Driving/Seat Position

[Massive Lee]

Damn. I thought the seat that was in the garage was an Evo2. Turns-out it was a regular Evo, which is slightly narrower than the Evo2. The Evo is also 10mm narrower at the back than at the front. Which is why I put two 5mm shims at the back (one shim per side) and not the front. Installation was done with the assembly loose, then fitted on the pan, where all bolts were tightened, starting at the seat. The current floormounts layout is at its narrower setting. Flipping the inner and/or the outer floormounts will add up to 3 inches in width. Seat can also be lowered another notch (front and back) if using bolts with domes head at the back, to clear the bottom of the seat.

One can see how the seat was offset toward the tranny tunnel, which will help the seat's shoulder clear the rollacage in many cases.

[Massive Lee]

Yes, it can be done. I checked yesterday what were the limitations for bending steel. I need a minium of 3/4" vertical length between the horizontal sections. The adapters can be made to bolt a Corbeau seat directly on the floor, while providing a serie of holes to adjust front-to-back.

[CincinnatiKid]

Lee for the reclinable corbeau seats, couldn't you just take the black brackets like you have above and instead of having a _| angle just put an extra bend so it's more _|- like a flat s?

[Massive Lee]

Here are the new floormounts. They allow to fit sidemounts (shown unanodized for clearer demonstration) onto any FIA-approved seat. The set-up pictured (passeger side shown) is intended for a 410mm (mounting width) Racetech RT1000. No spacer required. Direct bolt-on. The seat is moved inward to help clear the roll cage, and better center the seat with the sterring wheel. On narrower seats such as a Sparco Evo, the inner mount can be flipped to accomodate the different seat width. This kit comes with aluminum spacers to be used between the floorpan and the mounts to clear the carpeting, or on the sides to shim the seat.

I haven't tested it, but I suspect the floormounts will also fit a BMW Sport seat without its base. Still allowing tilting and height adjusters. To be investigated... ;-)

[Massive Lee]

So can you fab something up for a floor mount reclining seat Lee?

Sure. i just need some specs. I am currently one week late on shipping the Recaro kits (due to stepped spacers being not machined to specs), but I will ship them by Friday May 20th. After that, I will proceed to new versions of that kit. I have already designed two other kits. One allowing to mount Recaros on e28 sliders, and another one to direct-fit e30 seat assemblies in e28s. But as I may have mentionned, I can't produce ony one set of Corbeau kits. I must produce at least 20 sets, meaning I have to have 10 confirmed orders, the rest is a risk I am willing to take.

[CincinnatiKid]

So can you fab something up for a floor mount reclining seat Lee?

[Massive Lee]

Actually, I just found some mounting specs I posted two weeks ago. Here they are.

- 13" (front to rear) = 330,2mm (Recaro is 261mm and 297mm depending on model)
- 11.375" (side to side) = 289mm (Recaro is 406mm)

I must find other sources as the Corbeau specs are odd. Very odd. If anybody had an actual Corbeau seat and could measure the mounting specs in millimeters... ;-)

BTW I would be carefull if using the Corbeau sliders pictured above. Sliders exist in two varieties. The ones where each slider has a locking mechanism. And the ones with only one lockable side (the other side is totally free). I would not use a single lockable slider. They are less safe as they have only half the locking capability.

[CincinnatiKid]

Do you mean Corbeau reclining seats? What's the mounting pattern?

Yes, reclining seat, here's a pic of the sliding mounts, 4 bolts on the track to the bottom of the seat, then four bolts from the bracket to the floor.

[briansjacobs]

@Makard- never realized you are so tall. And you are correct that you can not duplicate the seating in a street car. at 5'10" my seat is on the floor and it puts my eyes not much over the wheel, I love that low all business seating postition. But in my street car I am still in a very upright 20 degree recline with wrist resting comfortable on the wheel. I think that was more my point.

[Massive Lee]

Nobody makes a fixed floor mount for a Corbeau adjustable race seat, so basically unless I fab something custom I'm screwed.

Do you mean Corbeau reclining seats? What's the mounting pattern?

[CincinnatiKid]

Nobody makes a fixed floor mount for a Corbeau adjustable race seat, so basically unless I fab something custom I'm screwed.

[Massive Lee]

Tall guys have no option but to seat on the floor. ;-) Seat needs to be lowered a huge 4" from stock...

In regard of seating position, it will also affect the way the pedals are activated. Especially important if one runs a boosterless brake system. Finding the right position so that the leg can press the brakes with full force can make a huge difference. Two years ago, one guy at Targa Newfoundland had problem pressing the brakes. Then we worked a bit, looking for a more ideal seating position allowing to properly and naturally apply force on the pedal. And it worked. ;-)

[makard]

my seating position is the same regardless of what car I am in. My race car or my E46 or my Denali. Seating position is the same in all and mirrors are set the same on my street cars as my race car.

when in the seat your wrist should rest comfortably on the steering wheel with a nice bend at your elbows. your side mirrors should not duplicate your rear view mirror, they should start where your blind spot is in your rear view.

What a luxury! Unfortunately, IMO, it isn't possible to achieve the same seating position in any production car that I am aware of compared to what one can accomplish custom-mounting a race seat directly on the floor and the seat back actually touching the upright for the rear seat in an e30... When you're 6'8" the factory seat adjustments simply don't permit adequate legroom & headroom & the perfect steering wheel location simultaneously. For the knees to clear the dash....the seat has to be all the way back and for the head to clear the roof the seat has to recline considerably in most cases....leaving one considerably farther away from the steering wheel than the optimum location as steering columns are typically not long enough to achieve such. Factory seating with adjustable tilt to the base help this significantly by allowing the rear of the seat to go lower with the front as high as possible (makes egress more difficult, but improves driver comfort considerably). Only in convertibles, motorhomes, and my high-top Sprinter work van have I had the luxury of sitting upright without bending my neck for head clearance...and the convertibles had me looking OVER the windshield like the character in the James Bond movies (unfortunately I have friends with photos from BMW autox events with me driving Z3s and Z4s to prove this). ;););)

[JGood]

You can do something like that (old, old pictures).
Take note that a floorpan was actually cut and used to mock up. Seat was moved toward the tranny tunnel to center with the steering wheel, and to clear the seat's shoulder with the cage. The sidemounts are the 6 years old prototypes.now shorter. Aluminum angles are from any hardware store. You only need a drill.

This is exactly how I have mine set up. Your braces with angle aluminum. Lightweight, cheap, strong, and very easy to modify/move around. My seat is almost touching the floor in the back with this setup.

[briansjacobs]

Jgood, love the sedan in your sig.