Just Jap Racing And Ghepardo Seats

[No Crust Racing]

Has anyone had experience with these?

Specifically this model

http://justjap.com/store/product.php?produ...at=0&page=1

There's on going for an OK dollar on NS.com and I'm thinking it might be good for the missus as my Velo is full fixed to my positition and she wants her own seat.

By her own admission she wants something half decent that will last that she can later put into her own car when she gets one.

For reference this is all for track work, no street.

Her seat will go into my car first just so she can learn a bit about track cars and being on the track.

Cheers

EDIT: She was also looking at these, I've never heard of them?

http://www.soldsmart.com.au/l3.aspx?goods=...Seat&cam=14

Edited June 11, 2010 by ActionDan

[FLN75S]

Had 1 in the Dato for the Co-driver, its not a bad seat, pretty comfortable but thats because it isnt a full plastic/fiberglass seat, its got just foam and straps to hold the foam on the bottom.

[No Crust Racing]

Any idea what it was made of then? Did it seem safe/sturdy?

[FLN75S]

Yeh seemed sturdy/safe and has been in the car for a few events no dramas.

its just the bottom they have left open for some reason. the rest is like a normal race seat

[Victory]

I have a couple of these and mounted them on wheels to use as office chairs - they work a treat.

Wheels and frames are easy to come buy - just wait for council cleanup as there are sure to be some old chairs in your area - then just make up a frame to mount the race seat to the chair base.

[warps]

I bought a Ghepardo off Ebay (about $140 delivered IIRC, complete with adjustable runners) and they are pretty ordinary quality. they look good (very similar to the Velos in the rally car) but they don't have the same level of finish. eg the "captive" nuts are just held in with a bit of glue, and will come loose the first time you try to unbolt the seat. the brackets are thin (16-18Ga by the looks of it) folded metal, and had to be massaged to make the seat sit straight.

I bought the seat for a go-kart I'm building with my son, and for that it works perfectly. Would I put one into a car? No. I'm not convinced that it wouldn't fall apart. Not that anything is glaringly obvious, but I don't trust it for street or race use - that's just me.

Also they have no ADR / AS / ISO / CAMS / FIA or any other approval / certification whatsoever. Personally I think they should be sold with a big disclaimer stating this. Would you put a non certified harness in your car?

[Deano 1]

i had one of the JJ ones in my S13 drift car..... POS seat, just a crap shape, the sides are way to high too. and its just too big for a S13.

buy a Sparco or somthing second hand trust me

[No Crust Racing]

Dimensions are the same as my Velo Podium which seems to fit me in it OK?

Are you a huge unit or something lol I'm only 6ft

[Beer Baron]

personally I wouldn't do it. especially since she wants something half decent that she can put into another car down the track. Seats are pretty bloody important safety wise. the cheap ones just don't stack up.

if you're on a bit of a tight budget look at a velo or some kind. they are very affordable, made in aus and good quality. if the budget is a bit tighter still then look at getting a second hand one. something like a Velo GP90 will be a great first race seat and will last the distance too. and being aus made it's easy to get new covers, padding etc for it.

this is your girlfriends life you are looking at. it would be pretty awful for her to crash and be injured by a $150 seat when a $400 seat would have protected her. a brand new GP90 is about $600 so really a small price to pay for years of comfort and protection.

[No Crust Racing]

I reckon that's the way we're gonn go Baron. She likes my Podium and I managed to get that for a steal ina a clearance sale so we'll keep hunting.

[nismoman]

I got a sparco sprint seat and it fits into S13 really well on mounts I made and with universal slider.

$499 from revolution racegear.

More details here:

http://www.revolutionracegear.com.au/index...Primary&CDO

[No Crust Racing]

Yeah I checked that one out myself but I think she'd agree with my view on it that it just didn't hold me in enough. It would help if I had a harness though.

[Beer Baron]

I reckon that's the way we're gonn go Baron. She likes my Podium and I managed to get that for a steal ina a clearance sale so we'll keep hunting.

best way to go mate. if you hunt around a bit there will be bargains out there from time to time. you should be able to score a nice velo for around the $500 mark or even less.

I would also advise against the sparco sprint. it's a tubular frame seat with foam wrapped around the frame. NOT a full fibreglass bucket like the GP90 etc. They are just no where near as safe as a full fibreglass bucket seat and also no where near as comfortable. for $500 they are poor value too.

