Whats your driving position?

[RacerX]

Just curious...
How far back do you have your seat and how tall of you (and or inseem length)?

I'm 5'10, 34 inseam, and I have my seat all the way back, no recline. Seat is mid-height. Steering wheel is pushed all the way forward (towards hood) and at mid-height.

I just prefer the laid-back position. It felt like a bit of a stretch to floor the clutch when I was new to the car, but I find it preferable for better clutch control. More of the motion is done by my ankle rather than knee.

[giorgi0424]

I"m 6'4, mostly legs, but not disproportionate really. I wear 34 length jeans. Anyways, I have my seat all the way back, with no recline to the back, and seat all the way lowered. Also, my steering wheel is all the way towards me ,and almost all the way up so I can get proper hand/knee clearance when sliding my car around. I have the optimal setup for me for performance driving. It's how I always set up my cars. I don't do the "look at how gangsta I am" setups in my cars. driving like that is a joke.

[BRZ?]

Wheel down and maxed out towards driver has always worked for me

[wheelhaus]

height- 6'1, average/slightly muscular build, 230lbs
Wheel all the way up, all the way back (toward driver).
Front edge of seat right above front edge of seat bracket on floor (halfway back on rails?)
Seat reclined about 30-40%, can't remember exactly, feels just a bit upright.
Wrists will touch the top of the wheel without moving shoulder forward. Hands typically at 9 & 3 with comfortable bend at the elbows. Because racecar.

[giorgi0424]

Originally Posted by wheelhaus

height- 6'1, average/slightly muscular build, 230lbs
Wheel all the way up, all the way back (toward driver).
Front edge of seat right above front edge of seat bracket on floor (halfway back on rails?)
Seat reclined about 30-40%, can't remember exactly, feels just a bit upright.
Wrists will touch the top of the wheel without moving shoulder forward. Hands typically at 9 & 3 with comfortable bend at the elbows. Because racecar.

i like this^

[Weasel Soup]

I'm 6'1" with a 32" inseam, long torso. I've not measured my position, except for seat cushion lowered all the way. I do daily with the seat slid about 3 notches further back than when competing (autox/rallyx). The race seating position is with the wrists touching the top of the wheel with shoulders all the way back.

[aristo]

[gramicci101]

I'm 6'5". The seat is all the way back and all the way down. The wheel is all the way out and all the way up. The seat is tilted back a little so my head will clear the roof. I can feel the ridge in the roof liner with the back of my head if I stretch a little bit.

[hmong337]

I was given the advice by a professional driver that your leg should still be with a slight bent when the clutch is fully depressed and the bottom of your wrist should be able to sit on top of the steering wheel without having to reach. That's race mode haha.

Cruising around and going to work... ^that but with the seat reclined a bunch of clicks.

5'9 here.

[Cope52]

6' 2". 32" pant leg. Long of torso. Seat jammed into the rear bench. Telescopic wheel barely comes out far enough. Head is within an inch of the headliner. I can press the gas all the way to the firewall with my heel. Size 12EEE shoe.

I'm just thankful I fit in this thing. I can't fit in any Miata but just fine in the old MR2 Spyder, which was lighter. Most sporting cars have so little headroom the designers should be horsewhipped.

[krayzie]

Goto 3:05 of this video, it will show you what is the proper driving position:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHd9GdTVfnI"]DC2 セーフティドライビング 1/4 1996 - YouTube[/ame]


I've seen an English voice over version / subbed version of this video (can't quite remember which), but I can't find it on YouTube readily. This promotional video was played at the Honda dealership with the launch of the original DC2R.

[Ubersuber]

It all starts with the brake pedal. For safety on the street (and track driving isn't really different in this respect) you need to be able to apply maximum possible force to the brake pedal which means at fully depressed brake pedal (on the floor in the event of severe brake fade) your knee should still be bent. Do not rely on your ankle for brake line pressure. If you drive a competition car with lower or no brake servo assistance you'll realize how important this can be.

This one aspect determines where your seat should be fore and aft. Then select a comfortable rake for the seat back. Then the steering wheel can be adjusted to your limb lengths. My preference in the BRZ is a more upright seatback (I find the laid back position I favour in other cars to be uncomfortable in the BRZ with its low seating position to begin with) and I adjust the steering wheel reach accordingly, most of the way back towards me and quite high to allow clear view of the instruments. My leg is 31(inseam) and my arm/shoulder is 33.5 (shirt sleeve length) and I am almost 6 ft tall so tall in the torso. In most cars I have to rake the seat to get under the roof but not so the BRZ which has lots of headroom (though a helmet tightens that up).

Everything else is pretty much optional although using your ankle to actuate the clutch is probably not ideal, your personal experience may differ. On almost all cars, though, the brake pedal height is the same as the clutch pedal height and so is the pedal travel.

For proper leverage on the steering wheel assuming proper power assisted steering requires that you be able to comfortably turn the wheel through 180 degrees without moving your hands or lifting your shoulders from the seat back.

There are two generally accepted steering methods: overarm and shuffle but the arm position is the same, even shuffle steerers (more common in the old days) should make the last wheel movement through up to 270 degrees if necessary without moving your hands.

Hand position on the wheel is subject to at least three commonly used variations all of which are safe and effective: standard 10 and 2 (hands at these clock positions) the preferred 9 and 3 (better for large and smoothly controlled wheel movements that give driving testers coniptions) and the Italian 8 and 4 useful for older Italian cars (and you wonder why those Ferrari steering wheels slope away from the driver so far, not for reading the newspaper). I prefer 9 and 3 for most cars and 8 and 4 for Italian cars. I prefer the shuffle technique if much more than 180 degrees of steering wheel movement is expected. With the BRZ I hardly ever have to move my hands on the wheel from 9 and 3.

Bear in mind that of the three generally used hand positions only the Italian grip requires the shuffle technique as you can rarely reach the top of the wheel and keep your shoulders touching your seat unless you have long arms and short legs....

It all begins with correct seat position for operating the brake pedal in extreme emergency. Everything else is mainly a matter of personal taste and comfort as long as you remain firmly seated at all times. The steering wheel and pedals are not stability aids.

[chrisl]

I try to set up any car pretty much as described in this video:

[ame]http://youtu.be/72qpgA7Cr_4[/ame]

[kberkel]

Originally Posted by hmong337

I was given the advice by a professional driver that your leg should still be with a slight bent when the clutch is fully depressed and the bottom of your wrist should be able to sit on top of the steering wheel without having to reach. That's race mode haha.

Cruising around and going to work... ^that but with the seat reclined a bunch of clicks.

5'9 here.

Sounds just about the same as how Chris Harris puts it..

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LpPc8qutCA"]How To Drift, BMW M235i - /Chris Harris On Cars - YouTube[/ame]

watch @ 1:30

I'm 5'4.. so my seat is about 1/2 way "jacket up".. I can't see the hood if the seat is all the way down, and it's not confidence inspiring.

My seat is about 3/4 forward. And my steering wheel is probably about 1/2 way towards me. I used to keep it low, but now like it higher, based on the comments Chris Harris says

One thing that sucks about being short and sitting this far forward.. is the cup holders :o