Proper Seat Adjustment?
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Pro
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 618
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From: NC
Proper Seat Adjustment?
Hello all,
Obviously some personal preference comes into play here, but what about any rules of thumb or what they might teach you at PDE's?
What is considered correct leg extension or bend in knees? What about arms and seat back angle/seat bottom height also?
Welcoming all replies.
Thx.
Obviously some personal preference comes into play here, but what about any rules of thumb or what they might teach you at PDE's?
What is considered correct leg extension or bend in knees? What about arms and seat back angle/seat bottom height also?
Welcoming all replies.
Thx.
Straight to Video
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Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Los Gatos, CA
For leg position: your knee should be slightly bent when you depress the clutch fully to the floor.
For arm position: you should be able to hang your wrists over your steering wheel.
For ride height: you should be able to see the tops of both humps of the headlights.
Personally I like my arms stretched out a bit more when I'm on the track. When cornering hard or into a hairpin its easier for me if the steering wheel is a bit further out. But your elbows should definitely be bent slightly when gripping the wheel to avoid fatigue.
For arm position: you should be able to hang your wrists over your steering wheel.
For ride height: you should be able to see the tops of both humps of the headlights.
Personally I like my arms stretched out a bit more when I'm on the track. When cornering hard or into a hairpin its easier for me if the steering wheel is a bit further out. But your elbows should definitely be bent slightly when gripping the wheel to avoid fatigue.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 142
Likes: 0
From: Jamestown RI
Originally Posted by kauai_diver
For leg position: your knee should be slightly bent when you depress the clutch fully to the floor.
For arm position: you should be able to hang your wrists over your steering wheel.
For ride height: you should be able to see the tops of both humps of the headlights.
Personally I like my arms stretched out a bit more when I'm on the track. When cornering hard or into a hairpin its easier for me if the steering wheel is a bit further out. But your elbows should definitely be bent slightly when gripping the wheel to avoid fatigue.
For arm position: you should be able to hang your wrists over your steering wheel.
For ride height: you should be able to see the tops of both humps of the headlights.
Personally I like my arms stretched out a bit more when I'm on the track. When cornering hard or into a hairpin its easier for me if the steering wheel is a bit further out. But your elbows should definitely be bent slightly when gripping the wheel to avoid fatigue.
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
From Cass Whitehead @PDE:
1) Seat height all the way down, so long as you can see over the top of the instrument cluster
2) Seat fore and aft to the point where you'd have a slight bend in the knee remaining if the brake were all the way to the floor, check with clutch and left leg, too, slight bend remaining.
3) Steering wheel up down to where you can see the instruments.
4) Steering wheel in and out, out to the point you can hang your hand over the 12:00 spot on the wheel. The wheel should touch between your hand and where your watchband would be. Make sure your shoulders are all the way back in the seat, most people have a tendancy to hunch forward a little. For all but those with really long arms, this probably means the in-out will be all the way out (towards rear of the car).
5) Seatback rake, where you like it, so long as you can drape your wrist as in #4.
6) Hands 9 and 3 o'clock, NOT 10 and 2. The bulges at 10 and 2 are thumb rests, not for your hands.
HTH,
Jim
1) Seat height all the way down, so long as you can see over the top of the instrument cluster
2) Seat fore and aft to the point where you'd have a slight bend in the knee remaining if the brake were all the way to the floor, check with clutch and left leg, too, slight bend remaining.
3) Steering wheel up down to where you can see the instruments.
4) Steering wheel in and out, out to the point you can hang your hand over the 12:00 spot on the wheel. The wheel should touch between your hand and where your watchband would be. Make sure your shoulders are all the way back in the seat, most people have a tendancy to hunch forward a little. For all but those with really long arms, this probably means the in-out will be all the way out (towards rear of the car).
5) Seatback rake, where you like it, so long as you can drape your wrist as in #4.
6) Hands 9 and 3 o'clock, NOT 10 and 2. The bulges at 10 and 2 are thumb rests, not for your hands.
HTH,
Jim
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Three Wheelin'
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,564
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From: Chicago
The only real difference seems to be seat height. For road I prefer the seat so I can see the fender tops. For track I can see the benefit of having the seat as low as possible. If you have memory seats you should be able to program one of the settings for a road and another for track.