[nismoman]

Definitely should add a harness. Keeps you safe if you roll amongst other things!

I was going to add that the sparco sprint is a metal frame (but that info was on the linked page). It could be lighter and more comfortable but I like it.

Plus I got it at a steal and was a better option than any just jap seats or others at the time.

To be honest, I would like to upgrade my seat to a fibreglass one and upgrade my harness as well to a 5 or 6 point 3" harness as I'm only running a 4 point 2" harness.

[Beer Baron]

yeah I do hate them, but as you point out there are many worse seats out there! they are certainly better than any factory skyline or nissan seat that's for sure. and yes harness is a must. for safety and improved lap times.

[Deano 1]

i ment the outside shape of the seat, not so much the part you sit in, the rest of the seat is just to big and chunky, my mate has a sparco in his s13 fits in perfect and looks right.

my old JJR one just looked shit, and i had it mounted as low as poss basicly the seat rail against the floor brace that gose from the tranny tunnel to the door sill. they just a shit shape haha

[Kaido_RR]

personally I wouldn't do it. especially since she wants something half decent that she can put into another car down the track. Seats are pretty bloody important safety wise. the cheap ones just don't stack up.

if you're on a bit of a tight budget look at a velo or some kind. they are very affordable, made in aus and good quality. if the budget is a bit tighter still then look at getting a second hand one. something like a Velo GP90 will be a great first race seat and will last the distance too. and being aus made it's easy to get new covers, padding etc for it.

this is your girlfriends life you are looking at. it would be pretty awful for her to crash and be injured by a $150 seat when a $400 seat would have protected her. a brand new GP90 is about $600 so really a small price to pay for years of comfort and protection.

+100%

can not agree with beer baron enough.

After see how my Bride Zeta 3 seat held up when i put my track car into a wall, i will not be buying any other seat. I hit a wall at the track 100km/hr + side ways (direct hit driver side) it push my whole door in towards me, the bride seat basically put a huge indent into the door trim and stop it from hitting me, took the seat out and there is NO damage what so ever to the seat.

When you think about it a brand new Bride Zeta 3 will cost around $1000 and i think its an extra $200 for the FIA approve Zeta 3.

Also if you are looking at harness please get one that is not out of date!

edit: photo to show you how far the door went in

here is the only photo i have showing the seat vs door

Edited June 16, 2010 by Kaido_RR

[warps]

Also if you are looking at harness please get one that is not out of date!

Given that CAMS did extensive testing on a heap of old (out of date) harnesses, and as a result have extended the useful life for another 5 years past the expiry date, I don't think that "out of date" harnesses are as dangerous as everyone would have you believe.

I'd rather use an out of date harness I've owned since new, knowing its history (my car only ever comes out of the shed for events) than a 12 month old harness that's been in a big rollover.

Don't buy a second hand harness for a competition vehicle, regardless of its age - you never know its history.

[Kaido_RR]

Given that CAMS did extensive testing on a heap of old (out of date) harnesses, and as a result have extended the useful life for another 5 years past the expiry date, I don't think that "out of date" harnesses are as dangerous as everyone would have you believe.

I'd rather use an out of date harness I've owned since new, knowing its history (my car only ever comes out of the shed for events) than a 12 month old harness that's been in a big rollover.

Don't buy a second hand harness for a competition vehicle, regardless of its age - you never know its history.

CAMs allows an extra 5 years on the FIA date, so that means 10years in total. From what i was told after 5-10yrs the fabric in the material starts to lose it strength and could possible tear in an accident.

however i do agree with you its better knowing the history then like you say who knows what the other knowner did with it

[warps]

That's right, the dates stamped onto harnesses give you 5 years from date of manufacture (just check that any harness you buy hasn't been sitting on a shelf for 12 months).

The reasoning was always that after 5 years, the material can deteriorate (to the point where the harness becomes unsafe). CAMS rounded up a heap of old out of date harnesses a couple of years ago, and did a lot of testing on them to see how badly the harnesses had deteriorated over time. They weren't able to find any significant change in webbing strength on the older harnesses, and even if they had deteriorated, they confirmed that the braeking strain is so high that you would die from crush injuries before the harness broke.

Hence they have added another 5 years to the expiry dates of all FIA harnesses.

Having said that, if the harness isn't properly mounted, or is poorly looked after, it can deteriorate in less than 5 years (frayes edges, rubbing on structures in the car, getting wet, sitting in the sun etc).