make your own form fitted racing seat
- Thread starter nicka117
- 54 comments
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I like it 👍 what material did you use to finish it?
Mr Latte
Premium
- 5,041
- N Ireland
Love the looks of the cockpit although not convinced on how good the end result may be for comfort and durability.
Nice idea though...
I dont quite understand you paying what must have been quite a bit of money on the cockpit, switchbox, rev/gear display and the harness to not then want to put a proper race seat in as well?
Nice idea though...
I dont quite understand you paying what must have been quite a bit of money on the cockpit, switchbox, rev/gear display and the harness to not then want to put a proper race seat in as well?
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Hey Mr. latte, I've had a Sparco Fighter and a Bride Artis but the homemade seat is more comfortable. About $40 in foam and $170 in 8020 parts to make a frame that is adjustable fore/aft, tilt, and height. Also have $20 worth of MDF.
The cockpit parts are about $270 from ebay 8020 aluminum parts.
The racing seats were very comfortable for short stints, but the cost of those and the side mounts and sliders was pretty high (the fighter was 600+ and the Artis was more when i got it). This one is better for stints over an hour...but I may have a worse back than you young guys!
Crazedmodder, the material for the seat is about $12 of velour from a local fabric store.
So did you use something like CAD to find out what parts you needed to order from 8020. I was looking into their stuff but I don't use CAD so was having a hard time trying to find exactly what I needed. I've seen a few cockpit design similar to yours that I like but have no idea what parts I would need to make it work 
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hey Stega,
No, I don't know how to use CAD. I just ordered a bunch of parts and did it trial by error. I kind of have it down to a science now, but it took awhile to figure out what was comfortable, ergonomic, and where I needed to have adjustabilty, as well as stability. I wanted it to be workable for people at 5' 2" height up to 6' 4" in both F1 and GT configs. Things like pressure sensitive brake pedals, and heavy force feedback also change the demands for stability also. And i wanted to be able to turn the 8020 seat tray into a motion platform without adding a bunch of extra parts.
The seat foam was a trail and error process too. Had to source the right density, at the cheapest price, with the right cure time. I can do a really good seat now in about 3 hours.
Any idea how much clearance there is under your seat when you had the Sparco seat??? Or can you easily raise up the seating height/cockpit height?? I need at least like 5'' under my seat for the transducer...
o0oo0 8020 inc. actually sells parts for a cockpit template. I may look into that. But I would need to add some stuff like the reverse mount pedals like you... and would need the seating clearance..
Also what are those carbon fiber looking pieces?
Looking into it more I think the 8020 cockpit is based of nick's design lol that's funny
o0oo0 8020 inc. actually sells parts for a cockpit template. I may look into that. But I would need to add some stuff like the reverse mount pedals like you... and would need the seating clearance..
Also what are those carbon fiber looking pieces?
Looking into it more I think the 8020 cockpit is based of nick's design lol that's funny
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yes Stega, that is my design. I sent Mark at 8020 inc the parts list because I thought other people might want a reasonably affordable, and very adjustable frame.
You should check out Timpaq's design too, very well thought out. I guess it depends on where you live as to which would make more sense.
Or, it's really fun just to design your own, but you end up usually having extra parts and it's a little more expensive.
- 1,580
- Alameda/Califor
- RADracing / RIGGracing
Yup that's me! I might consider this when I start designing my own seats too. My frame design is pretty much done just working out the extra accesories for brackets and such with the manufacturer for mass production. Although I'm starting to get visions of my own seat designs. 💡 Thanks for the heads up.
Oh ok, I just went through your thread. That looks like it's going to be an incredible set-up!
It seems like you're on the right track with the plywood base. I'm sure you could do it with 8020 but it's more expensive than the plywood obviously.
The Momo sliders do look a little awkward for mounting but you will figure it out. I've never been a huge fan of the sliders that come with the racing seats. I've always liked to use the 8020 linear bearings, and then mount an MDF platform, and then mount the seat side mounts on top of that. Either way will work though.
