About 7 years ago, I was shopping for a Boxster but no matter what generation I tried, I could not get my right leg situated under the steering wheel in a comfortable place. I am 6' 4" with a 34" inseam. I was quite disheartened and gave up my plan to buy a Boxster.

Last year, my wife and I signed up with Xtreme Xperience Open Road for a drive through the Catskills. One of the cars that I could drive was a Cayman GT4RS. I assumed I wouldn't be able to drive it due to my prior experience with the Boxsters, but decided to try to wedge myself in and to my amazement I fit just fine. The seats though were really tight and hard sided buckets.

Could anyone explain to me why I fit better in the Cayman than the Boxster? Was it all due to the seats, or is there something different about the seat placement between the 2 models?

 

the more electronics in them the higher they sit. the seats you sat in the gt4 were called "buckets' and were not only the lowest of the seats (generally) but also the most expensive. there is also a manual 2 way seat, a 14-way seat and an 18-way seat available with each getting higher as you go (again, generally).

 

I'm 6'6" and have a 36" inseam and own a 18 Boxster GTS with 2 ways. If you test sat in one, you may not have been aware of the manual lever which pumps you down pretty damn low and back. There is no way you would not feel as though you had enough leg room to get under the steering wheel which can also be adjusted fairly high. I've had 6'2 co-drivers have to adjust the seat forward to feel planted on the dead peddle with helmets on top up.

 

I definitely do not remember a manual height adjustment. I guess I need to go revisit the cars,

 

Nothing has changed in the last 7 years.

What exactly was not working for your leg? All the seats have height and fore/aft adjustment. The LWBS "buckets" you were in have a powered seat height adjustment and manual fore/aft.

There is some minor differences in seat pan depth, but you didn't mention roof issues.

 

On thing to keep in mind is to not automatically slide the seat all the way back (move it about 1.5" from the wall) before you lower it since that adjustment also brings the seat backwards as it does down. At it's lowest, the power seat still is capable of travel backward but is limited by the firewall. I've had a co-driver who was 6'8" get in and fit could only do so with top down as he wasn't versed in the twist, squat and pivot needed to get into the car top up without banging his head. I can't get in the car with a helmet on but can put a helmet on top up once I'm in.

Forge One Competition FF10 8.5"x 20" and 10.5" x 20"

 

My knee wouldn't clear the steering wheel rim enough to comfortably reach the throttle. I had to turn my leg sideways to clear and that didn't seem like a good long term solution.

 

Some of this is likely the smaller diameter wheel in the GT4RS vs a standard Boxster. If you drove a Boxster Spyder then I don't have an answer as the diameter of the wheel would be similar/same. Buckets would have helped too.

 

Spyder/GT4 and RS variants (ie GT cars) have smaller diameter steering wheel than the standard cars? I didn't know that. I've only been in GT cars and was considering looking for GTS. Which wheel size do they have? I'm 6'4" with a 36" inseam and fit into the GT cars but not with much room to spare. A GTS might not work for me.

 

I hear you. I’m 6’4” and considered a big guy. I spec’d in my 987.1 CaymanS with base seats and loved them. I checked the box for base seats in my 992, but found they fit differently and not as comfortably. Happy to report the base seats in the 718 4.0 fit similarly to the 987. As others mentioned, try lowering it to the lowest level, then adjust the distance to the pedals. Even with longer legs, I’m adjusting the seat forward for the desired heel/toe distance. Porsches are great for tall folks, just need some time to dial in the right settings.

 

GTS 4.0 and above trims have the same GT steering wheel standard, so no difference there (and it's optional on lower trims).

As far as the seats, I've read that the buckets are the lowest, followed by manual 2-ways, followed by 18-ways without ventilation, and the least low option is ventilated 18-ways. The difference from the last 2 is reportedly negligible. The difference between manual and power has been mentioned as 5 to 10mm. And the difference between manual and buckets as much as 1" lower, but the only way to know if all of that sounds about right, is to try the seat you prefer, and go from there. And remember to first lower it all the way down, then slide it backwards, but watch the backrest. You might have to sacrifice a little seat-back angle for more rearward distance, if necessary. Good luck, and hope this helps.

 

To be clear, it was mentioned he sat in all different generations of Boxster's. I'm assuming the cars he was sitting in were 981/987/986 cars, not 718 cars.

In a 981, this is the standard steering wheel you received: https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/991ALCWHL.html

In a 718, you'd have received a wheel more similar to this: https://www.suncoastparts.com/produc...t4rsswhal.html

I will also note though that even within the 718 cars, the steering wheel diameter is less on the 4RS wheel. 360mm vs 369mm.

https://www.sunsetporscheparts.com/o...022?origin=pla
https://newsroom.porsche.com/dam/jcr...cal%20Data.pdf

 

I think it's the same, but could be wrong. Here's another Suncoast regular GT wheel listed as 360mm, so I wouldn't count your link as proof: https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/991G2GT.html
I guess somebody needs to physically measure both GT wheels (on a GTS, and RS cars) back to back, to confirm if they're the same size, or not. Now I'm curious about the answer. Ha ha.

 

Doubt a 4.5mm radius on the wheel is changing the geometry much.

OP height/inseam in-line with what other tall people report as fine.

I’d recommend OP look/understand both seat and steering column adjustments.

 

6’3”, 33” inseam. I have to contort my seat to fit a helmet @ the track, but otherwise am very comfortable (25 min track segments comfort not a problem). 14 ways. 981 S.