Racing seats vs Stock seats

[doglover44]

What are the pros and cons of each ?

[Painter]

I can think of two reasons. Properly mounted they are safer and feel safer. And they are lighter.

[CMcAllister]

Weight, weight and weight.

And safety.

[Andy Friar]

As someone who weighs 275#, putting in Kirkey seats on the floor vs the stock bench seat our car had, also had to lower the CG some. A side benefit and possibly not that much, but not a detriment either.

[Tom Goldman]

The weight reduction for 2 seats can be anywhere from 40 to 90 pounds depending on the seats.
The safety factor improvement is huge . just the reduction in mass in the event of an impact reduces the stress on the seat and seatbelt mountings.
The aluminum seat provides rigid protection for your back and torso and lateral support that a heavy , hinged factory seat cannot.

The only place where an aftermarket seat can be a negative is with a vertical crash. I fractured L1 in my back on a huge wheelstand when I had to abort or crash the car over the wall. my spine compressed when the K frame hit the racing surface and bottomed out the car. This is a rare circumstance, but it happened to me. I have a thick foam pad on the lower pan of the seat now. Hopefully I never have to use it .

They save weight and are safer everywhere else, and feel good to sit in. Lost 60 pounds in the middle of the Firebird when I converted over

[CMcAllister]

Factory seats typically sit the driver up high in the car. I generally make the new brackets to get the driver down in the car, Get the head/helmet down away from the roof and under the main hoop. Especially for guys 6'+.

[Charles Stewart]

Also be aware of your bracket height if you build a Gen 5 and maybe a Gen 6 Camaro.
Because, there’s a fine line between the bracket height, the very ordinary front quality vision and the roof, for a medium size racers.

[427FE]

The bench is so comfy

[SSDiv6]

An Aluminum seat with a cover has limited protection in a crash.
Although they are more expensive, I recommend the use of an FIA approved seat like they are provided with the COPO, Cobra Jet and Drag Pak cars or, a poured seat.
I learned a lot about crashworthiness of seats while doing aircraft passenger seat certification during my time at Boeing and it was eye opening.
Unless you buy a high end sports car that has Recaro seats or similar, the OEM seats are limited as regards to protection.
It is a matter of much your health is worth.