RX-7 Comfort Complaints
 

I've noticed my RX-7 is dang uncomfortable.

It's a race car, but after about an hour of driving it's just miserable.

1. My hands are throbbing, the way the steering wheel sits I feel like I drive more with my palm than being able to lightly hold the wheel's spokes if that makes sense.

2. I can't get close enough to the wheel without being inside of the dashboard.

3. I can't get low enough!

I currently run a Kirkey road race seat on the stock slider. With my helmet on my head is almost at the top of the cage.

If I could get lower and have the steering wheel come down with me then that would be great, but is there an option to adjust the column up and down? My legs are also crammed because I have to sit close enough to steer but far enough that I can slightly move my feet. It makes heel and toe quite a challenge.

I'm not that tall, probably 5ft 8in.

Any ideas? I considered buying side mounts and beating out the transmission tunnel to fit them but that leaves my steering situation works, I know I can get a spacer, but that also doesn't help the angle of the wheel.

in the competition book they have you lower the steering column with shims, so its pretty easy to do.

I'll have to look into that, thanks!

How does a Kirkey seat w/stock slider compare to a racing bucket like Bride w/ its own brackets and sliders? I know that the Bride Zeta2 Neos lowered me quite a bit in my Civic. As it is, the stock seats have me hitting the headliner of my FB when I have a helmet on, and I'm the same height as you.

fm

I totally agree. I'm 5'11" and feel claustrophobic in my FB. My Cooper S feels like an RV inside by comparison! I'm glad this is just a fun car and not my daily driver.

Not sure how they compare, I don't even run padding on the bottom of the seat to get that little bit lower though. lol

I may see about the steering wheel angle mentioned above then try to have some Kirkey side mounts fabbed in because it could drop a little lower if the stock rail and mounting points weren't used. My main focus is endurance racing though so it's nice to have that movement but...

I can't lower the seat anymore yet, it's too low now for my steering wheel angle but still too high for everything else, so I'm sort of stuck. lol (with a HANS on sometime literally)

I can't drive one of these for more than a half hour or so without tweaking my right knee, and yet I got another one. Hi, my name is cpt_gloval and I am a rotorholic.

Simon, drive a stock FB, way more comfortable than those race cars.

If you're out there driving around the race track as fast as you can, you should be feeling a little uncomfortable.

I extended my steering wheel about three finger's widths, made it immensely more comfortable to drive.

Having a driver's seat that has done about 300,000 miles, 150k of which were MY butt, also helps. I bought my '85 at 147k and junked it at 211k. When I got my '84, the driver's seat felt way too high! So I put the '85's driver seat in it. It was sagged about an inch lower. I got that car at 145k, it's at 231k right now... and both cars had periods where the odometer was inop...

I'm 6'4ish. I find the car to be massively comfortable. I had no issue with the thought of hopping in and driving it to Tulsa and back last year, which was a fun 2000mi weekend. I'd be doing it this year too, but I'm really leery about the funky compression on the rear rotor. So I'm driving a 2.5RS to Tulsa and back this weekend instead. Oddly, I find it to be kinda annoying to drive... the windshield is too close and despite the Stromung or whatever exhaust it has, it's too quiet and you can hear wind noise and tire noise over the exhaust. Maybe I should make an MP3 of a 13B hammering away down the highway and play that on the stereo? BMW are you listening? :D

Maybe their better for tall people im 6'3" and I can drive my 83 for as long as I can keep gas in the tank and I toosit fairly close mind id never get a helmet on in the little beast

Yeah I think the plan this month is to lower the steering wheel and lower the seat then get a steering wheel spacer.

If I could get lower, a tad further back with the wheel lower and closer to me I'd be golden.

I'm 5'11" and I have no real issues with the cockpit orientations even with a helmet. I wilk say that the 85 seats are more padded so more comfortable but I liked the height of the seats in my 82..about 1/2" shortwr by rough estinate.

I don't hit the roof, just the cage.

My helmet smacks the side of the roof a lot. Couldn't imagine driving one with a cage. Tons of headroom above, though.

Now, if you want funny, you should have seen when I tried driving a certain Miata with a fixed racing seat. I couldn't move my foot over to the brake very easily so I just never really braked much. I couldn't turn the steering wheel because my elbows were jamming hard into the seat sides. Somehow I still turned a respectably fast time...

The only issues ive noticed while racing (specifically with a helmet) is that it always hits the plastic trim over the door. But, recently Ive been pinning myself in place to my seat by buckling up, sliding the seat back 1 notch and then yanking quickly on the seatbelt to lock it in place, and then sliding the seat forward again 1 notch...feels like a damn race harness and I dont really move around enough anymore to hit my head.


now when it comes to longer drives, my right knee gets murdered due to being the the same partially bent, 45* rotated position. i dont really notice it while im driving, but as soon as i step out of the car, it feels like someone just shot me in the right knee cap

i'm 5' 11" and i've got a sparco on stock sliders and its totally fine, 330mm nardi wheel with no spacer, oddly. column is shimmed down ~1", its totally comfortable, give me license plates and i'd DD it.

i did remove the front half of the cage to fit my head though

Do you happen to have a picture of the shimmed column?

I'd probably be fine without the cage, but that has to stay.

nope, but just picture a few washers between two flanges

Which seats have you got in there, I replaced my series 1s with 3s and they're much more comfy. Have driven 4 hour trips in it without much issue.

Eh when it comes to comfort I am perfectly fine except my left leg. and that is because i don't have the foot rest. Well i have one its just missing. haha. but I am 5'11" and agree that it seems to be a very good fit for that height. My brother who is 6'3" and my dad who is 6'1" both seem to be fairly comfortable in the car. My other brother who is 6'1" is comfortable in the drivers seat but not in the passengers seat due to being a big football player sized guy. His biggest problem is it is too low for him though.

Kirkey Road Race.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7442/1...d04b35a1_b.jpg

See how my head is? Then the angle of the wheel is awkward because then I feel too low. lol

It's not just your height that matters, it's whether you are "Long Waisted" like me. Most of my 5'11" is in my torso. My inseam is only about 31". So that means I have to move the seat closer to the windshield to reach the pedals.

My issue seems to be more with the wheel. I can reach the pedals fine almost anywhere, but if I get my legs comfortable the reach for the wheel is ridiculous.

Going to the shop tomorrow to look into changing things around a bit. :icon_tup:

My only complaint is the vinyl seats make my back sweaty even with the AC on! It is an 80 though, and the 79-80 seats seem to sit a little lower. The longer shifter makes it easier to drive as well.

Simon, I don't think you would have a problem reaching the wheel in my car :lol:. When is your next race? I still have yet to see your car in person.