Tillett Go Kart Racing Seats

Tillett is an industry leading go kart seat manufacturer with over 31 years of experience producing kart seats. Tillett's reputation for quality and performance has made it a staple throughout the kart racing paddock.

All Tillett seats ship for free!!!

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Tillett Seat Models Explained

Tillett T11

Tillett's T11 is wildly popular among racing teams across the USA and world. The T11 features a flat bottom which allows the seat to be mounted lower in the chassis. This enables taller drivers to lower their center of gravity within the kart. The T11 features a 58 degree back angle, which lowers the driver's head and shoulders relative to the T8.

Tillett T8

The T8 seat is the best selling seat in Tillet's Range. The T8 seat features a more upright 63 degree angle which moves the driver's shoulders closer to the steering wheel, and is a fantastic option for drivers with shorter arms. The T8 seat is also fantastic for taller and larger drivers who find themselves sliding out of the T11 seat. The T8 seat will normally fit a driver "deeper" in the hips and ribcage area.

Tillett Stiffness Options

Standard

Available in both handmade and RTM style seats.

"T"

Soft flex, reduced seat stiffness which in turn reduces the overall chassis stiffness.

"VG"

Very Soft, reduces seat stiffness even further than the "T" stiffness.

"VTi"

Supersoft, extremely soft!! This style seat is often special order only and may have long lead times.

Usefull Tillett Resources

Tillett Size Chart

Tillett Catalog

Mounting a Seat - The Easy Way!

How to mount your kart seat:

Mounting a seat is one of those things that can be very intimidating at first, but with time, becomes a very easy process. The main objective of mounting your go kart seat is to place your bodyweight in the correct position within the kart. It is common for many Sr. drivers' bodyweight to account for over 50% of the vehicle's total weight. For this reason, placing the kart seat, and subsequently the driver's bodyweight improperly can cause a wide range of handling issues.

Your main goal is to place the seat properly within the kart chassis without any twist, compression, or strech as the hardware for the seat is tightened!

Tools needed:

Flat plate to support seat during installation
Clamps to hold plate
Sharpie
Drill
8mm drill bit (5/16" is OK but get an 8mm!)
Tape Measure
8mm x 1.25 Flat head cap screws
Conical washers
M8 x 1.25 Nylock nuts
Washers & Spacers

Vertical position:

Vertical position relative to the bottom rails is critical to the grip level of the go kart. Mounting the seat high in the chassis increases the leverage the driver's bodyweight will act upon the chassis with. This can be very beneficial in low grip circumstances, or in the rain. As grip increases, it is often very undesirable to have the seat mounted high in the chassis. This will result in an "overgripped" situation, resulting in "hopping" or "bicycling".

Longitudinal position:

This is the seat's position in the go kart relative to the front hoop. Moving the seat back in the go kart puts more of the driver's bodyweight onto the rear axle and off the front. Moving the seat foward has the opposite effect.

Twist:

In many seat installations we often see the right front corner of the kart seat mounted further from the front hoop than the left front. This helps to position the driver's upper body, shoulders, and head slightly left of the chassis centerline. By doing so, the driver's bodyweight can counterbalance the weight of the engine sitting on the right side of the driver's body. The degree of twist can vary, but it's often common to see the right edge placed 1cm further from the front rails than the left.

Installation

Place your plate against the bottom rails of the chassis and clamp into place. If mounting below the chassis, use spacers between the palte and chassis. If mounting your seat above the rails, place your spacer onto the plate.
Drop your seat onto the plate, and place some weight into the center of the seat to help stabalize the seat while you position it within your kart chassis.
Move the seat into position by measuring from the front hoop to the left and right front edges of the seat. I usually place one 2mm thick spacer between the right side chassis seat strut then place the seat into contact with this spacer. If your struts are close enough to the seat surface on the left side, stuffing a spacer in will also help keep the seat from moving as you mark it.
Verify with your tape measure that all measurements are correct.
Mark the holes for the right side chassis seat strut, then the left side.
Remove the seat and drill both side holes.
Return the seat to the chassis and install hardware for the side holes (don't tighten yet)
Verify your measurements again, ensuring the seat is still in the correct position.
Gently tighten the hardware on both sides of your kart seat, ensuring you don't disturb the seats position within your kart chassis.
Verify measurements again.
Mark your front tab holes in the seat, then drill the front holes. Use gentle pressure so as not to pivot the seat on the previous two holes with the force of your drill.
Install spacers between the chassis tabs and the bottom surface of your seat. If there are angles to the bottom side of your seat, create a spacer to match the angle*
Install hardware for your bottom holes.
Place your chrome seat struts into position near the top of each side of your seat. Tighten them down at the bearing cassettes and drill the holes. Install hardware.

*If you need to create a spacer with an angle to it, try using a 1.5" Ø nylon round bar. I buy these from McMaster Carr. Grab your miter saw and set the blade to the apropriate angle. Cut the angle first before you part off your spacer with a square 90 degree cut. USE CAUTION AND GO SLOW DURING YOUR CUT. This material is dense and will grab if you try to cut too fast. Once your angle is perfect, return the blade to 90 degrees and cut the spacer to the apropriate length. Next, put an 8mm hole through the center and you're ready to install it!