Interior Exterior
Q:
I thought this may be useful to some of you so here goes.
I am not that tall (6'1" ) but i wanted to sit as low as poosible. Maiinly coz i like it but also so my crash helmet did not touch the roof.
I decided i would make a fixed mounting like on the passenger side but i would alter the fixing points so that the seat is lower and a bit more reclined. The seat will go lower because of the inclination of the seat rails. Unless the seat is as far back as it will go , there will be room to lower it. In addition to this the drivers eyeline can be lower even further by reclining the seat.
So i started by making rails and brackets that could be eaqsily adjusted and modified as i tried to find my optimum seating position. I bolted the rails in the car and put the seat on the floor. Note: i used the outer most hole in the floor (it would normally be for the passenger seat in a RHD car) this allowed the seat to fit between the rails, which allows it to sit lower. I measured (with the help of a mate...thanks Cheezer) from the rails to the mounting holes on the seat, i then made brakets which replicated these dimensions.
I made the prototype from alluminium coz its easier to drill, file etc. Note: i did not drive the car with the ally frame, it was just to be able to sit in the car and be sure the position.
Then i made up the real frame in steel copying all measurements from my ally prototype and painted it. It looks almost identical to the passenger seat frame. Except it now supports the seat in the perfect driving poition for me.
Then bolted everything back in the car
If you look at the relative heights of the probax logos in the first pic, and the relative heights of the harness holes in the second pic, you can see i gained about 3cm or just over an inch. My helmet no longer touches the roof and i feel much lower. I would estimate half of my gain was lowering the seat to the floor, the other half comes from reclining the seat.
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Neat. I may need to do this at some point...
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Did you gain any leg room with respect the the steering wheel? That is, do your knees now sit lower than before with respect to the steering wheel?
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Bru_la,
This looks like something I may be needing as well. At 6'2" I can not find a helmet that does not hit the roof with the hard top on in an Exige. I and possibly some (or at least a few) wil likely ask how much would you charge to make one? Would you be interested? I know that personally I would like just a bit more arm extension and of course the clearence for a helmet most of all.
Thanks, Robert
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Bru_la,
At 6'2" I can not find a helmet that does not hit the roof with the hard top on in an Exige.
Sadly, this was the reason I chose the Elise and not the Exige. At 6'3" I comfortably fit into an Elise with my helmet on but I do not have enough leg room around the steering wheel to pivot my foot for heel-and-toes.
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Bru_la,
I and possibly some (or at least a few) wil likely ask how much would you charge to make one? Would you be interested? I know that personally I would like just a bit more arm extension and of course the clearence for a helmet most of all.
Thanks, Robert
+1. PM sent.
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Bru_la,
I and possibly some (or at least a few) wil likely ask how much would you charge to make one? Would you be interested? I know that personally I would like just a bit more arm extension and of course the clearence for a helmet most of all.
Thanks, Robert
I second that.
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I have the same problem and this is also the reason I chose the Elise over the Exige. It looks like quality work and if you will make a run I will definitely buy. Please consider it.
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The seat will go lower because of the inclination of the seat rails. Unless the seat is as far back as it will go , there will be room to lower it.
I need my seat all the way back and don't need the fore/aft adjuster at all. Do you see any way to make it a little bit lower? Even a little bit would help.
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bruh_la,
Are your ears rining yet? Solve a problem and those in need will say all together "Grooooooooup Bieeeeeeeee"!
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I thought it may be interesting for some people but i am pleasantly surprised at talk of a group buy.
It would be difficult because all the measurements are to give me a perfect driving position. Somebody else with longer legs for example would prefer to sit further back, but maybe not so reclined (there is a point were reaching the gearstick would become a problem if you go too far back..especially 6th)
It would either have to be all bolt together with many variations of holes or a weld together "kit" which you put in the car, sit how you want, mark it up and then get it welded together. Neither of which are ideal.
I will have a think about how it could be done and come back with some sketches to gauge interest.
To answer the question about space between wheel and legs....as the seat moves back the drivers legs get straighter. Inorder to keep the steering wheel at a comfortable distance it too was moved back with a removeable wheel kit (its about 20mm further back) The steering column is inclined so as the wheel moves back it also moves up. The wheel i fitted (sparco) is 300mm diameter compared to 310mm Lotus wheel. The net result of this is the wheel is higher, has 10mm smaller diameter and my legs are straighter (lower), therefore more space.
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Not wanting to be a spoil sport, but in the interests of safety did you use the same material as the original? Any stress analysis?
I personally wouldn't fancy sitting in that seat in a heavy frontal impact as there isn't much the seat belts can do to retain you if the entire seat breaks away from the tub.
I only say this because of all the design & analysis work I know goes into designing and making those parts....
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Not wanting to be a spoil sport, but in the interests of safety did you use the same material as the original? Any stress analysis?
I personally wouldn't fancy sitting in that seat in a heavy frontal impact as there isn't much the seat belts can do to retain you if the entire seat breaks away from the tub.
