What seat to choose??
Discussion
Having recently come back from chasing an Elise and an Exige around an airfield, I've got to find a better seat for my Griffith. I had the little buggers on the straights but I was sliding about as much as the car was on the corners. I know its been mentioned before (cant find the thread now) but what is the best seat? I want something that looks right for the car, holds you in place, but also allows for fairly easy entry and exit of the car? I've been warned that some seats might as well be sold as an immobilser as when fitted you cant get in with the roof on (OK - slight exageration!!) Any recommendations as I don't think you can fit them to test them before you buy??
or buy a roll bar and have hernesses fitted.
MUCH cheaper. i found an ex-factory one on here for about £100, had it fitted with some willans harnesses during the next service. still has original seats in for looks but holds me in place fine!
AND YOU GET A ROLL BAR!
best solution IMHO
MUCH cheaper. i found an ex-factory one on here for about £100, had it fitted with some willans harnesses during the next service. still has original seats in for looks but holds me in place fine!
AND YOU GET A ROLL BAR!
best solution IMHO
I second the suggestion of fitting bucket seats like the Sparco ones. Mine are Cobra but very similar. You can get them colour-coded to match the interior at very little extra cost. Mine are vinyl (and very dog-eared after 100,000+ miles of hard use), leather was available but would have doubled the cost of the seat. They are slightly more awkward to get in and out, but you quickly get used to it. In terms of driving it is like having power steering because you no longer need to brace yourself with your arms and legs, makes it much much easier to control the car in corners.
Oh, and if at all possible get a seat which allows a crutch strap (like the one in the picture), and fit the strap. Very difficult to get the straps tight enough without the buckle riding up otherwise.
Oh, and if at all possible get a seat which allows a crutch strap (like the one in the picture), and fit the strap. Very difficult to get the straps tight enough without the buckle riding up otherwise.
It was.
When buying seats, make sure the ones you choose do not have the big lip in front of where you sit. It forces your thighs up too much, and since it's a stretch to the peddles anyway (and I've got a 34" inside leg) you will find it very uncomfortable.
I have a similar Sparco seat which I have not fitted for this exact reason.
When buying seats, make sure the ones you choose do not have the big lip in front of where you sit. It forces your thighs up too much, and since it's a stretch to the peddles anyway (and I've got a 34" inside leg) you will find it very uncomfortable.
I have a similar Sparco seat which I have not fitted for this exact reason.
Guillotine said:
or buy a roll bar and have hernesses fitted.
MUCH cheaper. i found an ex-factory one on here for about £100, had it fitted with some willans harnesses during the next service. still has original seats in for looks but holds me in place fine!
AND YOU GET A ROLL BAR!
best solution IMHO
Isn't the factory rollbar for "cosmetic use only", and therefore dangerous with a harness? If you roll and the rollbar gives, you can't duck
gingerprince said:
Isn't the factory rollbar for "cosmetic use only", and therefore dangerous with a harness? If you roll and the rollbar gives, you can't duck
They have to say that as they haven't physically tested it. More recent designs like the Tower View/Rollcentre one have their advantages, but the factory bar is still a bloody great steel bar anchored to the chassis in four places - it's defintely stronger than my head.
Pete
(with the factory roll bar and 4 point harnesses)
Hi John, the seat does look good - did you get the seat covered to match the interior by a specialist or did the factory that supplied it do it to order?
I've ordered the roll cage - but in typical tvr fashion, firstly the cage maker was there but they had no tube, now the tubes there but the cage maker is on holiday - but it will be here sometime!!
>> Edited by tony-tvr on Tuesday 24th August 07:30
I've ordered the roll cage - but in typical tvr fashion, firstly the cage maker was there but they had no tube, now the tubes there but the cage maker is on holiday - but it will be here sometime!!
>> Edited by tony-tvr on Tuesday 24th August 07:30
pete said:
the factory bar is still a bloody great steel bar anchored to the chassis in four places
Very true, I'm just about to fit one of the the TVR factory ones too. The bar looks pretty sturdy and I would guess little chance of it folding forward because of the big anchors to the rear of the chassis.
