Lowering sport seat?

[Hoffbrohaus]

Completed my first track day on Saturday and the car was great. One big problem I had was headroom with a helmet on, I'm 6'4". I have searched and found a lot of threads about race seats & custom brackets. My problem is this is a daily driver. Do I want a halo race seat & 6 point harness driving to work every day? Probably not

So my question is, can I lower the sport seat somehow? New bracket or removing some cushioning? Or can I get a race seat and swap it in & out still for track days? How would I run a harness without a roll cage?

[serdar255]

Here is a four point harness that will solve one of your problems

http://store.bimmerworld.com/schroth-quick-fit-4-point-harness-p1126.aspx

[matthugie]

Julien on here is struggling with the same thing. Interestingly, for some reason the 318 seats sit lower than the 325's, and not in an isolated incident. Not sure if the carpet is thicker or what, but it has been tested in a few different cars. If anyone has an answer there are some interested parties.

I would stay away from 4 points or swapping seats. The reason being that you are required to have equal protection for both driver and passenger, so if you go race seat and harness on the driver's side you have to provide the same for the instructor. That 4 point won't allow it for one, but instructors hate 4 points, and many will refuse to ride in a car that has them. Seats and belts are designed to be a system. Stock seats and stock belts, or race seats and 5/6 point harnesses.

[Hoffbrohaus]

I agree, I can't pass tech in some of the race classes I want to eventually get into with a 4 point harness. It's that line of streetable daily driver vs. full on track car. I rode in a 500hp r32 skyline this weekend with stock seats and was fine. So really I don't need to go crazy (yet) I just want to fit :)

I may have to find a local 318 and sit in it with my helmet then examine the rails & carpet. At this point I'm making track events maybe once every 2 months. I think if it was more frequent a race seat & harness would make sense but for now I just want to see what I can do with stock seats & belts.

[jlevie]

Swapping in race seats, if the bases are properly made, is really no problem and won't take more than about 1/2 hour. While you'd really like a cage, a properly made and mounted harness bar is a good alternative. That combination allows for the use of 5 or 6 point harnesses and beats the stock seats and cross chest belts.

[Julien]

I really don't know what it is. I remember there being a difference in my old 318is versus my 325is but my 318 was a slicktop. Now I sat in ian's 318is and I have about 2" of head room versus almost non in my 325is. I'm wondering if it's the denisty of the padding they use, the fact his seat is a lil loose or? really trying to find a way to be comfortable in an e30. sadly no race seat has been comfortable for me yet :-(

[jlevie]

A race seat isn't likely to ever be comfortable as a DD. But works very well in the usual short track sessions. A dual use car will always be a compromise, but with some work and expense can be pretty good job in both environments.