I've been contemplating the purchase of an RX8 after renting an automatic with GT package (sunroof and elect seats) while on a recent trip. I'm only 5'7" but I found it uncomfortable with my hair rubbing against the roof.

So Ive been pricing the base RX8 with the sport package and of course no sunroof. But,,just today I thought,,well, maybe the electric seats can't get as low as the cloth ones. I called my guy at the local dealer about it and he went and sat in two cars each with sunroof, but one cloth and one electric seats. He told me there was a definite difference in how close his head was from the roof with the cloth seats.

So I thought,,yeah! Can get the touring package that has sunroof,,but comes with cloth seats. Need some input here. Has anyone really checked this aspect out? Opinions? Perhaps the cloth just gives more and lets you sink into the seat more?

Thanks!

BillyC

 

It's been the subject of threads here before. The base & sport model give you more headroom because of the lack of sunroof. There have also been several tall drivers that say it's not much of an issue unless you are wearing a helmet for competetive events. You should go to the dealer and decide for yourself, everyones different.

 

there is no way at, 5-7 you should not have enough head room. my head room is a little close, but i'm 6-4. you just must have not adjusted the seat properly.

 

Exactly. I am 5'10 and i have no problem.

 

I wish that was the case, but I tried every way I could on the electric seats to get them down all the way, lowering the front then the rear, etc. Mind you my head wasnt touching, just my hair, but made it feel uncomfortable. Technically I guess there was probably 3/4 to an inch from the top of my head to the sunroof.

 

are you sure you didn't mean 6-7? unless you have an extreamly long torso or a hugo afro, i can't see how you would have a problem. i'm 9 inches taller than you, i have the leather/ power seats/ moonroof, and it's not a problem for me.
and i know that there are many 8 owners that are taller than me.
what is your current car?

 

I'll tell you what I'd do, I'd shave my head and go for the leather GT pkg.
I'm 5'7 and have leather and have no problems.

Good Luck on your decision.

 

Meanwhile I'm 5' 6.5" and in a leather seat my straight hair brushes against the sunroof. And I know I have my seat adjusted properly.
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Because of a troublesome disk in my lower back I need my seat-back to be very close to a right angle with the seat cushion. Consequently, at 5'10" (in the morning) I can not sit up straight in a RX8 with the celestialroof. Before buying my RX8 I measured the distance from the floor to the top of the front of the seat cushion and found it to be the same regardless of the seat adjustment mechanism (manual or electric) when both seats are in same fore/aft & up/down location. RX8 specs show a 1.5' loss in headroom with the celestialroof installed. Tilting the seat-back to the rear effectively increases headroom as can the fore/aft position of the seat as well as lowering the seat. To keep my back happy I opted for the basic interior. This is the only time I can think of that my back problems saved me money.

 

Hi biggd29,

My current car is a '88 Merkur XR4Ti, mono white with sunroof

 

are you don king? i had my 6-5 friend drive my eight the the other day and he he had a little more headroom than i did. it seems strage that he has almost a foot on you and is fine with head room. maybe it could be a tall guy thing, maybe we are used to leaning the seat back. and short guys maybe don't do that. perspective buyers that are looking at the 8 and are worried about size should lean the seat back.
i find it hard to beleive anyone that is well under 6-0 can't fit in an rx8, unless they are obese or have a health problem.

 

This is me (and my wife and my old bike, but that's another story). Maybe I should have clarified and said I have flat straight hair. I am average in build and proportions. It's annoying that my hair brushes against the roof when driving and impossible to drive wearing a helmet without moving farther back.

Proper driving position: seat adjusted so the knee has a slight bend when pedals are fully depressed. Seat back adjusted from that point so both wrists touch the top of the steering wheel with shoulders resting against seat back.

Most people recline the seat much farther than this. That may be more comfortable but it's not the proper way to drive.
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I'm 6' tall and my head rests just about an inch from the sunroof. Whenever I get out of the car, I have to fix my hair because it is always standing up in the back.

I have a friend who is 6' 3 or 4 and he got in to my car with my seat set for me and he had the exact same headroom.

