Handle G-Forces Like A Champ
Whether in the cockpit of a Tesla or a SpaceX rocket, no pilot wants to slide around their seat getting rocked by g-forces. Simply said, seating design is an important function to support the purpose of the vehicle. We assume if you’re reading along that you likely drive differently than granny who also will buy a Model 3. Unfortunately, every Model 3 comes with only one seat design, and that seat, by definition of a mass-produced car must make granny happy. Do you drive exclusively in Chill Mode? If not you’re probably familiar with the feeling of sliding around in the slippery low bolstered factory seat. It is not confidence-inspiring to be bracing oneself up against a door mid-corner. The Unplugged Performance Ascension-R bucket seat program is a solution designed for performance drivers and we’ve spent the last year dialing in this solution so that you can bolt it in, drive hard and stop accepting compromises.
Pilot and Machine Become One
Having a supportive seat is more than just not sliding around. A properly designed and bolstered bucket seat allows the driver to feel a direct connection to the car. Ask any racing driver and they’ll tell you how invaluable it is to feel the car’s precise movements. That direct connection to the machine increases feel and speeds reaction time.
Safety First
The standard Model 3 seats were not designed for a racing harness in mind. The proper approach to utilizing a racing harness begins with having a seat that is designed for harness use. For this reason, Unplugged Performance partnered with Sparco on this project and we utilize Sparco FIA approved Italian made seats as a base for this project. Earlier in 2020, Unplugged Performance released a bolt in/bolt out track day harness bar as well as a Willians x Unplugged Performance FIA-approved racing harness. Together the 3 items create the ultimate weekend warrior solution for proper racing use. The harness bar unbolts cleanly for a factory look in less than 5 minutes and stores flat in the garage, meanwhile the seat unbolts just as fast.
Check out the Harness Bar here.
Check out our Unplugged Performance Harnesses by Willans here.
One Cohesive System
The Tesla Model 3 is extremely difficult to modify as it relates to seating. For one there are seat width constraints, which prevent some seats from fitting into the car. We selected the largest and most comfortable high-performance seat which can accommodate the widest range of body types. Sparco suggests a 36 waist as fitting comfortably but we’ve had people with 42-inch waists fit as well. Our seat selection is great for scenarios with longer amounts of seat time and our friend Daerik even drove in these from California to Colorado! As we developed the complete solution we looked at existing hardware and found that the available seating positions were high and awkward at best so we developed from scratch a Model 3 specific seat base to allow the seat to position as low as possible. We include new hardware with every seat that allows the factory seat belt receiver to be used and we also include an eye-bolt for easy implementation of a racing harness. Perhaps the most challenging topic of seating is the deep computer integration of Tesla’s standard seats. Removing the standard seats on a Tesla creates a number of errors and in some cases renders the car completely not operable. We’ve seen various workarounds that still produce errors. To combat this challenge we’ve included an exclusive purpose-designed seat harness emulator. The included harness emulator allows the factory driver’s side seat and harness to be removed together intact and the car to function for racing despite the factory driver’s seat and harness being absent from the vehicle. The passenger seat may be removed and replaced with our bucket seats and the vehicle will still be able to race. There may be airbag/occupancy warning errors when removing the passenger seat but this will not impact racing usability.
Note – This harness emulator is designed for close racing circuits only. Because it is involves in the elimination of seat airbag and modification of the vehicle’s airbag and safety system it is not legal or advised for public road use.
Designed Custom For You
We’ve created variations in design to give the design as much focus as the function of this kit. Firstly we offer every package with either a Fiberglass (FRP) seat or a Pre-Preg Carbon Fiber (Carbon) seat. From there, for the lowest cost of entry, we offer the seats finished in the base level Sparco black textile finish. Things get more exciting from there as we offer full premium Alcantara versions of both the FRP and Carbon seat options.
The full Alcantara seating is offered in three variations:
- Tesla inspired “Plaid Mode” -As used on our race cars for those who represent the fastest of the fast
- Pure Black Alcantara – for a simple and clean look
- Vintage Racing Houndstooth – Classics never go out of style
* All three variations are easily interchangeable padding inserts. If you email us after your order, we can offer (for additional cost) additional insert sets so you can change the style up in less than a minute.
THE ASCENSION-R RACING SEAT PACKAGE FOR THE TESLA MODEL 3 INCLUDES:
Package A:
- Base Textile Finished Sparco FRP QRT-R Seat (this is a standard QRT-R seat without any custom embroidery or branding)
- Unplugged Performance Model 3 Seat Base
- Custom Driver Seat Harness Emulator
- Sparco Seat Rails
- Sparco Slider
- Hardware
- Eye-Bolt and Bracket for Optional Harness Use
Package B:
- Everything in Package A Plus:
- Upgrade to Unplugged Performance Alcantara Finish
- The option of “Full Black”, “Plaid Mode” or “Vintage Racer” design
Package C:
- This is Package A but instead of a Fiberglass seat it includes a Carbon Fiber QRT-C seat
Package D:
- This is Package B but instead of a Fiberglass seat it includes a Carbon Fiber QRT-C seat
