Bolting bucket seats to the chassis

[jonb-]

I'm going to put lightweight buckets in my 2 and don't want to be faffing around with rails so i'm going to bolt in

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ ... COBSUBFR10

Anyone ever done this before? I'm assuming i'll have to drill the base then plate it the other side, though tips would be great (i'm looking at you Patrick )

thanks

[si2040]

Good luck. There is a reason to why the seats are bolted on the way they are. You would be a fool just to bolt it on anyway you see fit. In an accident it will just rip out hence put them on the rails and do a proper job.

Cutting corners just to see the thrill of having them on is one thing. Waking up in hospital is another. Be a man and do the right thing..RP

[Rogue]

Hi Jon,

I'm going to put lightweight buckets in my 2 and don't want to be faffing around with rails so i'm going to bolt in

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ ... COBSUBFR10

Anyone ever done this before? I'm assuming i'll have to drill the base then plate it the other side, though tips would be great (i'm looking at you Patrick )

thanks

At the moment I've got Bride seat mounts in the race cars, but they weigh quite a bit and I'm planning to take them out before racing starts and use the bolt in side mounts you've highlighted. I'm also hoping it allows me to lower the seat a little as my head hits the roll-cage in race car 1!

Will report back once I've done it.

Best regards,

Patrick Mortell
Rogue Motorsport Ltd
01676 530222

[jonb-]

si2040, i understand what your saying but i'm not bolting these in as a "quick fix" despite how my OP came across, buckets on the standard rails would leave me too high to fit in the car with a crash helmet.

I feel if you're smart enough and plate your mounts you should end up with something stronger than you started with which i'm sure we'll both agree is positive.

Patrick, if you fancy trailing it on mine let me know (i've a stripped shell without a cage). Failing that, when doing yours try and work out a price to do it for me as i'd like mine done properly and i'm not that handy with a welder / cutter.

Thanks

[RichardPON]

When you use side mounts like that in a racing application, the normal procedure would be to weld two bars between the side rail and the transmission tunnel, and mount them to that.

This is how we've always done it in our race/rally cars:





As for mounting direct to the floor, is the floorpan flat in the MR2 to enable you to do this?

[jonb-]

Thanks for the tip Richard, very interesting.

As for mounting direct to the floor, is the floorpan flat in the MR2 to enable you to do this?

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/garage.php ... ge_id=3355 is the best picture i know of, not exactly flat

[RichardPON]

Right - then that's the purpose of using rails, or an adaptor subframe.

As far as I can see, there's no way you'd be able to bolt the side mounts to the floorpan at all.............

[LuizeGT]

the floorplan is VERY thin, reinforce it if your not ising the normal bolt holes. its as thin as a body pannel, i had to knock all my drivers floor back out due to a accident by previous owner, i didnt notice it until mot time.

EDIT, i should really tead the rest of the thread before posting

have you polished your floor?

[jonb-]

Luiz,

That's Simons "skinthespin" car, he's primed and painted inside.

Richard, where there's a will there's a way

Patrick, care to elaborate on your plan of action?

[skinthespin]

I should get commission for that pic--lol

If you welded plates to the top and bottom of the floor then bolted through them im sure this would be strong enough, in effect using them as spreader plates, id be more inclined to do this as your not relying on a welded joint.

I'll be on MSN later if your around!

[Rogue]

Patrick, care to elaborate on your plan of action?

1) Buy sidemounts.
2) Park race car in workshop.
3) Make mechanic fit sidemounts.



It's likely to be a bit more involved than that, but until I've got the time to look at the issue in more detail I can't really say.

The race car is booked in this afternoon to have it's Carbotech XP8 race pads fitted so I might take a look at it then. I'll be shaking down the new brakes and suspension at Donington this Sunday if anyone wants to come along. I've fitted a passenger seat...

Best regard,

Patrick Mortell
Rogue Motorsport Ltd
01676 530222

[jonb-]

1) Buy sidemounts.
2) Park race car in workshop.
3) Make mechanic fit sidemounts.

