to some of the new products. Seats are one area I believe everybody needs to improve. Head and neck restraints are items all racers should start using. These items cannot guarrantee that you will not get hurt, but it will improve your odds. It is everyone's responsability to be as safe as possible while on the track, so use this info to make choices in regards to safety.

My last track day was at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. Even though I am not racing, I think it would a good idea get better seats just incase. I don’t think seats with side head supports would work on the street for me. I do have a Pyrotect contour neck collar which should help some.

They work great in go-karts and Quarter Midgets, they're useless (except for reducing fatigue) in "big cars". The fella's at ISAAC have some info on their website, I believe, or you can contact Greg Baker for more info (I don't have the time to find and dig out the info he posted somewhere).

If you get an ultra shield seat you can unbolt the head side supports when street driving.

I am not looking for seats for a racecar, just a safer seat for track days that will still be usable on the street. Lots of people still use their stock seats for track day events. I want a seat that will be decently convertible (have coilovers) on the seat and not make it too hard to get into my car. My current thinking is probably the Corbeau FX1 Pro seats.

Momo Start – not enough padding for the street, FIA, will have to make brackets
Sparco Sprint – FIA, only made for 4 point harness, will have to make brackets
Corbeau FX1 Pro – not FIA, bottom/side mount, 5 holes for harness, brackets available

lol whatever dude. of course an fx1 is going to be better than stock, but sit in sparco, recaro, bride, or almost anything else, and you will be thinking on how to sell the corbeau the fastest. that said, cheap buckets are very hard to find. the cheapest decent seat i have sat in is a charge speed seat. buddyclub is good too but its a bit small for me, and im 6'4 so the harness slits are too low.

Try the Cobra Imola, FIA cert, 5 pt holes, light weight, very comforable for me at least 200 lbs, 5-10, narrow hips - mass in front. I use on a track/street car.

I actually think the Cobra Monaco would fit me better. It is in the price range, is 5 or 6 point belt compatable, is FIA approved, and has larger openings for my regular selt belts when on the street. The Corbeau is tempting but, I do not like that it is not FIA approved.

To answer your original question:
The Sparco Sprint is a great bang for the buck seat.
Relatively comfortable, cheap, pretty lightweight and not too hard to get in & out of (leg/side bolsters aren't high)

If you have broader shoulders you may find that the Sprint's bolsters won't hold your shoulders.

The seat area can fit a 30" waist with ease.

I've heard horror stories about Sparco rails & their terrible fitment, so it's something to look out for.


Either way if it's just for street, the Sprint should be a decent seat.
Best thing is to sit in one but if you can't, a Sparco Sprint is similar in comfort compared to a Bride Zeta 3 (very comfy).
I would recommend it for its price range & so long as you get the rails sorted out.


Reflux who traded his Sprint for a Zeta 3.

First of all, I would serious take a look at your budget or why you're going racing.
I would reconsider spending more money on the seat.
At minimum I would raise it to at least $500.
Trying to get cheap on "safety equipment" is not something you want to test in an accident.
Racing accidents happen, and they happen a lot faster and harder than your typical accident on the street.

Reread the article by Tim Spencer.
It reminds me of the fatal crash that Dale Earnhardt got into.
Take a look at the HANS device as a serious option.

Getting back to the seat, most of the "serious" seats are in the thousand dollar range.
Exotic materials like carbon fiber and kevlar are used, and not only does it make the seat lighter, it makes it stronger and more resilient to failure.

I'm in the market for a seat, and being 6' and 250# does narrow the field a lot.
I'm trying to shoot for a Sparco EVO2, which is priced around $500 - $600, but no one can confirm if this fits in an FC.
I know it doesn't fit in an FD. :)


-Ted

uhm, i coulda sworn that eric cheatham had evo2's in his fd

I was told the EVO 2 has been fitted in the FD, just a little trans tunnel persuasion, I did for my Imola 2's also. Went with to Cobra for Kelvar. I have been told that the Sparco and Recaro fiberglass seats are just market versions, must add that 800 plus for the CF versions for safety security

I run a Sparco ULTRA race bucket in my FC and its been great. they are cheap enough and superlight for the money (13 lbs!) plus they are designed to be very comfortable while being FIA certified. I bolted mine to an aluminum bar which is then bolted to the factory sliders so I could retain forward-rearward sliding adjustment in case someone else wants to drive my car. I am 5'8'' and about 180 lbs, and the seat fits me tightly. with a huge ass Bell full face helmet on I still fit in the seat very well with 1'' of clearance from the headliner (no sunroof in my car). With some modification to the factory sliders or changing their spacing (width frpom each other) so you can bolt the seat directly to the sliders, you could get the seat another 1/2'' toward the floor, maybe 3/4'' closer. I have another one for the passenger but it looks to be more difficult to mount on that side since the trans.tunnel moves over quite a bit and the sliders are offset to allow for it... in time it will have race seats on both sides.

http://homepage.mac.com/owen_the_soy...E/DSCN0320.JPG

I'd recommend the Sparco ultra for you since it seems to fit your criteria and offers exceptional comfort while being lightweight and inexpensive and it fits well.

Since I am not racing and just going to trackdays, I ordered a set of Cobra Monaco seats with universal double locking sliders. The Sparco spint did not have 5th hole fo my harness and that is why I did not get those.

What thickness of metal should I use to fab the seat brackets 1/8 or 3/16 mild steel? Does anyone have pixtures or a write up on making seat brackets for a FC?

On Evilaviators FC 20B.. I installed Two MOMO 1000Lakes seats.. and they came with sliders that bolted right in.

In my ITA 1st gen it has a Momo Rookie... which was renamed Start IIRC... Fit is TIGHT.. I am 5'10" 190 and have fairly broad shoulders and I am TIGHT in the seat in the rib cage width and shoulder area.
I dont move at all when racing it.. and with the harnesses painfully tight.. am fine throughout the events.
After I get out???? I am a bit sore in the ribs on the sides because as I said.. I am tight on the sides... BUT... I figure this is good... because I am not going anywhere.
Padding is THIN.

Momo 1000 Lakes in the 20B car were fine and actually comfortable if a bit on the tight side for me. (In the autocrosses etc I put the car through before starting the 20B part of things)

On the Rookie mounting in the 1st gen.. I had to remove the floor mounts that were factory bumps.. and put the seat on a small 3/16"x1.25" flat steel square frame.. and mount the frame to the flat floor with 2"x2"x3/16 plates under the bolts.... To clear the roll cage with my head.

So can anyone confirm the Sparco Evo2 (or anything similar I can fit my fat ass 6' 250# frame in) fits in an FC3S?


-Ted

Try using this Sparco spec sheet you can download from Sparco USA's website to see if you would fit in the seat and if it would fit in a FC. I think the EVO2 might be a little wide for a FC. My current seats are 20" wide at the bottom and 23" wide at the shoulders. The EVO2s are almost a inch wider and would probably be a tight fit.

I've had evo 2's in my fd for 4 years now....... no rubbing or hitting of anything. Only thing I had to do was make my own brackets.

I am 6'4" and using a pair of Sparco Sprints in my FC, so i suggest you check out the spec sheets and compare the dimensions..