949 Racing 50mm Steering Spacer 86 - GR86

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Just go IRP...........or CAE Ultra if you got the coin to spend on such things.

https://www.hardmotorsport.com/cae-u...nd-scion-fr-s/

Those don't bring the lever back closer in plane with the wheel. It's a tall-guy, seat-way-back thing for sure.

[Capt Spaulding]

I guess my 37” sleeves match my 36” inseam. The steering spacer let’s me get the wheel exactly where I want it, but the shifter seems fine. My seats all the way back and reclined. Lol

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Those don't bring the lever back closer in plane with the wheel. It's a tall-guy, seat-way-back thing for sure.

Oh I get you now. That is for sure an issue someone my height can't understand without an explanation.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Capt Spaulding

I guess my 37” sleeves match my 36” inseam. The steering spacer let’s me get the wheel exactly where I want it, but the shifter seems fine. My seats all the way back and reclined. Lol

It's fine now but it can still be moar funnier. When I drop my hand it falls right on the buttons.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Oh I get you now. That is for sure an issue someone my height can't understand without an explanation.

Haha... we need to do that bit.

[GoKimiGo!]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I fantasize about some sort of linkage. That empty spot in the console looks like a nice place for a ball joint.

Yeah even just a few mil would be nice, like a curved back shift knob lol. Really it's just in and out of 5th that's a pita and in that gear we're on a straight anyway.

[949 Racing]

Little update:

Spacer works on GR86, wiring extension harness is perfect. Everything works.

[timurrrr]

Originally Posted by 949 Racing

Spacer works on GR86

Any changes to the geometry that would allow making a thinner spacer?

[949 Racing]

Originally Posted by timurrrr

Any changes to the geometry that would allow making a thinner spacer?

Not something we have worked on. No plans to, sorry.

Distances from dash to centerline of steering wheel:
80mm~120mm OEM adjustment range
135mm~175mm

So you can see that the only gain would be if you wanted less than 15mm more adjustment range than OEM. Most drivers than need a spacer want more than that.

[timurrrr]

Originally Posted by 949 Racing

So you can see that the only gain would be if you wanted less than 15mm more adjustment range than OEM. Most drivers than need a spacer want more than that.

We've discussed that on this thread already.
It's not about the range where the steering wheel can be placed, it's about where the turn signal stalk ends up.

As sitting in a friend's car demonstrated, I really don't need all 50mm the current spacer provides.
If I try to lean the seat back any further the back of my helmet hits the bump (reinforcement?) on the ceiling.

At the same time, my long fingers can't reach the OEM turn signal stalk.
I know some people put some metal "extensions" on the turn signal stalk, but sorry this too ghetto for me.

If the new gen hasn't changed the geometry of any parts in a way to allow you to make a thinner spacer, that's all I needed to hear.
If it does allow, but you don't want to make it, I'll consider a DIY route.

[949 Racing]

Sorry. Didn't mean to offend. It's just not a product option we are planning to do.

[churchx]

timurrrr: from my experience, looks are only ghetto bit about those extenders. Still using my car as daily drive with spacer and those extenders, and purely usability/ergonomics wise they do the job fine (they slightly impede ease of "ring-switches", but those are rarely used (light mode stays in 'auto', and need to switch on foglights with rings on left i used .. once a year? frequency of windshield wipers with ring on right stalk a bit more commonly used, but it really is not that hard).
People often go to some compromise with dual-use daily & track car .. but from my experiences apart from looks not much compromised ergonomics wise, so this particular "compromise" imho seems worth doing.
Another option (20mm instead of 50mm this spacer brings) would be getting some J-Luth/ATC Sport steering wheel that by itself is by 20mm offset closer in construction, but it's more expensive, with my (also long) fingers control stalks were a bit below comfortable reach too (i could still operate them, but they were by my feel a bit too distant, despite wheel itself being slightly smaller diameter, which also helped somewhat). These wheels are also very expensive, and worst of all - i didn't like shape of it's spokes connecting to wheel, which due high width made imho a bit uncomfortable/unergonomic grab. I don't want compromises in something i bought for sake of ergonomics, and stock wheel + 50mm spacer (and stalk extenders) is something i prefer to that j-luth wheel i had before.
Then again, if you were considering this spacer purely for more headroom .. hmm .. imho you should consider as moding target seat itself.

[Re_Invention]

As the beautiful leg that is pictured in the 949 post above, I can speak to the benefit of the wheel spacer.

Full disclosure; I'm a big fan of the product, this being my third steering wheel spacer (NC Miata, Audi S3, now BRZ). Compared to the other two; this has the closest reach to the turn signal and wiper stalks, in other words it's the most comfortable to date. I can make easy contact with both stocks with my fingers at full reach without having to remove my hand from the wheel. The NC Miata, for example, needed a full hand movement to engage the stalk. Felt like driving an old timey British roadster and was endearing but that's neither here nor there.

The new spacers are a matt black - I elected to take the old stock shiny black because I don't care much for the aesthetic, I figure let someone else enjoy the new style. I think the updated appearance will blend in with the rest of the interior plastic very well.

These are superb, quality pieces. Worth every penny, in my opinion.

As for fitment; ergonomics are a mixed bag for everyone. My most annoying complaint is at the track I had to sit very close to the wheel to feel comfortable with hand placement; that bunched up my knees into the dash and made it a painful experience. Now I can move the seat back multiple clicks on the track and that frees up my knees while still having a very comfortable hand/arm positioning on the wheel. Less discomfort = happier and (hopefully) faster lap times.

As far as headroom goes; it will not make an impact for helmet clearance. In fact, you could argue it would do the opposite; by pushing the seat back on the rail, you're getting closer back to the downward slope of the roof. But this part isn't designed to tackle that problem - it's one of several that make up ergonomic fit.

So the first, and in my opinion most annoying, issue is solved, my remaining issues are still helmet clearance, pedal placement, sight line out of the car and seat fastening. I previously ran a CG lock with the factory belt and have used the factory lock/slide method to get secure - didn't work well, in part because the seat was reclined too much and my shoulders were off the seatback.

Tonight I'm stretching the factory seat springs and will be installing a Schroth Rallye 3 ASM. Tomorrow evening I'll be hitting the kart track again. I'll report back in the tall driver thread about those changes. Still to come is the Cusco throttle extension plate and, if need be, cutting out a 'triple bubble' into the headliner for helmet clearance.

For the 949 wheel spacer, I 100% recommend it to anyone wanting to increase the knee area comfort. It isn't only just for at the track, I find it to be a much more comfortable place to be in all driving.

[turbofan]

For any who are wondering about fitment for Automatic-equipped cars:

We have received confirmation that by simply rerouting the wires through a more direct path through the steering wheel, the wiring for the paddle shifters works without lengthening.