Does anyone know if one has ever been put to the test??
They also have stopped making them because the design is quite dangerous due to the proximity of the bar to heads etc when the seat is back. There are also issues that the four mounting points were never designed to take the load of the car and if you look at the design (piccie in the bible) the bar is directly over the seat which means any whiplash impact like spinning into a barrier could result in your head hitting a very strong steel bar. End result is potentially a far more serious injury in a minor crash and one that is more likley to happen then a roll over.
There is far more to building a roll bar that improves safety than most people think.
There is far more to building a roll bar that improves safety than most people think.
shpub said:
They also have stopped making them because the design is quite dangerous due to the proximity of the bar to heads etc when the seat is back.
I'm fortunate in that I'm a short arse so the bar is behind the seats. I'd guess that by padding the bar you could get round this though, not that there's much room between the bar and the roof.
shpub said:
There are also issues that the four mounting points were never designed to take the load of the car
Any idea why they were not removed from the chassis construction when TVR stopped making the bars?
shpub said:
There is far more to building a roll bar that improves safety than most people think.
The whole design and construction of bars is no doubt very complex. To actually see how a bar is going to perform must be far more difficult to prove. There are so many other variables that you have to factor in, speed, direction etc.
I'm guessing that TVR stopped making the bars because of injuries sustained in crashes due to it being there, which is a bit worrying. I've only ever seen pics of Griffs on there backs without a bar, does anybody know how they've performed when they were called upon?
The mounting points were designed for seat belts and they were retained for that reason. Seat belt loading is a lot gentler. For a start the seat belts will stretch and bones break first. They were never designed for a roll bar and on the early Griffs and Chimaeras, they were not fitted.
There is also a single bolt holding each bar. The MSA recommends 4 bolts per mount and as their recommendations are based on experience with cars that have rolled or been involved in heavy impacts - look at the German Rally for examples and many of those incidents were not at fast speeds - and it is fair to say that comparison of the single bolt mounting system doesn't stand up to their recommendations.
I've witnessed 4 or 5 cars roll. 3 were fitted with MSA roll bars/cages and apart from a shake up, occupant was OK. Saw a Cobra flip at around 20-30 mph, the roll bar collapsed and the passenger's head ended up doing the job instead. The bar looked immensely strong but just crumpled. Fortunately the car rolled on to soft grass but even so the passenger was hospitalised.
Rolling is not as common as a side impact but it does cause immense problems trying to quantify the potential risks and loads. The MSA publishes a lot of information on how roll bars should be constructed and fitted including material specs, mounts and so on. These have been enhanced over the years with feedback from motorsport accidents. Given that it is virtually impractical to test roll bars, following these recommendations is the best guarentee that there is that the bar will do the job its designed for.
There is also a single bolt holding each bar. The MSA recommends 4 bolts per mount and as their recommendations are based on experience with cars that have rolled or been involved in heavy impacts - look at the German Rally for examples and many of those incidents were not at fast speeds - and it is fair to say that comparison of the single bolt mounting system doesn't stand up to their recommendations.
I've witnessed 4 or 5 cars roll. 3 were fitted with MSA roll bars/cages and apart from a shake up, occupant was OK. Saw a Cobra flip at around 20-30 mph, the roll bar collapsed and the passenger's head ended up doing the job instead. The bar looked immensely strong but just crumpled. Fortunately the car rolled on to soft grass but even so the passenger was hospitalised.
Rolling is not as common as a side impact but it does cause immense problems trying to quantify the potential risks and loads. The MSA publishes a lot of information on how roll bars should be constructed and fitted including material specs, mounts and so on. These have been enhanced over the years with feedback from motorsport accidents. Given that it is virtually impractical to test roll bars, following these recommendations is the best guarentee that there is that the bar will do the job its designed for.
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