Am I too big?

[deadmau5]

Debating whether or not to get an MX-5, but the issue of height came up. I'm 6'4'' so was wondering if I would be too tall to fit
in one comfortably. Yeh I know they have 20 miles of head room blah blah but I was more worried about leg room.

Any sensible suggestions appreciated.

[Evangelion]

It depends on your proportions. For example my brother and I are both tall, he's 6ft 1 I'm 6ft 3. But his extra height is in the body and mine's in the legs, so we tend to adjust car seats completely differently.

Having said that I've just bought an MX-5 and can drive it quite comfortably. Admittedly it has Recaro seats, and I'm considering getting a smaller steering wheel than the 360mm one currently fitted. (That's a point - my car has no power steering so any thoughts out there as to the smallest practical size?)

I bet my brother fits in better than I do though.

[deadmau5]

Yeh I have pretty long legs as well. I suppose I'll just have to try and get a go in one. At least I know it's not completely out of the question.

[Evangelion]

Correction - my car DOES have power steering; I misread the info on the door plate.

Edited by Evangelion on Monday 22 June 18:02

[deadmau5]

Evangelion said:

Correction - my car DOES have power steering; I misread the info on the door plate.

Edited by Evangelion on Monday 22 June 18:02

Haha. Do you mean you couldn't tell by how hard it was to park?

[Evangelion]

deadmau5 said:

Evangelion said:

Correction - my car DOES have power steering; I misread the info on the door plate.

Edited by Evangelion on Monday 22 June 18:02

Haha. Do you mean you couldn't tell by how hard it was to park?

No, when I noticed it was easy to park, I just assumed it was because it's a small light car with rear wheel drive!

[deadmau5]

Evangelion said:

deadmau5 said:

Evangelion said:

Correction - my car DOES have power steering; I misread the info on the door plate.

Edited by Evangelion on Monday 22 June 18:02

Haha. Do you mean you couldn't tell by how hard it was to park?

No, when I noticed it was easy to park, I just assumed it was because it's a small light car with rear wheel drive!

Okay, I'll let you off!

[smiles1]

I'm 6ft 3 with more length in my legs than upper body. I took some of the stuffing out of the seat base and fitted a 310mm steering wheel and I fit perfect!

I always felt like I was sitting too high on the seat, with my eye line almost level to the sunvisor, by removing some of the seat padding I now sit 'in' the seat with a lower eye level. The smaller steering wheel means I can heel and toe easier, as my knee used to catch on the edge of the wheel before (old wheel was 360mm).

Mine is a mk1 by the way

[deadmau5]

Hmmm okay thanks. Can you tell that you've taken some padding out when you look at the seat? I will replace the wheel depending on which one it comes with. Not a big fan of the wooden ones to be honest.

[smiles1]

No you can't it looks no different at all. Although it does when you sit on it, a bit less padding for those long journeys!!!

[deadmau5]

Ok that sounds like a viable option then. Thanks

[MX-5 Lazza]

Swapping with Lotus Elise seats gives you a couple of inches extra headroom and a lot more legroom.

[deadmau5]

How much are they likely to cost? Assuming you've done it, are they comfortable over long distance? Would you need to tell the insurers?

[MX-5 Lazza]

deadmau5 said:

How much are they likely to cost? Assuming you've done it, are they comfortable over long distance? Would you need to tell the insurers?

I had my first pair of blue leather S1 seats (immaculate) for £100. My current pair of black half-leather S2 seats cost £350. The S1 seats have almost no padding so can't be described as comfortable. S2 seats are much better and I find I can happily do 200 mile trips without a problem. The later S2 Probax seats are even more comfortable but will usually set you back well over £500.
I told my insurance company about them but only because every year I send them a document detailing every mod there is on the car. The only mods they really care about are the engine performance mods, exhaust and alloys and the only thing that affects the insurance cost is the bhp figure, the mods themselves don't affect the insurance costs at all.