low buck race seat padding

I know GRM guys are kings of the low buck mods thus this post. :)

What have you guys done for modifying or adding padding to race seats?

My miata has a Memory Fab reclinable seat and it has insufficient lumbar support. It shapes my back in an uncomfortable outward 'C' shape (hypolordosis?). I need to stick something in the lumbar region to shape my back correctly.

I was thinking of some kind of memory foam - perhaps hack up a few cheap memory foam pillows and glue/sew some velcro strips onto it?

Rolled up towel? Also handy when your top leaks.

Craft store "bulk" foam padding. Sometimes, depends on the store, it comes in varying densities.

Are you trying to stick it to the outside of the seat, or stuff it inside the cover?

Cruse yard sales for matress toppers

Yard sale? Hmm, do I want to buy a used mattress top... I don't know where it's been!

Outside of seat vs. stuff inside.... whatever works!

Ranger50 wrote: Craft store "bulk" foam padding. Sometimes, depends on the store, it comes in varying densities.

he said cheap.

Sub $10 for a block isn't cheap?

my momo race seat came with a bunch of different velcro-in pads of varying shapes/sizes. a friend of mine saw them one day and made copies of them after a trip to the craft store. it took some sewing skills, but works great and they stay put.

asoduk wrote: my momo race seat came with a bunch of different velcro-in pads of varying shapes/sizes. a friend of mine saw them one day and made copies of them after a trip to the craft store. it took some sewing skills, but works great and they stay put.

Pics please!!!

I have a Corbeau arriving in a few weeks. It has a hand pump lumbar but will need to aquire foam for bottom.

In reply to Hasbro:

My car (and seat) are hibernating right now, and 2 min of googling didn't find what I have, but this recaro pad is a similar idea: http://goo.gl/2fFbR This is pretty neat too: http://goo.gl/yNv3a

The pads are pretty cool as they are all the exact width of my seat and can velcro into any spot: under thighs, under butt, lumbar or any combination. The fabric on the seat acts as the soft part of the velcro.

I use a rolled up towel in primarily because it is free and I am surprised by how effective it is.

My Dad uses one of theses has velcro onthe back stick to the seat. His is black to match. http://www.walmart.com/ip/19589820?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem

JasonC wrote: Yard sale? Hmm, do I want to buy a used mattress top... I don't know where it's been! Outside of seat vs. stuff inside.... whatever works!

You said cheap I suppose a new one would work too lol

Drive around on trash day, find a couch, harvest foam. The foam cuts well with electric turkey carving knife, and can be glued easily with spray glue.

I've tried cheap mattress topper memory foam in seats, and I was not impressed. Simply too soft.

I ended up using Backsaver foam from Pegasus, which is of course anti-GRM - supporting race parts suppliers! But it worked beautifully, extending the time I could spend in the seat from 30 minutes to over 14 hours. Someone else on the GRM forum figured it was probably Confor foam, which is available from other sources. The stuff I used was 1" thick and blue.

If your goal is more support, then I suspect you can find the foam you need in a craft store. The memory foam would work well for fine-tuning the fit and avoiding pressure points in my opinion.

If you want a stiffer foam than mattress topper, find packaging for an expensive electronic item. I know the rackmount servers at work come packed on a sheet that's similar to mattress topper but it's 2-3 times harder (and made of a more resilient-looking plastic), I've seen it in monitor boxes as well.

Also a regular hacksaw goes through foam like a hot knife through butter.