Weird.

On the whole fat thing. The RX-8 is a very forgiving car when it comes to big people. I can fit my massive body behind the wheel with PLENTY of room to spare and people can still sit in the back seat. When my seatbelt latch broke, I was able to stretch the driver's side belt across myself AND the center tunnel and latch it on the passenger side.

 

lol

 

So long as you can reach all of the controls well enough to operate them, and can see all of the mirrors and over the dashboard/steering wheel, I'd say that whatever position is comfortable is the proper position for driving, since being comfortable in the seat is one less distraction from the road.



on-thread, I'm just a shade under 6'0", but have relatively short legs (sitting on a bench, I'd be eye-to-eye with someone 6'2"-6'4"), and manage to fit under the roof of a GT-8 with minimal rubbing of hair on the liner (although I have banged my head into the moonroof frame by getting optimistic on a speedbump or two). I can't imagine anyone 5'7" having headroom issues unless your posture is somewhere past "ramrod" and your hair is approaching Don King (unless maybe you have the seat height cranked all the way up, in which case the solution seems obvious)

 

I second biggd29, I'm 6'3 and no problems with messing up my hair with the seat properly adjusted; I have motorized driver's seat and moonroof

 

you under 6' guys who's hair is brushing the moonroof- you know that the seat is height adjusatable right? on the cloth one handle is pumped up or down depending on which way you want to go. thread starter- for this reason you cannnot believe what the salesman told you. you have no idea where the heighth adjustment was set at when he was in the car. you need to go sit in it yourself and see if you can get the seat where you are comfortable.

 

yeah, i've fit in a couple sunroof equipped RX-8's, and i'm 6'3".

 

Well, I went down and sat in both leather and fabric both with sunroof and there was no difference with respect to headroom.

Also yesterday I went ahead and leased a base titanium gray that my dealer had just gotten in,,(with no sunroof with plenty of headroom $500 out the door, $322/mo (includes tax), 24 month lease.

Cheers,

BillyC

 

good for you - i am 6'4 and fit in the 8 just fine, don't know what y'all are doing with your hair - are your from jersey, azben?

 

I'm 6' and have leather... no head room problems. The chair can move up and down in the rear area (butt) and the front area (legs). Even with the chair at a 90 degree angle, my head still has room - but barely. If you're shorter than me, there is no way you should have problems.

 

I think it has more to do with your torso length than overall height. I'm 6'2" with a long torso and have the leather/sunroof package. How do I know I have a long torso? I have a hell of a time finding shirts that will stay tucked in. I need the seat layed back or the top of my head rubs the roof. And when I have my helmet on for auto-x, I feel a oneness with the car that I have never felt before!

 

Therein lies the rub. The recommended seating position I described is meant to allow the optimum operation position for high-speed maneuvering. The arm reach in particular to give yourself enough space to quickly (and easily) turn the steering wheel. If the seat back is reclined to the point where you have very little bend in the elbows when normally grasping the steering wheel, you don't have enough reach to quickly turn the steering wheel. On the converse side if you have too much elbow bend then your arms get in the way trying to turn the wheel quickly.

I know about the seat height adjustments (both of them) and have problems with both in their lowest settings. One thing to keep in mind is the roof is not flat. The farther back the seat is the more headroom you have. So I can easily see a taller person sitting farther back having more headroom than I do.
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Yes, a taller person has longer arms and can sit farther back. I'm 5-8.5 and have short legs, IIRC 29 inseam, and have OK clearance under normal conditions. But I race my car, and with a helmat on, I must move the seat back more than I would like to. And yes I have the seat fully lowered. Sometimes I think about replacing the stock mounts and lowering the seat, plus getting wider seats. It's OK in the butt, but I link to sit with my legs opened a little. They should have designed the seat with a taper. OK width in back but open the front more so my left thigh doesn't hit the bolster. Kind of a v shape please.

 

At six feet tall, I am equally proportioned above and below the waist - 3ft up and 3ft down. I have my seat adjusted as low as it can go and I still rub the roof.