How much do bucket seats cost? How to choose the right bucket seats?
Content
Whether you're a professional driver or just getting around town, you've probably heard of equipment like bucket seats. When driving a car, especially a sports car, which accelerates to high speeds, the comfort, convenience and safety of the driver are important. Many cars are equipped with these seats as standard, but those without sports equipment can be additionally retrofitted by yourself. After reading this article, you will learn which categories to consider when choosing suitable seats and how much bucket seats cost.
Why use bucket seats?
Bucket seats are one of the three sports seat types that are the most popular choice among drivers, along with civilian versions and stock side-support seats. Commonly fitted to racing and rally racing models, they enhance safety and comfort. During tight turns, the driver does not move sideways, and his torso is "wrapped" in the seat, which contributes to a stable and confident driving position. These types of seats are also readily installed because of their weight, because they are lighter, which makes the car weigh much less and the car behaves better on the track.
How to choose bucket seats?
This may be trite, but it is extremely important - the seats must be suitable for both the driver and the car. Those that are installed as standard are selected at the production stage, thanks to which they are ideally suited to this body. However, if we plan to equip the car with bucket seats, we will have to spend time trying them on, because there are no universal seats. Depending on the car model, you may encounter different mountings or sizes, so a seat that fits perfectly in a Lamborghini Gallardo doesn't have to fit a Nissan GT-R. The material from which the chair is made is also extremely important, pay attention to the fact that the material is durable. Among the leading manufacturers are companies such as Recaro, Sparco and OMP, as well as the Polish representative - Bimarco.
Types of bucket seats
- The seats are based on a tubular frame covered with sponges, some of which have FIA approval but are not used in racing cars due to their high weight (15, 20 kg) and low safety level.
- The seats are made of fiberglass, molded in a special shape, half the weight of the previous ones (about 6 kg).
- The best of the best are carbon fiber and Kevlar seats, which are as strong as fiberglass but are the lightest on the market at 3kg.
Necessarily agreed with the driver
It's no secret that each of us is designed differently, so you should adjust the chair to suit you. The few, less "professional" ones designed for civilian vehicles used in everyday life are more versatile and adjustable. However, this is not a solution used in cars that participate in races and rallies, in which case the seat must fit perfectly to the driver, forcing him to the correct position and guaranteeing him maximum safety. The dimensions of the "sidewalls", the height of the backrest and the headrest cushions that support the head are of key importance here. However, we must not forget about the remote control, its comfort and safety are no less important during the rally, so attention is focused not only on the driver's seat, but also on the passenger.
How much do bucket seats cost?
It is difficult to answer this question unambiguously, because the price range is very wide. The cheapest sports seats for civil, city cars can be bought for about PLN 400. And professional drivers use only the best equipment, the price of which is even within several tens of thousands of zlotys. It all depends on individual needs and goals, if the car is prepared for driving on a sports track, it is worth investing in better equipment that will guarantee safety. The cheapest seats available are third-party products that are heavy and made from low-quality materials, so it is recommended to look for slightly more expensive models from reputable manufacturers. On the middle shelf there are fiberglass chairs that can be bought for about 2000 PLN (well-known global companies), but you can also find slightly cheaper models (among Polish manufacturers) whose quality is not inferior to foreign ones. The most expensive "buckets" are made for professionals, whose sponsors do not spare money on equipment, and every additional kilogram stands in the way of winning the rally. So bucket seats weighing only 3 kilos cost around PLN 12000, which is not impressive for the rally racing community.
Certificates
The FIA World Motor Sports Council establishes general rules applicable to participants in all rallies and championships, as well as rules regarding the criteria that the equipment participating in them must meet. This also applies to seats that must be FIA approved when used in racing. Homologated type bucket seats do not have backrest adjustment, their design is uniform, which guarantees the user the best quality, durability and safety. An important aspect is also that each of these places has an expiration date, it differs from the type of approval. The professional buckets have two homologations, old and new, each providing a positive dynamic test in frontal, rear and side impact simulations. The older permit ensures that the seat is valid for 5 years, renewable for another two, while the newer sets the validity to 10 years, non-renewable.
On practice
Using sports car driving vouchers, you can view the specifications of the various bucket seats. On the website www.go-racing.pl you will find a wide selection of vehicles fitted with bucket seats as standard. Take a ride on the race track and learn about their benefits and find out why they are needed when driving fast. Driving a Ferrari or Subaru can also help you choose which seat is best for you.
To summarize, when choosing bucket seats for your car, you should pay special attention to their purpose. The solution will be different depending on whether the car we want to install these seats on is a civilian vehicle used for driving on city streets or prepared for a rally race. It is also important that the seat is ideally suited to the user so that it holds the driver's body as much as possible in the correct position. The best solution is to choose a few models that will fit the car, and then, after eliminating them, leave those that will guarantee the driver's comfort and fit into his budget. Therefore, it is worth doing a little research before buying to find out how much bucket seats cost.
