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You bring up a good point about how deep these bucket seats are compared to normal seats due to the thinner padding. My bony *** and 32" waist means I sit about as far back as you can with the seats.
Even wearing a mid-weight jacket while driving will provide enough additional padding to make me notice the difference in reaching for clutch.
Mr. Nurse, a possible solution might be to add padding to the bottom vertical portion of the LWB and then put the seat pad back on. This is similar to those that have added lumbar support cushions. When the top layer of the cushion goes back on, no one will notice a thing.
Meanwhile I will go back to my diet of Twinkles and hostess cupcakes at midnight in my attempt to add some natural padding.
Mine was built in late September and deliver early December. I have this feeling they are all like this. Tough to judge everyone's opinion on height alone as it is the leg length and how you like to sit that confirms if the seating position will work or not.
From what I learned about seating position, if you rest your wrist on top of the steering wheel, you need to have a bend and relaxed enough position where you can turn the wheel side to side as much as you can. This can also be resolved by the telescoping wheel if you are taller. In this case probably not an issue.
For the legs, you need to have a slight bend in your leg so that you are not fully extended when depressing the clutch. I like to be able to fully depress clutch and still have a bend even if the friction point is not at this point.
I will see if I can get some measurements of how far the firewall is from the back of the seat.
So I just went out and measured. With the seat fully fwd, it looks to be a very close so you would think that the length from seat back to firewall will be close. If you measure from firewall to seat back, straight, I got 42". The seats are very deep so depending on your body type, it will make a big difference in length to clutch fully depressed. If you are smaller and fit all the way to the back of the seat, it makes the length further vs someone who does not go all the way back. I would compare to your current car where you are comfortable and do the same measurement. I think best would be to get into another car with lwb to see how you feel.
Thanks for the info and good points. I'm still a bit puzzled as to why the GT4 seats would be further back than all the other Porsche's. Jphughun's wife at 5'3 can't have legs THAT much longer than mine bc I would DEF not be able to drive if my seats end up being the same distance as it was when I sat in the GT4 in the summer.
I have never had a problem with ANY car before.
Originally Posted by PistolPete
You bring up a good point about how deep these bucket seats are compared to normal seats due to the thinner padding. My bony *** and 32" waist means I sit about as far back as you can with the seats.
Even wearing a mid-weight jacket while driving will provide enough additional padding to make me notice the difference in reaching for clutch.
Mr. Nurse, a possible solution might be to add padding to the bottom vertical portion of the LWB and then put the seat pad back on. This is similar to those that have added lumbar support cushions. When the top layer of the cushion goes back on, no one will notice a thing.
Meanwhile I will go back to my diet of Twinkles and hostess cupcakes at midnight in my attempt to add some natural padding.
Lol
That would be a good fix, thanks! I just hope I don't even have to get to that point. I'm thinking to check out my GT4 as soon as it gets delivered to the dealership and if it's so far back I'll ask them to adjust the rails so when I pick it up, I won't have a problem.
I just sat so perfectly in the 991 GT3 AND had room to slide the seats forward more if I needed.
Where can I find official information in this? Maybe if I can PCNA?
Originally Posted by Da Hapa
I'm 5'6" and the LWBS all the forward are spot on perfect for me.
You had to sit all the way forward with no room to get even closer if desired?
I don't understand - you did actually sit in the GT4 and found that the LWBs didn't work, right? I think you answered your own question.
I agree - it's weird that the GT4 wouldn't have sufficient adjustability to fit someone 5'4".
You might be able to fabricate some steel plates - mount them to the stock mounting holes and drill another set of holes forward of that to mount the seats? That way you aren't hacking into the body. Just an idea....
I don't understand - you did actually sit in the GT4 and found that the LWBs didn't work, right? I think you answered your own question.
I agree - it's weird that the GT4 wouldn't have sufficient adjustability to fit someone 5'4".
You might be able to fabricate some steel plates - mount them to the stock mounting holes and drill another set of holes forward of that to mount the seats? That way you aren't hacking into the body. Just an idea....
Well the questions I have is what I wrote at the button of my original post:
- if all GT4 LWB seats have the limited forward adjustability. Hence why I'm looking to know everyone's experience, especially if they are under 5'5.
- if I can unbolt and adjust the seat rails
Most importantly the latter.
Yea, that may be a good idea. I will have to go to a body shop if I have a problem and that would be a good idea.
Well the questions I have is what I wrote at the button of my original post:
- if all GT4 LWB seats have the limited forward adjustability. Hence why I'm looking to know everyone's experience, especially if they are under 5'5.
