Tony_the_Brit
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
For those who find themselves too tall to comfortably wear a helmet with stock seats, here was my solution...
I bought the Sparco Pilot QRT racing seat - which is specifically for tall and "larger" guys. I am 6'3" and 225lbs with a 42" waist. I fit in the seat nicely. In my opinion you could be 1" taller in the body than I and at least 44" waist and still be comfortable with this solution. If you are less than 6'2" this seat will likely be too tall for you. If there was more headroom in the car you could be 3-4" taller than me in the body(!) and still fit in this seat.
I got the Sparco S550 baseplate and the steel side mounts. Upon installing I found that the seat was actually too tall(!) to fit in the car even with just the baseplate. I therefore cut off the rear "tabs" of the baseplate that emerge from it, go down about 1.5" and then go back and have the holes in for the rear mounting bolts. I replaced them with pieces that just go straight back, with suitable holes but without going down at all. I had those welded in place and then successfully mounted the seat. I found that to make the seat fit you also need to mount it to the baseplate at an angle as the rear of the seat needs to be more to the driver's right to clear the side airbag but the front needs to be more to the left to clear the center console. In my case I have the seat mounted using the top hole in the side mounting plates at the front and the 2nd from the bottom in the back.
Since the original seat airbag and position sensors are left disconnected when the racing seat is in, the airbag light will come on but the car runs normally otherwise. In my case I also disconnected the driver's window airbag to ensure that it would not deploy with the seat in as the set blocks it.
I haven't yet decided whether to leave the seat in permanently or swap it in and out. The front seat bolts are a pain to get to with the Sparco in place so I will likely replace them with normal hex-head bolts which will make it much easier and then swap the seat in and out each time I go to the track.
I have now driven the car on the track several times (Gingerman) and find this setup not only comfortable on the track but also on the road there and back (over an hour each way). I did add a lumbar support (one of those cheap mesh types with the wire frame). Be aware that you will not be able to turn your head and look directly back out of the rear windshield due to the wrap-around head support. The reversing camera and mirrors will be all you have.
Hopefully some of you find this helpful.
I bought the Sparco Pilot QRT racing seat - which is specifically for tall and "larger" guys. I am 6'3" and 225lbs with a 42" waist. I fit in the seat nicely. In my opinion you could be 1" taller in the body than I and at least 44" waist and still be comfortable with this solution. If you are less than 6'2" this seat will likely be too tall for you. If there was more headroom in the car you could be 3-4" taller than me in the body(!) and still fit in this seat.
I got the Sparco S550 baseplate and the steel side mounts. Upon installing I found that the seat was actually too tall(!) to fit in the car even with just the baseplate. I therefore cut off the rear "tabs" of the baseplate that emerge from it, go down about 1.5" and then go back and have the holes in for the rear mounting bolts. I replaced them with pieces that just go straight back, with suitable holes but without going down at all. I had those welded in place and then successfully mounted the seat. I found that to make the seat fit you also need to mount it to the baseplate at an angle as the rear of the seat needs to be more to the driver's right to clear the side airbag but the front needs to be more to the left to clear the center console. In my case I have the seat mounted using the top hole in the side mounting plates at the front and the 2nd from the bottom in the back.
Since the original seat airbag and position sensors are left disconnected when the racing seat is in, the airbag light will come on but the car runs normally otherwise. In my case I also disconnected the driver's window airbag to ensure that it would not deploy with the seat in as the set blocks it.
I haven't yet decided whether to leave the seat in permanently or swap it in and out. The front seat bolts are a pain to get to with the Sparco in place so I will likely replace them with normal hex-head bolts which will make it much easier and then swap the seat in and out each time I go to the track.
I have now driven the car on the track several times (Gingerman) and find this setup not only comfortable on the track but also on the road there and back (over an hour each way). I did add a lumbar support (one of those cheap mesh types with the wire frame). Be aware that you will not be able to turn your head and look directly back out of the rear windshield due to the wrap-around head support. The reversing camera and mirrors will be all you have.
Hopefully some of you find this helpful.
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