- 831
- ANFD
That is the MOST awesome set up I've seen in a long time. I can't believe there are some here who consider this to be "not totally comfortable". As an avid racer in my 60's I can really appreciate the reward for doing the work so to speak. I seldom race for less than 2 hours at a time, and although I am on my second commercially available chassis (Currently Playseat), I have yet to find anything really comfortable. Needless to say, I would love a poured seat .... any chance I could come over for a fitting 
That is the MOST awesome set up I've seen in a long time. I can't believe there are some here who consider this to be "not totally comfortable". As an avid racer in my 60's I can really appreciate the reward for doing the work so to speak. I seldom race for less than 2 hours at a time, and although I am on my second commercially available chassis (Currently Playseat), I have yet to find anything really comfortable. Needless to say, I would love a poured seat .... any chance I could come over for a fitting
Haha, you absolutely could if you lived in Southern California, because I'm not driving to Georgia!
But, you can easily pour your own seat. You just have to make some sort of a tray--whether it be 8020/MDF, or all MDF, of some sort of a big plastic container. just get some plastic bags, and GLOVES, and pour it in stages.
It's too bad I can't describe how comfortable it is. It is incredible. The only downside is your buddies that use your rig will feel all the wierd contours that don't match them.
Yhea they are there (the pics). If you look in my "mega cockpit of doom" thread I have pics of my seat. It is a MOMO w/ side mounts. There looks to be plenty of clearance in those pics or there can be. I am gonna go ahead and order up the 8020 frame I think. Anything I would need to order on top of the kit to mount the seat like in the first pic there but using my side mounts...??
This 1:
Also that pic where the shifter mount is at an angle, you used a separate bracket to do that? (as in separate from your kit.)
I will prolly have to wait and see once I order it but you may be able to answer all these questions now.
I would also like to be able to reverse-mount the pedals as seen in one of your pics.
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Stega, no, the ebay frame does not include any seat mounting parts. Neither is the MDF included or the plastic end-caps. It's just the aluminum parts and hardware to mount everything but the seat. Everyone wants to mount a different type of seat a diferent way so I didn't design a universal mount.
The pic you refrenced is just a prototype I put together for another guys based on his measurements, seat type, and pedal type. I did that with some of the parts I had left over.
the upsiade down mounting is relatively easy but you do need two more 1515 extrusions at about 18" each and, If I recall, two more L-brackets.
Give me your email over PM and I'll send you some other important info.
The pic you refrenced is just a prototype I put together for another guys based on his measurements, seat type, and pedal type. I did that with some of the parts I had left over.
the upsiade down mounting is relatively easy but you do need two more 1515 extrusions at about 18" each and, If I recall, two more L-brackets.
Give me your email over PM and I'll send you some other important info.
The tubing is the 1515 light series: 1.5" thickness. The hardware is fractional 5/16" bolts.
Once you start working with the 8020, it will become very easy to figure out how to mount stuff. It's hard right now to do it just looking at pics.
I know it's tempting to order a bunch of parts so you can do it all in a couple hours but you will end up ordering way too much of the wrong stuff. Just accept it will be two or three separate orders and do it right. I have extra parts also and will help you as you go.
Yhea I am super impatient lol, I like to get it done! But yhea I don't wanna have to order $100's in parts and have a lot of it be useless. I will take it slow and try to work with you and others on here to get it done properly and with as few pieces possible.
Could you give me an idea of the distance between the 2 brackets where you would start to mount the seat as seen here:
I also see you using slider like mechanism to mount the seat to. I see 2 types? Is one better, would you suggest one or should I try and use my stock seat slides??
I think I just killed Nick w/ questions
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yes, I'm impatient too, I would alsway oredr more than I thought because I'd want to have absolutely everything I needed. But inevitably, I always eneded up with more than I needed with the wrong parts and not enough of the right parts.
I've spent over 3k in parts over the last 5 years so let's have you learn from my mistakes.
between the pedal rails is 16", between the seat rails is 19", and the total distance across the pedal rails is 22" (because the rails are 1.5" wide). The center of the slots from pedal rail to pedal rail is 20.5".
I've spent over 3k in parts over the last 5 years so let's have you learn from my mistakes.
between the pedal rails is 16", between the seat rails is 19", and the total distance across the pedal rails is 22" (because the rails are 1.5" wide). The center of the slots from pedal rail to pedal rail is 20.5".
