My Solid Adjustable Seat Mounts
07-13-2017, 02:46 PM
#1
Thread Starter
My Solid Adjustable Seat Mounts
Hey all!
I haven't posted here in a long time, and figured I would share one of my latest projects: Solid Adjustable Seat Bases.
Preface:
I've been through many different seat mounts (PCI, Buddy Club, Planted, etc) and they have all had serious compromises. They either have shoddy construction, too bulky, or don't allow seats to go down low enough. All of the aftermarket mounts I've had claim to be super low, but that was never the case. A few years ago, I had my left rear wheel fly off during a test day at the track. The car almost flipped over, but thankfully I came out ok and the car did not sustain any damage. At the time I was running Buddy Club super low rails. The left side rail bent (it's only 1/8" flat stock tabs welded to the sliders), and one of the studs in the sliders snapped. There was virtually no impact, and I walked away ok. This had me thinking... What would have happened if this was a real accident? I went straight to the drawing board.
Design Criteria:
1) Safety
2) Ability to get the bottom of the seat to touch the floor pan
3) Adjustability (fore-aft, and side to side)
4) Light weight
Version 1:
With the above criteria, I was able to satisfy criteria 1, 2 and 3. I designed and manufactured a 2pc steel bar and plate design, with full perimeter welds. Also, I was able to incorporate a driver side eyelet mount for clip in harness lap belts (for those wishing to keep their oem seatbelts). However, being made of steel, it was extremely heavy. I originally wanted to do them in full aluminum, but the cost would have been much higher. The steel versions allowed me to quickly make prototype set for relatively low cost. For adjustability, I created a specific hole space pattern in both the side mounts and the floor rails, which allows fore-aft adjustment in 5mm (0.19") increments. I confirmed fitment and function, got them powder coated and ran them for a couple seasons of heavy track abuse. Hands down, these are the most solid feeling seat mounts I've ever experienced in an S2000. See 3D design renders and photos below:
Seat to Floor Spacing:
(About 1/8" clearance to little hump in floor, with just enough clearance for the sub strap harness eye bolts)
Version 2:
Having rigorously tested these in the real world, I was confident with the design. I decided to make full CNC aluminum versions, which shaved 10 lbs from my V1 seat mounts. These things are LIGHT! Total weight for each side is only 2lbs. They fit perfectly in the car (as expected). Will be getting them hard anodized to reduce wear caused by seat swaps and seat position changes. On to the pics!
Renders:
Weight:
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Alan
I haven't posted here in a long time, and figured I would share one of my latest projects: Solid Adjustable Seat Bases.
Preface:
I've been through many different seat mounts (PCI, Buddy Club, Planted, etc) and they have all had serious compromises. They either have shoddy construction, too bulky, or don't allow seats to go down low enough. All of the aftermarket mounts I've had claim to be super low, but that was never the case. A few years ago, I had my left rear wheel fly off during a test day at the track. The car almost flipped over, but thankfully I came out ok and the car did not sustain any damage. At the time I was running Buddy Club super low rails. The left side rail bent (it's only 1/8" flat stock tabs welded to the sliders), and one of the studs in the sliders snapped. There was virtually no impact, and I walked away ok. This had me thinking... What would have happened if this was a real accident? I went straight to the drawing board.
Design Criteria:
1) Safety
2) Ability to get the bottom of the seat to touch the floor pan
3) Adjustability (fore-aft, and side to side)
4) Light weight
Version 1:
With the above criteria, I was able to satisfy criteria 1, 2 and 3. I designed and manufactured a 2pc steel bar and plate design, with full perimeter welds. Also, I was able to incorporate a driver side eyelet mount for clip in harness lap belts (for those wishing to keep their oem seatbelts). However, being made of steel, it was extremely heavy. I originally wanted to do them in full aluminum, but the cost would have been much higher. The steel versions allowed me to quickly make prototype set for relatively low cost. For adjustability, I created a specific hole space pattern in both the side mounts and the floor rails, which allows fore-aft adjustment in 5mm (0.19") increments. I confirmed fitment and function, got them powder coated and ran them for a couple seasons of heavy track abuse. Hands down, these are the most solid feeling seat mounts I've ever experienced in an S2000. See 3D design renders and photos below:
Seat to Floor Spacing:
(About 1/8" clearance to little hump in floor, with just enough clearance for the sub strap harness eye bolts)
Version 2:
Having rigorously tested these in the real world, I was confident with the design. I decided to make full CNC aluminum versions, which shaved 10 lbs from my V1 seat mounts. These things are LIGHT! Total weight for each side is only 2lbs. They fit perfectly in the car (as expected). Will be getting them hard anodized to reduce wear caused by seat swaps and seat position changes. On to the pics!
Renders:
Weight:
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Alan
07-14-2017, 06:19 AM
#5
Community Organizer
Trending Topics
07-14-2017, 03:48 PM
#9
Nice! i saw this type of seat base, utilizing multiple holes for adjustment purposes, used on a VW and wondered why i've never seen it before for other vehicle applications. Your version looks pretty cool.
i have a couple of questions, what seat are you using and what is your order of operation as far as bolting the seat into the car. Do you bolt seat and side mount to the rail first then bolt to the car or do you bolt the rail down first and then bolt the seat and side mount down to the rail?
Reason i ask is because solid mounts on this car are difficult to bolt in due to the lack of space around the seats in this car. For example, if using a wide seat like a pole position and using for a tall person, where the seat would sit far towards the back of the cockpit, it must be hard to access the inside bolts sandwiched between the tranny tunnel and seat and also hard to access the rear inside seat mount bolt.
Hope that all makes sense, just wanted to pick your brain.
i have a couple of questions, what seat are you using and what is your order of operation as far as bolting the seat into the car. Do you bolt seat and side mount to the rail first then bolt to the car or do you bolt the rail down first and then bolt the seat and side mount down to the rail?
Reason i ask is because solid mounts on this car are difficult to bolt in due to the lack of space around the seats in this car. For example, if using a wide seat like a pole position and using for a tall person, where the seat would sit far towards the back of the cockpit, it must be hard to access the inside bolts sandwiched between the tranny tunnel and seat and also hard to access the rear inside seat mount bolt.
Hope that all makes sense, just wanted to pick your brain.
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