Any news on a seat lowering kit yet?

[donk_316]

Finally convinced a local dealership to let me pull back the velvet rope and sit inside their 2013 SRT with the stereo upgrade and touring package. They were originally asking 140,000 for this car but since it's been sitting for nearly two model years they have lowered their price to 110,000...

Anyways, after talking to an old feller at on dealership who knew a guy at the other dealership, an appointment was made for me to actually get inside a G5.

Yeah I fit. But it's cramped. If I put my head against the headrest I hit the roof on the left side. Even with my butt scooted forward and the seat and recliner in every possible position. This car did not have power seats also which I believe has a lower seating position? We checked for the little white spacers mentioned by others but couldn't find any?
So having said that, has anyone come up with a way to lower the seats on a G5 yet?
Why do I fit with room to spare on every competitors car but not the American car? The R8 I have enough room for a hat! F-type is roomy. Aston has way more room too.
It's like the viper was built for 5'8" 150 pound Mr. Average and only him.

I am 6'4" and 280.

Side note: 3 months ago a local dealership told me to go find an owners club and ask someone who bought a G5 to sit in their car... Then come back to the dealership and buy one.

[ViperSmith]

'13s still have the bolts in them limiting the depth the seat can go down

Once removed you get an extra 1.5''

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

DONK: VOA VP Alex is about your size....and has sat in all of em. He was looking too.

he is SmoknTires on the site. ALEX?

I don't know of any lowering kits for Gen 5....

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

'13s still have the bolts in them limiting the depth the seat can go down

Once removed you get an extra 1.5''


Those seat bolts affect only the 2013, and only the 2 rear seat corners. EZ access, Chrome with a white plastic top. When removed, it Lowers the 2 rear corners 1.0"

The 2014s all ship WITHOUT those shim-bolts, so the 2014 has the 1" more headroom than 2013.

[donk_316]

Thanks very much for the clarification guys

[Jack B]

It is doubtful you can lower the seat further without changing the whole seat base. IMHO at 6'-4"/280 lbs, you are at extreme of fitting into a viper comfortably.


Thanks very much for the clarification guys

[donk_316]

Well I'll go talk to the dealer and see what the story is with the spacers. If we can remove them on the show room floor and I fit better than I'm on the right track.

Really don't want to be forced into a European car just because of fit...

[SmoknTires]

Correct, if you have a 13 and pull the bolts it basically gets you to where the 14's are. So yes, definitely pull them, but know that we're still at the same basic issue. Being 6'4" I'll say that I actually fit BETTER in a GenV relative to SEAT to CEILING height compared to any other Viper coupe (but it's still not enough). My head touches the headliner - and when you hit a bad bump - your neck takes the brunt. And helmets are impossible. I don't blame SRT because being this size, they can't accommodate all of us ogres. I'm used to being uncomfortable in most cars, and I got away with it because all my previous vipers are convertibles, but here's the thing that adds to it now...

The 2nd issue drivers will have is the headliner, it comes down the front of the windshield quite a ways. The roofline doesn't tell the story as it seems subtle, but inside the car you'll see how much it curves down. So event if you fit, you'll find the headliner below eye level. If you sit in a car, press your head to the top of the roof and then look out the window - you'll see the issue. I actually can't see the bumper of the car in front of me if I sit normally, so I have to slouch - not because there isn't room, but because I can't see the road below the headliner (and stop lights are impossible to see no matter what). Those two issues combined makes for a tough situation.

I've worked with SRT, northwind, Venzano, Autoform etc... So far no one has a product. Through my own exploits, and also their recent research confirming this, SRT did a GOOD job getting those seats as low as possible. With the seats out, it seems the VERY best you could do is 1 1/4 if you bolted the seats to the floor... This leaves little hope.

So, aside from waiting for a rail kit, which won't yield much, the 3 options out there:

* Get a race seat so that you're lower to the floor by eliminating mechanicals and extra padding.
* Get the headliner reworked (probably won't be pretty).
* Chop the floor on the car and drop it between the frame and tunnel. 3" can be had. 1 person I know did this in Texas and it's working well. Obviously butchers the car and affects warranty in some cases, but actually doesn't look strange.

I've giving this a little time, but should nothing better present itself, I'll need to do #3. Sitting 3" lower would be amazing.

[ViperTony]

I'm 6' 1" about 280 or so.....and I could use 1" lower for optimum position (for me) to see under the windshield frame. Headroom with a helmet is not an issue. I can't see how to get the seat lower without a completely redesigned seat OR modifying the pan somehow. I don't have the obstructed view Alex has since I'm a bit shorter. I'm loving the leg room and seats hold my love handles in place nicely. ;)

[Jack B]

There are no spacers on the 2014. It takes ten min to remove both on a 2013.


Well I'll go talk to the dealer and see what the story is with the spacers. If we can remove them on the show room floor and I fit better than I'm on the right track.

Really don't want to be forced into a European car just because of fit...

[V10 Snake]

I somewhat disagree with some of you. The seat itself does sit a bit high and a modified seat rail/frame CAN lower the seat another inch or 2. The old seat lowering kit which was one inch for the Gen III and IV had modified rails. the 2 inch kit involved brackets that required REMOVING the stock seat rails and bolting these brackets directly to the seat then to the floor. The seat was fixed and not adjustable. on the current Gen V there is some room under the seat (NO gateway module thankfully) so someone needs to manufacture new seat rails for us tall folks.