I would say I’m sore for probably a day or two and then I’m fine. If it lingers longer than that, then I would start to consider trying other padding options or something.
Yeah. I guess be aware of the pain level and don’t push it if it makes it worse.
Soreness after the race is probably ok but if there is wincing pain, I think the best is to stop karting until it’s completely healed. I read that it takes 6 weeks for a cracked rib to heal and there should be no activity for that period. Healing period might be longer for karting. What has helped me is tightening up the core or least for the corners that my ribs feel the pain.
One would think that there would be some sort of expanding foam that would contour around the mid-section and distribute the load better. I wonder, how many karters quit because of seat pain. It’s likely the older karter that races once a month that have the problem with no solution forth coming, as the karting industry doesn’t think this demographic is important.
Personally, I’ve had very few problems with seat pain, so I’m lucky but know many others that have.
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Not sure 52 qualifies as “geezer” but I can assure you most everyone regardless of age will feel some soreness for a few days after a race day. Sometimes you can find ways to address issues. Like I wear an elbow pad on my right arm as I kept getting bruising from banging on the motor. The seat / rib bruising can be tricky and even the best seat and rib vest won’t reverse a bruised or broken rib.
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Just a quick observation on the deepseat. I finally decided to ditch the deepseat and go back to tillet seat. It saved me about 5 lbs in weight and it free up the chassis so much. The kart feels so different.
Update from me: had a solid weekend, picked up P2 at my local club and two days later I have no pain. I added a gel pad for my right side which seemed to help. I just need to trim the top a bit.
Glad to hear it. At least one of you found relief. It is true that the taller deepseat does have an effect on the karts handling.
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Some guys saw the curled lip off the top of the seat or just cut slots in it to help the seat flex.
Has anyone had any experience with the “Tillett Ribcage Driver Support System” which is added to a normal seat to provide rib protection, without the stiffness of the Ribtect or Deepseat?
Those seem very expensive. I just have these in my seat
I like to be snug in my seat so these help get me there.
Yeah I have a ton of extra padding on my actual rib vest. The reason I ask is because people recommend running the softest seat in 206 and the rib seats are very stiff. I have been running a DeepSeat for a couple of years after breaking a rib. I tried testing a normal seat and broke a rib again! So for whatever reason I think I need a lot of rib support, and that Tillett Ribcage Driver Support System on a normal seat seems like it would be a good compromise.
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Buy them. They work great
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I had a bunch of rib issues after cracking one and my kart guy told me the same thing about Deepseats being too stiff for LO206. Instead, I decided to try a NEK “Modular” seat which is similar to a Jeko style seat. It has deeper wings on the side and I found the thigh “wings” helped support me. I’m 6’2" so I have a lot of upper body above the top of the seat that gets tossed around and this seat helped a bunch! I also figured out that my bengio was curving in at the front too much and basically pushing in on my lower ribs when under force. I swapped to a Greyhound / Tillet P1 style protector and it has been gravy since! Good luck with the rib pain! It is the worst!
I tried the Jecko-style seat at the beginning of the year and ended up breaking a rib again 
that is why I am considering a Tillet style seat with those added wings.
Those Tillett add-on wings are a pretty neat idea, if a little spendy. Probably worth it if they work as advertised!
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I typically run the Tillet T11 on my OTK, but at NOLA earlier this year I bruised/broke a rib and despite resting for 4 weeks before the next round at Speedsportz, after two practice sessions, I couldn’t breathe. I threw on my Ribtec seat and I was able to drive the rest of the weekend with absolutely no rib pain. I have to say, I hate how it feels (like a straight jacket) but it allowed me to race and kept me from being in pain. It does make setup difficult as well due to the stiffness, but again it works. Haven’t tried the Tillet wings though, let us know if you do as that might be the ticket to comfort without sacrificing setup if I can keep the VG on.
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I have the Tillet wings coming and will update this thread once I get some laps in with them on.
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Well, I ran a practice day with the rib cage system and a normal seat, I was definitely sore the next day, which is not the case with the DeepSeat, but after two days I am all good. I definitely noticed the chassis behaving differently through the corners with a softer seat. I’m not sure if there is anything cheaper on the market because the Tillet system is expensive for what it is, but it works!
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Similar to the Tillet design are these IMAF supports:
Has anyone tried these? They are considerably less than the Tillet brand.
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I need these vs the deep seat I have I think. Gotta link?