- if I can unbolt and adjust the seat rails
Most importantly the latter.
Yea, that may be a good idea. I will have to go to a body shop if I have a problem and that would be a good idea.
Your build plays a role too. I'm 5'10" but have a 34 inch inseam, so I'm more legs than torso. If you are 5'4" and have a longer torso, your functional fit may be the equivalent of someone shorter.
Just throwing that out there, b/c 5'4" is a pretty common height in the general population and I doubt Porsche was making this car exclusively for Scandinavian males.
Maybe try this - measure the distance from your seatback to the pedal floor in your current car. See if someone with LWBs can move their seat fully forward and do the same measurement. Short of trying out a car with LWBs, that may be your best estimate. There will be some variability due to the depth of the LWB bucket so it's not going to be exact.
EDIT: Looks like anselmw did that already for you in his car....42 inches
Last edited by rk-d; Jan 10, 2016 at 05:43 PM.
Reason: Corrected
Thanks for the info and good points. I'm still a bit puzzled as to why the GT4 seats would be further back than all the other Porsche's. Jphughun's wife at 5'3 can't have legs THAT much longer than mine bc I would DEF not be able to drive if my seats end up being the same distance as it was when I sat in the GT4 in the summer.
My wife's legs measured on the outside from the floor to the bottom of her hip bone are 34.5". Strange, because after her last dance performance her friends said they looked like they were a mile long....
I'm 5'6" and the LWBS all the forward are spot on perfect for me.
I am all the way up as well and it seems perfect for me. Also keep in mind I can not really get out comfortably without moving the seat back. For some reason with the seat all the way up, the front side of the bucket is very close to the dash, that might be why the seat does not go any more forward.
I like Pete's idea of a cushion, that should work if you need more reach.
Again I think it depends on your driving style, I am sure you can reach the pedals but do you like pushing the clutch with minimal bend in your knee or the normal amount of bend.
Not sure where you are but someone around you must have a GT4 with buckets you can try.
My wife's legs measured on the outside from the floor to the bottom of her hip bone are 34.5". Strange, because after her last dance performance her friends said they looked like they were a mile long....
That makes big difference, 30" inseam here.
Mr.Nurse, at the DeMan event this Saturday if there is a LWBS GT4 present, I will try to see if the seat position matches what I have in my GT4 (wrapped up for winter).
I'm very sensitive to seat position and on my 987S I always set the seat position 3 notches from the front. I also moved the seat back every time I get out of the old and new car, force of habit and it doesn't bother me.
Mr Nurse:
I am 6'1" and I enjoy the LWBS for the GT3. I have no experience sitting in a GT4.
The LWBS in the GT3 definitely move more forward than I would need. My knees will touch the dash before it is maximally forward.
The LWBS move a long way back which makes getting out easier. I think getting in and out of the GT3 is not a real problem at all.
I would definitely go with LWBS on a GT4.
If I was concerned about reaching pedals; I'd definitely confirm fitment. I would not spend $90K on a car that has sub-optimal fitment. I would check out all 3 seat options BUT as we all know there are few cars to confirm fitment. I would have my Dealership SA do a lot of work and get some agreements in writing with regard to who will make adjustments of seat rails ect before I was committed. That's just me!
Mr.Nurse, at the DeMan event this Saturday if there is a LWBS GT4 present, I will try to see if the seat position matches what I have in my GT4 (wrapped up for winter).
I'm very sensitive to seat position and on my 987S I always set the seat position 3 notches from the front. I also moved the seat back every time I get out of the old and new car, force of habit and it doesn't bother me.
30" inseam here as well. I am seeing a patern here. Mr nurse what is your inseam.
You're all making very good points on different aspects and I thank you for that!
Originally Posted by anselmw
Mine was built in late September and deliver early December. I have this feeling they are all like this. Tough to judge everyone's opinion on height alone as it is the leg length and how you like to sit that confirms if the seating position will work or not.
From what I learned about seating position, if you rest your wrist on top of the steering wheel, you need to have a bend and relaxed enough position where you can turn the wheel side to side as much as you can. This can also be resolved by the telescoping wheel if you are taller. In this case probably not an issue.
For the legs, you need to have a slight bend in your leg so that you are not fully extended when depressing the clutch. I like to be able to fully depress clutch and still have a bend even if the friction point is not at this point.
I will see if I can get some measurements of how far the firewall is from the back of the seat.
So I just went out and measured. With the seat fully fwd, it looks to be a very close so you would think that the length from seat back to firewall will be close. If you measure from firewall to seat back, straight, I got 42". The seats are very deep so depending on your body type, it will make a big difference in length to clutch fully depressed. If you are smaller and fit all the way to the back of the seat, it makes the length further vs someone who does not go all the way back. I would compare to your current car where you are comfortable and do the same measurement. I think best would be to get into another car with lwb to see how you feel.
