So as I mentioned in a previous thread, I am getting ready to do some moderate/major power upgrades to my 997.1TT and am an avid weekend road racer. I do a minimum of 2 weekend events a month with 3-4 most months. However, I also daily drive my vehicle every other day and normally drive my vehicle to the road racing events (often 4-6hrs away).

With that said, I am at the point where my speed and abilities have me really starting to look at safety. I am debating about putting in GT2 Sport Bucket seats with a 5pt harness and GMG Roll Bar while also retaining the factory seat belts for daily driving. While the Roll Bar is a slight issue im debating (I dont use the back seats except for storage and the GMG still lets you access the rear) I really dont want to put in GT2 Sport Buckets if they wont be comfortable on a daily basis with long (4-6hr) road trips every weekend. I would rather leave my factory fully adaptive seats in and not go as crazy on the track as opposed to completely sacrificing comfort on a daily basis. If this was a dedicated track car, or even a MOSTLY track car it would be a no brainer, however that is not the case here.

With that said, what do you guys think? Are the GT2 Sport Buckets comfortable enough to swap my fully adaptive seats out for considering the daily driving and long road trips? Or just stick with what I have?

-Sayajin

 

No they are not. Getting in and out is much harder and they force you to sit very upright and erect. For long drives on the freeway that would get uncomfortable. When buying my GT2, I purposely searched for one with the adaptive sport seats instead.

 

It depends on your build. I find them comfortable. My wife does not. You should sit in them yourself. They don't recline or go up or down. They do fold forward and have a thoracic airbag. Consider having a racing seat you or your shop can change out for track events during the busy season. You might have to have same setup for the passenger seat if you have instructor/coach. Consider Hans/necksgen device for added safety.

 

On the track (light track) they woukd be absolutely hard to beat. Quality..fit and finish is off the charts. The longets I ever went in mine was 2.5 hours...let me just say...I was hurting. The seating position is very upright and if you slide down to sit back a bit you have nothing to support your lower back. I couldn't imagine 3 or more hours. That being said...they really, REALLY transform the entire interior into something you want to spend time in.

 

+1...

 

Whether the seats are comfortable is subjective. You need to go sit in them, and even that is hard to tell what they'd be like 4 hours later.

More importantly, you have some decisions to make. Trying to keep the car as "streetable" as possible with the amount of track days you're doing is potentially getting dangerous. First of all, DO NOT use 5 pt. harnesses. Look up testicular rupture if you need more convincing.

While the GT2 seats are nice they offer NO protection in a side hit (nor does the HANS for that matter) like a containment seat does. I just saw a youtube video of a side hit at pretty low speeds and was shocked to see how far the drivers head moved sideways. It was scary. Once you put harnesses on any part of your body that isn't "tied down" is going to keep moving once your body stops. You don't want that part to be your head.

I was asked to instruct at a novice event a few weeks back. All street cars and I can't tell you how naked I felt without my harnesses, HANS, cage, etc. It was kind of scary and I won't be doing it again. just not worth the risk.

At this point all of your money should be going into safety gear. Then Pro coaching if you haven't already done that. Spending a few grand on a pro racer to coach you for a weekend will make you much faster than any mods you can do to your car.

 

Check out halo seats with removable wings. Search on this or the "other" forum.

 

If you're not a bigger guy, they might be pretty comfortable. I drove from miami to dallas (12 hrs) in them, and I'm kinda fat. Even with that, I just had to get out and stretch every few hours. If I was skinnier, they would have been a dream. Getting in/out was more complex, but still doable if you track the car a bunch.

 

I changed my fully adaptive seats with the carbon leather seats one year ago and did not regret it!
They are very comfortable and they look so much better.
As already said before, unless you are fat you will find them very comfortable and made for daily driving.

 

Had the sport buckets in my C2S. I’m 6’, 190 lbs. and fit them well. Did a number of road trips including 2 days back-to-back of 11/12 hr. drives. Neck hurt but wasn't unbearable. Daily driving was not a problem. Didn't have a hard time getting in and out at all. Wish I could have kept them and put them in my CLK BS, but as others have mentioned, comfort is subjective.

 

+1 on many of the points especially what E55AMG said.

I have these seats in my turbo and have driven them for 3 hours and to be honest I was hurting, but as said that is subjective to how your build and body are. Keep in mind that if you need to put on any additional clothes, for rain or specially for winter that you either have to take them off or be prepared to be even more uncomfortable as you can only adjust the seat forward and backward.

Best of luck.

 

Not sure if it's feasible but another option may be to just get a dedicated track car. You don't have to spend big money to get something very safe and a blast to drive. Hell, you can get a spec miata for 12K or so. Know a guy that just bought a prepped boxster for 24K.

Buying seats, roll bar, other gear and before you know it you're pretty close to a dedicated track car. This way you have all the proper safety gear and you get to keep your street car from getting beat up on the track.

 

E55AMG, Yes, I know that a dedicated track car may be more fun than tracking my daily, but to be honest, im not interested in that. At least not at this point. I love tracking my car BECAUSE it is my daily at this point. While I realize everyone says a GT3/2 is a much better track car, I actually love the AWD coming from GTRs, EVO's and DSM's.

With that said, I am 6'2, 220lbs. I would love to be able to go sit in a pair prior to buying them, but I dont know anyone in the Memphis area running them for me to check out.

Additionally, Im with you guys, safety is a big thing to me, hence the reason I am even CONSIDERING changing out the seats. Im fast on the track, very fast, to the point safety is becoming more and more of an issue. BTW, E55AMG, thanks for the great advice on a 6pt instead of a 5pt and I was planning on a HANS device as well.

Im going to post in my local PCA region Facebook page and see if someone has one I can test out.

-Sayajin

 

Why don't you look into the feasibility of switching out your seat for track events? There was a thread on Rennlist recently that discussed this. I forget the specifics but I believe it was a GT3 owner that was concerned with safety, wanted a containment seat but daily drove his car. It seemed that it would be a pretty quick swap. Can't hurt to look into that option.

My mention of a dedicated track car was not because it would be more fun, but purely from a safety perspective. I used to track my turbo as well. I realized I couldn't make it as safe as a track car and still keep it streetable. **** happens out there. Not to be a downer but there was a fatality at a DE a few weeks ago at Tremblant. GT3, harness bar, and HANS. Hard hit to passenger side and driver died instantly from a broken neck. The harnesses kept his body from moving but his head kept going. A Hans does nothing in this scenario. I have a containment seat but will also be adding a right side net shortly.

Again, not trying to bum everyone out but this can be a dangerous hobby. Funny, when I had my turbo I spent a fortune on modding that car - making it go faster (silly now that I think about that, from a tracking perspective) etc. Now, all of my money is spent on private coaching and safety equipment.

On a more happy note you will be AMAZED how much easier it is to drive with proper seats/harnesses. No more sliding around, not hanging on to the steering wheel.

 

So here is the next question. Am I right in assuming that out of all of the options available for a 6pt Harness and HANS device, the GT2 Sport Buckets are the most comfortable option for daily driving?

-Sayajin