John McM

I'm 6'4" and like many my height, going to the track with a helmet is a real squeeze.

I've yet to hear of an aftermarket seat that just bolts in and gives the required additional headroom so I'm looking at modifying the OEM seat to give more headroom.

Looking at the seat, the lowest existing point is about 10cm or 4" above the bottom of rail i.e. there is room to sink further in the seat.

My idea is to replace the spring joining clips with longer ones to allow more movement. Has anyone done this before?

Rocket Rob

ras62

I think it would be easier to re fabricate the floor mounting points?

Masher

Recaro pole positions with a custom side mount? I am 6'3 and fit in my 964 with a crash helmet on with pole positions with a side mount made by a UK company called Southbound. Looking at it, I believe the side mounts could be more 'radical' than they are to give a further 1.5 inches of headroom. The fact that I fit has not driven me to go the extra mile but you are clearly in need! One consideration is where your height is. If you have a long back and 'normal' leg length then you may run into more issues than having longer legs (hopefully you get the point).

John McM

I get your point Normal jean sizes top out at 34" inseam. I need about 37" so I have long legs. I've sorted that out by fitting a Momo Mod 07 steering wheel which brings the wheel closer to me and allows plenty of room for my knees to do their thing.

I think I need about 2 more inches max of headroom. I fit comfortably with my helmet in my 996TT so there isn't much more needed. I like the PPs, but want to sit in one first so I can be sure my hips fit (I have 38" waist). Thanks for the insight.

Doing a bit more research turned up a 993 owner who modified his seat foam and springs. I'll pull my seat apart tonight and investigate further.

NineMeister

Forget the seats, drop the floor mountings & remove the sunroof.

John McM

Sunroof is definitely on the list. I've been following a thread on that. However, how are the seat mounts changed, it looks like a major job

John McM

Done. A bit disappointing. The net gain is only 2cm. On the positive side this is very simple exercise, and doesn't cost a cent. On the negative side this doesn't resolve my problem unequivocally.

NineMeister

Yes, it's fabrication time. Does involve major work, but it's worth the effort when you are vertically blessed. Here is the comparison of the seat mountings in the recent 9m93RSCS build showing the standard RHS and lowered LHS mounts.

slips2

Had the same problem: 6"-02", 36" waist, head rubbed sunroof driving on the street, wearing helmet for track use not possible. My first attempt at a solution was the same as yours - modify the stock seats. Took them to an auto upholstery specialist and determined the net gain from lowering the seat bottom springs would not have given me enough additional headroom, particularly with the integrated fore/aft & up/down adjustment electrics & rails.

Solution for me was Recaro Pole Position seats with my DIY custom 0.190" 5052 aluminum seat brackets mounted directly to the floor. Turns-out the limitation with this approach is not the seats resting on the floor, but the seat widths fitting between the floor mounts. The seat side interference with the mounts occurs when there's still a finger width between the seat bottom and floor. Gained about 2" of headroom, so track use with helmet no problem. Next step is to contour the brackets for aesthetics and add a flat black epoxy finish.

Mounted passenger seat on Recaro sliders with same custom side mounts as shown below:

John McM

So you can fit the seat back as far as you like? Also, how do the harness holes suit for tall drivers?

slips2

Doubt Recaro PP harness holes are high enough for tall drivers. Isn't a big issue for me as I only participate in autoX & DE track days. Would probably need to fit the higher-back SPG or Profi XL models if using harnesses. I had Profi XLs in my last street/track car and they were excellent for my frame.

Yes, way farther back than my 34" inseam legs require. I had a local metal fabrication shop bend & cut my aluminum bracket "blanks" 19" long to cover a wide range of mounting locations. That's a drawback I found with the commercially available side mounts which are usually intended to ride on sliders - they didn't have adequate span. The Sparco Model 00499AL extended aluminum side mounts shown below looked to me like they may work, after modifications to allow the seats to drop below the plane of the floor mounts. but they're no longer available locally since late 2011 or early 2012. Sparco USA Headquarters is 25 miles from my home. My visit with them, and calling all their distributors, confirmed NLA locally. With your location being NZ, perhaps there are still some 00499AL(s) available from parts suppliers outside the US.