Harnesses etc

[PobodY]

Here are some pictures; as I say it is a bit tatty:

Side mounts...

...but no base mounts.

I think I could get it to sit on the OEM sub-frame with some appropriate brackets. - It just about sits between the runners (in a similar way that the standard base does), but obviously there's nothing to connect it to... and the reclining mechanism gets in the way. It looks like that can be un-bolted from the door-side runner; is that right? If so I might be able to make it work... but I need the brackets and since Magnum don't seem to exist any more I don't know if any of the other manufacturer's will fit. - Does anyone know?

Finally, this is the bolt I had to drill-out to get the old seat out.

The drill did jump and bite my leg, which I wasn't pleased about... however I got the head off and belted the shaft through the hole (which I was pleased about). - Looks like that's just above the heat shield, so I think my plan to put one of those FIA backing plates under there and a 7/16 bolt through the seat mount is going to work.

 

[gtirx2]

Not sure about the side mounts tbh, but i am pretty sure they are proberly the same as other makes.


Personally i think you will struggle mounting the seat on the oem runners,i think it will proberly sit to high (helmet on roof) and possibly pinch you knees under the wheel if its still the stock steering wheel.


I think the only mount i used off the oem seat was the back right drivers side one,left side is bolted on the hump directly through the floor,and then made a complete new mount for the driver side.

The trouble you will face,especially if your are a midgit lol is the front of the seat on the cross member,on some seats the futher forward you go the higher it brings the front of the seat,alot is all seat dependant,some seem to fit better than other.

 

[PobodY]

I might just pay a little more and buy "universal" brackets.

I'll be honest; the only reason I'm looking at the standard subframe and runners is to save money and/or effort. - It already has the right difference in height between the two sides, and established mounting points (although there's now only three of them).
It does seem that everyone says that they'll make the seat too high, but that looks to be the same problem with any of the manufactured sub-frames too. - I'm half tempted to find the right spot and just bolt the brackets to the floor, but it I cock that up the seat is completely unusable.

 

[PobodY]

Well, I've hit my first hurdle. - Magnum seats aren't a standard fitment on side-mount brackets; they're about 5mm shorter so the low-mount OMP brackets I've just bought don't bolt-up. :doh:

YBRacing said I can return them, but I figure I'll just drill a new hole for the rear mounting bolt; the front holes are designed to have a bit of adjustment, so if I relocate the rear pivot it should work.

 

[PobodY]

Time for another update. - I bought some "universal" sliders off eBay, but when I looked at them and my OMP brackets it was clear that wasn't going to work.
I decided to partly butcher my OEM subframes, but hopefully in a way that means I can undo the damage easily enough.

Seeing as the "out" side is the problem one, I drilled-out the rivets and welds for the brackets on that side:

I initially tried bolting the side-mounts directly to these, but that was still a bit low (so the seat was tilted down towards the door); I wasn't surprised as I remember Jim's thread saying that the rail is about 1" lower on that side. - I took the eBay sliders apart, and used the bits as spacers:

(Obviously this one was when I tried to bolt them straight on.)

Put that back in the car:

On the other side I had a right-angle bracket already; I used that so that the original seat mounting point could be used to bolt the side-mount as close to the floor pan as possible (that's why the bolt is going up rather than down; it can't fall out anyway, and that let me get it as flush against the floor as I could):

Once I'd got it all bolted in, it seemed like the sensible thing to do would be to check that I would actually fit. - I did, but I had to adjust the angle of the seat a bit further forward (which it didn't like as it was already pretty tightly mounted).
All-in-all, probably a little closer to the pedals than I'd like, but a good distance from the steering wheel etc.
I took these so that I could check quite how close my head is to the roof:

...close, but still enough room I think.

Job done (for now). - I haven't actually driven the car like this, but seeing as the sun came out it felt like a productive thing to have done with a bank holiday.

 

[PobodY]

I did drive the car in to work today like this. - It is definitely higher than the original seat, and it is definitely closer to the pedals.

In terms of comfort; I think I can feel more of the road surface as there's not a lot of padding in the arse area, but it's not spine-shattering. I think I could do with a bit of lumbar support, but other than that it's not a bad place to be. Obviously I can't gauge how I'd do for an hour or more at a time, but I think it would be OK.

Visibility from the seat isn't bad; I had to use my harness as I haven't worked-out how I could re-mount the buckle for the retractable jobbie. - I don't think using an M8 bolt on the seat mount is a suitable replacement for the correct size, and using the rear eye-bolt (that replaced the original bolt holding the original seat down) would place it flat againt the floor.
Anyway, It's not an especially deep seat, so it's easy enough for me to look left and right without obstruction; I don't have many T-junctions where I could do with being able to lean forward, but I can see that presents a problem with the harness on.

It definitely does give a lot more confidence in the bends and corners. I can be a lot lighter with the steering, and as a result it feels a bit like the car is on rails now.

Having said all this, I'll probably take the seat back out until I need it now. - It's not the most practical thing for daily driving.

 

[campbellju]

Nice work George, considering how much you've spent I'm glad you've been able to sort it out.

 

[pulsarboby]

george is that an element of ginga i can see on your eyebrows:shock::lol:

you done alright there and youve got plenty of headroom seeing as its a sunroof model as well with lowered lining.
i wouldnt use harnesses though just use seatbelts
two reasons 1) you will look a nob driving round the streets with harnesses on and
2) not the safest thing with no rollcage
although you dont strike me as a loony driver whos gonna be getting her on 3 wheels round the twisties so your call really

 

[PobodY]

So keep the bucket, but take the harness back out? - I think that makes more sense on the road (and yes, I did feel like a nob), but as it stands I haven't got anywhere to attach the seatblet to. :doh:
I did give it a try, and the "arm" section at the top comes just over the edge of the seat. I think I could thread the bottom section through the hole in the seat; it's goint to the same point as the lap-strap on the harness anyway. Maybe the way forward it to drill a hole in the tunnel and mount the seatbelt buckle to that?

As for the ginga, it's more likely that's grey making them look lighter. ;-)

 

[pulsarboby]

you should be able to attach them to the seat rail and nut n bolt them through, thats what ive just done with my new track car!

il not be using harnesses on track either not without a rollcage fitted....lets face it this is when you will be more likely to flip the car if its ever gonna happen and your head or neck wont appreciate that, although unlikely you never know.....a fast circuit/straight mixed with a front tyre blowout and over countersteer is enough to send a car spinning in the air, especially one with a high centre of gravity such as an R.

im not trying to put a damper on things here but the seats with stock belts are enough to keep you in position, where as with stock seats you are using the steering wheel to hang on in mid bend lol

 

[PobodY]

No, I see the logic in that.
Having sat in the seat with the harness on I'm quite concious that there's not much space between my head being attached to my neck, and my head being pushed to somewhere between my shoulders. - I think you probably could get out of position with the standard seats and a harness, or at least when the seat snaps (as everyone seems to tell you it will) you'd get a bit more space. :shock:

The seat does a better job of keeping me still than the harness alone, so the only thing it's really doing at the moment is giving me a bit more control over the braking as I don't end-up pushing back against the pedal to keep myself in the seat.