TOTM: Seats and Harnesses

[CrawlerReady]

Cody has a set of Kevin's seats, shoot him a PM or maybe he'll see this and post up.

[Steel City ZJ]

Can't PM him his inbox is full so I posted on his profile page. Hopefully he responds.

[BigClay]

Any updates?

Finally picked up the seats. Just for a reference I am ~6' tall ~300#s with a ~50 inch waist... yes I know I am short and fat

While I was at the local place picking up my seats they had a Corbeau Ultra seat there on a stand (a demo seat). I sat in it first, and suprisingly, I fit, and I think I oculd probably make do in it for a while. Then when I got my Corbeau Ultra wides home and sat in one of those I was extremely pleased, and I fit in it perfectly. Very happy with the wide version, and honestly someone bigger than me could fit comfortable in these seats.

[Cody]

Can't PM him his inbox is full so I posted on his profile page. Hopefully he responds.

Sorry, didn't realize my box was full. All my bitches be hittin me up too much I guess.

I had the KOR seats and I liked the. I had a couple 8-10 hour freeway trips on them, and honestly I think the stock seats are more comfortable for that. However, off road I really liked them. They were more firm, and I didn't slide around on them like I would the stock leather seats. I would do them again if I had another ZJ, although I would also like to have had some adjustability to the seat back. The brackets and everything worked pretty well--I did a full write up on them on NAGCA that shouldn't be too hard to dig up.

[Steel City ZJ]

Thanks for the info. Liked the right up.

[biggoofy]

Anyone have pics of how the lap belts mount under the seat?

[dyn0mitemat]

bump

I'm debating between a set of jk seats or baha ss's. I know the jk ones aren't suspension, but I can get a pair for right over $100, and I rode shotgun with my buddy a few weeks back and had a good 12 hours or so of seat time and they really felt good. I just dunno if its worth justification of 4x the price for the baja's (which I'd pick up locally at 4wd for 199/x).

I don't doubt the baja's feel better, and are safer offroad. But this is a DD, with probably 10% use on the trail, and don't want something too restrictive (it seems they'd be harder to get in/out of) for every day use.

And I searched a bunch of forums and couldn't find anything, has anyone swapped jk seats in a zj/xj?

Thoughts?

[SirFuego]

IMO, the primary advantage of suspension seats (as we typically call them) vs. factory seats is the side supports -- which is also a disadvantage.

The side supports help keep your butt and torso in place. Couple that with a harness and you aren't going anywhere. This is HUGE for folks with back problems or folks who feel totally drained after a day of wheeling. You don't realize how much your body fights the bumps and off-camber obstacles until you get strapped into a suspension seat. Of course the disadvantage is that it might be less comfortable for daily driving because it's more difficult to get in and out of, "inexpensive" suspension seats are typically fixed back, and because they don't offer as much movement, they may not be as comfortable for long road trips -- or even expedition wheeling I suppose.

Since it's local, I would HIGHLY recommend going to 4wd and sitting in the seats before you buy them. The top of the Baja SS seats come to somewhere near the bottom of my neck.

Has anyone looked into harness safety lately? I've been reading in a couple different places (sorry, I never bookmarked them, but IIRC RedBullJeep mentioned it somewhere on Pirate) that some manufacturers are recommending mounting the shoulder harnesses 10 degrees or so ABOVE the shoulders now. The lapbelt prevents you from moving up in the seat, whereas the shoulder harnesses prevent you from going forward, and the anti-sub belt prevents everything from moving. So that logic actually makes sense to me, but I was just curious if anyone else -- particularly those with a racing background, have any input.

[IndyZJ]

Has anyone looked into harness safety lately? I've been reading in a couple different places (sorry, I never bookmarked them, but IIRC RedBullJeep mentioned it somewhere on Pirate) that some manufacturers are recommending mounting the shoulder harnesses 10 degrees or so ABOVE the shoulders now. The lapbelt prevents you from moving up in the seat, whereas the shoulder harnesses prevent you from going forward, and the anti-sub belt prevents everything from moving. So that logic actually makes sense to me, but I was just curious if anyone else -- particularly those with a racing background, have any input.

It definitely makes sense. The general rule for racecar builders around here is that shoulder straps should not be mounted below the shoulders. Belts should function as you stated, with the shoulder belts' job being to prevent forward movement and lap belts preventing you from sliding up/ out of the seat. If shoulder straps are mounted below the shoulders, the occupant's back is compressed in an impact. Thinking about it, with the way a suspension seat works, your back could even be fighting the seat with the belts tight and mounted below shoulder height. With how much necks and spines can stretch in a wreck, the 10 degrees they're recommending now might be to keep that from happening.

[SirFuego]

The general rule for racecar builders around here is that shoulder straps should not be mounted below the shoulders.

Yeah, I meant between 0 and 10 degrees (give or take) -- I didn't want to imply that it couldn't be level. I just remember when first researching harnesses that they should be level, or slightly below the shoulders. But the more I thought about it, the less it made sense once I really broke down what each strap's intended purpose is. I just did a quick search and it looks like most manufacturers are still recommending level or slightly below, but the logic for erring on the side of being too high still makes more sense to me.

