Lowered Seat

[Grafanton]

I have done half a dozen track days this year. My EBM has been awesome! Handling, power and reliability have exceeded my expectations.

One problem that I hope to address before next season is the seat height. I am 6 feet 7 inches tall, and while I'm comfortable during daily driving, it creates a real issue when wearing a helmet. To wear the helmet I have to recline the seat to a point that the reach to steering wheel starts to get uncomfortable after a few sessions. I have the steering wheel all the way out and moving the seat forward to shorten the reach starts to mess with the relationship between my size 14 feet and the pedals.

Has anyone ever lowered a seat? Heard of someone lowering a seat? Any suggestions on who might do this sort of work? I'm fairly certain that there are numerous professional athletes that have to have this done just to get into their daily drivers, but do they get it done?

Sponsored

 

[DivineStrike]

I'm not 100% but I think a lot of the racing seats sit a little lower, they also drop a lot of weight

 

[BTM]

I'm also 6'7" hence nickname "Big Tall Monkey" since college days.

Not worth it or really even possible to modify the stock seat, just get a racing seat. I did the Corbeau Sportline evolution, which drops literally 5" of seat height. Retains slider functionality (manual) and recline, so it's street friendly with the exception that the covering material doesn't breathe that well, so it makes me sweat when hot out. I also run the Schroth 4pt ASM harness - don't use the cheap non anti-submarining ones.

This is a fairly cheap way to solve the issue, especially if you find a retailer that will just sell you one, and you don't care about matching side to side (I bought from Sinister Mustang). Ergonomics for me are the best in any car I've ever had - even my Sequoia.

BUT - it's a relatively cheap seat for track use, and my ultimate goal is to run a pair of true fixed-back racing seats, like Sparco, with 5/6pt harnesses and Watson 4pt rollbar. All-in, this will probably cost ~$4K, which is the only reason it hasn't happened yet...

 

[Competition Orange]

corbeau has a LOT of options, all lower vs stock seat

BTM helped me with details on his setup, and I'll be adding a corbeau (although a different model) sometime in the next year or so.

 

[Grafanton]

Thanks a ton for the pic BTM. I'll start looking into it.
I've got the cloth seats and after 26k miles, I'm afraid their already looking a little shabby. So the Corbeau could solve two issues.

BTM, I'm curious about your belts. The stock belts are still there, why? Where are the 4 point belts secured?

 

[Optimum Performance]

THESE are pretty low, they work with most popular seats.

 

[BTM]

Thanks a ton for the pic BTM. I'll start looking into it.
I've got the cloth seats and after 26k miles, I'm afraid their already looking a little shabby. So the Corbeau could solve two issues.

BTM, I'm curious about your belts. The stock belts are still there, why? Where are the 4 point belts secured?

Another forum member did a great writeup on the Schroth Rallye 4 install: http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16425&highlight=schroth

There's also a Quick Fit kit, slightly more expensive, that quickly unbuckles for those who want to remove the harness for DD. I have my harness in there 100% of the time because I don't DD it. The stock 3pt is still in there so I can use it if I want (tuck the harness back) and easier to return to stock if needed. It never gets in the way. In real life, I love the support of the harness and use it even on the street - just a bit looser than I fasten it for the track. Makes such a big difference to not feel like you're hanging onto the steering wheel when turning.

 

[Grintch]

Yes. You can certainly modify the stock seat mounts, but keeping all the stock hardware and adjustors limits your options. And custom fabrication/modification work is not cheap.

Going aftermarket allows for more opportunity to lower the seat height, AND reduce weight, AND use a more supportive track oriented seat. But you loose the stock side airbags in the seats (a big source of the weight reduction).

Sponsored