Thank you again for the measurements as this is VERY helpful. I adjusted my racing simulator to where I would feel comfortable. I measure the lower back of the seat to the end of where the pedals are attached. Sorry, what is the "firewall"?
Here's a line to show where I measured. I got 42". The pedals don't touch that back wall though. When I press the pedal all the way down, there's about 2in. from the pedal to the back. I don't sit all the way back in these seats.
Originally Posted by rk-d
Your build plays a role too. I'm 5'10" but have a 33 inch inseam, so I'm more legs than torso. If you are 5'4" and have a longer torso, your functional fit may be the equivalent of someone shorter.
Just throwing that out there, b/c 5'4" is a pretty common height in the general population and I doubt Porsche was making this car exclusively for Scandinavian males.
Maybe try this - measure the distance from your seatback to the pedal floor in your current car. See if someone with LWBs can move their seat fully forward and do the same measurement. Short of trying out a car with LWBs, that may be your best estimate. There will be some variability due to the depth of the LWB bucket so it's not going to be exact.
EDIT: Looks like anselmw did that already for you in his car....42 inches
Yea exactly :/ I'd be more comfortable if it were 40"...
Originally Posted by jphughan
My wife's legs measured on the outside from the floor to the bottom of her hip bone are 34.5". Strange, because after her last dance performance her friends said they looked like they were a mile long....
Oh wow. I just did the same measurements from the bottom of my hip bone to the floor. 30.5"
My lady who is 5'6 1/2 measures at 36"
Originally Posted by anselmw
I am all the way up as well and it seems perfect for me. Also keep in mind I can not really get out comfortably without moving the seat back. For some reason with the seat all the way up, the front side of the bucket is very close to the dash, that might be why the seat does not go any more forward.
I like Pete's idea of a cushion, that should work if you need more reach.
Again I think it depends on your driving style, I am sure you can reach the pedals but do you like pushing the clutch with minimal bend in your knee or the normal amount of bend.
Not sure where you are but someone around you must have a GT4 with buckets you can try.
Yea, the cushion is good idea if I can't adjust the rails.Thanks Pete.
Yea, I'm looking to try someone's GT4 seats before I take delivery.
Originally Posted by PistolPete
That makes big difference, 30" inseam here.
Mr.Nurse, at the DeMan event this Saturday if there is a LWBS GT4 present, I will try to see if the seat position matches what I have in my GT4 (wrapped up for winter).
I'm very sensitive to seat position and on my 987S I always set the seat position 3 notches from the front. I also moved the seat back every time I get out of the old and new car, force of habit and it doesn't bother me.
Okay great thanks! I wish I could go but I have a to work. I do the same. I normally slide my 2-ways all the way to the front and then adjust it a few notches back. I also did the same in the 981 Spyder with 2-ways.
30" is about .5" shorter than mine if I'm measuring correctly (bottom of hip bone to the floor).
Originally Posted by dntlvet
Mr Nurse:
I am 6'1" and I enjoy the LWBS for the GT3. I have no experience sitting in a GT4.
The LWBS in the GT3 definitely move more forward than I would need. My knees will touch the dash before it is maximally forward.
The LWBS move a long way back which makes getting out easier. I think getting in and out of the GT3 is not a real problem at all.
I would definitely go with LWBS on a GT4.
If I was concerned about reaching pedals; I'd definitely confirm fitment. I would not spend $90K on a car that has sub-optimal fitment. I would check out all 3 seat options BUT as we all know there are few cars to confirm fitment. I would have my Dealership SA do a lot of work and get some agreements in writing with regard to who will make adjustments of seat rails ect before I was committed. That's just me!
Originally Posted by anselmw
30" inseam here as well. I am seeing a patern here. Mr nurse what is your inseam.
This for sure! I will speak to my SA when my build gets closer.
30.5" from bottom of hip bone to the floor.
Firewall is the wall between front of car and inside of car. I measured straigh across, hope that is what you did. If not and you measured at an angle, my 42" will be longer depending on angle. Looks like it is close whether they will work or not.
When is your lock date? Hopefully you can find someone close to try them again.
Yeah - classic way to measure inseam, from my cycling days, was to stand against a wall with the spine of a book up against your crotch like a bike saddle. Then measure from the floor to the top of the book.
Everyone measures inseam differently is the problem. I'm actually a 34" inseam but wear 32" inseam pants.
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