Seats for Small People

**goodee** · 02-20-2017

I've put about 6k miles on my 2000 GTS now and have only one issue so far that I must solve - I'm too damn small apparently (5'7" and 130lbs. - I blame my parents). I'm fine just cruising around but any kind of spirited driving and I end up slumping down in the seat. I've tried playing with seat position and pedal position with only some success - no dead pedal doesn't help the situation either. Since I want to get back to autocrossing and plan to use the Viper I'm in big trouble. I also don't want to install harnesses if I can help it - I had those in my Neon ACR and although they were great at the track they got in the way otherwise.

Has anyone had the center section of their seats recovered with something less slippery (I have the cognac interior if that matters)? Or, does anyone have seat replacement advice? I've searched through the forum and see that there aren't many options; mostly people talking about trying to get extra headroom (not a problem here), but I have not seen anyone with this issue and how they solved it.

**03evoIII** · 02-20-2017

I think some alcantara middle inserts would help a lot in keeping you planted in the seat. The leather on my viper seats is very tough so I slip around a little as well.

**bluesrt** · 02-20-2017

install a gen 4 seat/ they hold waay better

**BlackSnake99** · 02-20-2017

recaro-start-i-child-car-seat.jpg

**plumcrazy** · 02-20-2017

Lol.

**goodee** · 02-21-2017

Originally Posted by BlackSnake99

recaro-start-i-child-car-seat.jpg

A friend has two of these in the back of his Crown Vic ex-police car for his kids. I've tried sitting in them and don't quite fit. :-)

**Boosted Motorsports** · 02-21-2017

Originally Posted by BlackSnake99

recaro-start-i-child-car-seat.jpg

Hey you did correspond to the thread title!!! lol

Have you played with the recline of the seat? At 5'7" you aren't the smallest person to be driving a viper. Try adjusting the seat more upright and I can't see why you wouldn't be able to bring the seat and pedals close enough together. Slouching in an upright seat would be pretty hard to do.

**thetalonguy** · 02-21-2017

Originally Posted by omalley_808

At 5'7" you aren't the smallest person to be driving a viper. Try adjusting the seat more upright and I can't see why you wouldn't be able to bring the seat and pedals close enough together. Slouching in an upright seat would be pretty hard to do.

Agreed, I'm a shorty and have no problems with the comfort of my seat. Actually, I find our seats to be extremely comfortable and supportive of the back. You probably need to mess around with the pedal height, wheel, seat track and recline angles to make it feel right. Not sure why you're feeling slouched if you recline to more of a right angle vs obtuse. Might need to get rid of that Sicilian slant :-)

I'll often change my seat recline when I'm road racing vs 12 hour road trips.

**goodee** · 02-21-2017

Originally Posted by thetalonguy

Agreed, I'm a shorty and have no problems with the comfort of my seat. Actually, I find our seats to be extremely comfortable and supportive of the back. You probably need to mess around with the pedal height, wheel, seat track and recline angles to make it feel right. Not sure why you're feeling slouched if you recline to more of a right angle vs obtuse. Might need to get rid of that Sicilian slant :-)

I'll often change my seat recline when I'm road racing vs 12 hour road trips.

I have no problems with the comfort even on longer drives; the seats are very supportive. The problem comes under hard braking or cornering when I tend to slide down a bit and then have to wiggle my way back up. I have the seat back one notch from the full upright position and the pedals are cranked almost all the way forward. If I back the pedals off then I have to sit too close to the steering wheel to get a good hand position with elbows still bent.

In other cars I have corrected this issue by holding myself in place with the dead pedal. This is not my first go-round - I started autocrossing in the early 90s yet this is the first time I have not been able to adequately keep myself in a good driving position.

Thanks for all the comments - even the funny ones - I've heard them all!

**thetalonguy** · 02-21-2017

Originally Posted by goodee

In other cars I have corrected this issue by holding myself in place with the dead pedal. This is not my first go-round - I started autocrossing in the early 90s yet this is the first time I have not been able to adequately keep myself in a good driving position.

What I've noticed is without a dead pedal, while tracking or AutoX, my body tries to keep myself in place by pushing my left knee against the door panel. After a day of racing, my knee is hurting. Been planning to put in a harness this spring to combat, but hasn't been bothersome to me in regular street driving.

Maybe your best bet is getting a harness to keep you planted? A Gen2 ACR harness would look pretty good on your car.