EricB

iTrader: (7)

Whatsup guys,

I have the 40th anny rx8 with sunroof and leather power seats and with a helmet on I dont fit at all.

Im planning on doing the "You CAN lower the power seat" DIY

But i had a thought....

Doing the DIY gives me about 1inch at best.... What if i buy a cloth seat and swap it in on for the day? How much room am I looking to gain?

If its more than 1inch then id be perfectly fine buying a used seat from a part out or something, but if it is going to give me similar results to just modifiying the seat then im not too sure id want to spend the money on a seat when the DIY costs pennies and achieves the same result.

Any suggestions/comments welcome, ill post a picture what i look like with my helmet on in the car with power seats in a little bit.

incase your lazy,
power seat DIY with sunroof= +1inch
cloth seat with sunroof= +?inch

Matrx8

iTrader: (2)

Just take the seat out and sit on the floor. Problem solved, and you'll get a nice ab workout too.

wrightcomputing

iTrader: (5)

I am 5'10 and have the cloth seats, I fit but just I really don't think you have much to gain with a different seat.

EricB

iTrader: (7)

couldnt find a more retarded response if i tried, thanks for the bump though.

EricB

iTrader: (7)

Im 5'11" and i have 2 fingers clearance, when i had my 09 with cloth and no sunroof i had about a fist of clearance. i have to slouch with my sunroof and power seat combo, i test drove it for about 10 minutes and it was okay driving it, but not fun and my head was banging all around into the headliner.

Does anyone have any experience switching out a power seat to a cloth seat to save head room?

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

^Why did you buy a car that you weren't comfortable driving??

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

If you are going to buy a seat and swap it back and forth anyway...why wouldn't you buy something that will hold your *** in better

EricB

iTrader: (7)

I am comfortable driving it, im not comfortable when wearing a helmet.

Im not looking to spend a chunk of change on a seat that can hold me better, its not just the seat its also the custom brackets that need to be made too. Of course buying a bucket with custom bracket would almost entirely rid me of this problem but im dumping little to no more money on the rx8, its all being saved for the rx7, which will be a R1/R2/Base without sunroof so i can fit a cage and helmet.

Also i dont need a functioning seat with airbags either, so i figure i see sets go for 150 or so, so a cloth driver that has its airbags blown would be a good deal.

Just waiting for someone to confirm if they gained more than an inch when switching to cloth. hopefully before tomorrow before i do the mod to my power seat.

Matrx8

iTrader: (2)

Then I exceeded your expectations. Bump!

EricB

iTrader: (7)

that you did. Ive seen a few people floating around that looked like they swapped in a cloth for autox day from the gallery, wondering if they are going to find this thread.

mrl84

im a bit taller and i have the same problem. i just run the seat forward with my knees in the dash and lean the seat back so i clear with the helmet. its fine for autox but i wouldnt want to drive a road corse that way.

also i dont think you'll get much from switching to the cloth seats i think the people that do it, do it more for weight not head clearance. the sunroof is what eats up the head space

fuztupnz

iTrader: (4)

I'm just shy of 5'11" myself, and had about 3 fingers in a comfortable but good driving position. I did the seat mod and gained about 3/4" the way i did it if measuring the distance the seat moved. I have about a fist above my head now for head room and can fit with a helmet in good driving position with no rubbing.

The seat mod changes the way you sit in the seat, not just the height, With the seat all the way down, the rear is lower and with some lumbar support taken out i sit further back in the seat and lower in it. Because of this, you'll gain quite a bit more headroom than the seat mod measurement suggests. I feel like i'm sitting in the seat now, not just on top of it. YMMV depending on how you sit though. I sit relatively upright when driving.

blazenblue63

I just did the DIY on the cloth seat myself. I have the seatpan on the floor of the car and my helmet still hits the roof lol. I'm 6'4.

EricB

iTrader: (7)

Thats great info fuz! unfortunately i cant hack up my 40th anny seats i cant buy another set if i mess up. I sit relatively upright aswell, so this is very good news. Im going to lowes/home depot in a few hours to do the mod and will update this to let people know how it came out.

Darkning

How did your seat modding go or did you ever do a cloth seat swap? The seat position is worlds different in my 40th compared to the cloth seats in my 04.

EricB

iTrader: (7)

forgot to update this thread! thanks Dark.
Also while i have your attention, you should really post in the "Calling all metropolitan gray mica" thread in the multimedia section. We need more 40th anny people posting in there!

anyway.. I did the DIY by 04 Green, swapped the brackets below the seatpan and i have juuuuuust enough headroom with a helmet.

I just did my first autox a day before the storm and it took about 30seconds of super fine tuning my normal seating position. I believe all helmets are different, so take that into account also.

If you are still too tall, an affordable option to a racing seat is the corbeau fx1, and even cheaper the forza.