Are you a sporty driver who occasionally likes to drive your own car on a racecourse? Then you may have thought about buying a racing seat. Today this is no longer a problem since shell seats approved for both road use and the racecourse are available. The key disadvantage: many shell seats are neither ergonomic nor back-friendly, and offer no individual adjustment possibilities whatsoever. Thus driving pleasure quickly turns into back torture.
Even normal driving is considered one of the worst forms of sitting by health professionals. Why? Since we can hardly change our sitting position while driving, we sit rather motionless behind the wheel – poison for our body in the long term. That is why a normal vehicle seat should permit a certain amount of movement while driving.
Requirements for the seat are different on the racecourse, since a whole other set of forces is acting on the driver. The track, driving style and road surface vary considerably, so the associated centrifugal forces, braking forces or vibrations of various frequencies need to be compensated. This is a task that aside from the vehicle has to be handled mainly by the seat.
A back-friendly shell seat is based on the anatomy of the human back and its structures. This means it provides large-scale, inherently stable support for the rear, upper pelvic region and the lumbar spine, for example by means of compact yet adequate individual padding. One-sided strain on the intervertebral discs is thereby prevented, even over longer distances.
The shell also has to offer good shoulder and torso support and adequate freedom of movement for the arms. Defined lateral support, especially moulded shoulder support and an integrated headrest along with flexible padding elements that can be adapted to the driver’s needs establish the best conditions.
Seat depth adjustment is also vital. It ensures optimal sitting pressure distribution by providing an adequate supporting surface for the buttocks and thighs. Individual consideration of the seat height, seat angle and leg length is just as important for ergonomic sitting. The seat and sitting position must fit the driver.
A good sitting climate is important as well. Upholstery materials with temperature-regulating characteristics are preferred. A shell construction that facilitates good climate control, for example through correctly positioned ventilation slots, is optimal as well.
All this ensures safe and physiologically optimal sitting in the shell seat, even in extreme driving situations.
RECARO Automotive Seating
Stuttgarter Straße 73
73230 Kirchheim/Teck
GERMANY
Phone +49 7021/93 50 00
Fax +49 7021/93 53 39
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www.recaro-automotive.com