Interior Exterior
Q:
I know there's been a fair bit of discussion about seats lately, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon.
Anyone else here struggle to see over the steering wheel? I feel that I have trouble seeing what's coming up ahead sometimes, especially when doing more "technical" driving. For the record, I'm 5'2" - I like to think of myself as... space efficient.
I did some searches and found this:
http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elis...seat/seat.html
I've also talked with the Sector 111 guys a little about this. They had something in their Exige that fit me pretty well, but I'm having trouble remembering if it helped with the height issue.
Anyway - any other solutions? I thought that maybe I could put some kind of "booster seat for grownups" in my car - I'd prefer not to do any major modifying of the seat itself - but I'm having trouble finding something the right size so I'm open to suggestions. Let me know what all you guys have tried - there's gotta be some other short people out there....? Thanks!
A:
Jeanie,
My petite wife is also 5' 2" (somewhere in the distance she's saying
"I'm 5' 3!"). I found an excellent pillow at the Better Back Store. It's a firm memory foam wrapped in a durable fabric with a a rubbery no-slip underside that conforms to seat bottom and grips the leather securely. It's about 2 1/2 inches thick and works perfectly for her. She even uses it in the passenger seat-it makes ingress and egress a lot easier for her.
Tom
A:
Get a booster!
A:
I know there's been a fair bit of discussion about seats lately, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon.
Anyone else here struggle to see over the steering wheel? I feel that I have trouble seeing what's coming up ahead sometimes, especially when doing more "technical" driving. For the record, I'm 5'2" - I like to think of myself as... space efficient.
I did some searches and found this:
http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elis...seat/seat.html
I've also talked with the Sector 111 guys a little about this. They had something in their Exige that fit me pretty well, but I'm having trouble remembering if it helped with the height issue.
Anyway - any other solutions? I thought that maybe I could put some kind of "booster seat for grownups" in my car - I'd prefer not to do any major modifying of the seat itself - but I'm having trouble finding something the right size so I'm open to suggestions. Let me know what all you guys have tried - there's gotta be some other short people out there....? Thanks!
Jeanie,
This might be more elaborate then you are looking for, but Oregon Aero can certainly customize a fix for you. They specialize in aircraft seating but also do a lot of land vehicle work. Good luck.
http://www.oregonaero.com/products/category.aspx?ID=13
A:
What if you placed a 1 to 1.5" rectangular rod under both of the driver seat rails, and used longer bolts? You'll have to move the seat closer to keep the same pedal distance. I'd be more inclined to do this than to bolster the seat.
Here's an example from the SandsMuseum.
Cheers, JnC
A:
i wish i could move the steering wheel down a little... or raise the seat...
i can't see the temp gauge... and most of the lights... like the turn signal light, high beam, and whatever else is down there... but i can see the CEL JUST FINE!
i'm 5'7
A:
My wife is 5'0. She uses those foam beads pillows from Brookstone.
A:
Raising the entire seat and using longer bolts is very risky to me. Most pillows are too soft and the thick ones are squishy (not good when you're cornering). There are "stadium seats" that uses high density polyurethane foams - the more expensive ones are memory foams. They're very comfortable, supportive, and keep you planted. Not sure about fits though.
If you don't mind doing some modifications, the center cushion of the seat can be removed (do a search on instructions) very easily. You can take this to a shop to have them replace the foam with something thicker and firmer.
A:
I suppose some would refer to me as "vertically challenged" at 5' 2" . I've basically adapted the Sands method to raise the rails of the seat by about 1"-1.5". I used bolts as spacers instead of tubing or washers. I've done the same thing with my Miata. However, I'm afraid that this method may sacrifice the safety factor of the rails being bolted directly to the floor.
A:
I followed SandsMuseums directions but found that the long bar was not necessary as the original seat rails only contact at front and back bolt points and have not deflected.
I tried tracking and auto-X sitting on 1/2" of closed cell foam and found the ride height was good but the lumbar hit me in the wrong place. I cut 4 pieces of 3/4" box bar stock, 1.5-2"' long from Home Depot ($2.). Got some longer bolts (they don't have to be allen heads) and raised my seat.
The only negative is the seat will no longer go all the way back under the roll bar. I plan to cut some aluminum solid stock to replace the steel bar the next time I have the seat out. I don't see a reason why you cannot just use fender washers permanently.
PS. I am 5'3" w/ 26" inseam, so most of my height is in upper body.
A:
Use this to an advantage here. As you may have figured out by now there is not a lot of padding in the seats. You can get a dense, memory foam cushion and either put it on of fit it into the seat bottom. This will raise you up about 1/2 inch and make it much more comfortable. They make these for kit plane builders who start with fiberglass seats. They're available on EBay.
A:
Get some 1" AL square rail for light weight (I think 304 come in square stock) and longer chromemoly bolt for high strengh (8740). Do it right and do it safely.
A:
Get some 1" AL square rail for light weight (I think 304 come in square stock) and longer chromemoly bolt for high strengh (8740). Do it right and do it safely.
Excellent!!
A:
Can anyone tell me where I can find the longer bolts... Home Depot didn't have them... Pep Boys didn't have them... Trying Napa tomorrow.
A:
Local Tru Value hardware store.