THSCC Forums

I'm having fairly serious headroom issues w/ the M3. Thank god its a sedan w/ manual seats (gives me an extra inch+), but w/ the seat all the way down, tilted all the way back, my head is 1/8" from the headliner. w/ a helmet on, my only solution is sticking it to the side in the sunroof hole. hah. and even then it rubs on the sunroof panel!


a clean sunroof delete isnt really an option, so i think my only hope is some lower seats, but there are so many things to consider. i need to make sure theyre

A) fit in the car (clear the sedan's B pillar). from owhat ive read a lot guys did some custom stuff to their brackets and some offset the seat to the right a bit in order to line up w/ the steering wheel.

B) are low enough. sliders would be nice. but they make them sit higher..what if i need height spacers? gah

C) good price. anyone know of anything cheap/uses/good deals?

D) legal for HPDEs? do i need to have the passenger seat match? at what point is that necessary?

i'm baffled as hell. Anyone have any experience w/ an E36? i would like reclinable seats instead of shells as this is my daily driver and isnt a race car yet I'm looking at Recaro Speed and Corbeau A4/CR1 type seats.

I had the same problem in my Z-24. Race seats weren't an option for me since it's my DD and the side bolsters make getting in and out frequently such a b*tch.

My solution was to have the seat mouting brackets lowered and re-welded back in place. This gained me only about an extra 3/4" which is just enough so my helmet barely rubs the head liner.

BTW, have you ever seen Scott in his Celica at an AX? He has to lean his head to one side to even drive it and I'm taller than he is.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

hrmm yeh i was thinking about that. these seats also have height adjustment so maybe that mechanism can be hax0red to go lower.. maybe cut/drilled to go lower and then welded to hold it in place. thatd be a great option fo sho.

hrmm does he? maybe i just need to suck it up then. thats gotta kill your neck though at HPDEs, etc though..

I had height issues recently when I codrove Adam Menges M3 as well. For me the seat would have to drop at least an inch to clear with a helmet.

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91 Jetta GLI STS/DSP 111
85 Porsche 944 ASP 11
http://www.blackforestindustries.com

No, Scott drives his old 1973 "Relica" at HPDE/TT events. It has more head room I'm sure.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

You can go to Carolina Mustang and look at race seats. I had a friend that purchased 2 seats there last week. He said they had several on site to sit in. Most of them are adjustable. Unfortunately, the adjustables tend to sit a little higher than the fixed (and they are more expensive).

I don't have a sunroof in my M3. If the $$$'s right, I'll sell you mine!!

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Rob Harvey
919-697-5485
1997 BMW M3
1992 Acura Integra (Simon)

You can fuse about 3 of your vertebre which should lower you a couple of inches

^^damn thats sweet. i wish mine didnt have one.

^ha, i'll have to ask my dad about that. he has a few fused from when he cracked a few. yikes.

well i'm about to bite the bullet on a corbeau A4 wide w/ corbeau bracket/sliders. supposed to fit in the sedan ok and it is supposed to be fairly low seat. lower than the CR1 etc.

any thoughts before i do so?


also for HPDEs, the instructor doesnt have to have the same type of seat does he...?

Same level of 'protection' required for passanger.

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91 Jetta GLI STS/DSP 111
85 Porsche 944 ASP 11
http://www.blackforestindustries.com

Mark Cooper at Hubcap Heaven also has race seats on site you can sit in.

KB

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“I feel safer on a racetrack than I do on Houston's freeways.” - A.J. Foyt

Kevin Butler
Mobetta Autosport Spec E30 #612
2003 C5 Z06 Corvette
AFR Miata, SM2 61, '93 w/200 SC'd RWHP - soon to be resurrected
Waaaay too many other projects....

this morning i went and sat in carolina mustang's.

He had a CR1 and it was too narrow for me. He had a TRS which was fine, but too narrow in the shoulders.

in order of width it basically goes A4, CR1, A4w, CR1w. similar in shoulder and kidney, but the CR1 has a decently wider bottom.

i'm leaning toward the CR1w now. the only con is that its only available in wide in solid cloth.. the A4w i could get in black/gray suede.. :/

well Rob, that explains a few nagging questions. i just figured you started smoking when you were 10.

So what's PJ excuse? He started as an infant?

_________________
Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

Dan, it ain't none of my business, but are you sure you can't drive the M3 without a sport/race seat? i too, at 5ft 9in and some, have helmet clearance issues. but what i have found is in the course of the event i soon forget about them. while i figure you may have 2 to 3 inches in height difference i also feel the money spent on seats for a daily driver could be better spent on brakes, tires or any number of racing disposables. just my 2 cents worth here bubba. steve