Yesterday (Saturday) I got my new lightweight seats all finsihed up and in the car. I am pumped with how great they came out!

Towards the end of 2011 I bought NRG carbon fiber seats with BR lowering brackets and seat sliders. They were ok but I didn't feel safe in them and wanted to go with something I knew was proven and that would keep me where I wanted. The NRG seats would flex and move all around when you were sitting in them. In a high speed accident I was afraid the seats would rip right out of the side brackets. They were very light though (19.x lbs total each total). I made a goal of coming up with a safer and lighter combo and was succesful!

I picked up the following:

(2) Kirkey Pro Drag 16" seats (12.1 lbs each)
(2) Kirkey universal side brackets
(2) Kirkey black cloth seat covers for the seats
(2) RCI 5 point cam lock SFI approved 3" seat belts

I found a nice place online to buy all this stuff and it was pretty cheap. I think I paid $880 shipped for the four sets of items listed above! That was way cheaper than buying them from Summit Racing or Jegs. You can't even buy two NRG carbon fiber seats for that cheap! Plus I didn't have to pay sales tax. The NRG seat belts I had were not SFI approved so they had to go. The new ones are very nice as well.

I first had to figure out were to mount the Kirkey universal side brackets. Once I had them were I wanted I drilled and test fit them. I picked up nice stainless steel button head bolts/hardware to secure the side brackets to the seats. I then had them powder coated in the same crinkle coat black that my Buschur Racing harness bar is done in. I didn't think they would look very good with the unfinished aluminum look they came with. Plus it makes them more stealth like and looks great with the EVO IX interior!

The custom seat brackets took the longest to make and I have almost 24 hours of time into them. I started off by buying aluminum (6061) stock at our local metal supply company and went to town designing/fabricating my new seat brackets. Once I was happy with how they looked I took them to my buddy Eric who helped me weld them all up. They are VERY strong and do not flex at all. Man do they look sweet and bolt in like OEM seats! I also had the Kirkey side brackets and the custom ones I made powder coated in the same finish. The side brackets bolt to the custom brackets using grade 8 hardware.

The seat belts were last. The 'crotch' belt I never used when I had the NRG belts. With the RCI belts you HAVE to use it as the cam lock is built into that belt. Luckily enough under the car on the frame rail that runs front to back there is a nice hole that worked great. I drilled it out to allow a bolt to run from inside/outside the car and came up with an aluminum spacer to help even out the load. I have a picture of where I went through to mount this belt in the pics below. The lap belts bolt in to the OEM locations and I used custom spacers to allow the belts to pivot still like OEM but still be bolted in nice and solid. The shoulder belts are a wrap around style and were used with the BR harness bar.

Overall here are the weights I came up with!

20.8 lbs - Seats, covers, brackets, hardware, etc..

18.6 lbs - Seats, brackets, hardware, etc..

Total cost for everything w/ powder coating, aluminum stock, and hardware is about $1150. Of course the time spent making the brackets and welding them was my time invested and can't really be reflected in the price I just said.

The seats are actually very comfortable to sit in with the covers. Do not buy the economy drag seat and spend the extra cash and get the pro drag version. The covers made for the pro drag seats have a lot of padding to them. If I want to at the drag strip I simply unsnap the cover and take it off to save some weight.

I am 5' 9" and weigh about 190 lbs right now with a 34-35" waist. IMO the 16" seat is perfect. I fall right into them and they hold me nice and snug and still have some wiggle room. The 17" was huge. I figured I'd post that info for anyone else interested in doing this.

Anyway on with the pics:

 

Brackets look nice! I plan to use kirkeys as well, for the money and the fact they are approved its a no brainer to me. I even have the same harnesses lol.

A friend has a set in his AWD Colt and its not bad for less than an hour in the car, any longer and I prefer a cushion. I think his are the 18" and I can fit in them comfortably even when conceal carrying.

 

Like I said in your build thread, looks good Chris!

 

What an awesome right up,well done with pricing,measurements, and weight.

 

Does the pro street seat offer enough support for autocross? Ive been looking into the Road Race intermediate otherwise.

 

I'd say no. They do hold me pretty snug but wouldn't suggest them for autocross.

 

Couldn't he just order 1 size too small lol. Like a smedium?