Helmets in starions

[WidebodyWoody]

Just a random question.

My old helmet wasn't quite as thick as my new one that my wife bought me. I used to have to tilt my head to the side where the sun roof is but now its just too uncomfortable. I have to recline my chair quite a bit to fit my head in. Anyone else had this problem? Or am I just that tall? :beer

[Schultz]

G'day WidebodyWoody,

I had a similar problem with my Starion when I fitted after-market seats in it. I had to bend my head at an angle so I could sit in it and that was without a helmet. I was using commodore seat-rails that I modified and I got the seats as low as they would go, about 4 cm lower then the Starion seats but the thickness of the after-market seats for my ass was a lot thicker then the standard seats.

My solution was that I went back to the standard seats and I cut out the whole electric sunroof setup that was in my car (could not get a couple of parts that I needed to make it work) which gave me another 5 cm of space. Feels like lots of space inside the car now.

Also I want to try fitting my after-market seats again when I have time just to see if I have enough room now to sit in them comfortably.

[Alspos]

I think I'll have to line the top of my helmet with felt to stop it rubbing thru the roof lining....or drive lebo style.

[panda]

I had a similar issue. In my Rally car I have cut out a large section of floor under the drivers seat & fabricated a whole new floor section that allows for my Velo race seats to sit another 50mm lower on custom seat rails. Also I had to lower the steering colomn another 20mm to improve my forward vision due to sitting so much lower. Even with all this, my helmet only just clears the roll cage, & I'm not a big person, but I do sit quite upright which doesn't help the situation.
Also the modified floor section needed the exhaust slightly rerouted to prevent overheating the floor.
I'm thinking these cars for designed for oriental drivers. Lol

[enthuzed]

I'm about 5'7"/5'8" with standard seats. One car has a cage, one doesnt. Even I have a similar problem with my headroom with a helmet in either car. The rollbar padding in one car has me virtually rubbing the helmet on the bar on my right, but as I'm short in the arms the visors run close too. Moreso in the one without the cage.

When I'm racing I tend to sit just a bit more upright too...but when the flag drops I hardly notice any of these issues!

Even I'm thinking of dropping the seats a little.

[Komeuppance]

Hmmm... Japanese drivers fit pretty well, check out Nakaya at 1:56

http://youtu.be/WgMMh7AjMrA?t=1m56s

-Robert

[thrash]

Their seating position is not totally upright like panda and enthused say they sit..

Looks like Kunimitsu san wasn't too fond of the gearbox, no?

[Lunacy]

Yeah i had the floorpan cut out and a new one fabricated to mount my racetech seats as there was no way i was going to fit with a helmet on

[WidebodyWoody]

Also looks like he is tilting his head forward in that car as well :)

[Komeuppance]

He's tilting his head to counteract all the g-forces lol.

Right when he floors it, he adjusts himself in the seat and you can see how much headroom he has.

-Robert

[starionc]

I cut the side of the floor out next to the exhaust, put in a straight sheet with a 90 deg bend, then welded new lower floor mounts. and custom seat brackets. I've got Velo GP90's and they are fixed. Got room for my helmet now and no padding on the roll cage.
I would guess that I'm sitting about 80 to 100mm lower than a standard seat!
The exhaust was still factory, but has since been changed to a 2.5 inch mandrel bent system.