licensing fees for TT

[MCMM3]

I have talked to a person heavily involved with the Safety side of SCCA. He mentioned some interesting things about the seat issue. SCCA recognizes FIA specs for seats, however they do not recognize the FIA "retirement" of said seats. That means even though your seat "expires" in the eyes of FIA, SCCA doesn't care. Just like Window nets which have an expiration date, SCCA chooses not to recognize that. Based on our conversation, FIA seats expire, but SCCA doesn't recognize that. No need to back brace your FIA seat, EVER. (as long as it isn't mounted on sliders).

Now the slider debate, years ago at the Runoffs, there was a showroom stock racer that went through tech with a stock seat mounted on stock rails. The official who has been railroading the slider debate, saw this floppy poorly mounted seat and from then on has made it his mission in life to get rid of adjustable seat sliders. Even went as far as having a "conversation" with Recaro over the marketing of their, at the time, FIA seat sliders. Recaro shortly removed the FIA approved labeling on their sliders.

However if you crawl up under the FIA homologated Porsche Cup car seats you will find a set of Recaro or Sparco steel double locking seat sliders, exactly like the kind all the rest of us can buy. Since this official has made it his personal mission in life to "fix" the seat issues with SCCA, we are stuck with retarded seat rules. No other professional race organization has to operate this way. Look at the seats in most Grand AM, World Challenge, USTCC, etc they are all mounted on sliders with no seat back braces.

For now we are required to have back braces on seats with sliders, accept that until this official is off the safety board and then start writing letters to get this fixed.

Brett good update, and good to know the back story on this.

As I read more about this it seems like the composite seats are designed to flex a bit upon severe impacts to dissipate the energy and that a back brace is going to remove that flex. I know this is making things more complicated but if a back brace was designed with this in mind for some movement like even a small shock absorber or heavy spring mechanism to allow for an inch or so of movement would seem like the best of both worlds. I do realize I'm adding complexity and cost but it seem like it would satisfy both thoughts on bracing the seat but yet allowing flex.

Just a thought

[Fusion Works]

I would avoid trying to back brace it all together. Composite seats are designed, based on the way the fabric is laid up, to flex in certain directions and be stiff in others. So back bracing the FIA seat could lead you to reinforcing the seat in a direction it was never intended to be strengthened.

[zukitek]

Got the FX1 pro mounted today. We wont go into how long it took . With all my efforts ....the seat is still higher than the old seat. I guess no matter what you do ....a padded solid fiberglass tub seat, which this is , is going to put you a little higher than a tube frame seat . Its all good ...I just gotta get used to sitting differant after riding in the old seat since 2008.

[nicktcr]

Got the FX1 pro mounted today. We wont go into how long it took . With all my efforts ....the seat is still higher than the old seat. I guess no matter what you do ....a padded solid fiberglass tub seat, which this is , is going to put you a little higher than a tube frame seat . Its all good ...I just gotta get used to sitting differant after riding in the old seat since 2008.

Bottom mounted? I side mounted mine, and took a long time making the mounts just right and managed to not raise any higher than stock, and just might have gotten a little lower.

[zukitek]

K ....after the 3rd iteration of this mounting...I dropped the rear mounting legs 1.5 inches and I like it...... i have a slider mounted , fiberglass tub seat , with the padded inserts installed , sitting where i like it . It works good helmeted or not helmeted. If my dad wants to drive then the slider will allow that . All that I lack now is fabbing the adjustable backbrace .

The goal here is to still stay usable as a multidriver solo car while meeting the rules for TT and as a must will remain a daily driver .

THe Corbeaux seat falls seriously short of the sparco seat in one area in particular for this goal. The harness slots are way smaller. The harness slots are so small in fact that it is no longer possible to slip the camlock in and out of the seat ....thats idiotic . The 6 point is not street legal. Up till now I have enjoyed the ability to totally put it out of the way and use the 3 point stock belt system on the street . Boo

[bimmertech]

Why fab a brace? The IO Port is easily available and will pass any inspection.

[zukitek]

Why fab a brace? The IO Port is easily available and will pass any inspection.

Its universal and $110 dollars which means it doesn't _fit_ anything. I would have to spend a couple hours rebuilding it to make it fit and be affective so I figured it would be better to just build it in the first place.

[zukitek]

The seat is mounted and backbraced. I feel that I have satisfied the rule . I also feel that I have taken away from one risk and added to another . I object to this requirement and I am going on record right now saying that the fellow that made this come about needed to put alittle more research in before making a across the board campaign against stock seats and sliders.

[rodhx]

You could write a letter documenting your experience and try to get the rule changed.

[zukitek]

You could write a letter documenting your experience and try to get the rule changed.

That is my plan.

[rodhx]

cool...good luck!

[zukitek]

So since you guys recomend me sending a letter...then who would one decide to squeak to? The sediv d.a. of tech? Is that still Fred Clarke? The national administrator of CR ...is that still Terry Osment?

[slowautoxr]

I sent my inquiry to the Time Trial Advisory Committee.