Seating Issues, Need Help!
 

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum. I have a 2004 RX-8 that I am on the verge of selling because of a seating problem.

Let me explain, I have a RX-8, RX-7, 350Z, and Skyline. In all my other cars I fit perfectly with no problems, but the RX-8 I can't seem to get comfortable in at all.

I am a girl, 6 feet tall, have very long legs, grew up in sports and race cars. I know what is a great fit, my problem with the RX-8 is to accommedate my long legs I have to push the seat back and unlike any of the other cars I own it puts my arms at the fullest extent I can be from the steering. In my other cars with my legs comfortable, I still have some bend in my arms. In the RX-8 in order to have bend in my arms I have to move the seat up, which makes it impossible for me to get off the clutch correctly because there is no where for my leg to go in the amount of space. I like to sit low in a car, i have the seat as low as it will go, still feel like i am sitting up way to much for my liking. i recline it back to try and even out the length of my arms against my legs but that doesn't work well either. At this point I am selling my car this week.

I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. IS THERE AN EXTENTSION made for the steering so I could bring it closer to me? Does changing the seat to a racing bucket help at all with this problem? I am not afraid to put money into any of my cars, but if it isn't going to resolve the issue I would rather sell it and be done with it.

Thank you for any help you guys can offer.

maybe try something like this it will set your steering wheel closer and make it easier if you ever go with a solid bucket.
i am not sure it will work but you can check into it more
http://www.myhotrx8.com/4-Car-Option..._YBKBL/774392/

hmm, do you have your steering wheel moved all the way up? Where do you run out of space- does your knee rub on the bottom of the console?

Do you have cloth or leather seats?

Steering Position
 

I have the steering wheel all the way down. I always have my steering in that position because it always brings the wheel a bit closer to me. I have leather seats with the warmers in them. I have tried adjusting the lumbar support and every other settings on that darn seat but still I feel like I am driving the car from a wheel chair in order to reach the steering wheel. I am use to laying back more in a car to drive, I have only ever owned sports cars and this is the first one I have had this trouble with. If the car was like my skyline it would have the darn option to telescope the steering /sigh but it doesn't. What I can't figure out is if it is the seat itself or the steering. Maybe both, if i can get this straight then I will be putting a tein suspension on the car and doing all the tuning I want, but if I can't get this right, no reason for me to keep the car. It is a shame too, because I want to skirt it out and keep it. I like to collect cars, I just bought a 240Z that I am starting to restore I would like to resolve this problem quickly. >.< pulls hair out, got a 3 year warranty on the car too, so would like to keep it, not the nicest of my cars but I do think with skirts she will be very high on the scale.

I run out of room because when I pull off the clutch my knee hits the bottom of the console for one, and if I twist it to the side it becomes painful after a while. Plus it is a totally uncomfortable way of sitting. I don't like driving sitting straight up, I am not an old grandma that needs to be on top of the steering wheel to control my car.

a pic of you plz. lol

...And the leg humping begins.

Gonna need to see a pic of those legs.. hrrrmmm... to get a better visual of the problem. Trust me it will help.

Yep. It really will.

Hmm, ya maybe it's just not a fit for you. :-/ My inseam is 34" and I sit with the seat about 3/4 the way back, and am mostly comfortable.

I will say that I had a GT first with leather, etc. and I was always struggling with comfort- although mainly with headroom (I'm 6' 3") - now I have a base model with cloth seats (and no sunroof)- and I love them soooo much better. Granted you don't have the headroom issue, but I think it would be worth trying to sit in a base model before completely giving up on the rx-8 as a sports car. Also, if you are really into sports cars, you might enjoy the car more without having to deal with traction control and stability control getting in your way.

Still Debating
 

Thank you to the real men/women on this forum for giving their input. As for a pic of myself or my legs, I came to an RX-8 Forum because I have an RX-8 and was in search of answers not a date.

In all honesty do you think for a moment that I am even close to being single? Get your heads out of the gutter and back on your cars, after all anyone desperate enough to ask for a photo of something other than my cars wouldn't interest me at all.

With all that being said and in hopes of taming the little boys floating around on here, I am wondering if anyone has had any luck with putting on one of the extensions like this one :

http://www.yourhotcar.com/prod/4_Car...B-32BK/774388/

my main question is if you can keep the stock wheel ( with air bags functioning ) or do you have to change to an aftermarket.

I have no intention of racing this car and it is actually my daily driver. Therefore, keeping as much safety to the car is what I would like because I drive at least 3 hrs a day and often in very blizzard like conditions.

