aftermarket seats = more head room?

A couple questions for those of you that have put in some sort of racing buckets...

did the seats you used provide a lower seating surface and therefore more headroom?

or did the seats combined with homebrew brackets allow you to lower the seating surface?

If you have been able to create more headroom, I would like to know what seats you used, how much room you created, bracketry details, etc. I am 6'3" and really want to get some inches between my head and the roof. I am willing to sacrifice visibility for safety.

Thanks

Pat

Pat said:

A couple questions for those of you that have put in some sort of racing buckets...

did the seats you used provide a lower seating surface and therefore more headroom?

or did the seats combined with homebrew brackets allow you to lower the seating surface?

If you have been able to create more headroom, I would like to know what seats you used, how much room you created, bracketry details, etc. I am 6'3" and really want to get some inches between my head and the roof. I am willing to sacrifice visibility for safety.

Thanks



Pat

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well i just ordered a new digital camera if you can wait a week for it to get here i can get you pics of before and after of my 4 door xj with a drivers side stock seat, passengers is swapped in recaro LXF with no arm rests



i had a buddy zip me out one his laser at work some seat mount adapters made of 1/4" plate.

The reason there is no drivers seat at them moment is it was rubbing the trannytunnel and i needed to make some spacers.

This will give you an idea of the difference. The recaro is shallower, more bolstered and has a infinite dial recliner gear so you can really tweak it to the perfect recline position.

I am 6'4 240 lbs, i had this done because i wanted more LEG room i dont gansta lean recline the seat, but i dont have it straight up either, my knees really bash the steering colum even though i removed the bottom half the cover for more knee clearance.

If i was you i would modifty stock sliders and make a mounting plate that shifts the seat further back to get you more leg room, in combination with new lower profile seats you should have plenty of head room. By moving the seat back say 3 inches you functionally give your self more head room cause of the angle of the seat tilts back, so you move the axis of you arse position back 3 inches i figure i gained 3/4 more head room. Hope that makes sense.

Lastly i never REALLY needed more head room once sitting down, its the getting in part i have to duck to not bash my head on the roof, sure you know what i mean if your 6'3 unless 6'4 is the entry point for that problem lol.

If your gonna get race buckets with no recline like mastercraft



i think they market custom, maybe its universal sliders i would just chop the legs down or have some local shop make you some custom ones. But you can definately tweak the head room by choping the legs an inch in height, moving the arse positon back a few inches and maybe crank up the pitch of the seat a feg degrees i bet you can get two inches more head room.

My wifes car is a Subaru 2.5 RS. It has a pro package with the STI seats. BEST SEATS EVER!!! Go get some of those at a bone yard!

searched on the mounts heres what they sell

http://www.mastercraftseats.com/mounts.shtml






ps i would get the recline mastercraft seats so your not sitting up rigid back like some vicortian woman at church .... that would drive me crazy unless i was literally in a offroad race. Maybe you have your heart set on the old style ones.



http://www.mastercraftseats.com/prod-bajars-504010.4.shtml


what ever you do please post results and take lots of measurements for my future reference in future xj's.:clap:

CSaddict said:

My wifes car is a Subaru 2.5 RS. It has a pro package with the STI seats. BEST SEATS EVER!!! Go get some of those at a bone yard!

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Did you read his size???

I am 6'4ish maybe 6'5 an 280, not very much in the middle, more just heavy weights gotten a bit older. When I sat in the STI it was horrible, same with the Evo. I got in a SRT4 and much more friendly, even with the race style seats. Just more broad in the butt and shoulder areas. But after about 3 months they were just uncomfortable and even starting to wear badly in the areas that didnt fit very well.

If your man sized dont go for any OE seats that are race inspired, you will regreat it.

Oh and to his Question. I asked this same thing about a yr ago and no one really answered it. So just today I went to Kragen and for 250 bought a set of thier reclining race seats that fit me pretty darn well. Since I am cutting the top and sides off the rig I will just make them fit now with no size limit, but I wish someone would have had experience with this back then.

motorcityxj said:

...sitting up rigid back like some vicortian woman at church .... that would drive me crazy unless i was literally in a offroad race.

