Seats For Series 3

[dlovettuk]

Hello,

 

I don't think the seats that came with my S3 kit are IVA compliant so I'm looking for some alternatives. Anyone have any suggestions as to which seats fit.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[Guest jobo]

I have a pair for sale out of my 3a, £75 if interested,

[dlovettuk]

I have a pair for sale out of my 3a, £75 if interested,

 

Potentially interesed. Do you have a photo/link?

[Guest jwts]

Hello,

 

I don't think the seats that came with my S3 kit are IVA compliant ... .

 

Thanks

 

Dave

Dave,

 

I'm about to fit the seats that came with my 07 SuperSpec kit, can you tell me what is it about your seats that are not IVA compliant in case the same things apply to mine?

 

Regards,

 

John (jwts).

[Jamiep]

Anyone have any suggestions as to which seats fit.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

 

If the the 3a is same as Exmo (looks same tub with dif. front setup) you will need to look for seats which are 400mm or less wide, I recall seeing a sketch with the dimensions when searching myself which i confirmed at home.

 

Intertrim do some nice (but expensive) seats seat range

 

you can get them through europa spares abit cheaper via the site sponsor link on the forum home page.

or kitparts direct (again site sponsor) also do seats alot cheaper but in my opinion not as comfy when tested at a show.

 

HTH

 

Jamie

[Guest andydav]

Gents, mine failed two weeks ago on IVA due to the seat not being 700mm from the base of the seat. It was only 675mm

 

I had to modify the back peice by welding in 80mm, then recovering the appolstery.

 

If you follow the thread below and look at about the 5th entry down you can see the image from the IVA manual.

 

http://community.rhocar.org/index.php?showtopic=24836

 

Hope it help

 

Andy

[dlovettuk]

Dave,

 

I'm about to fit the seats that came with my 07 SuperSpec kit, can you tell me what is it about your seats that are not IVA compliant in case the same things apply to mine?

 

Regards,

 

John (jwts).

#

 

The seats that came with my s3 didn't have any headrest. I think to pass the IVA it needs headrests and they need to be a certain distance from the base of the seat.

[Snapperpaul]

I passed SVA July 2008 with the replica Cobra 7's GBS sell for about £170 a pair in a 3a.

I new about the seat belt height issue and did a few mods to pass.

1. drill roll bar and weld in crush tubes so i could bolt the roll bar to the body instead of using the U bolts, i still used the U bolts for a bit extra and used load spreading washers for all the bolts.

2. plate under the roll bar to prevent the pushing through the boot floor in a roll.

3. triangulate back from the seatbelt mounting angle that sits under the rear boot lip, 2 peices, 1 straight back at 90 degs to the roll bar upright, another from the backstay bolt to the roll bar upright.

4. weld in a roll bar sized tube at the correct seatbelt effective height across the roll bar, the seat belts whilst still using the rear mounting point go over this bar which is heigher than the rear of the car.

5. the outer lower seatbelt mounts through the rear bulkhead, i added a large steel load plate and used a standard 1" square seatbelt mounting plate with ready welded on captive bolt behind it.

 

I used angle under the floor for the seat mounts, you can just use load spreading washers but the floors a bit thin so i made up 2 rectangles for each side which bolt through the floor and fix to the rear bulkhead lip and the forward gearbox support angle.

 

I used more thick steel to run from the steering support hoop to the bulkhead with angle on the engine side and further support for the pedal box plate, this firms up the lot stopping steering shaft and pedalbox movement which is a fail.

 

A steel plate was made up to cover part of the boot floor where the diff mount bolts come through.

 

2 thick steel plates where fitted to the outside of the prop tunnel where the UJ spins (better on the inside but the gearbox was in by then) to catch it if it lets go.

[dlovettuk]

I passed SVA July 2008 with the replica Cobra 7's GBS sell for about £170 a pair in a 3a.

I new about the seat belt height issue and did a few mods to pass.

1. drill roll bar and weld in crush tubes so i could bolt the roll bar to the body instead of using the U bolts, i still used the U bolts for a bit extra and used load spreading washers for all the bolts.

2. plate under the roll bar to prevent the pushing through the boot floor in a roll.

