Knees hit the steering - steering spacer, smaller wheel?
 

I bought my '87 RX7 without ever having driven one or sat in one before. The car has turned out to be a great runner and I am driving it for fun having done very little work to it. The only problem is comfort. I am only 5'10" and I never considered being too tall for any car, but I am super uncomfortable in the RX7. The problem is that my knees hit the steering wheel, which makes braking nerve wracking, I am using the edge of my foot on the brake pedal and am not confident in making quick braking maneuvers (forget about heel toe downshifting) because I can not get my leg under the steering. I have tried sitting further back and/or tilting the seat further back but no matter how I sit, if I am close enough to push the clutch all the way in, my knee hits the steering.

I should mention, I am driving a 2004 Taurus and a 2003 Mercury Marauder as my normal cars and they are huge tanks, so my expectations for comfort/seating position are probably higher than a lot of people that are used to small cars. But I can't see auto crossing with the RX7 with the current seating/steering wheel position.

Is there a steering spacer available as a bolt on? If I could bring the steering away from the dash I assume that will let me get my leg under the wheel better. The other option is to use a smaller diameter wheel but the stock wheel is already pretty small

The stock wheel is actually rather large- 14"- and is also offset by @ 1/2".
Most aftermarket wheels are smaller and concentric, so you end up blocking the gauge cluster.

Some stock Mazda seats have a lower cushion tilt adjustment which raises and lowers the front edge of the seat cushion...do yours?

I'm 6'-1" and have no problems with leg/wheel interference, I think something is going on with your setup that might not be stock.

The car is all original. I will look for the lower cushion tilt. Whatever the combination of my legs/torso, my knees definitely hit the steering when I use the brakes and if I can't figure out how to remedy this I am gonna have to sell the car, too uncomfortable to drive.

I would rather block the gauges than be so uncomfortable though, if that were the only option.

Is the stock wheel offset up or down?

i'm also 5'10 and have not had one issue with steering wheel clearance. are you sure the wheel isn't adjusted too low. the steering wheel is adjustable up and down. there is a lever on the bottom of the steering column. pull it down and move the wheel up and relock the lever in teh up position.

my 87 is a base model, I looked for a tilt lever and could not find one. I don't think mine has tilt, I wish it did!

yeah, i don't believe the base models had a tilt column..is teh colum itself loose at all? odd that it would be too low..

here is my car

https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523...6c5d3241_o.jpg

https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2616...d2f5d32a_o.jpg

https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2577...2eaa6fbe_o.jpg

Column does not seem loose, I will double check when I get home though

I am 6' and I have no issues, but almost.

Your seat is moved up too far in that pic. What is keeping you from moving it back some?

If I move back too much further I can't push the clutch all the way to the floor. I only have a 31" inseam so my short legs require me to be up that far. If I wear a huge thick boot on only my left leg, that might let me push the seat back further and still be able to full depress the clutch, lol.

Are both knees hitting the steering wheel?

my left leg on the clutch is out of the way of the wheel, I guess I should have said "knee" hits the steering wheel, singular. The primary problem is not being able to get on the brakes comfortably because of my knee hitting the wheel.

I'm assuming you use your right leg for both accelerating and braking. If this is so then you have your right knee too close to your left knee. To remedy this you need to relax your right leg to where it leans to the side of the wheel pointing to the center console. Also, your right heel needs to be placed to the left of the gas pedal but to the right of the brake pedal, basically your right heel is in between these two pedals. When your right foot is on the gas pedal your foot should be in the one o'clock position and when the same foot is on the brake in needs to be in the 11 o'clock or so position thus you really don't pick your right foot off the ground to brake or accelerate. From what I can tell you have your knees too close together thus causing your dilemma. Left knee to the left of wheel and right knee to the right of said wheel. Give it a try.

I have 32" inseam, and I still don't have that issue. I am puzzled.

Are you driving with your thighs together and feet on the floor? You Left leg should always be at an angle and on the dead peddle unless using the clutch, and your right leg should be on the gas or brakes, with your knee still at an angle. I don't mean to make you out as a fool in my explanation of how you need to sit, but something isn't right.

If your driving style fits the description above and you still have problems, then you can always pick up a momo wheel and hub for like $210. The hub will move it up and closer to you, and you can always on top of that, get a smaller wheel like 12" dia.

I will give it a try, I appreciate the input even though my question seems pretty stupid.

This is what I normally drive

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...SEL/Image8.jpg

It's like sitting upright at the kitchen table so can put my whole leg under the steering

haha

Steve

Yeah I'm 6'4" and kinda had a simillar problem when trying to heel toe. So I used to do it backwards. Mostly my head hits the roof. Just kit your knees out alittle insteed of pushing straight on the brake roll on it with the side of your foot.

Are all of the japanese sports cars, mr2, 240sx, 300z, etc. all this small inside or are the rx7s smaller? I'm surprised how many tall people have rx7s, if my head hit the ceiling of a car I think I'd be too claustrophobic to drive!

did you reach under the column to see if there is a tilt adjustment? its pretty easy to miss

people alot taller then you drive these cars


you may want to consider buying a tilt column

I had the dash off to replace the wiper switch so that meant removing the 2 piece plastic collar around the steering column, no tilt adjuster

Is a tilt column a direct bolt - in if i get one from a parts car?

psh. i hear complaining.............
im 6'6 and had to change out the steering wheel for a momo with a hub and quick disconnect. worked like a charm
my og bug's steering wheel was HUGE, had to change that out as well, also the shifter, but that was for feel not due to fitment.

anyways, there are thousands of options, either you could get an aftermarket steering wheel and hub, or you could change out the steering wheel shaft at the coupler for a tilt wheel.

but the first thing i suggest you do is check the seat rails and such, just to make sure the seats havent been tampered with, i put the passengers seat on a few spacers to make room for an amp in my last car.


Lloyd

I too do not understand why you are having these problems, except, as noted, your seat is far too forward. I'm 5'.10", 165lbs and also have a 31" inside leg.
I drive with my knees each side of the steering wheel, not under it, as do most folks, I imagine. Perhaps that is the problem. I have tall friends who do not have problems with FC driving, , my wife is 5'2", 120 lbs and can drive my 88 Vert with no problems.
Are your clutch and brake pedals fully in the up position? Just asking.
Mike

How much do you weigh?

My 88 RX-7 measures about 6.75" between the bottom of the steering wheel and the top front of the seat cushion. My thighs are about 5" high at that point when sitting in the seat, so that gives me about 1.75" clearance.

I'm 6'1 and I have a similar problem while heel toe shifting. I'm planning on installing a Nardi deep corn steering wheel to solve this problem. I don't recommend installing a small steering wheel as it will obscure your gauges.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:q...50deepcorn.jpg

If he drives a non-tilt steering car, he can't see his speedo above 65mph nor can he see his coolant temp. I have to move my head around to see them in my vert.

And just to gripe, why the hell would mazda not put tilt steering into thier luxy type rx7? You have a CD player which was almost non-existant in 1990 in your car, and a 6 speaker system that is amplified, but no fucking tilt wheel??? I say the same about speed sensitive power steering.

I think the Stereo is aftermarket and it must be a issue with the seat. I'm 5'8" 31" inseam as well. I have a vert and a 330mm wheel and boss hub, it get very hard to see around the wheel and eliminating power steering make it hard to turn under 15 mph. So all I can say is check your car and go through it.

have you try bucket seat??? it may help.