If anyone has played around with this let me know, I would really like to hear what is possible with this piece and not possible. Thank you and once again to the guys that don't get it on the first go around - NO you can't have a pic of me or my legs, got some useful info on cars cool would love to talk shop. Else chill and go dry hump your sofa or family dog.

Ok first get in the seat and slide it forward/backward to where you can place your left foot on the dead pedal where it is comfortable for you. Make sure you can rest your foot on it and there is a comfortable and relaxed feeling, kind of like you won't mind keeping your foot there for a 16 hr road trip.

So you should have adjusted the seat forward/backward at this point. From this position move your left foot off the dead pedal and try and depress the clutch fully, all we are looking for is if you can press the clutch to the floor, can you?

Ok if you can depress it fully, place your left foot back on the dead pedal and recline the seat back to a place where you are comfortable relaxing with your back in the seat. Now stretch your arms out straight forward in a relaxed manner with your shoulders still resting in the seatback. Can you touch the steering wheel? Proper driving position typically will have your wrists rest comfortably on the steering wheel at this point. If you can't touch the wheel, can you tell me what angle the seat back is at? Is is 90 degrees? greater than 90 degrees? What does it feel like if you incline the seat back to a position where you can rest your wrists on the wheel? Is the seat back at 90 at this point? is it less or greater than 90 degrees?

wow,

i have the opposite problem.. long torso and short legs..

i am 5 11 with a 30 inch inseam.. it works with some fiddling with the seat / wheel..

have the same issue with my mazdaspeed3. but do adapt.. as i am out of the 95 percentile.. i adapt...

both cars are great.. if you are choosing cars by fit you are missing the point of cars.

beers :beer:

Have you tried changing shoes?

Seriously, I'm 6'2 and have the leather and sunroof, so I'm constantly changing the seat slightly depending on my footwear or if I'm wearing a jacket (which isn't often, now).

I've owned an 87 and 90 RX-7 with sunroofs, one with leather and one with cloth, and yes there was slightly less head room in the leather, but the arm rest thing is a bit vexing for me. Sorry if this doesn't affect the steering wheel issue. I've never banged my knees or shins on the dash bottom in my normal driving position.

I do adjust the tilt depending on how much knee-driving I'm going to do, though!

Wow ... The issues we have in live ......

The car not fitting is a big deal. She's in it three hours a day...that's way too long to be uncomfortable. I went through an ordeal with the seat in my 8 for the first year or so, until I had my back surgically altered and I finally fit.

Ragabash - if you do try one of those spacers, can you come back here and let us know how big a deal it was to install?

Ken

I have a 07 6spd at, and I'm about 6'1" so I had to unbolt the dead pedal to stretch my left leg out so as not to cramp. I track it too, and I completely understand your frustration, since I have a long trunk, and can barely drive with my helmet. If the steering wheel could come out about 6 inches, it might fix the whole problem. I can get comfortable on long trip; just barely.

I'm about 6'2" with a 34" inseam and I find the driving position quite comfortable.

I do find a lot of people drive with their seat raked way too far back in some effort to feel more like they're laying down in some old-school sports car, or reclining on a barca lounger (I'm not saying this is you, but a *lot* of drivers do this). Proper driving position should allow you to rest your wrist along the top of the steering wheel with your arm stretched out and your shoulders pinned against the seat back, which will allow a normal bend when your hands are in the 3 and 9 positions and provide proper leverage in controlling the steering wheel. The seat back should be up more vertically than you may be used to, but it does provide better control.

Most women tend to be shorter than men and a proper driving position can often put them too close to the steering wheel and dangerously close to the air bag, but you're tall and this should not be a problem.

im 5-10 ... 245 lbs no issues

I have the same problems, but I find a place where my arms are comfortable and keep a slight bend in my knees. I usually rest my left knee up against the door and the right against the center console (although I can see how this position would not be appealing to women). It does take some time to get use to, but I actually find the 8 to be a better fit for longer legs than most cars because of how far the dash comes out.
















ps. nice way to deal with leg humpers

I am 6' 1", male, with a 2004 RX-8, leather heated seats, auto, I dont seem to have any problems with arm distance to steering or gas pedal problems.
It is nice having the auto as next to the brake pedal there is enough room to slide my left leg all the way out. Very rare in a car to be able to stretch all the way out.

Pics or it didnt happen

Nice range of cars! Any pics of them together?