Lewis7789's 2003 Protege5 build thread

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I'll throw my $.02 in here as well. Whatever you get I highly recommend you get something with high side bolsters (e.g. not the Sparco Spring V or Evo). I'm sure Corbeau makes something similar but some seats that immediately come to mind are the Sparco Corsa, OMP WRC (what I have), Racetech RT1000, and Cobra Suzuka. These are all fiberglass, side-mounted, FIA and SFI-approved, and in the $800 range. Supposedly the RT1000 is the most comfortable fixed-back, high side-bolstered racing seats out there.
 
Interesting point, Jon. Keep in mind this will still be a street car as well as a track/auto-x car. If I'm going to spend $800 on a seat I might have to get just one and tell the passenger to hang on to something...

I made a mounting bracket for my distribution block but would like to ask for advice first on where to mount it. Idealy, right here on the motor mount would be perfect but I'm afraid the vibes would screw something up. Or else I can mount it a little closer to the firewall where the battery would be. Thoughts?
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I also finished painting my CR3 rad brackets. I love this rollbar paint. It sprays nice and smooth and have a tough finish.
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Went hiking with le GF today but will get some work done this nice long weekend. :)
 
I thought I replied to this but I guess not...

Interesting point, Jon. Keep in mind this will still be a street car as well as a track/auto-x car. If I'm going to spend $800 on a seat I might have to get just one and tell the passenger to hang on to something...
$800 is actually pretty cheap considering the carbon fiber/kevlar "full race" seats are $2000+. Nothing wrong with having only one seat though. I'm pretty sure the RX-7 is only going to have one for a while.

I made a mounting bracket for my distribution block but would like to ask for advice first on where to mount it. Idealy, right here on the motor mount would be perfect but I'm afraid the vibes would screw something up. Or else I can mount it a little closer to the firewall where the battery would be. Thoughts?
I would think as long as it's on the chassis side of the mount you shouldn't have any problems. There should be no more vibrations there than anywhere else in the engine bay.
 
Yeah, I was doing some research yesterday on seats. Corbeau does make a very similar seat to the seats you mentioned and around $320. It's fiberglass composite and has the higher bottom side bolsters like you described which would hold you pretty snugly. But I wonder how tough it will be to get in and out of since this car will see 80% street 20% track/auto-x. If I do go with the Racetech (which always got great reviews, like you said) I'll probably just get one and use a stock Protege seat for the passenger. I mean, I don't want cheap stuff, but it's tough to spend that much money on a single seat when it costs more than my motor. Haha. But I understand how important they are to safety and connecting the driver with the car/road.

Speaking of seats, the Speed3 seats are sold so there's some money to go to a new seat/rail/harness (or plural)

ps- Adam, lulz. I had to eBay how much Status seats go for. Cam, looking forward to meeting Alex. He's a cool cat.

Oh and finally getting my hood latches shipped from PasswordJDM, 2 weeks after I placed the order. Should get them monday. I emailed them twice asking for an update with one response of "they will ship this week". So I called and they said it will ship that day and it did.
 
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Evan, Cres has a new seat company for you to check out. I dont remember the name but, I looked at them and they looked really nice.
 
no not the NRG. PM cres about them. He found them at SEMA

Cres said they were Chiper Racing Seats. Doing some searching on my lunch break for reviews all said they were great, but non of them were fixed back seats and no one used them for Auto-x or track days, basically show cars. And for $300 a pair, I'm a little leary about the construction, regardless of what owners say...

these are super comfy for a fixed back seat and provide a ton of support

http://corbeau.com/products/fixed_back_seats/forza/

That's what my friend Marc has in his RX-7 and they are pretty comfy and fit me well.

Jon, why do you recommend the high side bolstering over the standard racing seat? For example, the Sparco Evo vs. the Sparco Corsa? Is the side bolstering that much more effective in keeping the driver in the seat?
 
Whatever you end up getting I still say make sure it has at least an SFI certification even if the car is 80% street. If you plan on doing any NASA HPDE events you'll need the certification (but it can be expired). Kind of like how if you have an aftermarket harness it needs to be SFI certified as well.
 
I don't think Marc's Corbeau's are SFI certified and he passed.

And it doesn't say anything in the NASA rule book.

"11.4.12 Seats
All seats must be securely fastened to the structure of the car such that they are strong
enough to withstand a major impact. If replaced, the replacement seat should be
installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

If stock seats are to be used with a roll bar/cage, care should be taken to prevent the
seat from submarining under the rollbar. Care should also be taken to prevent the
occupant from hitting his/her head on the roll bar/cage.

Passenger seats must meet the same requirements, per the CCR, as the driver seat, if
used by passengers. Note- The passenger seat does not have to match the driver’s
seat."

Later on in the "Racing" section;
"15.16.1 Racing Seat
Some series require an approved racing seat. It is strongly recommend that a racing
seat be installed in all vehicles. A racing seat is of solid design; not “tube and cloth”
designs commonly found in passenger cars. It can be very difficult to properly brace a
“tube and cloth” type seat and the vehicle may not pass technical inspection.

Additionally, the cloth or material on a “stock” seat is typically not flame retardant.
Therefore, the proper installation of a racing seat is strongly recommended."

I would like to buy one seat and not have to purchase another one if I ever start running Time Trials with it. And when they refer to "tube and cloth" they mean the Sparco's and Corbeau's I've been looking at, no? Does that mean I need to install a Kirkey style racing seat for TT?

And this is why I do so much research before purchasing anything. Haha. Okay, I won't post again until I actually make progress on the P5. I'm turning this into a "Chat thread" and not a "Build thread". :(
 
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