Bead seat or two part foam for large driver in an FV?

[fv9]

I am in need of a new seat. My current one is many years old and is made of two part foam and duct tape. It consists of a pad for my back and another block of foam formed in front of my butt against the frame rail. Being 6’3”, I don’t have any seat under my butt and I sit right on the belly pan. I am wondering if I should try the Creafoam bead seat from Pegasus, but there really isn’t much room for a seat so not sure if that would be overkill for me. I also only have a shop vac for the vacuum. Which ever method I use, I’d like to also have a nicer cover than duct tape that eventually gets the adhesive on my suit.

Anyhow, I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

[EYERACE]

Easy answer - bead
A 2 part is hard as a rock and in a shunt won't absorb any energy.....your body will.
Bead will not only be form fitting too but safer.
However, if you want as safe as you can get - because bead will absorb the first impact but not subsequent (you might bounce off multiple walls and/or more than one other car) - get a multi-impact seat made by Bald Spot MotorSports out of Indy using EPP. The bead seat gets made.....then it gets sent to Bald Spot where they 3D laser scan it.....and use that to make your EPP seat
I had to learn all this the hard way....and didn't walk for 3 months

[Mike B]

Easy answer - bead
A 2 part is hard as a rock and in a shunt won't absorb any energy.....your body will.
Bead will not only be form fitting too but safer.

Maybe not that easy...
You'll find a Speed Seat in just about every car on the grid in IMSA, F4, USF2000, etc. Jody at Speed Seat uses a 2-part foam. http://www.speedseatfactory.com
In fact, it might be very similar to the 2-part foam that BSS uses.
No beads used by either company.

[John LaRue]

There are some extensive threads on this topic elsewhere on the site. The old 2 part foam is as you note quite rigid. BSS has(d) a bead type seat kit that I found pretty easy to work with; I am still using the seat I made many years ago and it remains in pretty good shape. The binding agent in that kit takes awhile to begin to set so you have some time to work wit the product. You utilize a vacuum bag which also makes it a bit easier to define what your end product will be. Jody's Speed Seat uses a much quicker reacting foam that is somewhat flexible. There is a company in Mooresville NC that produces a similar product that is used extensively in NASCAR. Jody make a really sweet seat and I think he also sells the kits. I haven't tried one of his kits but it looks like you would want to study the process and have ample hands on deck when it is time to mix and pour. There are also some good videos to be found on YOUTUBE showing the process. Good luck.

[cory mcleod]

There is a company in Mooresville NC that produces a similar product that is used extensively in NASCAR.

The company in Mooresville, NC, is BSCI. They sell kits in multiple sizes. Their seats are used in most every high level pro racing series (NASCAR, IMSA, Indy). I highly recommend their kits, but not their seat pouring service. They are local to me, so I took my car there and had them pour the seat. They were unclear about the pricing of the service and it ended up costing 3x what I anticipated from our discussions. There's always 2 sides to every story, so maybe I just misunderstood. Regardless, I would have bought a kit and poured it myself if I would have known the actual cost up front.

[brian styczynski]

Being a tall driver, you may run into roll hoop clearance issues. The minimum thickness on some bead type seats is 1 inch. That is going to raise your helmet height if your current seat is thinner in the butt or back area.

If your current seat is 2 piece, there may be an issue getting a full size seat in and out of the cockpit.

I got a yard of nomex fabric and used spray adhesive to cover my foam seat.

[fv9]

Being a tall driver, you may run into roll hoop clearance issues. The minimum thickness on some bead type seats is 1 inch. That is going to raise your helmet height if your current seat is thinner in the butt or back area.

If your current seat is 2 piece, there may be an issue getting a full size seat in and out of the cockpit.

I got a yard of nomex fabric and used spray adhesive to cover my foam seat.

That is my concern and why I was asking. I’d like to try a bead seat, but I really don’t have much room. May just have to stick with foam and make a similar cover.

[fv9]

And thanks for the input, all!