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LOL

My Corbeaus came out the same as my factory seats!

thanks for the responses guys. let's see here...

i'd be interested in seeing any comparisons, though i won't be shelling out recaro cash for these seats. these don't have to be fancy, just functional and somewhat comfortable.

i don't think i want to move the seats any further back...they are already just before my b hoop and i will be adding some sort of X to that for strength and harness tie-ins. these supports will likely be straight since i have no bender. this also elminates the possibility of reclining seats.

i have never seen anything close to an STI caliber of car in a bone yard...they are nice looking seats though.

those mastercraft brackets actually seem pretty reasonably priced...that may be an option. not sure about their seats though ($).

the only way this "upgrade" will be worth it to me is if i can move my skull away from the roof. i would think i could do this with the super cheap plastic/steel seats with removable cushioned covers because there is so little cushion and substance. however, i'm a skinny SOB and i think these would get old after a couple of hours on the trails.

i know there are more people with aftermarket buckets....let me know what you have put in and how close you were able to get your arse to the floor.

thanks.

Pat

Pat said:

thanks for the responses guys. let's see here...

i'd be interested in seeing any comparisons, though i won't be shelling out recaro cash for these seats. these don't have to be fancy, just functional and somewhat comfortable.

i don't think i want to move the seats any further back...they are already just before my b hoop and i will be adding some sort of X to that for strength and harness tie-ins. these supports will likely be straight since i have no bender. this also elminates the possibility of reclining seats.

i have never seen anything close to an STI caliber of car in a bone yard...they are nice looking seats though.

those mastercraft brackets actually seem pretty reasonably priced...that may be an option. not sure about their seats though ($).

the only way this "upgrade" will be worth it to me is if i can move my skull away from the roof. i would think i could do this with the super cheap plastic/steel seats with removable cushioned covers because there is so little cushion and substance. however, i'm a skinny SOB and i think these would get old after a couple of hours on the trails.

i know there are more people with aftermarket buckets....let me know what you have put in and how close you were able to get your arse to the floor.

thanks.

Pat

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i got my recaro's (cloth not the leather pictured) for $225 total cash for THE BOTH OF THEM!!!. Got them barely used from a cop driving simulator. Good deal. I would never pay $775 for cloth seat, or $1200 for leather seats unless it was a tight arse resto rod. To pricey for an 11 year old XJ

kragen here in so cali has nice ricer type harness cut out seats for 250 pr! might wantto look in to that before the sale is over, then if you dont use them, just return em..

Just put in beard seats this past week, I'm also a lot shrter than you (5'10") and have cracked my noggin several times getting into the Jeep...sometimes you just never learn.

The seats are way more comfortable than stock.

Tom

yeah there are tons of cheapo ricer-type seats on ebay. they look pretty decent for the money.

i do like the beard seats. i know what you mean about hitting your head getting in, but i'm more concerned with the roof hitting my head in a roll.

anybody else able to create inches between your head and the roof?

Pat said:

yeah there are tons of cheapo ricer-type seats on ebay. they look pretty decent for the money.

i do like the beard seats. i know what you mean about hitting your head getting in, but i'm more concerned with the roof hitting my head in a roll.

anybody else able to create inches between your head and the roof?

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take out the headliner shoulf give you 2 " if the head room is your main concern, i think if you strap your self in with 4 point belt you should be fine in a roll over.

motorcityxj said:

take out the headliner shoulf give you 2 " if the head room is your main concern, i think if you strap your self in with 4 point belt you should be fine in a roll over.

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yeah if you have a cage....

4 points w/o a cage means your pinned up and down when you roll, and WHEN the roof crushes, so does your neck

i have a cage, but right now my head is about an inch from the roof. harnesses are in the plans.

if in a roll, something gives a little, or that section of roof hits a rock/stump/whatever, i could get knocked. i'm simply trying to reduce the chance of this happening. would also decrease chance of hitting my head on cage.

tealcherokee said:

yeah if you have a cage....

4 points w/o a cage means your pinned up and down when you roll, and WHEN the roof crushes, so does your neck

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true i meant banging your head in gentle rollover, not a roof failure, heck the roof could be 1 1/2 feet taller and if the pillars colapse your neck is still gonna be fawked. I think he mentioned early about bracing it up behind the b pillar

Can you say Spine Crusher? you probably should mount a bar at shoulder height for your shoulder belts.

RCP Phx said:

My Corbeaus came out the same as my factory seats!

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hippymill said:

Can you say Spine Crusher? you probably should mount a bar at shoulder height for your shoulder belts.

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I was thinking that too! I think a harness bar, just a couple inches lower than shoulder level is recommended. You take the strap over the bar, then down to the floor. The bar takes the force. Otherwise....you looking at a lot of force being transmitted through your spine:wave1:

hippymill said:

Can you say Spine Crusher? you probably should mount a bar at shoulder height for your shoulder belts.

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I have a cage in there,its just not in the pics!
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=901851