So I Don't Think It Was Chasie Flex After All

Some may remember me posting up about my 924s and how I thought it has an unusual amount of chaise flex. Well today I took the drivers seat out to fix a broken seat and I found that the mounting point for the seat to the floor has a bunch of spider cracks in it emanating from the area where the mounting bracket is welded to the floor. These cracks ranged from 1 inch to 3 inches long and there was 4-5 of them. So what started as a lets fix the seat turned in to a lets weld up all the cracks in the floor as well. I suspect that the flex I was feeling was really the floor flexing where the sat mounted. We will see.

Does it make me a jerk/spelling Nazi if I correct your spelling of chassis?

Interesting outcome either way, keep us updated.

Sounds like you should also be bracing/reinforcing the seat mount area so it doesn't happen again.

ebonyandivory wrote: Does it make me a jerk/spelling Nazi if I correct your spelling of chassis? Interesting outcome either way, keep us updated.

If it makes you feel special have at it.

ncjay wrote: Sounds like you should also be bracing/reinforcing the seat mount area so it doesn't happen again.

This!!! When the weather warms up I am going to have to strip the area out and see what is what but I think it definitely needs some upgrading

In reply to ebonyandivory:

Dean types with his elbows.

dean1484 wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: Does it make me a jerk/spelling Nazi if I correct your spelling of chassis? Interesting outcome either way, keep us updated.

If it makes you feel special have at it.

Does it make me feel special? Not sure I understand the question...

It just makes reading your thread easier. Sorry if I offended you.

I thought Chaise Flex might have been a strippers name and Dean meant to post this in off topic.

I'm guessing the 924 floor doesn't have any extra plating around the seat mounting holes?

ebonyandivory wrote:

dean1484 wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: Does it make me a jerk/spelling Nazi if I correct your spelling of chassis? Interesting outcome either way, keep us updated.

If it makes you feel special have at it.

Does it make me feel special? Not sure I understand the question... It just makes reading your thread easier. Sorry if I offended you.

I didn't think you were out of line and that is a really bad spelling error IMHO.

For what it's worth, my 83 944 didn't just crack at the left front bolt, it pulled a hole in the floor. The seat was stiff enough that I never noticed until I replaced the carpet.

it truly amazes me how many people can't spell … or don't use spell check ( the can't spell would be me, and that's why I don't go anywhere without my spell check LOL)

I understand the misuse of pronouns and other grammar screw ups .. it's not taught much in school anymore, and even when it was most of us didn't listen to the teacher, + there's not much in the way of grammar check on our computers

guess this might have been better placed in the "rant" thread … oh well ….

Maybe the cracks are caused by abusive use of the seat.

iceracer wrote: Maybe the cracks are caused by abusive use of the seat.

It's a German car, maybe it was punishing you for your spelling ... :)

(I couldn't spell 'disciplining')

With out getting in to this whole spelling thing again the short of it is I suck at it. I have been criticized about it all my life. It is a learning disability that I have had all my life and why a good secretary in my company has job security like no other employee.

I posted a thread about this issue a while back and I will see if the new and improved search function can find it so I can link it for you.

Here U Go http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/spelling-and-grammar-police-rant/47828/page1/

dean1484 wrote: With out getting in to this whole spelling thing again the short of it is I suck at it. I have been criticized about it all my life. It is a learning disability that I have had all my life and why a good secretary in my company has job security like no other employee. I posted a thread about this issue a while back and I will see if the new and improved search function can find it so I can link it for you.

And FWIW, I suck at it too. Like you say, our 'helpers' get us through ...

I knew what you meant. My cousin has dyslexia and can't spell worth a E36 M3. He has skills with machine tools that I would be hard pressed to learn in two lifetimes. We all bring something to the table. As an observation a seat is a major safety item in an automobile. Keep this in mind if you are going to track this seat, it may be time for a new computer chair. Typed by a hunt and peck typer.

