I finally found seats for big and tall people!

[arkanist]

Me - 6'3", 220lbs, 38" waist
Seats - Sparco Evo 2 (look for evo 3 if you can if you have a larger waist)
Mounting - Planted brackets and side mounts

Since I bought this car I always planned for it to be a weekend warrior at the track and drift events. Unfortunately at 6'3" my head basically sat on the headliner making it impossible to clear a helmet without some contortion practice. I scoured the forums hoping to find a known setup for someone big and tall but the information is very scattered and didn't inspire a ton of confidence.

Fast forward to last week. I went over to 425 Motorsports in Kirkland, WA and was able to sit in 20+ different seats. Having a 38" waist ruled out a lot of options but I found that I fit perfectly in a Sparco Evo 2 QRT. The harness holes were actually above my shoulder (if you are tall and have sat in bucket seats before you know this is not the norm)and the bolsters hugged me but weren't too tight. If you are larger than a 38" waist you will probably want to look for an Evo 3, I hear they fit up to 40" comfortably. Also, the salesman told me that the bolsters do tend to break in a little, so if it is tight it might loosen up!

I paired the Evo 2 with the Planted Seat brackets and side mounts (no sliders when you are this tall). The brackets was welded fantastically and went in without issue. I did have to drill an extra hole in order to get seated as far back as I wanted (which the salesman warned me I would have to).

All said and done I believe I gained around 3" of head room and can easily clear a helmet now.

Picture Time!

Both seats out of the car on their respective rails / mounts / sliders:


Me showing head room with stock seats. Tried to push my hair down to show the actual space. You could shove a finger or maybe two up there but it would be a bit tight (lol):


Me showing head space after the install - for best height comparison look at the white spots on the headliner near my hand:


TLDR: 6'3 / 38" waist couldnt clear helmet. Installed Planted brackets / side mounts and a Sparco Evo 2. Can now easily clear a helmet.

EDIT:

I am running stock seat belts, this is not considered safe with a fixed back seat. If you are changing out seats or any other safety systems do your research and know the risks you are taking!

[arkanist]

@Ultramaroon

[i8ur911]

Awesome info here for "big" guys! Excellent post.

What are you doing for belts?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[arkanist]

Originally Posted by i8ur911

Awesome info here for "big" guys! Excellent post.

What are you doing for belts?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Kept everything else stock for the time being. The planted rails come with a spot to reattach the stock seatbelt.

[i8ur911]

Originally Posted by arkanist

Kept everything else stock for the time being. The planted rails come with a spot to reattach the stock seatbelt.

Do you have to run the seatbelt through the side holes of the Sparco? I'm thinking that's the only way that the seat belt can "function properly" in the event of an accident.

[RayRay88]

Originally Posted by i8ur911

Do you have to run the seatbelt through the side holes of the Sparco? I'm thinking that's the only way that the seat belt can "function properly" in the event of an accident.

In the event of an accident, only a proper harness/harness bar will save you. Fixed back seats SHOULD NOT be used with out a harness/harness bar. The stock seat belt will barely do anything.

[i8ur911]

Originally Posted by RayRay88

In the event of an accident, only a proper harness/harness bar will save you. Fixed back seats SHOULD NOT be used with out a harness/harness bar. The stock seat belt will barely do anything.

I wouldn't say that stock belts will "barely do anything". The pre-tensioners and force limiters will still operate as designed. The difference is how they both work in conjunction with the stock seat.

The fact that you mention a harness bar scares me. I would NEVER recommend a harness bar. The ONLY time harnesses should be used is with proper fixed back seats and a roll bar....or proper roll cage. The last thing you want is to be strapped in to a fixed back seat in a rollover. Harness bar FAIL.

[e1_griego]

Did you get the seat centered on the wheel?

I tried to put an Evo2 in my car a couple years back with the PCI bracket and I couldn't get the seat moved far enough to the right, though it could be the design of the older Evo2 that was the problem vs, the new one.

[arkanist]

Originally Posted by e1_griego

Did you get the seat centered on the wheel?

I tried to put an Evo2 in my car a couple years back with the PCI bracket and I couldn't get the seat moved far enough to the right, though it could be the design of the older Evo2 that was the problem vs, the new one.

Looks like it might be a little off center but honestly I hadn't noticed until you asked lol

[i8ur911]

Originally Posted by e1_griego

Did you get the seat centered on the wheel?