As for the comment on suspension seats, if you think about it, in a hard hit your body moves down and the harness essentially loosens up. That's the main criticism of suspension seats and why pretty much every other auto racing uses regular tub seats (actually, I think suspensions seats are not permitted by most sanctioning bodies). However, our requirements are different as many of the harshest hits are taken without the aid of the vehicle's suspension, so we need some additional suspension at the seat. Ultra4-type racing has blurred the lines between whether a suspension or tub seat is preferred, but for pure crawling there is almost no debate on whether suspension seats are the way to go. The only way to get the "best of both worlds" is to integrate the harness with the tub seat itself which that entire "seat chassis" mounted on some form of suspension -- sorta similar to truck or boat seats. I've a feeling that in the next 10-15 years, that will become more of a standard as the R&D (which is supposedly being worked on by some people) progresses to the point of practicality.

[BigClay]

A little update on my Corbeau Ultra Wide seats. They are amazing, enough said. I can't believe I haven't gotten them before now. You really have no idea what a beating your body takes while wheeling in stock seats.

For anyone contemplating getting the wide version, I fit perfectly, and so does my 6'5" 280 pound passenger.

[dyn0mitemat]

Well it turns out the jk ones I was looking at had a nice rip in the drivers seat, and if I'm going through the trouble of replacing the seats I want something nice and not already ripped so I'll probably hold off and just pick up a set of baja ss's when I get the extra cash

[indy242003]

Well it turns out the jk ones I was looking at had a nice rip in the drivers seat, and if I'm going through the trouble of replacing the seats I want something nice and not already ripped so I'll probably hold off and just pick up a set of baja ss's when I get the extra cash

I would avoid JK seats! I have a set in my tow rig (F350), and I build them for a living (Engineering department for JK seating). Skip em'. I'm not saying they are built bad, they just are not very comfortable on long trips. To me (I don't spec this stuff Chrysler does), the cushion is way to stiff and the head rest too. Just my take from someone that ships about 1k of these a day.

[indy242003]

A little update on my Corbeau Ultra Wide seats. They are amazing, enough said. I can't believe I haven't gotten them before now. You really have no idea what a beating your body takes while wheeling in stock seats.

For anyone contemplating getting the wide version, I fit perfectly, and so does my 6'5" 280 pound passenger.

Clay, can you post some pics of your Ultra's in the fat boy version mounted in your rig? I know I'm rolling a WJ, but if they fit well in a ZJ they should be no issue in a WJ. Thanks Clay. Now get on it my man!

[BigClay]

Here are the only pics I have with them in. It is a tight fit, and the door arm rest rubs them a little, so the door will be trimmed shortly.

[dyn0mitemat]

Those look nice clay.

I've made up my mind and after sitting in them again at the store I am picking up a pair of (fixed back) baja ss's later this week. The only information I can find for mounting them has been the posts in this thread and xj stuff from pirate. If anyone else has any info related to the mount's I'm all ears, but otherwise I guess I'll have something to do this weekend

[dyn0mitemat]

I ended up with mastercraft rubicons. I couldn't find a combo of the baja ss's I liked. I didn't care for the grey/tan color they had, and the black I've seen too many fade to blue. I decided the sides would be too tall for a DD/WW, and i didn't want leather, so I had to look at other seats. Sat in the rubicons and fell in love, they're built extremely nice, and they feel alot better built than the baja ss's.

Here's a few pictures. I moved the switches on the front of the seats in a piece of aluminum I milled out, as the plastic on the side (where they sit on factory seats) mounts to the seat, not the frame. They're absolutely awesome and I'm not disappointed with them in the least. I'll toss a better review of how they feel up after I've been in them a few weeks and on the trail with them

[BigClay]

I was htinking about this thread and decided to post up for searching posterity. I sold the ZJ over a year ago, and just recently picked up a 98 TJ. The ZJ had the Corbeau Ultra wide version, and the TJ already had Corbeau Ultra regular version. Believe it or not I prefer the regular version and not the wide. The wide was a little too wide for me (yes I am still 6' 300#s) and the regular version keeps me in the seat much better with no extra sliding around. So take it for what it is worth.

[ATL ZJ]

I was htinking about this thread and decided to post up for searching posterity. I sold the ZJ over a year ago, and just recently picked up a 98 TJ. The ZJ had the Corbeau Ultra wide version, and the TJ already had Corbeau Ultra regular version. Believe it or not I prefer the regular version and not the wide. The wide was a little too wide for me (yes I am still 6' 300#s) and the regular version keeps me in the seat much better with no extra sliding around. So take it for what it is worth.

You going to bring that TJ to GSSE? as you know we don't discriminate

[BigClay]

You going to bring that TJ to GSSE? as you know we don't discriminate

GSSE is certainly an Equal Opportunity Wheeling Event haha. I can't make it this year, will be out of town already, the TJ also needs a few things before I hit the trails, but it is on TSLs already, old school bling!

[WJJEEPIN]

Hey guys,

I had to replace the WJ seats due to the metal bracket on the driver side tore away from the bolt on the bracket. So I wanted something that worked in the dub but also wanted adjustable which the KOR didnt offer.



I went with Corbeau and really enjoy them. I used their standard brackets for the wj. The driver side bracket was in backorder so I got the passenger side in. They are a tad higher than stock as there is less give in the seat.


When I got the driver side bracket and in it was pushed harder to the driver door than I wanted.


I sent the bracket to Corbeau and had them tweek it to make it work better with the WJ. They are cherokee specific brackets that work on the grands so not perfect. If you have welding capabilities then your set.


I enjoyed the wj seats and was sad to see them go. These are very comfy and I dont miss the oem seats as much as I originally thought. I am looking forward to getting a cage in the dub and adding a harness and 5 point belts.