I didn't realize how little headroom we get in the rx8. I have trouble getting a good driving position with helmet on for autocross. Having a sunroof certainly doesn't help. Has anyone deleted the sunroof before to gain more headroom? I don't want to do things like seat swap as I want to stay in Stock class and it is my daily driver..

It's certainly not the first time I hate myself being tall..!

 

yeah the roof is a panel. You would have to replace the front windshield because they seem to break upon removal. Mazdatrix makes a carbon replacment roof you could paint. you could get a roof panel off a wrecked car too. Also you would need a non sunroof headliner bacause that is part of the height issue. Im not 100% on what height you would gain. I would guess ~2". Now If this was me I would sell the car and buy a non sunroof model because this does not sound cheap or fun also being its a DD you would have some time into doing it

Hope this helps

 

Open the sunroof while autocrossing and stick your head out of it. Problem solved.

 

That does sound like a pain to do...and I will probably have trouble selling the car if I want to I guess. I was hoping that maybe it can be an easy process. (remove sunroof frame and replace headliner, but I guess nothing will be supporting the glass then.) Oh well not sure what I can do...(I think I saw a 'thinner' helmet post, but my helmet is pretty thin already.)

Actually opening the sunroof doesn't really help. The sunroof is not wide enough, the tip of my helmet is right on the edge of the opening.

 

You can lower the seat

 

Get a lower racing seat.

 

have a couple vertabre removed, dont half-*** it

 

Get a Sport model. There's no need for surgery.

 

You can't delete your sunroof and stay in Stock class. You also can't have your sunroof open while running.

The best suggestion here is - get a lower racing seat.

 

are you absolutely certain you have the seat all the way down? there have been a few times in the past when someone thought it was but it wasnt.

 

There is a DIY to lower back of the seat:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-you-can-lower-power-seat-205255/

Some have also cut out some of the seat bottom foam to gain some headroom.

 

Yea I was just joking about that. In actuality that idea is very dumb. You would have to tilt your head and then it prob wouldn't even work. I personally have a sport so idk how big the sunroof is etc. And like mentioned above you can't have it open during. Which I actually didn't know. I assumed you could cuz I have a buddy with a s2000 that went with his top down

 

 

Your best bet is probably to sell your car and buy one with a sunroof. I'm 6'5" and I found the headroom in the non-sunroof cars to be pretty decent, I believe I'd fit with a helmet.

 

I thought you can't have racing seat for stock class?

 

I should have listened to my friend when he told me to buy a sport model...but I wanted leather and premium speakers so bad. Now I regret lol

It seems R3 is the one that has everything GT has but sunroof...maybe I should get that..lol I'm broke already.

I have played with all the seat adjustment. Maybe I will try cutting the foam a little, to an extend that the next buyer won't notice. It seems just half an inch will get me there.

Or I will go get the surgery. I will probably need to update my driver's license after that, and that's probably more pain then deleting the runroof...

 

wow I just measured my helmet and the helmet alone takes out about 2" of headroom. Maybe I really should look into a 'thinner' helmet. (there is a post about it I think.)

Also I'm 6 feet. It starts with the leg room, so I have to sit pretty far from the steering wheel. Now with the helmet I have to tilt the seat back even more. At this point I can barely touch the top of the steering wheel with my hands extended all the way.

 

I'm 6 foot too and I've found that it is possible to scoot the seat closer. It might not be comfortable for everyday driving but you might want to be fairly close to the pedals while racing anyways so you don't have to stretch your leg as far. Just takes a little time getting used to then you wont even notice the difference

 

I need to get used to driving with my knee touching the dashboard...actually I saw today that the piece my knee touches is removable. That plastic+metal piece is what prevents me from moving the seat forward. I don't know what that piece is for. I remember taking it off to get to the stereo bolt, so I might just take it off to get more 'knee' room.

 

It's also important when you're racing to not have your arms fully extended, you need to have your arms bent which necessitates a closer seating position. This allows you to use the more accurate finer motor skill muscles instead of your less precise shoulder muscles. When I sit in a sunroof equipped RX-8 with a helmet on I simply squeeze my body down a bit and have my head on the ceiling. Not idea, but it'll work.

 

Yes you can as long as you duplicate the factory non-sunroof model version of that production date/model year in its entirety as very specifically stated in Section 13 Stock Category section of the SCCA Solo rulebook, which means using an OE non-sunroof roof panel, headliner etc as well as any other related option changes ... it won't be inexpensive is all.

 

Just for the sake of it, being tall has some disadvantages on what kind of vehicles to drive and what is not comfortable when driving long distances and so forth. Driving the rx8 if your tall is an option, owning it...priceless.

 

lol totally agree. This is such a fun car to drive. It actually makes me happy everyday when I wake up to go to work, because I can drive the rx-8. :D

What I don't like more about being tall is that I used to get called by the teacher a lot in classroom, because I can't hide myself lol.

 

Being 6'4" and interested in joining the guys for autocrossing I ran into the same problem. Since you have a GT I can tell you that the power seat stop can be moved lower and give you about 3/4" if I remember right, the manual seat doesn't have this option for lowering. I did look into race seats and the only gain to be made is in the bucket of the seat; however, being 6'4" my hips were too wide for the deeper seat. Removing seat foam I believe falls under the removal of weight rules and bumps you to a non-stock class...and I don't think you're going to gain as much as you think. The best option I can offer up is...co-driving a Sport.

 

Would it then be feasible for a US-spec 2004 GT to be set up as the Canadian-spec 2004 GT where the sunroof was apparently a deletable option, or would someone have to go ahead and set the car up as a Sport?