Pooh_R Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 My Mrs wife would like to be more comfortable in the drivers seat of the 7. We have a '96 S3 chassis and leather seats, zetec with 5spd type 9 box. With the seats fully forward, we can just about adjust the pedals sufficiently so that she can reach them (although not very comfortably). The problem is she can't reach the gear lever without over stretching. She is only 5'1" (155cm) tall. In addition, she has short arms for her size. Where she has to over stretch to reach the gear lever, she bangs her arm on the handbrake as she changes gear which she finds uncomfortable. I would appreciate any suggestions of what we can do to make her driving experience more satisfactory. e.g. any means of moving the gear lever closer, pedal extensions ,different seats? Many thanks Pooh and Polly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Does your car have the three sets of mountings for the pedals ? Are they already in the hole closest to the rear of the car ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myothercarsa2cv Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 How about.... A cushion behind her back to push her forward? A fave trick of the CDX guys. John _________________________ Bugsy: '82 2cv6 (Back on the road!!! 😬) Talloulah: '08 1.6K Classic (Grubby ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 (John ..... this is a car forum ... 😳) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normans_Ghost Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Do what I did with HM - stretch her! Didn't work, so she still can't drive the car Norman Verona, 1989 BDR 220bhp, Reg: B16BDR, Mem No 2166, the full story here You and your seven toThe French Blatting Company Limited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham King Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 My wife is a similar size and we had similar problems. The only answer of sorts that I found worked was; Out of an old sofa cushion I cut a piece of foam to fit in the backrest of the leather seats. This moved her forward enough, with the seat forward as well, so that she could reach the pedals comfortably. I did try moving the pedals forward but as I am 6 foot this moved them too far forward (and upward) for me and they are too difficult to change every time. The only slight problem all this gave was that she was really a bit too close to the gear lever for comfortable changes but if your wife has short arms then this may not be such an issue for you. However now I have tillets and an aero she won't even get in it let alone drive it so it's not really an issue for me anymore. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooh_R Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Stretch her... hmmm... theres an idea. Polly doesn't use her frying pan as Lynne does, but I would be in trouble if I tried 😬 Thanks for the othersuggestions. SM25T, the Pedals are on their closest positions, so no further adjustment available there. Getting closer to the gear lever is good and is the primary issue at present, so in that respect, pushing her forwards in the seat will help. One issue with padding out the back of her seat is that she will then get closer to the steering wheel which is likely to restrict her steering control. This is probably the compromise we will have to live with. What do you people think about the idea of packing the seat runners up so that they can be moved forwards a couple of inches, i.e. to cross the chassis rail? I guess one issue is whether there is width for the seat, with the foot well narrowing. I'm not that tall, so the adjustment of the seat would give me the positioning I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DohNut Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 My Mrs of similar dimensions is OK with Tillet type seats which is strange as they are regarded as being good for getting lower and further back in the car 🤔 (I do have under dash hand brake) However If you mean you have S-Type seats with the removable base there are plenty of threads on here showing how you can buy a new base from Oxted Trimming and make a foam seat for a low profile base. There is no reason why you could not use this base to build up a higher swab with less under thigh support to allow straighter legs. The genius of this idea (if I say so myself 😶🌫️) is that you can swap the bases over depending on who is driving meaning you might get away without moving the pedals. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myothercarsa2cv Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 pooh_r, if you're of an appropriate stature, then drilling new holes for the runners is quite easy. The box section is quite a height to get over though, and will raise you 3/4". I have some spacers for honeycomb floors, but doubt they'll get you over the box 😳 See what you can get away with. Sitting close to the wheel is no real problem, I'd rather have it up round my ears than miles away where it is at the moment... (I'm 6'3"). John _________________________ Bugsy: '82 2cv6 (Back on the road!!! 😬) Talloulah: '08 1.6K Classic (Grubby ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
u01rsb Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I have tillets and my wife is 5ft 3" so even with the seat fully forward there was no chance of her driving the car. Ended up pouring a foam back rest for her that makes the car a perfect fit and I can then just remove it when it is my time to drive. It was dead easy to make and great fun playing with the chemicals. After 3 sprint events the wife even won the fastest lady award at Anglesey in October (all down to my foam seat of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prangerman Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 A thread which is close to my heart - which is close to my feet - and to my head. At half an inch taller than Admiral Lord Nelson (5ft 4ins in his stockings) I suffered the same indignity with my 7s. The first S3 had S seats and with the pedals as far back as possible I could get a reasonable driving position, although for spirited driving I had to submarine a little in the seats to get full purchase on the accelerator which is set back slightly for the other two pedals. I did later bend the accelerator pedal which brought it more level but it was a little higher than was ideal. In my current 7 with Tillets, I have Oxted trimming covers with a half inch of foam behid fof comfort for my bony frame rather than reach, and again with the pedals as far back as possible I seem to have a better driving position than with the S seats. I was advised with the S seats to remove some of the padding from the base so that the legs did not bend so much and hence would reach forward further. Never got round to trying it. I found a cushion behind my back on a CDX day to be the worst option. I never felt I had a good driving position. As long as I have the accelerator within reach, I am not fussed about the clutch (requires little travel anyway) and the brake (I try not to use them in any case - nasty smelling things ) Peter In Memoriam DMG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampJ Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Simple answer, buy her a SWB Caterham for Christmas. Cheers John JFDI (Just F*****g Do It) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooh_R Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 John, Please don't go giving her ideas 🙆🏻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickh7 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Pooh I have a plastic tray seat base of an S type you can have, The issue with the runners is that at the most forward they are already against the cross beam on the floor so you cant move them nearer the front. Could you not make a seat from the expanding foam that would fit Polly perfectly that you could swap from one side to the other depending on who is driving. Or make a gear lever extension that screws onto the lever (Knob removed) that gives her the reach? Looking forward to seeing you soon, love to Polly and a manly hug for you Fuel your Addiction here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 If anyone needs any more - Oxted Trimming sell the plastic seat tray bases (only in pairs though !) for £20 + VAT per pair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickh7 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Pooh, Pollys own Seven what a great idea Fuel your Addiction here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooh_R Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Nick, you are in so much trouble ! Plastic bags and foam sounds fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeman Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 With the 'S' type seats, I removed the runners from the car and filed an extra notch for the keyed lever mechanism. This allows the seat to slide forward an extra inch. Ironically I did this for Jo's driving position and she's three inches taller than me _________________________ Be Lucky!! Martin (Solent Se7ens) M7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millsn Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Same solution as for tall people. Get a foam seat made up (race seat) specially for her. Get one made for you and you can swap them in and out. they're lighter and cheaper than std seats if you can stand the look. If not you can upholster them and it'll cost you what a new std seat would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickh7 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hi Pooh One of the girl sat work today wanted a go and shes only small, found that by packing the seat behind her with coats etc she was ok. I've got a fixed tillet and she found it better than the passenger seat. Fuel your Addiction here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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