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Headroom Gained from Racing Buckets

Chad989of2000

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I'm unable to wear a helmet in the stock seats. For those who have changed out their stockers for racing buckets, did you guys see an improvement in headroom? I picked up some Sparco Evo2 Plus seats and was hoping this would fix the problem.
 

EMX5636

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Bucks County, PA
You can probably make rails/brackets that lower them significantly. I know Evo seats give you an extra inch or so of headroom, so a full race seat should offer at least that much, if not more if you mount it low enough.
 

Chad989of2000

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That's what I'm hoping. I also have a sunroof car which doesn't help my cause. I believe they lower the interior ceiling to accommodate the sliding sunroof.
 

EHmotorsports

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Sep 25, 2012
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Beaverton
I have found that the solid back seats give the best head clearance as it sits you lower in most cases.
 

vr4play

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Cincinnati, Ohio
By the time I made brackets and used the sliders my seats sat just as high as the factory seats. I had the same problem with my helmet hitting the roof. I ended up lopping off the rear mount for the factory seats and welding in my own to make the seats lower. I now have about 2 or 3 inches of clearance. It's not easily reversible once done though. You can see the difference between the driver and passenger seats.

 
Last edited:

Chad989of2000

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Great idea. Any more details on how to do this? Did you still install the sliders after this?
 

turbofonz

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Granby, MA
Has anyone came up with a way to lower the factory seats?
 

presterone

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Jan 23, 2012
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brunswick maine
I gutted the seat frame and used some of the mounting points and made a bracket out of square stock. It actually worked pretty well.
 

vr4play

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Cincinnati, Ohio
Quoting Chad989of2000:
Great idea. Any more details on how to do this? Did you still install the sliders after this?



I do still have the sliders. I wanted the adjustability as sometimes other people drive my car. I just bent up some channel and kind of cut it to fit where I needed it. The hardest part was getting the sliders in the center of the channel and getting the seat straight. The front piece is just a channel that slips over the void in the center of the stock mount. Then I welded it all in. It actually helped stiffen up the car as well. I was surprised. I added subframe connectors as well. I think once I get the cage it will be plenty stiff. I've debated stitch welding all the spot welds but that seems a bit excessive for what I use the car for.
 

turbowop

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Yakima, WA
My Sparcos sit way lower than stock. No issues clearing a helmet in a sunroof car for me.

Evo2's huh? I'm guessing getting the driver's side centered behind the steering wheel didn't happen. It's close even with my standard Evo.
 

Chad989of2000

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I hope that it's not an issue...they are slightly wider than the standard Evo seats. Is the issue with one side hitting the drive shaft tunnel in the center of the car?
 

Chad989of2000

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Also Mark, how did you custom your brackets?
 

turbowop

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My brackets were made by an old member of this forum that hasn't been around for a long time. They were shoddy as f*** and I wasn't really happy considering what I paid. But after have them rewelded and powdercoated, they work pretty well.

The clearance issue is with the center console. An Evo2 will be a bit left of the steering wheel unless you modify or remove the console. For what it's worth though, I have an Evo2 on the passenger side, and it fits great.
 

Chad989of2000

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RHD conversion then? Hahah, should be okay...gonna play around with it and get as close to center as I can, just as long as my legs aren't stretched to the side to reach the pedals. A little off center beats not being able to sit in the car with a helmet on.
 

Chad989of2000

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Also, thanks for all the info guys.
 

Hertz

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Jul 29, 2002
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Chicago, IL
Quoting turbofonz:
Has anyone came up with a way to lower the factory seats?



Yes-ish ... I was able to get about 1/2" lower (and fix an annoying pain in the ass... literal) by removing the lower seat cover and extracting one of the metal wires that follows the seam across the seat/is molded into the foam) and by removing two of the springs from under the cushion. It certainly made it more comfortable.

Be aware, removing the leather seat cover and extracting that metal wire is tricky.

I'd start with removing springs from the bottom, depending on how much you weigh.
 

turbofonz

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Sep 27, 2006
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Granby, MA
^^^Just seeing this now. I don't weigh a whole lot, nor am I tall, but I still hate how tall the seats are. I'll put that on my list of things to do .
 
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