Racing Seat install (Elise)...

[EdHahn]

Long time, no post.

Mitch Piper of Piper Motorsports did an install of Kirkey Racing Seats and Schroth 6-point harnesses (for use with a HANS) in my Elise. Due to the tight quarters, significant modification and custom fabrication was required to get the seats and harnesses installed in the right place with sufficient structural integrity. (Before anyone asks - I don't fit in the Reverie or MOG seats.)


Note the retention of the stock seatbelts/buckles. The seatbelt light and chime even works.


One of the nice things about the Schroth harnesses is that the buckle is attached to the anti-sub belt, rather than the more common lap belt. This is significantly easier to deal with than groping around with a HANS device, helmet, and gloves on.




Seats of different widths needed to be installed (17"/15").


To give an idea of how much custom work was necessary, the top of the seat was cut, shortened, and rewelded to get the top of the seat to not protrude too high. Also, the square section aluminum channel in the center of the seat was welded to the seat back, and is almost touching the harness bar, to strengthen the entire area.


Here's a detail looking down between the door sill and the seat. The black steel bracket is what the seat bolts to, and was custom fabricated to fit up against the threaded holes that the stock seats bolt to (in fact, it bolts to all of the available slots rather than just 2 each fore/aft). The seat sinks below the level of the bracket.

The harness lap belts and stock seat belts are also bolted to the bracket.

The fit with helmet and HANS device is perfect all around. I'm headed to VIR with MazdaDrivers this weekend. Hope to see some of you there.

ed

[mikelr]

Great install!. . Those seats look cozy.

Have fun at VIR, a couple buddies of mine are headed down, look for the yellow Tri-point powered Elise.

[Toad]

Thanks for the pics and info. I've pondered doing a Kirkey setup in mine; even snooped around cars at a variety of race events from drag racers to road course track days to check out their seats.

Jeff

[RoadDad]

Nice stacked dimes along that weld. Very nice.

[sleepless]

I wonder if Piper would be interested in making a few more sets of these seats?

[EdHahn]

Originally Posted by sleepless

I wonder if Piper would be interested in making a few more sets of these seats?

Give him a call...
Piper Motorsport
44264 Mercure Circle, Unit 130
Sterling, VA 20166
703.996.0353

He doesn't have much of a website (still under construction), but he's well known in the Mid Atlantic for fabricating SCCA-legal race car cages and associated work.

I don't know whether he would be able to construct another set from scratch, without having a car in front of him to work with.

ed

[Chococar]

Here's a similar seat, with which I'm very happy.

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/show...erson%27s+seat

--Joe

[ace10]

Ed, PM SENT.

[trinydex]

does the seat slide?

[John]

Mitch does incredible work - they did a fantastic job on the custom roll bar in my Z - probably the best one I ever saw in that type of car. Wish I could find somebody out here like him...

[EdHahn]

Originally Posted by trinydex

does the seat slide?

Sorry - didn't see this until now. The seat doesn't slide, per my request. I'm sure he could figure out a way to make it adjustable.

However, the way the seat is mounted, if he reused the sliding mechanism from the stock seats, then the seat would sit somewhat higher than it does now, and wouldn't be as rigid.

John - yeah, he's good.

ed

[ace10]

i had the pleasure of seeing this install this past weekend. it was even nicer in real life. the seats are amazingly solid. no comparison to the stockers on either side of the cabin. several people tried to fit into the pax side seat (15")... only a couple were successful. it's tight. i'd need to be at my optimal weight to get in there.