Kosher Dill

Has anyone put racing seats and brackets in an 86-87 Audi Coupe or 4000? I would like to know what seats you went with and where you got the brackets.

Dwight V.

I used Corbeaus, steel frames, which I would not do again. The fiberglass seats are worth the extra money. The brackets are expensive for what they are, IMO. Having seen how they are made, I'm pretty sure I could weld something up myself for 1/8 the cost.

Corbeau is okay. Cobra is better. I bought a Sparco for my BMW which I really like. Momo also makes good seats.

Keep in mind that the stock seats have the seatbelt receiver attached to the seat, which you will lose when doing a swap. Also, standard belts really don't work with the deep bucket design of a proper race seat, so you will have to go to harnesses, which usually means at a minimum losing your back seat and really should include a roll bar for attachment. It's one of those all-or-nothing mods. Also, race seats are NOT comfortable for long periods, and are a pain to get in and out of if you aren't still in your 20s.

squidix9

Both of mine have custom made brackets. This is of course if youre talking about "real" race seats and not a look alike that may come with some sort of fits-all bracket. Racing seats generally don't come with brackets since everyone's application is usually different.

The only thing I may semi-disagree with is being comfortable. Rather I might say they're different. You aren't going to be able to move at all in one, so if you want to shift your butt during a longer drive, you can't.

I have Recaro's in the Coupe which are very nice and the bracket's are even adjustable, although since I have them set they'e never going to move. In the 90 I have Collins which are ultra primo. They feel so good you just want to stay in them. I don't think you can get them Stateside though.

<img src="http://members.verizon.net/~vze4phja/images/beltviewsm.jpg">

Getting in and out isn't too bad, but it can get old if you say are running errands a lot. I have side bars too that you need to sort of fold yourself over as well. The belts are probably the worst. You don't think about it, but the automatic retractors are really important. With a 4" lap belt and fixed 2-3" shoulders, once you're in, you're in. There's no stretching and moving around. Forget about changing a CD or grabbing something out of the glovebox. On the Coupe I have to remember to get the door partly closed since I can't reach it once I have the shoulders on.

You're just getting old Dwight! Oh wait, so am I...

TurboCGT

Welded in 1 inch square tube to mount the side mounts. You can definatly daily drive a car with racing seats in it... my cgt had ultrashield aluminum seats last summer and even those wern't too bad to live with (granted I'm not one of the more "mature" forum members being only 21). Unless you are hitting the track frequently I don't know that I would want em though.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u237/TurboCGT/cgt_school004.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

87 4ks

that retained the factory sliders and seat belt mounts. The seats I used are bottom mount so if the seats you get are too, you could use the same idea.

Here is a pic of the driver's side frame.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/seat_frame_front.jpg">

And one of the seats in the car.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/seats_7.jpg">


One could probably adapt this design for side mount seats by using the side mount plates as the outside rails of the frames. I don't know if side mounted seats are allowed to slide or if they have to be mounted solid to the floor or cage, though. You'd have to ask the hardcore racing guys 'bout that. My car is just street driven so I wanted to keep the factory seat belts and still have the seats move using the factory mounts and handles.

Here is a quick write-up about the frames, in case you are interested.<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/4000/msgs/120609.phtml">Mini seat frame write up</a></li></ul>

Dwight V.

Let me clarify...the seats are comfortable, in that if you choose ones that 'fit' you, they are ergonomically a match for your body and better than stock 1 size fits all seats. However, they are RACE seats, and thus light weight is more important than cushy padding, of which there is little. The better (more expensive) the seat, the more comfortable it will probably be. Trust me, I add a couple inch foam pad to the bottom of my Corbeau for any trips over an hour. The padding in that thing is virtually non-existent.

And yes, I am getting old.

Dwight V.

Good design. The type of seats you have are recliner "pseudo" race seats and what I'd recommend for someone driving a street car, not the full-on race variety like I use in, well, my race car.

Rockin Ronnie

This is a big problem I have with my ride. The seats are shot and of course I am looking at options

Ron

squidix9

The Collins maybe 4"? Not bad at all. I haven't weighed them, but they're somwhere in the 5-10 lb range I'd venture a guess.

Oh and I'm plenty old myself. Bending and folding myself in them is the big hassle.

87 4ks

I think the basic design could be used for some side mount plates for use with real race seats if race seats are allowed to move. If they aren't allowed to move, maybe one could just put a bolt where the slider stop pin is at the front of the slide or even just put a bolt through any of the adjustment holes. That way you could have some adjustability without committing to having your seat in one spot. I don't know what any sanctioning rules are for rallying or road racing regarding seat mounting, though. I know that depending on how fast some of my drag racing buddies are, they figure out where they want their seat and mount it solid. Of course, they're doing the quarter in six seconds at over 200 mph. I don't think I would want a moveable seat, either

I also thought that if one used two legs with the factory seat belt mount, you could bolt your lap harnesses to them and they would move with the seat.