Seat lowering

[RoyvL]

My first thread.

I have searched through the forum and see it seems to be a common complaint.
Lack of adjustment in the seats and steering column. I have the sport seats.

My problem is I am tall in the torso and with the seat at its lowest and furthest back I have perfect hip to pedal fit but the steering wheel sits across the top third of the instruments and I am looking through the top of the windscreen.
It is also disconcerting as the A pillars and rearview mirror get in the way when cornering.
I would also like to keep the seats as they are in superb condition. And I like to keep it as stock as possible.

Is there any way of lowering by removing and rebuilding the seat squab? Or, a method of altering the frame under the seat?
Anyone done this?
Thanks in advance

 

[littlefeller]

im sure @Southernboy did some kind of seat adjuster mod.

 

[RoyvL]

All I found while searching was the spacer fit under the rails on the front of the seats.
While this is good for the angle the squab, and I have done this, it does nothing for the overall height

 

[littlefeller]

ummm think that is the mod I was thinking of, though im sure he posted something regarding the seat foam too.

 

[t-tony]

It may be that the manually adjusted seats might go lower as there's less clutter (motors etc.) under them. Of course you lose out on electrical movement.

Tony.

 

[littlefeller]

It may be that the manually adjusted seats might go lower as there's less clutter (motors etc.) under them. Of course you lose out on electrical movement.

Tony.

who needs electric seats anyway, its the electrical movement that breaks the seatbelt guides, this is why its usually the passenger side that gets broke.

 

[5harp3y]

only way to lower the seats will be to fit aftermarket seats on flat rails

 

[Steve Medlock]

Are your seats lower @Dino D ?

 

[Dino D]

Are your seats lower @Dino D ?

Yep but they are Sparco seats with different bases.
Quite a bit lower and can go lower still if I remove the fore/aft adjustment rail.

I thought about trying to lower the standard seats as I really liked the look but the only way I can see is:
Remove seat motors and make new brackets (but how to adjust fore/aft? Or fix position maybe. The back rest adjusts manually anyway.

Replace seat cushion with less padding (but lose the looks which sort of defeats the purpose I guess).

I think a member in Norway made his own bases for some aftermarket bucket seats. The bucket seats are relatively cheap (and you can easily fit seat heaters which I’ve done) but the bases are expensive or else make your own. Maybe cannabilise a scrap Z seat base to make it easier!

 

[Eek]

Hi Guys,

First post here on an old thread, but maybe it can be useful for some of you.

I own a Coupe and the seating position also bothered me a bit. I'm 1.90 m (about 6"3), and would bump my head occasionally on the roof (no sunroof) with high speed bumps, but also cramped a bit to clearly see under the rear view mirror and roofline.
I'm currently re-doing the seat rails - it will loose the electric adjustment - and will be fixed in one position. (You can slide the seat a bit front/back if need by loosening with a wrench, hence the slots in the rails) The backrest can still be tilted and uses the OEM handle/cover, that has been trimmed on the bottom a few mm, to clear the rails.

Materials used: approx 150 cm of 50 x 20 x 3 mm tubing + some hexbolts and 8 mm studs.

The front nuts are easily accessible, but the rear bolts needed to be secured underneath the car. And by using m8 instead of m10, the only change to the car was drilling 2 holes in the bottom.

Still work in progress, and I will upload some more pics when available. I haven't measured it yet, but the seat is approx 3 inches lower now, and I might put some spacers under the rails in the front, to give it some extra tilt backwards. I'll also put some spacers under the steering column bracket, that will lower the steering wheel a bit.

Cheers, Kris

 

[Althulas]

Cool keep us updated if it works out either way. May been worth starting a how to guide once you have it dialled in.

 

[gottaz3]

Hi Guys,

First post here on an old thread, but maybe it can be useful for some of you.

I own a Coupe and the seating position also bothered me a bit. I'm 1.90 m (about 6"3), and would bump my head occasionally on the roof (no sunroof) with high speed bumps, but also cramped a bit to clearly see under the rear view mirror and roofline.
I'm currently re-doing the seat rails - it will loose the electric adjustment - and will be fixed in one position. (You can slide the seat a bit front/back if need by loosening with a wrench, hence the slots in the rails) The backrest can still be tilted and uses the OEM handle/cover, that has been trimmed on the bottom a few mm, to clear the rails.

Materials used: approx 150 cm of 50 x 20 x 3 mm tubing + some hexbolts and 8 mm studs.

The front nuts are easily accessible, but the rear bolts needed to be secured underneath the car. And by using m8 instead of m10, the only change to the car was drilling 2 holes in the bottom.

Still work in progress, and I will upload some more pics when available. I haven't measured it yet, but the seat is approx 3 inches lower now, and I might put some spacers under the rails in the front, to give it some extra tilt backwards. I'll also put some spacers under the steering column bracket, that will lower the steering wheel a bit.

Cheers, Kris

View attachment 205907

View attachment 205913View attachment 205909

I have similar problem. Head clearance okay but left knee bashes wheel when changing gear. thinking about lowering seat. Can you give me an update on your modification especially regarding knee clearance when using the clutch.

 

[Sea Ranch]

What's the latest on this topic/task? Planning on it myself