Racing seat, quick question?
 

A friends selling a sparco evo FIA seat. Rules state 5 years or 2 extra if you send it back in for recert. I'm not racing with any real organization so rules don't apply. But I want to be safe. Good idea or no? Marked is may 2004.

From FIA standard 8855-1999 (revised 2003), article 7 ( http://www.fia.com/resources/documen...ion_seat.pdf):

7. Seat life:
The usable life of an FIA homologated seat will be 5 years from the date of manufacture indicated on the seat label.

An extension of up to 2 further years may be authorised where the seat has been returned to the manufacturer for re-validation. Extensions will be indicated by an additional label affixed to the seat identifying the date on which the seat eligibility (word missing in document translation) and validated by the manufacturer's quality inspection stamp.

Use it .... the seat expiry is more about the potential for UV damage in open cars ...

If you still have airbags and don't have a full harness, the seat is prolly not worth the money. If you are not tracking the car currently just keep the OEM seats until you are and decide to do a full safety setup.

/2 cents :)

I know. You have to buy something first ;)

Saw the pics. For his price and wear I might as well get what I want new.

NASA will let you run an expired FIA seat with a brace IIRC.

Yes, which is a dumb rule because FIA seats are not designed for it

I didn't buy. For $20 more ill have brand new and in red.

Also, check your local motor vehicle inspection laws. Many states will fail you if your airbag light is on or your seat belts are not standard. You may need to solder in a resistor to turn off the light.

It is getting harder and harder to keep my car street legal here in Virginia.:shakes head:

http://www.the370z.com/members/resip...l-roll-bar.jpg

Well you could in theory re-install the stock seatbelts and other safety systems, pass inspection, then remove them all again. It's easier to just find a shop that's willing to pretend that all happened :p . Not that I recommend running a race setup on the street, but it's nice to have stickers just-in-case, to run down the street to get gas or break in a new set of pads or whatever.

No inspection here.

Looks like what ill do.