Help with school project.

I will start with some background to help give an idea of what I am looking for. I am a college student working on a project in which we build a go kart like vehicle and then race it and do a big design report on it. I am working on a seat for it that will be suspended from the frame from various mounting points sort of like a hammock (innovation like this will really help my score where as it is heavily scored on the design report). The main thing I am looking for is the right material to make it out of. It needs to be fire resistant, durable, and strong. Originally I was looking into a kevlar or nomex like material but that seems to be expensive. Now I am looking into some sort of fire resistant canvas or such. So the question is does anyone know of any good materials for this (the most important part is fire resistant, that is what I am having trouble with)? Also a good supplier of the material? I have been searching the internet and have been having trouble finding a decent fabric or place to buy such a thing so I thought maybe someone on here might have had some experience with something that would work.
Thanks for the help

 

What is the criteria for 'flame resistance'? Also, does the seat need to be rigid or will it have some sort of back bone to it (metal seat pan, etc)?

I ask about the flame resistance because a lot of materials will burn but won't hold a flame. If it can't burn at all that's a different issue. A lot of commercial fabrics have readily available flame resistance ratings driven by building codes. These would be upholsteries for millwork benches and fabric wall panels.

 

No offense but if its a go kart and it's on fire why not just crawl out?

I mean if its just a roll cage

 

See if you can get a hold of some fire blanket. That's what welders and pipefitters use in the plants to control sparks from spreading around. It may be cheap enough to use.

 

how about leather???