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So I'm still the slowest part by a long way of the car/driver combo but I reckon I'm catching up with the car slowly but surely. The Winton 6 hour highlighted how bad a slippy standard leather seat is even after a major foamectomy. So I reckon the next wedge of money is seat, harness, maybe steering wheel. The car does a 30 min round trip to work as a DD with rare customer visits during the day and is dríven to the track at weekends. It will never (he says) be trailered to a track - only ever dríven to one.

I have a spare set of seat rails for a driver's side Sparco Sprint V. The rails include attachments for a standard seat belt and for a 6 point harness. The BD roll bar also has the 6 point attachments so that's a given and it will be a 3 inch harness. I already know a seat can be in and out within 10 minutes so I could maybe take the Sparco to a track session fixed on the passenger's side rails with the standard seat on the driver's side and swap them at the track and on leaving the track. Or just leave the Sparco on the driver's all the time for 30 mins each day as a DD?

I could even get the passenger side seat belt buckle fixed to the transmission tunnel just in case Mrs Barmy ever wanted to sit in the Sparco when it was on that side, eh?

Any other thoughts on the above for DD/track days?

With a Sprint V and a standard steering wheel and me being quite round at the moment will I be happy to get in and out of the car as a DD or will I need a smaller or flat bottomed or detachable steering wheel? If I need a different wheel, how do I, or can I, keep an airbag and a central horn push in case of compliance issues if I get a pig pull?
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Just swap the sparco in the night before, and swap back out after the race. In the comfort of your own home, rather than at the track, which isn't usually as user friendly

IMHO sprints aren't very comfortable for DD usage, and since you have a spare set of mounts then it's only a 10 Min job to swap in/out, and your back will thank you for it..

My Sparco Sprint is pretty comfortable to travel in but it makes it a nightmare to get in and out of the car, especially if the roof is up. I don't think a smaller wheel would help much, it's more an issue with climbing over the high thigh supports. It may not be such a problem if you're not in and out of the car all day but Sparco's standard seat covering is not tough enough for DD use anyway.

I bolt it in the day before a track day and take it out as soon as I get home. Same with the harnesses. Same with resetting ride height back to stock. It's only 10 minutes and it means I have a DD that doesn't attract the plod. In a country town you don't want to get your car known.

Sparco v will not swap between passenger and drivers side. Seat rail mounting points are different widths in the floor pan.

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Make sure to have a seat in a Sprint V first to see what they're like.
I personally find the hips to be only just bearable, and the shoulder wings to be much too narrow.

hks_kansei wrote:Make sure to have a seat in a Sprint V first to see what they're like.

I personally find the hips to be too wide, and the shoulder wings to be much too narrow.


For something that does ok at both duties you could look into the Mazdaspeed recliners. They're certainly not at fixed back racing seat level of support on track, but are significantly better than stock and still quite comfortable.

Jeo wrote:that does ok at both duties you could look into the Mazdaspeed recliners. They're certainly not at fixed back racing seat level of support on track, but are significantly better than stock and still quite comfortable.

True, they're a very nice seat, and have more room for people with a larger frame.

The downside however is the loss of about 2-3cm of headroom (if you're tall)


Another option may be some of the OBX brand bucket seats, they're a bit cheaper than the Sparco, but some models have quite a bit more room than the Sparcos.

The only issue is that they don't line up with the rails like the Sparco, so you need to be a bit creative with mounting.

The Velo Milano XL shouldnt be ignored either. They are wide at the shoulders and comfy on the ass. With 6 point harness holes.