E36 M3 racing seats?

[kusee pee]

I've got an E36 M3 Evo saloon which I'm converting to a track car. I need to install racing seats and harnesses. I've never put in new seats before so don't know if I can buy something off-the-shelf (a half-decent OMP seat for example) and just bolt it in to the existing seat mounting points or do I need to buy separate mounting rails? I have an E36 325i for my current track car and I bought it already converted; the racing seats there have new mountings welded in but I would prefer to avoid this with the M3 if something could just be bolted in.

Any advice much appreciated guys.

[taffyracer]

Welded in rails will always be preferable, most race seats will need to be fitted on separate side mounts that are then fitted to the floor or rails, not a hard job but please make sure you get someone that knows what they are doing to fit it, it has been known for seats to rip out of their fixings if not done properly

[kusee pee]

Cheers taffyracer, this is definitely what has been done in my 325. I'm tempted to replicate this in the M3 (or rather get someone good to replicate it for me). But is it possible to use the current mounting rails and bolt straight on? Just want to consider all my options.

[Mroad]

I'm in the same position at the moment.
I was going to weld in some bars in my M3 saloon in order to fit some Sparco seats. However, I saw that OMP do conversion bars that (I think) bolt to the original mounting points and allow the fitment of standard FIA spec seat brackets.
They should be in the post to me as I type this, when I get them I'll see how they go in and if they don't look good to me it'll be back to welding.
For reference they are OMP part number HC/772.
Anyone have these fitted?

Edited by Mroad on Friday 28th December 14:00

[breezy]

Mroad said:

I'm in the same position at the moment.
I was going to weld in some bars in my M3 saloon in order to fit some Sparco seats. However, I saw that OMP do conversion bars that (I think) bolt to the original mounting points and allow the fitment of standard FIA spec seat brackets.
They should be in the post to me as I type this, when I get them I'll see how they go in and if they don't look good to me it'll be back to welding.
For reference they are OMP part number HC/772.
Anyone have these fitted?

Edited by Mroad on Friday 28th December 14:00

I'd be interested to see how you get on with the conversion bars too. Mine is 90% road and at the moment I am looking into weight saving options... Battery/exhaust/seats/spare seem like favourites for a road car.

Amazing how many track e36 M3s have sprung up over the last couple of years. Good stuff...

[kusee pee]

Mroad said:

I'm in the same position at the moment.
I was going to weld in some bars in my M3 saloon in order to fit some Sparco seats. However, I saw that OMP do conversion bars that (I think) bolt to the original mounting points and allow the fitment of standard FIA spec seat brackets.
They should be in the post to me as I type this, when I get them I'll see how they go in and if they don't look good to me it'll be back to welding.
For reference they are OMP part number HC/772.
Anyone have these fitted?

Edited by Mroad on Friday 28th December 14:00

Thanks for the advice and I'm glad to see that others are going down the same road as me . Can you let us know how well they fit and if you go for them? I going to pop to my local independents tomorrow and ask for their advice as they've got track experience and did some work on my 325. I'll update this thread with what they advise. I figure that I'm going to keep this as my track car for a couple of years so I want the best. The seats and harnesses are my priority before suspension/brakes as once you're tied in you can really feel what the set-up is doing and therefore can make better decisions as to what to change next. Track E36s rock - they're the weapon of choice at the 'Ring for those of us who can't afford to track a 911

Edited by kusee pee on Friday 28th December 17:57

[kusee pee]

Just updating this thread since I sought advice from my indy specialist. They firmly went for the option of welding in and ditching the original runners. So now it's booked in for seats, fittings, harnesses. Will post pics when it's done.

[trackm3]

just fitting my seats, i sit really low so the original mounts have been cut out and the double skin of the gerabox tunnel so as to center the seats more

[kusee pee]

That's a very impressive piece of work there trackm3. Wish I had the skills to be able to do my own work. As it is, my credit card is a fully qualified mechanic and is happy to work in his own time

[taffyracer]

kusee pee said:

Just updating this thread since I sought advice from my indy specialist. They firmly went for the option of welding in and ditching the original runners. So now it's booked in for seats, fittings, harnesses. Will post pics when it's done.

Wise move, can't beat doing it properly.

Martin that cage looks very good, if you like it low then why don't you also lower the dash, we did and it meant when I was on the floor I still had full vision, helped enormously with apex hunting

Edited by taffyracer on Saturday 5th January 23:42

[trackm3]

taffyracer said:

kusee pee said:

Just updating this thread since I sought advice from my indy specialist. They firmly went for the option of welding in and ditching the original runners. So now it's booked in for seats, fittings, harnesses. Will post pics when it's done.

Wise move, can't beat doing it properly.

Martin that cage looks very good, if you like it low then why don't you also lower the dash, we did and it meant when I was on the floor I still had full vision, helped enormously with apex hunting

Edited by taffyracer on Saturday 5th January 23:42

Dom
May well do that, hadn't thought of it before, so thanks

Martin