The Ribtect Seats

In a race kart, one of the main chassis tuning components is the go-kart seat. Because a go-kart has no suspension, the chassis itself must flex for the kart to corner correctly. This flex also goes through the seat. If a seat is too stiff, it will not allow the chassis to flex properly. This can cause a chassis to “bind up” which will slow you down.
Because of many years of karting experience, I created a unique lay-up with materials that I thought would allow for better chassis performance. The idea was to add an “X-pattern” in the lay-up of the seat. I use 6″ uni-directional carbon fiber strips to connect the seat from corner to corner. Then, the rest of the seat is laid up with composite fiberglass, allowing for more cross-flex than any other racing seat on the market.
The idea is this… When a sprint or road race kart rolls into a left hand corner, the inside rear tire must lift up off the ground to allow the kart to turn without scrubbing speed. When this happens, the upper left portion of the seat is flexed toward the lower right portion of the seat. This “cross flex” in the seat will hold energy, like a leaf spring until the chassis “unloads” off of the corner. When the chassis unloads, it is assisted with the energy stored in the “X pattern” of the seat. This will allow for a better feel into the corner and a better launch off of the corner. Most of the time, allowing for faster lap times.

The Ribtect Seat is unique in shape and unique in lay-up. There are countless hours in the design of this seat and countless laps, race after race, to find the best possible lay-up / flexibility. We have been known to make “custom” seats for customers looking for more chassis tuning tools. We can make a seat very soft and flexible, which may work very well for some chassis in some conditions. Or we can make a seat very stiff to work well with other chassis in various conditions.

• Comfortable shape, hand-crafted in the U.S.A.
• Composite carbon fiber / fiberglass construction
• Two 6″ strips uni-directional carbon fiber forming an X-pattern in the seat
• Two extra layers of carbon fiber reinforcements in four mounting points
• Two extra layers of carbon fiber on the bottom where seat might scrape
• Same shape as our carbon fiber version
• Ergonomic shape and depth of the seat spreads the G-force loads and shock over a larger area. No shallow edge to dig into your ribs.
• Gives driver a better feel for the chassis
• Extra support also lowers fatigue level, allowing a lighter grip on the steering wheel, and better focus.