I made a seat enquiry and,,,

[Outwest34au]

I thought the response below was sorta wierd.
Is this like where you can buy a bong but it's not a bong until it is used as a smoking utensil. Point being in that case, legal to sell, illegal to use or possess.

I simply tried to find if some fleabay seats had an ADR tag and got the following response,


Hi,
I have confirmed with departments of transport
compliance section the point?s raised previously
by some customers in relation to ADR (Australian
Design Rules) compliance of the car seats we
supply.


I have been advised as follows:


If seats are provided as part of a car then the
whole car (and the seats as part thereof) will
need to be certified
If seats are provided as a standalone part no
certification is required
There is no process for certification of car seats
and there is no official certificate that can be
provided for ADR compliance of the car seats.



Kind regards,
Anna
Customer Support
SoldSmart International



So, what's the go with that??

[thudmaster]

That sounds like more information than anyone needs........

[LoBelly]

I got a pair of OBX seats and they had a little tag saying they were ADR compliant.

I believe that the ADR's do specify tests on seats - From memory the anchorage is important too - so maybe they're referring to the lack of an anchorage...???

LoBelly

[400TT]

Yes, you certainly can test and certify seats.

We certainly do and have certified seats for our kits.

ADR3/03 gives the testing criteria.

It's a little bit simpler in a 2 seater as the seats don't need to be tested for protecting the occupants from behind.

Anyway if you keep hunting you will find plenty of ADR approved seats around. Finding one that suits is the challenge though.

Also make sure it meets the headrest height requirements specified by your engineer.

[Zedn]

Hi Craig,

Do you know what the correct way to measure the height is? My engineer and i had some trouble interpreting the lower point to measure from. He suggested that the lower point would be a point on his measuring sphere that was about 45mm from the bottom (not sure on the exact number). When i measure my seats from where you butt touches to the top of the head rest it is pretty much exactly 800mm (fixed head rest).

Any idea of the correct measuring method?

Also forgot to mention that i was talking to you at the nationals on the Saturday. You probably dont remember, I didnt put two and two together at the time, but i was the young guy (30) seeking shelter in your garage with my mate when the down poor hit on the Saturday. You were Chamoising the black car and i was asking some questions about it. They are nice looking cars.

Liam

[400TT]

Liam, thanks for the compliment on the cars. Yes, I think I remember you. Yes, I was cleaning the car for my wife.

I wish I had good news, but from my experience that height is not enough. It would need to be closer to 860mm to be compliant in NSW measuring it that way. From memory our RCR seats(adjustable headrest up full) are over 900mm measuring it that way.

It's been a while since we did those type of measurements, actually a couple of years. I couldn't describe it without reading the ADR as it is complex. Maybe someone else here has looked into it more recently.

[Merv and Sharon]

I got the seats frames that Warwick Harrison has and they are compliant. I am not sure how he achieved that but they are comfortable and not too thick.

[Outwest34au]

Yes, I spoke with Mr Harrison also. He told me of his seats and his good upholsterer.
I am also pretty sure there is adr testing for seats as those tags are there for a reason. The adr's as I have interpreted them do have certain requirements.
I was looking for just a cheap crappy set of seats that aren't too thick to get me through. Money's tight and times are hard, you know how it is. I have some rather bulky seats ATM that are ADR approved and of correct height if you measure from where the tailbone would rest on the seat base, they will do, but arent 1st or even 2nd choice.

Really, just because they sell unapproved seats doesn't make it wrong. I'm sure most people buy them to make office chairs, surely none end up in motor cars.

[boxhead]

The application will make a difference regarding ADR's.
No back seat in a Cobra, and in most cases there is a firewall (rear bulkhead) between back of seat and cargo area.

Talk to your engineer making sure he knows this part.
As I think the only requirement you will need to meet is mounting and height.

[Baz]

The problem here Liam is that "OutWest32AU" who posted iniitally is from Qld and they interpret their ADR's complete;y differently to the RTA in NSW. Your Engineer has to have the balls to instill in his mind that your seats are compliant here then really push your case in NSW with the RTA until you are successful. Another hoop I am jumping through at the moment.


Baz

[400TT]

Baz, (hoping you are recoving well), yes unfortunately the way things work is different from state to state and some states have different approaches to when new ADR requirements are phased in etc.

But ADR3/03 certified seats should be accepted by all state transport departments if all requirements are followed. And everyone should be looking for seats that have had that certification, either from compliant production vehicles or appropriately certified aftermarket seats.

And I suspect most, if not all good engineers are advising new ICV builders of such seat requirement changes.

It would be great if the RTA adopted a different approach, but the RTA is not alone in strict requirements. QLD's requirements for ICV's are extensive, much more testing is required in QLD than any other state. But it all works.

[Zedn]

Originally Posted by 400TT

Baz, (hoping you are recoving well), yes unfortunately the way things work is different from state to state and some states have different approaches to when new ADR requirements are phased in etc.

But ADR3/03 certified seats should be accepted by all state transport departments if all requirements are followed. And everyone should be looking for seats that have had that certification, either from compliant production vehicles or appropriately certified aftermarket seats.

And I suspect most, if not all good engineers are advising new ICV builders of such seat requirement changes.

It would be great if the RTA adopted a different approach, but the RTA is not alone in strict requirements. QLD's requirements for ICV's are extensive, much more testing is required in QLD than any other state. But it all works.

Craig,
How do they do the brake and noise test in QLD? Is it on a dyno or on a track? Also do QLD require seat anchor and belt anchor testing? I thought the fibreglass test was the only difference.

I know we have all said it before, but wouldnt it be great if the whole country was on the same page!

I think yor 860 might be right, my engineer was talking 2 numbers, 45mm and 65mm from memory. I need to find 60mm somewhere! I can do it easily by modifying the side brackets and adding a lumber support, but then the moment on the brackets has increased and that basically makes the seats no longer compliant to what was originally certified.

Baz,
Did you notice how they measured your seat height? What is the height of your seats with the covers on from tail bone to headrest? If they only knocked you back on it not being firmly attached to the seat, the height must be ok.

The seat ADR should be the same all over Aust. Id does say how to measure it, but i need to read the whole thing from cover to cover.

[Baz]

Liam,

Mine are 860 but the NSW requirement is 850.

Baz