Back on point:

I have some serious safety concerns about what I found in my car. The way the seat is mounted is just wrong in my book.

The seat is mounted to four capture nuts that are affixed in to what I can describe as square pyramids with the point cut off. These things are then spot welded to the sheet metal floor pan. There is no reinforcing of the floor pan at all.

The reason I bring this up is there was a death at Lime Rock a couple years back where a Porsche went backwards in to the tire barrio at the bottom of the downhill. From the information I got 2nd and 3rd hand I was told that the seat failed (non specific about what the failure was) and the driver broke his neck.

This got me worried so I started to investigate my cars seats and mounting locations and at that time I found that the floor pan cracking where the capture nut brackets at the front of the seats are welded to the floor pan. I welded these up and reinforced the front mounting point. I also inspected the rear mounting points and at the time there was no indication of any problems. Fast forward 2 years and now I have an extreme case of metal fatigue failure at the rear mounting point of the seat (specifically at the rear left mounting point of the drivers seat.) I suspect this is from entering and exiting the car and it from leaning against the back rest to get in and pushing against it to get out. I can see that with this kind of a failure that if I had a rear impact my seat would crush back and down (through the floor) and I would then brake my neck as my seat and head would hit the bar behind me. Mounting the seat to the roll cadge will definitely help but for those of us that do a lot of HPDE stuff where SCCA/EMRA car safety rules are not mandatory I would strongly recommend that you inspect the mounting points of your seats VERY carefully. This has been a big eye opener. Once the weather gets better I am going to remove my seats again and weld in some 3/8" plate and gusset it in to the frame of the car both under and on top of the floor pan and run the bolts that mount the seat brackets / sliders through the 3/8 steel. Yes I am going to be adding in the order of 20lbs to my car probably but it will be low and I can find other ways to make up for that added weigh by saving it in other places

In short for those of us running older cars inspect your seat mounting locations especially if it is a 944!!!

TRoglodyte wrote: I knew what you meant. My cousin has dyslexia and can't spell worth a E36 M3. He has skills with machine tools that I would be hard pressed to learn in two lifetimes. We all bring something to the table. As an observation a seat is a major safety item in an automobile. Keep this in mind if you are going to track this seat, it may be time for a new computer chair. Typed by a hunt and peck typer.

I am seriously considering retiring this car from all track service. I could get another (I was offered a 97 924s with 44K on it for short $$$. I would then gut this car and cadge it and address the seat mounting. All the parts pulled from this car would then become spars for the "new" street car. (I think I am enabling my self here)

TRoglodyte wrote: My cousin has dyslexia and can't spell worth a M3 E36.

ftfy

Spoolpigeon wrote:

TRoglodyte wrote: My cousin has dyslexia and can't spell worth a M3 E36.

ftfy

Thanx,I heard that Dale Earnhardt insisted on mounting his own seats in his race cars. He didn't trust anyone else with that task.

dean1484 wrote: With out getting in to this whole spelling thing again the short of it is I suck at it. I have been criticized about it all my life. It is a learning disability that I have had all my life and why a good secretary in my company has job security like no other employee. I posted a thread about this issue a while back and I will see if the new and improved search function can find it so I can link it for you.

wasn't busting you chops for the spelling ( my problem also ) so much as, why not use spell check ? sorry if it was offensive to you …

I go so far as to go to google and try to type the word I'm trying to use so that google can find it for me, when I can't get close enough for spell check to help me

I built some simple seat mounts for my old BMW using heavy gauge rectangular tubing. I welded nuts to the bottom of the tubing, then welded the sides to the trans tunnel, sills and the floor using some angle iron. Not the prettiest welds and I'm no structural engineer, but I feel safe with this setup.

So on P cars, the seat is a structural member of the chassis, huh? And people say Chapman cheaped out.

Dr. Hess wrote: So on P cars, the seat is a structural member of the chassis, huh? And people say Chapman cheaped out.

Quite the opposite it is mounted to the floor pan and not attached to anything that is really structural.