*shakes fist* lol.

Once they've had a look do share, it'd be really usefull for my longterm plan. I quite like simons plate idea but it sounds awfully heavy...

I'll do a donny in a few weeks once the turbo is on the road and the HA's are fitted. Have to get a few of us to bedford too.

[matt_bakermk1]

The race car is booked in this afternoon to have it's Carbotech XP8 race pads fitted so I might take a look at it then. I'll be shaking down the new brakes and suspension at Donington this Sunday if anyone wants to come along. I've fitted a passenger seat...

now i wish i wasn't moving house this weekend

when you say heavy what exactly are you thinking of as being heavy?

I have my SPG's fitted using a Recaro bracket on the drivers side and a Trial bracket on the passenger side. The Trial IIRC is lighter of the 2, and neither weight a lot (Trial supplied by Jase, Recaro came with car). Both utilise the sliding adjustment rail, but this could be omitted and you then bolt the side mounts directly to the given subframe. You'd then get a lower fitting seat and even less weight.

Might be an alternative to welding in cutom brackets as you can utilise the stock mount points and just the basic subframe plus alloy sidemounts. If you're going for a fixed location it should be fine...

[jonb-]

Matt,

Thanks for that. Got any pictures / further information on where i can purchase this?

Basically i just need a low seat as a) better for COG and b) in a helmet i'm nearly 6'6 and don't fit too well! Dont exactly care how it's attached as long as it's safe. Sliders aren't needed either as it'll be mainly me driving...

[skinthespin]

LOL,

Shouldnt be too heavy mate, just 4 steel plates, 50mm x 50mm tacked on, might be worth having a poo though before your trackday to offset the weight.......

[matt_bakermk1]

not any good pics no - sorry!

Patricks sat in my car a few times, so not sure how it compares to his race car for height - probably not a lot in it as I do still have the sliders in place. I'm sure there's potential for dropping a good 20mm without the sliders in place though... I'm 6'2" and have plenty of head room (tin top) but never tried with helmet. Based on my time in Elises wearing helments and seat height to celing in them, I'd say I'd be fine though - even with sliders.

The basic subframe is just that though - basic. The Recaro one is quite complex by comparison, but the Trial item is far simpler - just flat sheet steel framework using the stock bolt holes. Did try to type a description but i don't think it's possible...!

Basically, its a flat steel square that sits over the floor to give a flat platform to bolt the side mounts to (or in my case the sliders and then the side mounts), and uses the stock bolt holes to locate the square frame with some 'tabs' welded in place that sit the frame against the holes to allow safe bolting.

Note that Recaro only have the FIA approval on the installation using the Recaro base mount - and from my own searching you can't get them anymore (hence I ended up buying the Trial version for my passenger seat).

Sorry I can't clarify it any more - if you're local you're welcome to come see - and if you want a Trial subframe just contact Jase at MTTE.

[jonb-]

Matt,

That trail unit sounds like JUST what i'm after, if only i could find the b**tard thing!

[Mikejc]

You'll have issues welding alloy to steel, no !?

Mikejc

[jonb-]

I'm digging this up now i've got the seat and subframe, plus the carpet up.

Firstly matt, it appears Jase can still supply the recaro one but is having problems fitting the trial one. I'll update you more when i hear back from him. One question i do have for you is why did you bolt trial->subframe->sidemounts, why not just subframe then sidemounts?

I'm going to try and fabricate some spacers and mounts this weekend by butchering either my stock seat or my bride subframe on the recaro i got with the car. Should be an interesting project

The way i see it the seat mounts are of secondary importance to the harness points. With a 5 point harness there's no real problem with the seat coming away in a crash as theres no where for it to go. Admittedly it will add a further 6.5kgs x Gforce to my bodyweight but that's nothing a month of dieting could help you lose so isn't a massive concern.

[skinthespin]

I can probably make it this friday jon if thats ok for you, we can fathom it out then, it would be nice for the seat not to come away in a crash though, 6.5kg x 20g is quite alot.........