3. triangulate back from the seatbelt mounting angle that sits under the rear boot lip, 2 peices, 1 straight back at 90 degs to the roll bar upright, another from the backstay bolt to the roll bar upright.

4. weld in a roll bar sized tube at the correct seatbelt effective height across the roll bar, the seat belts whilst still using the rear mounting point go over this bar which is heigher than the rear of the car.

5. the outer lower seatbelt mounts through the rear bulkhead, i added a large steel load plate and used a standard 1" square seatbelt mounting plate with ready welded on captive bolt behind it.

 

I used angle under the floor for the seat mounts, you can just use load spreading washers but the floors a bit thin so i made up 2 rectangles for each side which bolt through the floor and fix to the rear bulkhead lip and the forward gearbox support angle.

 

I used more thick steel to run from the steering support hoop to the bulkhead with angle on the engine side and further support for the pedal box plate, this firms up the lot stopping steering shaft and pedalbox movement which is a fail.

 

A steel plate was made up to cover part of the boot floor where the diff mount bolts come through.

 

2 thick steel plates where fitted to the outside of the prop tunnel where the UJ spins (better on the inside but the gearbox was in by then) to catch it if it lets go.

 

Thanks for the info. If I'm fitting seats with the holes for the seatbelts to come through does the height of the rear seatbelt mounting still matter.

[thespannerman]

Passed SVA in March 2009 first time with my 3a. Used the kit seat squabs bolted down, to use them for IVA you will need to bolt some form of head rest to the roll bar. As for seat belt mounts looked at different suppliers and settled for TRS 3 point clubman. Problem with monocoque chasiss is the lap belt mount strength and angle of pull with bolt in harness. The above harness has clip in eye bolts that i drilled through the double thickness seat back (as low as possible). And bolted into a substantial piece of angle with captive nuts and lock nuts from under the car to spread the load. Put in two small captive nuts on angle aswell to locate it, as it was a failure if seat belt mounts fall off when harness mount bolts are removed (hence most belt pick up plates have a rivet hole pre drilled). My 3a roll bar came with a cross bar at correct hight for seat squabs that had an unthreaded sleaved hole for seat belt mount ,one for each seat. A captive nut can be welded to the bottom of the crush tube to comply but I couldn't find an eyed mount long enough to pass through it, plus there isn't much room between the cross bar and the back of your neck to fit in the belt mount and adjusters etc. My solution was to use the included rear mount angle that fits under the top of the back panel with harness over the top of the cross bar. Then add two pieces of tubing with flatened ends between the rear roll bar stay bolts and the shock absorber mounting angle. The roll bar had captive m12 plates welded into the bottom with 3mm strengthening plates above and below bolted through the boot floor. Flat bar off cuts fill the gap between the roll bar and boot side so that m10 U bolts can pass around the roll bar throgh the boot side and rear shock mount angle. Thus the roll bar becomes a stressed member that holds the rear of the car together and displays visible triangulation for seat belt mounts. PS: you will need longer eye bolts than supplied with harnesses to pass through captive nuts and fit on a lock nut too. Any more issues with 3a just post or PM me, SPANNER

[Snapperpaul]

On the S3a the rear mounting point for the seatbelts is to low even with the old plank seats, the IVA states effective seatbelt height should be 450mm above the reference point which is a block of wood 136mm long 53mm high

Also dont put the shoulder straps through the seat holes untill after SVA in case the seat is not strong enough, if you put the seat belts through the seat, the seat becomes the reference height and is also assesed for strength.

[Snapperpaul]

Some photos

[dlovettuk]

Some photos

 

Thanks for the photos - all makes sense now. Slightly OT question. How have you routed your fuel line from the rear of the car to the front.

 

Dave

[Snapperpaul]

Fuel lines (2 lengths of 8 mm micro bore central heating tube from B&Q) route under the folded box sections/arm rests. I bonded wood under the box sections to screw P clips into, the pipes exit in the wheel arch, i drilled holes and covered the microbore with fuel hose and then some braided to stop any chance of the pipes breaking and used PU adhesive to bond it in.

I have two pipes in case i go fuel injected in the future, probably worth using fuel injection hose throughout so you don't need to change it later.