Chad11491

Hey all, I'm interested in a first or second gen rx-7, and I prefer the first , but am worried about fitting in the car. I have never been in one, and am curious if any of you guys are around my height fitting. I'm 6'3" and fit just fine (and have a lot of room) in my 280zx, but I know the 7 is a smaller car.

Thanks!

Spannerhead

iTrader: (1)

I'm 6'4". It's tight.

The main problems areas are headroom and kneeroom. A sunroof encroaches on headroom and the '84-'85 power window door panels include a door pull which ends up right next to the steering wheel when the door is closed, creating a pinch point for those of us with longer legs.

A no-sunroof, manual window car will provide the best "natural" fit for us taller folk. I fit just fine in my old '85 S (base) model.

That said, there are things you do to make a sunroof-equipped, power window car acceptable, including removing the door pull and driving with the sunroof popped. If you like to drive with the seat reclined more, it will help with the headroom, but I prefer a more upright driving position. Some will recommend a smaller steering wheel, but with manual steering you need all the leverage you can get, and a smaller wheel obscures the instruments.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

I'm 6'1" and I fit fine in my SA. No sunroof. There is some issue with knee clearance on the
window crank (just have to move it a bit) and on the right my knee touches the emergency brake a bit sometimes. Otherwise, very comfortable. I can sit in the SA and drive longer distance
without any discomfort than I can in my wifes 2000 BMW with fully adjustable seats.

Spannerhead

iTrader: (1)

Just remembered there are a couple other things that help with headroom:

- A moonroof (glass sunroof). This is just one pane and doesn't have the thickness of the sheetmetal sunroof or the headliner pad clipped to the bottom of it.
- Supposedly the '84-'85 GSL & GSL-SE seats are slightly higher on account of the height adjustment built in to the seat bottom. Haven't confirmed this. You can identify them by the presence of an adjustment lever on the side of the seat forward of the backrest adjustment.

peejay

I'm taller than you and i fit with a helmet on.

Cameron38

iTrader: (2)

It also depends on your body type. I'm 6' tall, but my height is in my torso with shorter legs. By the time I move the seat up in my SE to reach the pedals, I'm really cramped for headroom. I really have to use the glass sunroof to feel comfortable.

Chad11491

i appreciate the replies! I usually recline my seat anyway a little bit, so these replies make me feel better! I just didn't want to go look at one and not fit at all

I'm about half/half legs/torso , as I wear a 34 length pant.

I fit just fine (and comfortably) in a 280/300/350 z and a dodge neon if anyone has experience with those. I've never been in a first gen rx-7 so I don't really have anything to compare to.

Spannerhead

iTrader: (1)

In my experience the Zs are more "relaxed fit" than the RX-7s. I have loads of room in my 240Z, for example. And the only time I've sat in a Z32 I fit perfectly. Felt really good, actually.

I wear a 36 length pant. You'll fit, just be aware of the steering wheel --> knee --> door pull interference issue if you look at an '84-'85 w/power windows.

RustyRotary

iTrader: (2)

You might make more playing professional basketball than racing!

But yeah, I agree with the steering wheel comment. It seems like a great way to free up leg space (I've got thighs the diameter of watermelons) but it really is incredibly annoying having to duck every time you want to see your RPMs. I didn't find the steering weight to be all that much of an issue though

joetary

6'3" 260 pounds I put a smaller steering wheel and took off the foot rest on the kick panel. 84GS

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

Really? dang bro, i will feel tiny next to you lol

joetary

Lol!!!!

peejay

Smaller steering wheel BAD. Small wheel plus large arms equals driving a doorknob.

Extended steering wheel GOOD. You get all the legroom benefits plus you can actually reach the wheel with your arms at a proper angle.


If that doesn't embed properly then you can see what I did to the steering wheel at maybe the 1:50 mark.

rwatson5651

iTrader: (5)

Also , my experience is that the seat matters , I have noticed that some of the latter seats with adjustable seat angle (tilting base) have a higher seat height. I switched from an 79 seat to a 83 with the adjustable base and it sat a good bit higher than the 79 seat, I raised the steering wheel and extended it slightly, that helped a lot, currently I am trying a FC Turbo II seat (without the adjustment btw) and it sits as low as the 79 did, so yea, the seat makes a difference.

Spannerhead

iTrader: (1)

I swapped seats last week. I replaced the height-adjustable '85 seats with non-height-adjustable '84s. The adjustables have a pivot bracket attached to the rear of the seat rail. It adds about 1/4"-3/8" to the overall seat height. Not a whole lot, but noticeable.

A haircut helps too, lol. With the new seats and a fresh buzz cut (#2 baby!) my hair no longer grazes the headliner. Love it.

JDuncan

iTrader: (3)

6'5" and 460lbs. If I can fit, most anyone should be able to...



TII cloth seats and stock GS steering wheel, btw. No sunroof.

CyByrd

Impressive. With a helmet on. I'd get out yo way man. Lol

Sent from my iPad using RX7Club. how bout that!

peejay

The S3 GSL seat is definitely taller than the S1 seats.

I had a S3 GSL from 145k to 227k. Then I bought another S3 GSL at ~150k, and the driver's seat was too damn high! All those miles with my skinny but heavy butt in the driver's seat made it sink a half inch or so. So I put my old seat in the new car! The odometer on the new car reads 239k...

Spannerhead

iTrader: (1)

Evidently not all GSLs got height-adjustable seats. The seats I pulled from the early '84 GSL didn't have the adjustment and were thus lower. So not all GSL seats were created equal height-wise.

Chad11491

well, i went and looked at one today. There's just no way I'd fit comfortably. The door handle squishes my leg into the steering wheel, which bumps into my knees, and my head has less than an inch of room between the ceiling, which wouldn't work with a helmet

I guess i'll have to look at second gen's. It was a beautiful car though!

JDuncan

iTrader: (3)

Was it a sunroof car?

Chad11491

yeah. but to fit comfortably i'd have to have a smaller diameter steering wheel, lower seats (89 seats i fit in, he had an fb with those in it also), and take the arm rest off the driver door. I would like a sunroof, so i'll just look for FC's . It's not like that's a negative though.

peejay

FCs have a lot less headroom than FBs.

For what it's worth, when driving normally, the top of the steering wheel is about chin height for me. When I'm strapped in with the five point harness, it squishes the seat down enough that I can sit more upright but still flip the sunvisor straight down and still see underneath it just fine.

I'm something like 6'3-6'5 depending on time of day. The sunroof is never an issue, the only headroom problem is the SIDE. That doesn't matter if the sunroof is there or not.

JDuncan

iTrader: (3)

You don't have to tell me.



Me again. Same helmet as I was wearing in the red 1980 above. You should see how much I go over the windshield of a Miata...

peejay

Aw man, it was funny when I tried to drive a friend's Miata with hardtop and a helmet on. I had to work the door with my right hand, couldn't turn the steering more than a quarter turn, and couldn't move my feet around enough to use the brakes without a lot of deliberation.

Still set a really good time, because the Miata handles so much better that you don't need to be busy behind the wheel.