How do you set up your seat, pedals and mirrors?
 

I'd love to hear the experts' advice regarding how to best set up your seat for driving.

This question occurred to me after my son adjusted the driver's seat in my '95 to his preference. Other than being a little too far forward, his set up was a big improvement over what I had. The main difference was that he tilted the seat bottom with the front higher than the back. I brought the seat a few clicks back and found that I had much better control of the clutch pedal.

Is there any procedure to get the best position? Is is possible to adjust the pedals, especially the clutch pedal?

Thanks!

Jim

I find myself changing the seat position once in a while, and I think "wow, what an improvement!" In actual fact, I think I just like the variety :)

For me, the best is with a slight angle upwards towards the front of the seat, with the seatback fairly upright. I find that most people have their seats reclined waaayyyy to far back. Shoulders shouldn't leave the seatback when you move your hands around the wheel, and your knees should still be slightly bent with the clutch fully depressed - that's a good place to start.

When I first got the 993, I set my seat pretty much as high as it woud go. Recently I've lowered it a tad, and I like the feel.

Procedure? None that I know of, other than simply find whatever feels most comfortable.

For track driving, set your seat in a position to where you can rest one wrist at the top of the steering wheel without having to lean forward. This provides proper leverage on the wheel. Its certainly tough to do for tall people. This is why so many folks, myself included, wish for the wheel to be moved aft, which avoids one to have to splay their legs apart to 'fit' the car.

Also, your shifting arm shouldnt be fully extended to make the upshift to fifth gear (left hand drive).

I read a PCA drivers ed guide before I got my car. I've been using that position and been pretty happy with the control and comfort. But just like Pcar964 I find myself moving it a tad every day. Couldn't find the guide but here is an analog.
http://www.peachstatepca.org/driving...Guide_1_00.pdf

Years ago I went to a software users group meeting with a bunch of guys from NASA and USA (united space alliance, a contract firm doing work for nasa). Before each of their meetings the facilitator is supposed to come up with some kind of tip on safety and speak to it for a couple of minutes. Our facilitator showed us an alternative way to position your rear view mirrors. He suggested, instead of being able to see the sides of your car in your side mirrors, that you position your side mirrors more outwards. TRY IT OUT FOR A WEEK. IT WORKS! I found a better explanation than I could give here.

http://www.wikihow.com/Set-Rearview-...te-Blind-Spots

I'm 6'2", so I put the seat bottom as low in the back as possible, and all the way up in the front. The seat back I like more upright, for the reasons others have stated here. I also adjust forward/backward periodically. I can actually tell a difference in the clutch engagement depending on what shoes I'm wearing (sneakers vs. dress vs. deck shoes) due to the thickness of the soles.

Mirrors, I concur with the previous poster -- set them up so you can see a car (or at least part of a car) in your blind spots. In my car this means the passenger-side mirror is adjusted all the way out away from the car. Driver's side is not all the way out, but close.

Another benefit on the mirrors -- you don't get blinded at night by cars behind you.

:cheers:

-Chris

I find that I sit pretty much with the back of the seat upright, slight tilt forward. Mirrors set so I can see pretty far out on each side.
I feel I need to sit upright and a tad closer in the Porsche for optimal driving control.

My car was owned by a 6'3" man. Even though were the same height, my torso is longer. He had the seat tracks adjusted a couple of inches rearward. I drove in this position but after reading the owners manual, I've inched the seat forward: this helps my left knee with the clutching, and yes thickness of shoe soles (I prefer barefoot) is easily noticed; and at bit more headroom!

+1 on the mirrors - I have mine set very wide, it's a whole lot better once you get used to it!

Damn. Now I have to put blocks on the pedals.

The best way to gauge if you are close enough with your legs is to have the seat far enough forward to be able to depress the clutch pedal all the way with your RIGHT leg.

And as others have mentioned it is also best to sit erect with little or no recline so your wrists rest comfortably on top of the wheel.

This position gives you the best leverage against wheel forces and kick back and keep your arms from getting too much of a workout in long drives and endurance events.

Next ALMS race you watch, pay close attention during the driver changes to see how close the 997 CUP car drivers sit to their wheels.

Trust me, once you get used to it you will never drive ghetto style again :thumbup:

ZP44

Sitting close feels good, but has anyone notice how close their knees are to the knee pad? When I looked at the knee pad, it just a sheet of steel. In a collision, you knee hitting that would not be good. Just wondering if this is a safety issue.

--
anthony

You might wanna go to this webpage to check it out:

http://www.turnfast.com/tech_driving..._seating.shtml

+1

ZP is dead-on about the clutch distance. That's my baseline for how far away I can sit, although having a racing-clutch with a high disengagement means you don't need to fully depress the clutch. I sit close to the wheel but with enough distance for my arms to not feel restricted. Like a few others here, I also tilt my seat bottom back to better cup my butt and hold me in. If you sit too far away, you're not mechanically connected to the car, which is fine for cruisin' and chillin' but a liability for fast road or track work.