Question about seats for a Van Diemen RF97

[charlee]

Hi,

Just purchased a VD RF97 and wanted to get a fiberglass seat for it.

My question is what years of Van Diemen have interchangeable seats?

…and does anyone have one for sale?

Cheers,

Charles.

[Rick Kirchner]

I have to ask, but why? Most don't go up high enough to provide any lateral support, will likely leave a ledge to break your back over in a rear impact, and usually only work for the skinniest of drivers (which is even worse applied to a RF97....)

I don't think I've even seen a fiberglass seat for a car built after 1990. Did they even make them?

[CGOffroad]

Agreed with Rick. I used the stock fiberglass seat in a Swift which was my first formula car. I had a rear impact, and my body tried placing itself in the fuel tank. The fiberglass seat cracked under impact and thankfully the knife edge it created did not penetrate my spine. The void created behind a fiberglass seat needs to be filled with foam to prevent the scenario I had. If foam needs to be put in the car anyhow, do a poured seat and forget about the fiberglass.

I have a '97 also. How tall are you? This chassis is height limited for drivers. Depending on your height, it may be challenging to get very much foam material between your spine and the fuel tank. I am 5' 08" and I have spent quite a bit of time adjusting my butt position in this chassis. Make sure that whatever you do with regards to getting yourself situated in the car, you can still pass the broomstick test. That is putting the broom on METAL. Passing a broom test because the broom is on top of fiberglass body work is NOT correct.

[S Lathrop]

Take my advise and make a proper bead seat for your car. https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...p?Product=4525

I races formula cars for 15 years and in that time I had a couple hard crashes. My first big crash came in a Titan Mk6 that I broke in half through the cockpit at the bridge turn at Road Atlanta. I ended up on the track laying on my side with the remains of car surrounding me. I did not fit in the fiberglass seat so I made a seat out of aluminum, formed as the original seat. That seat saved me from any injuries in the Atlanta crash. The seat was gas welded, hand formed .060 thick 3003 aluminum. The same shape as the original fiberglass seat but larger.

Starting in the mid 1970's, I did not have seats for any of the cars I made or sold. Bead or foam seats were the only options. My first seats were made with 2 part foam poured into garbage bags as I sat in the car. This is a lot less expensive than a bead seat. I suggest you make a seat from foam first to work out how to make a seat that fits you as you want. Then make a proper bead seat.

[Jim Edmonds]

If you decide to not listen to the experts above on safety, do it for your ego! A properly formed bead seat will hold you in place well enough to take one second a lap off your best lap time! You'll use your hands only to drive the car, not hold yourself in place. Ha.

Ymmv

Jim Edmonds
Phoenix AZ

1995 Stohr US-F3 Prototype
2013 Van Diemen FF
2017 MV Agusta F3 800 track bike

[TimH]

Take my advise and make a proper bead seat for your car.

The bead seats were once the gold standard for safety and certainly remain a good choice. Even better now, though, is the SFI foam:https://www.apexspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?66731

For the extra $ you get something at least as safe but with more flex to greatly ease taking it in and out of the car, slightly more comfort, and it doesn't slowly break down to powder and beads.

[Rick Kirchner]

I've never purchased a bead seat kit. Always made mine from composite bagging material, beads from the fabric store, and epoxy from Aircraft Spruce. About 1/3 the cost per seat so you can afford to make mistakes or start over.

After peeling the bag off, filling voids with more beads, and shaping, I cover my seats with a lingerie thin layer of kevlar. The seat has enough structural integrity to last forever, but will still crush in a hard impact.

[rockbeau25]

HIGHLY recommend a Speed Seat, or at the very least getting your own SFI foam kit and pouring it yourself. A DIY kit is marginally more expensive than a bead seat and a significantly better product.