Swap the metal extentions at the front of the seat rails to the back.

Should give the seat more forward adjustment, but you don't lose too much rearward travel.

Bye, Arno.

 

Also, try the modifying the clutch pedal travel (see sig). If she's used to flooring the clutch, that'll help for at least one or two notches on the seat rails.

 

Agreed, this is a good mod.

 

The clutch pedal thing isn't probably going to get the job done. She can get used to not hitting the floor to shift, but she can't get the clutch pedal far enough in to shift without scooching her butt forward which then drops her line of sight down below the dash line.

This is a problem with almost every sports car she's ever driven, and there has always been an easy solution. The Lotus all aluminum pan is a little more challenging than the past...

Swapping that extension to the rear sounds perfect, though. I had not torn it apart to see that it was a separate piece from the rails. That should do the trick great. We may still need to elevate the rear rail a bit as well, but can't do too much or I'll get that pinball feeling with my helmet on.

She's worth some seat modifications, but hey, let's not go too far, right???

 

Height is not the necessary dimension for reaching/depressing pedals. What is her inseam? Mine is 26" and I find that 1 click back from all the way forward works. If the seat needs to get closer, then look into the HNT pads from Sector 111.

For autocross, I raised the seat 3/4" at all 4 corners using steel box pipe from Home Depot to better see cones over the front fenders. Sandsmuseum has a detailed instructions.

PS. there is a thread discussing this from 2005; search deeper.

 

Her inseam is 24 to the end of her pant leg, or 26 to the floor. I like taking that measurement. :clap:

I'll take a look for that thread from 05 and see if it lends any more info.

 

.

 

I wanted my passenger seat moved forward 3/4". Tesprit machined inserts for me which fit in the seat rail, maintain the seat height and required no drilling. Photos are here: http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=791323&postcount=14

 

I would seriously consider getting her pedal extensions, rather than making major modifications to the seat

 

I thought of pedal extensions as well. Still a possibility, but we don't want to do anything that makes it too tough to switch between drivers. Swapping drivers in an autocross grid can be quick. Trying to remove and put back pedal extensions that are affixed securely sounds tricky.

Not ruling out anything at this point, just collecting as many good ideas as I can and then gonna just have to start trying things.

I'm still leaning toward the extension piece swap to get a little more forward. then for better support everywhere else, I'm starting to think the best solution is to have a custom shop make up a seat insert. Fit to the seat on the back side and fit to her torso on the top. Kinda like a great big custom shoe insole.

I really appreciate all the great advice. I don't like doing things twice. Having a bunch of Lotus people tell me what's already been done is huge for us. Thanks!!!

 

My dad is short and run the car at the track often. He also has rather short legs and uses a thick high density foam pads cut the width of the seat. Its about 1" thick. That might be enough for her.

edit: just snapped a couple pics for ya

 

I swapped the extension pieces front to rear last night. Minor, if any, improvement. I'm pretty sure the next step is to make a seat insert that will elevate, move forward, and also get a little thicker as it comes up the back to reduce a bit of the seats recline.

She's always a challenge to get fitted. Just try finding clothes in a store that don't fit like a tent. But she's worth it.

 

i have the same problem and was considering going this route:
http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productselection.asp?Product=4525

but in the interim, i'm going to get one of those medical foam wedges and put it behind my back to get me a bit more forward and foam under me to raise me off the seat.

even with my seat all the way forward, i feel like i want to be closer to the steering wheel and there is about 4-5 inches of headroom that i'd like to use to get me to see better over the dash.

 

That's probably an awesome solution for the driver who will leave it in the majority of the time. Considering how we have to contort to get in and out of the driver's side, I suspect that would be pretty tough to swap in and out between drivers.

I'm stopping by a custom shop that I've used in the past today to see if they can make a seat insert that lifts and pushes in all the right places and yet folds at the bend so we can slide it behind the seats for storage.

BTW, changing the extension pieces from front to back was worse for her. The seat rails moved forward, but at the expense of the ability of the seat to use the farthest forward click in position. Without the extension in place, the rail can't slide up without hitting the head of the rail mounting bolt. It would act like it was clicked in that spot, but then when she would start to drive, the seat would clunk back a notch and lock in there. That kinda "disappointed" her. I swapped it back the way it was last night, and she was much more comfortable.

 

I am 4'10", 86 lbs with 26" inseam, fwiw. The Elise is not made for petite drivers! I put Sector111 HNT pads on both the clutch and the brake, raised the seat 1" with aluminum square pipe per the Sandsmuseum web site, re-padded the seat with Kemmler Air2Gel foam, and added a little extra foam for good measure.

In addition to all of this, I made a little booster seat out of a memory foam pillow for the seat, and regular 1" foam for the back. We made a cover out of black faux suede, so it doesn't look too hideous. The booster seat plus all of the above mods gives me a really good driving position. An added bonus is the memory foam is very comfy to sit on... good for long road trips to the track.

 

try one of these!

 

I just delivered the passenger seat to my custom shop. They are making a seat insert that fits into the seat. We're doing 4" of foam below her, and 3" behind her. That pretty much puts her eyes exactly where mine are when driving.

They are covering it in a fabric close to the seats, and making it so it clips into a couple places for stability.

She looks like a kid on a booster seat on all that foam, but it'll do the job. Gotta be able to see the cones to avoid them...

I'll take pics when it's done and post them.