Bucket seats with OEM seatbelt & pretensioner (R26/225)

Discussion in 'Electrical & Interior - Security, ICE, Wiring Loom' started by Steve Rawlinson, Dec 15, 2019.

  1. I couldn't find anything specific on how to do this. I spoke to GSM performance about it and they were hopeless. They couldn't even test a solution I suggested because "they didn't have the stock".

    So I took a chance and ordered what I thought might work and got lucky. This is guaranteed to work with any seat that fits the Sparco sidemounts (I have a Sparco Circuit QRF).

    What you need:

    A KTR mk2 subframe http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=4019
    A Sparco runner set (this is optional) https://bit.ly/2srjrK2
    A Sparco sidemounts https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/sparco-steel-side-mounts-s-s004902/
    An Endurance Motorsport seat belt bracket https://bit.ly/2qUNJEF
    A seat that fits the Sparco sidemounts
    A 7/16ths UNF bolt for the pretensioner (1 inch long)

    The runner set makes it a lot easier to fit everything and also to get in and out of the car. It adds almost no weight, but it's not FIA approved.

    Why keep the seatbelt?

    If it's a track-only car and you have a roll cage then you don't need it. But

    1. A harness is an absolute pest when driving on the road. You can't lean forward to see stuff
    2. The OEM seatbelt and pretensioner are MOT compliant. Whether a harness passes seems to depend on the particular tester's interpretation of the rules for competition modified cars
    3. If you don't have a rollcage the seatbelt may be safer if you turn the car over. It allows more movement in the even the roof collapses
     
    chappers2000 and Si271 like this.
  2. I think the harness v seatbelt argument in the event of a roll is blown out of proportion.

    A mate of mine rolled his f1 about 10 years ago and the damage was surprisingly minor considering the speed he was going with more than a full car!

    If you were to go for harnesses, would the plug under the seat become irrelevant?
     
  3. A quick addendum to this - I've discovered that without the runners the seatbelt bracket doesn't fit. The runners give the bracket a bit more height which lifts it clear of the centre tunnel.
     
  4. I wish i could find more info like this for the rs250 with recaro seats :confused:
    I want to fit a fixed back just for track days but have them in for a few weeks at a time without airbag lights etc
     
  5. Ktec do a subframe for the mk3 and the seatbelt bracket will fit with the runners and sparco sidemounts. Whether it will physically fit in the car with the OEM pretensioner attached I don't know. I have some mk3 owning friends with bucket seats, I'll have a good look next time we're on track together.
     
  6. If you're taking them in and out, does it really matter if the light is on when you're on track?
     
  7. be nice to leave the seats in for a month and return back to standard etc

    was trying to find out how to make it plug and play, i.e. getting pretension latch from another seat wit some loom to fool the air bag
     
  8. I bought some sw motorsport direct fitment side mounts and a micro gt fixed back
     
  9. You might find the lights do not come on. Contrary to popular belief there is no weight sensor in the R26 so if you leave the pretensioner in place you don't have to do anything. I've no idea about the mk3.
     
  10. When you say 'direct fitment' do you mean they fit onto the existing subframe? If so then can't you can just leave the pretensioner where it is?
     
  11. I’ve got Corbeau Clubsports in my mk2 with the VBD seat mounts.
    Similar deal I wanted to keep the std seatbelt plus harness for track which I’ve done.
    Alex White fitted it for me. I think the pretensioner has gone and he reset/bypassed the light.
    Sold the Recaro’s as the clubsports are comfy enough for long drives and they covered the cost of the new buckets also from GSM who by the way were shit with keeping me updated and the box with the seats was damaged when delivered.
     
  12. I'd love to see a picture of that setup.

    I actually find the Sparco Circuit more comfortable than the Recaros which hurt my back. Getting in and out is tricker but otherwise I love them.

    +1 on GSM being awful. You can't place an order without supplying a phone number and then they text you night and day continuously for two weeks no matter how many times you tell them to stop.
     
    eddie ninja likes this.
  13. Do you want close up pics of the base or?
     
  14. Just how the pretensioner (or whatever you now plug the seatbelt into) is fixed to the subframe (or whatever it's fixed to).
     
  15. I've just fitted the club sports and I find them so uncomfortable I'm looking at getting a trailer lol!

    I've got harnesses though so don't have much freedom to move like with a seatbelt.
     
    eddie ninja likes this.
  16. I’ll ask Alex as I wouldn’t even know what to take a pic of ;-)
     
  17. Yea I wouldn’t want to have to wear the harnesses on the road. Is it just that that makes it uncomfortable? You got the right size seat? I’ve got Xls. I had tried them in someone’s car and the felt fine.
     
  18. The seat belt clicks into something. That something will be mounted on the left of the seat somehow - not necessarily attached to the seat or subframe, but attached somehow. That's what I'm curious to see.

    The OEM subframe has a nut welded to the inside of a hole in the subframe side and a bolt through that hole holds the pretensioner and seatbelt socket in place. Once you replace the OEM subframe to fit bucket seats you lose that mounting point. This thread is about find a solution to that. My solution was the brackets that fit between the subframe and the mounting plates. I dare say AW has a better solution. I'd be interested to know what it is.
     
  19. I've got the standards but I'm slim built so slot into them fine. I think it's the harnesses tbh, you're kind of trapped in them!

    I have gone from standard suspension with big chunky leather seats to coilovers and buckets so it has been quite a dramatic change lol.
     
  20. The one plus point about GSM is that you can go in and try 30+ different seats to see what you like. I did exactly that and the seat I chose as a result is a great fit for me.
     
  21. I drove from Plymouth to GSM, tried every seat in the showroom, in the end i went for the Mirco GTS seats, told once i paid they would be delivered in 14 days, spot on time they were delivered.

    They didn't text or phone to say they were on the way, but they did say at the time they would be delivered in two weeks.

    There was a guy on here, i met him at Brands and he dialled out the seat warning, the light still comes on and then goes out, which is all good for my MOT station :sunglasses::sunglasses:
     
  22. The SW motorsport side mounts allow for wide and slim buckets and bolt directly to the floor and directly to the bucket seat bud
     
  23. Ah. That actually sounds like quite a good idea, you save some weight (and money).

    Not sure how to keep the seatbelt tho.
     

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