I only say this because of all the design & analysis work I know goes into designing and making those parts....
-Yes i did use the same material as the original.
-Stress analysis was carried out by Lotus on the original.
-You sit in the exact same arrangement everytime you drive your elise/exige. Although you are probably less safe in the drivers seat than in the passengers seat. This is because the seat tracks themselves are ultimately a weak link.
To alleviate your concerns i should say my job is designing automotive seats. I have done this job for ten years in Stuttgart Germany.
The seat uses the exact same mounting holes and bolts as the original. The frame itself is a copy of the passengers seat. It uses the same steel, the same wall thickness etc
The only differences are that the positions of the holes on the side of the frame have been lowered about half an inch in order to lower the seat. Also the hole positions result in a slightly more reclined driving position. Both of these mods would result in a slight reduction of the forces experienced by the seat frame and a better distribution of the loads between the four mounting points on the floor. (i can explain why if you need me too)
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-You sit in the exact same arrangement everytime you drive your elise/exige. Although you are probably less safe in the drivers seat than in the passengers seat. This is because the seat tracks themselves are ultimately a weak link.
Having just spent more time that I care to share friggin' aroung with my drivers side seat tracks while installing a aftermarket seat I couldn't agree more with the statement above. The drivers side seat track is made up of a number of components that are all bolted together, not welded in most cases. I'm sure the stock unit is safe but the mount that bruh_la has made looks considerably more solid to me than the stock drivers side mount. Nicely done bruh_la!
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I need my seat all the way back and don't need the fore/aft adjuster at all. Do you see any way to make it a little bit lower? Even a little bit would help.
Bruh's fix/mod is fantastic and quite elegant.
If you want to try something simple/easy that will give you a bit more headroom (it won't give you an extra inch of headroom), try adding spacers under the front of the seat rails. You will pick up headroom. In my case, given my seat position (I like to sit relatively close to the wheel), I added 5 mm spacers under the front of the rail and probably picked up ~10 mm of headroom at the critical spot for me. Of course, you will need to change out the front rail mounting bolts for longer ones.
For the record, I'm 6'1 and needed a bit more room for helmet clearance in my previous Exige -- sans helmet I had plenty of headroom and didn't need the extra space. This minor mod made all the difference for me when wearing a helmet-- seat retained it's fore/aft adjustment and was slightly reclined.
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Bruh's fix/mod is fantastic and quite elegant.
If you want to try something simple/easy that will give you a bit more headroom (it won't give you an extra inch of headroom), try adding spacers under the front of the seat rails. You will pick up headroom. In my case, given my seat position (I like to sit relatively close to the wheel), I added 5 mm spacers under the front of the rail and probably picked up ~10 mm of headroom at the critical spot for me. Of course, you will need to change out the front rail mounting bolts for longer ones.
For the record, I'm 6'1 and needed a bit more room for helmet clearance in my previous Exige -- sans helmet I had plenty of headroom and didn't need the extra space. This minor mod made all the difference for me when wearing a helmet-- seat retained it's fore/aft adjustment and was slightly reclined.
Jack i considered this myself. It works best if you already sit far back. This is were the seat is at its lowest. Its effectively like rotating the seat sliders about their rearmost point. It works best the closer to the rotation point you sit (the rear rail mounts) Like most companies Lotus fit the rails at about 8 degrees to raise the driver as he slides forward. So as you move forward you move up. At a certain point spacers under the front loose you as much as you gain.
If it works for you though, cool. It saves you a lot of messing about.
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Bruh's fix/mod is fantastic and quite elegant.
If you want to try something simple/easy that will give you a bit more headroom (it won't give you an extra inch of headroom), try adding spacers under the front of the seat rails. You will pick up headroom. In my case, given my seat position (I like to sit relatively close to the wheel), I added 5 mm spacers under the front of the rail and probably picked up ~10 mm of headroom at the critical spot for me. Of course, you will need to change out the front rail mounting bolts for longer ones.
For the record, I'm 6'1 and needed a bit more room for helmet clearance in my previous Exige -- sans helmet I had plenty of headroom and didn't need the extra space. This minor mod made all the difference for me when wearing a helmet-- seat retained it's fore/aft adjustment and was slightly reclined.
Hmmm, thanks for the tip. I might have to try that first as I generally sit 1 click from full back.
A:
I thought it may be interesting for some people but i am pleasantly surprised at talk of a group buy.
It would be difficult because all the measurements are to give me a perfect driving position. Somebody else with longer legs for example would prefer to sit further back, but maybe not so reclined (there is a point were reaching the gearstick would become a problem if you go too far back..especially 6th)
It would either have to be all bolt together with many variations of holes or a weld together "kit" which you put in the car, sit how you want, mark it up and then get it welded together. Neither of which are ideal.
I will have a think about how it could be done and come back with some sketches to gauge interest.
great job on the bracket and good to know about your background in this area.
perhaps there could be 2 versions of the bracket, e.g., one exactly like you made and one for the farthest available rearward seat position? (hint: i am 6'-4").