I tried to put an Evo2 in my car a couple years back with the PCI bracket and I couldn't get the seat moved far enough to the right, though it could be the design of the older Evo2 that was the problem vs, the new one.

That shouldn't be because of the seat, but more because of the side mounts and/or floor adapters that you were using.

[arkanist]

Originally Posted by i8ur911

Do you have to run the seatbelt through the side holes of the Sparco? I'm thinking that's the only way that the seat belt can "function properly" in the event of an accident.

Daily driving I will be adding a small cushion to bring my lap a bit above the bolsters which should hopefully get the belt to sit across my waist better. the side holes won't work largely because the seat belt clip come up to the side of the bolster, so the belt really has to go over the seat.

As others have mentioned it is definitely less safe than running stock seats and is best paired with a cage, harness, etc..

[churchx]

using bucket seats in car w/o cage, multipoint harness and helmet is less safe for other reasons, then ease of routing stock seatbelt.

It has to do with possibility to split skull on cage bars if without helmet (which might be non street legal due limiting visibility and simply uncomfortable), on possibility of extra injuries in rollover due inflexible & rigid construction of bucket seats if roof folds in on car without cage and one is secured in that inflexible seat, possibility to submarine (stock) seatbelt, without proper multipoint harness, possibility of neck injuries if without helmet/hans device and only stock airbags, airbags which probably cannot be well relied upon, because their proper function depends on specific deployment distance, which will be different, when one is secured in bucket seat in multipoint harness and not allowed to move by inertia to be at specific place during airbag deployment as they are designed for.
That's the reasoning why stock safety systems vs sport safety systems work only as a whole and why in many cases different combinations of mixed parts from those are not street legal and often also not track legal, where people actually care and do inspect cars to allow participation, be it daily driving on public roads or sport events.

In your case, i'd rather get 5cm steering wheel offset by 949, to allow leaning back of seat further for more head room. Also cut seat cushioning for that. Or mod seat base for extra headroom. IIRC dd performance offered something like that for stock ones.

[arkanist]

Originally Posted by churchx

using bucket seats in car w/o cage, multipoint harness and helmet is less safe for other reasons, then ease of routing stock seatbelt.

It has to do with possibility to split skull on cage bars if without helmet (which might be non street legal due limiting visibility and simply uncomfortable), on possibility of extra injuries in rollover due inflexible & rigid construction of bucket seats if roof folds in on car without cage and one is secured in that inflexible seat, possibility to submarine (stock) seatbelt, without proper multipoint harness, possibility of neck injuries if without helmet/hans device and only stock airbags, airbags which probably cannot be well relied upon, because their proper function depends on specific deployment distance, which will be different, when one is secured in bucket seat in multipoint harness and not allowed to move by inertia to be at specific place during airbag deployment as they are designed for.
That's the reasoning why stock safety systems vs sport safety systems work only as a whole and why in many cases different combinations of mixed parts from those are not street legal and often also not track legal, where people actually care and do inspect cars to allow participation, be it daily driving on public roads or sport events.

In your case, i'd rather get 5cm steering wheel offset by 949, to allow leaning back of seat further for more head room. Also cut seat cushioning for that. Or mod seat base for extra headroom. IIRC dd performance offered something like that for stock ones.

With all due respect, I have exhausted my options for clearing a helmet. I am very aware of DD performance and their claims. I have been scouring these forums for 2 years for a solution to this problem. You clearly are not in the same boat as me if you think an extended steering wheel would help, if I leaned back enough to clear a helmet I would be staring at the headliner (I tested this over a year ago).

I should have put a disclaimer up as soon as the seatbelt question was asked. The point of this thread is simply for tall drivers to know there is a way to get a lot more head room.

[e1_griego]

Originally Posted by i8ur911

That shouldn't be because of the seat, but more because of the side mounts and/or floor adapters that you were using.

No, it's not. The PCI bracket has plenty of adjustability, it's just that a wide seat that flares out at the front hit the tunnel which is widening as it goes forward. Similar to putting a wider seat in a miata where you have to pound the trans tunnel.

OP, mine was about the same offset, and it was enough that my helmet was catching the roofline as it sloped down on the edge, at least when turning my head at autox.

I just double twist the seatbelt now to hold myself in place into the stock seat.

Really appreciate you posting pics, though. I might give this another whirl relatively soon.