NO it's not and if you don't understand, you have ZERO clue about building a REAL race car. All you internet know it alls and wannabe engineers do more harm than anyone. You can't possibly mount a poly or an aluminum seat well enough that the seats mounts alone will contain the seat and a 200 pound driver in the event of a hard crash. As far as seats not fitting, if yours doesn't, it's your own damn fault for not buying the right seat. They also make "pour in" kits that are required by the rules in faster classes. It's a mixture in a bag, you sit in the seat suited up, it conforms to your exact shape and hardens.

And what I said above about the belts and mounts is 100% true and I could really care less if you think it is bad advice or not.

The fact that Pro-Mods, Pro-Stocks, whatever, shed parts during a crash is irrelevant to this discussion. Anything that is outside the drivers compartment doesn't matter. The carbon body weighs 40lbs and is mounted with tiny tubing and dzus fasteners. Well of course it is coming off......it's supposed to. But at the end of the crash, when the fully intact drivers compartment is sitting there with the driver and seat still held in by properly mounted belts, the rest simply doesn't matter

And in this context, it doesn't matter if the car is a street car, a pro-mod or a dragster, the MOUNTS do NOT contain the seat. It's the BELTS and always has been

A seat belt only restrains a person AGAINST a surface (seat/mountings). If that surface does not resist the forces the body presents AGAINST the seat, a seat belt's usefulness is of reduced benefit in a dynamic multi impact typical crash.

I hope our readers care, its their well being at stake.

This poly seat stayed in my 66 Dart when it rolled about 6 times at about 114 mph. The safety belts did their job and kept me in the seat in the car. I did slide down in the seat some as this was in 1982 and I did not have a crotch strap in it and I slid down in the seat some and broke my ankle. My shoulder harness was hooked to the rollbar center bar behind the seat and the rest of the safety belts were hooked into the stock seat belt mounts. Ron

wow
folks use what you want just please mount it right and mount belts correctly per makers instructions

[quote=Adobedude]Love my aluminum Kirky, I can sit comfortably in it during numerous Chevy an Ford oil downs, no problem. [/quote

+ + +

The biggest concern I have now with my plastic seats in the Demon is the rear brace just being a tube ended with a 2 sq inch plate that ponts right at my backbone. In a rear impact it would skewer my back. I will be putting a formed plate there before it hits the street / track again - both seats.

My buddy was "big" In the bottom area so I heated the poly seat with a torch, then he would set in it to "form" to his butt. Had to water down his butt after each fitting. LOL

Poly, 6 bolts through the floor and one to roll bar. Aint coming loose. Close to stock position ( height and angle ). Within roll bar parameters. Very comfortable- a biggie if you are stuck in staging for any length of time. Make sure you can reach all controls after you are cinched in. Belt mounting = Factory floor mounts for lap belts, fish plated ( floor )dive belt, roll bar for shoulder belts.

Thx for all the feedback on this subject!! There are a lot of good points here and Monte brought up something that a lot of us may not have thought of in that the pro cars, their seats are held in by fasteners that allow the seat to be easily removed between rounds for maintenance accessibility and that the belts are largely responsible for holding the driver in place in the event of a roll over.....

My main concern is "safety" first, function, then comfort and then appearance in that order and I appreciate all replies.....

Aluminum, specifically the Jaz or the small Kirkey over the big pro street Kirkey. Or on a tube chassis, street roaster, dragster type car, the single panel carbon or fiberglass seat that attaches or Dzuses into a tubular seat frame that is part of the chassis. I've tried to steer guys away from the plastic bucket seats. Whatever way you go, the mounting is critical. The best seat in the world is no good if it comes loose.

We even mount the alum seats with dzus fasteners. You build a front loop off the floor that supports the front of the seat out of usually 1/2 tubing. Also bend a loop off the rear crossbar from same tubing to support back of seat. Then you can also run some pieces of 1/2 tubing from rear loop to front loop, bent to seat contour. Seat is basically sitting in a tubing frame and mounted with dzus fasteners. With the belts mounted right, you could just sit the seat in the frame and it isn't going anywhere. This type mount can be built in ANY car with ease and is 10 times better than some bolts through the bottom of the seat. You can also mount a poly seat the same way, by cutting a large enough hole in the inner shell to mount the dzus. Just because a poly seat has some weak threaded inserts in the bottom, doesn't mean you have to mount it with them. With this setup, the seat sits in a cradle. VERY safe, VERY strong, VERY secure

Many ask "whats the point of the seat dzusing out quickly"......answer that question after you need to lay in the floor to work under the dash on a car with a cage

Monte can you post some pics of mounting cradle or pm me some. Ill be doing some chassis mods over the winter and I like the idea of being able to remove the drivers seat.
Thanks in advance

Similar to pictured above, but instead of lower loop hanging from cage structure, you simply flip it over and attach it to floor. A loop on back bar to support rear of seat and bars under seat to connect two loops. Very simple. I doubt I have any pictures because seat mounts are not something I usually take pics of

My favorite is when someone installs the shoulder harness/belts through the stupid holes in the seats and they come out below your shoulders, during an accident, you will get spinal compression. Always have your belts positioned above the shoulders just slightly to minimize the angle and stretch in an accident.

I will agree, the belts should not be excessively pulled up or down by the opening in the seat. Ideally the belts should be deflected very little by the seat between the drivers shoulders and the mounting point and I've changed the openings in the seat to correct this for tall or short driver situations. Beyond that, the mounting locations for belts in racecars are pretty specific and spelled out in the rulebooks.

Well mine go thru that slot... it keeps them on
your shoulders .. see what happens if they slide
off your shoulders

That's incorrect and will get you bounced in tech. The belts have to hold you and the seat DOWN in a rollover, so therefore have to be below the shoulder or at a minimum level with

Wrong, if you are referring to the shoulder belts in your quote.
Tell us again how many cars you built.


Trevor Ashline, "Hutchens":
"The key to all restraint is the pelvis. Federal government safety studies indicate the pelvis can take loads up to 130gs, compared to 80gs for the chest and 60gs for the head. If you can control the pelvis, it is easier to control the movement of the torso and then the head and neck. A properly mounted lap belt and six-point harness can reduce the pelvic movement by 40 to 50 percent over a standard five-point system."

Butler Racing seats:
"Shoulder Harness
Shoulder harnesses should be positioned in such a manner to pull perpendicular to the drivers spine. "

Scroll down to the middle of the page :
https://simpsonraceproducts.com/pdf/inst/Seat_Belt_Mounting.pdf