ive got to admit when i first saw this, i really wasnt sure that i was ok with it. but i think ive managed to rationalize it. before i get into it, question.. what type of steel are the brackets made from? i would assume mild steel? this is more of a curiosity than anything.
also, im not familiar with the e36 seat, but i assume the bent rod behind the seat is there to attach one side of the seat belt. i think that particular feature is the key thing that makes me ok with this.
lets assume in the case of a front end collision theres no one in the seat. id imagine those brackets are strong enough to resist the inertia of the seat from wanting to keep moving forward. but if you were to put a person in the seat, things change a bit. now you have this rather large mass that you need to slow down.
for the original e30 seat, in the case of a front end collision, where your body weight is thrown forward, that loading is transmitted into the seat belt, then into the seat frame, and ultimately back into the main structure of the car.
In your case, and seemingly that style e36 seat in general, the load path is a bit different. instead of the forces in the seat belt being supported by just the seat frame on either side, now on one side youre tied directly into the structure of the car through that seat belt bracket. thats a much better design, imo. in this fashion, i would think that a much smaller percentage of the loading would be transmitted through your offset mounting brackets than if you were to applied this same concept to a regular e30 seat.
just a note though. while i've rationalized the design, i probably still wouldnt put it in my car without running a simulation in my finite element software at work, mostly for piece of mind.
regarding what golde30 said about connecting the mounts front to back on each side... you've pretty much already done that once youve attached the seat. that rail is pretty stiff. its geometry makes it quite a bit stiffer than if you were to just have a piece of 1/8 flat sheet connected front to back.
if you were going to beef up anything, do so on the set of inside brackets (towards tunnel). that inside rail, which is presumably where the seat belt attaches, is whats going to carry a percentage of the load from the seat belt.
A little background on myself.. im a mechanical engineer and do structural analysis most days. doesnt mean im infallible though.. if anyone sees anything wrong with my logic, speak up.
very clean install, btw
also, im not familiar with the e36 seat, but i assume the bent rod behind the seat is there to attach one side of the seat belt. i think that particular feature is the key thing that makes me ok with this.
lets assume in the case of a front end collision theres no one in the seat. id imagine those brackets are strong enough to resist the inertia of the seat from wanting to keep moving forward. but if you were to put a person in the seat, things change a bit. now you have this rather large mass that you need to slow down.
for the original e30 seat, in the case of a front end collision, where your body weight is thrown forward, that loading is transmitted into the seat belt, then into the seat frame, and ultimately back into the main structure of the car.
In your case, and seemingly that style e36 seat in general, the load path is a bit different. instead of the forces in the seat belt being supported by just the seat frame on either side, now on one side youre tied directly into the structure of the car through that seat belt bracket. thats a much better design, imo. in this fashion, i would think that a much smaller percentage of the loading would be transmitted through your offset mounting brackets than if you were to applied this same concept to a regular e30 seat.
just a note though. while i've rationalized the design, i probably still wouldnt put it in my car without running a simulation in my finite element software at work, mostly for piece of mind.
regarding what golde30 said about connecting the mounts front to back on each side... you've pretty much already done that once youve attached the seat. that rail is pretty stiff. its geometry makes it quite a bit stiffer than if you were to just have a piece of 1/8 flat sheet connected front to back.
if you were going to beef up anything, do so on the set of inside brackets (towards tunnel). that inside rail, which is presumably where the seat belt attaches, is whats going to carry a percentage of the load from the seat belt.
A little background on myself.. im a mechanical engineer and do structural analysis most days. doesnt mean im infallible though.. if anyone sees anything wrong with my logic, speak up.
very clean install, btw
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