Correct seat height for Cobra or Sparco type seat

[twistedneck]

Dear Vorshlag,

I like to sit low in the car even though it messes up my vision a bit I feel a lot safer and more aggressive. My mustang already seemed to have a high hood line and now that I have Sparco seats installed w sparco side mounts (front bolt top, rear bolt second hole down from top) its raised my head position about 0.5" over stock.

I feel like i'm perched over a greenhouse and like a sailboat mast trying to roll the car even though its only a small bit higher.

What is the correct height for a mustang 2012 race car seat for road racing? is it ok to compromise on a little vision to sit low, or should you prioritize vision and forget body roll and the feeling of being low in the car?

Can you share any pics and reference points?

Others please chime in too.

Thanks, Jeff

 

[venom52]

@Fair or @modernbeat

 

[VoodooBoss]

I think it’s mostly personal pferefence but being able to see out of the car is a good idea. Are you on a slider?

 

[twistedneck]

I think it’s mostly personal pferefence but being able to see out of the car is a good idea. Are you on a slider?

No its all bolted down.. #racecar.
Can you link a pic to your seat heights?

 

[VoodooBoss]

I don’t have a race seat so no photos.

 

[twistedneck]

Update:

I lowered the seats and now its much better. Seat height is about 0.5 inch lower than factory. I also have dropped my knees by that same amount and straightenrd out my legs a bit. Also it reduced the distance to pedals. Im perfect there but for steering wheel position im about 0.5 inch too far away. Why no telescoping wheel Ford?

I cant believe how much better the car handles when i am seated low vs high. (2+ inch difference). Its spectacular to drive.. but visibility is a bit shitty.

Now $$$ for harnesses.

 

[modernbeat]

We really look at helmet to cage clearance for the majority of our customers. We have a handful that are being built to the razor edge and those guys are as low as possible, usually with extreme lightening and tie-ins between the seat mounts and cage.

Relative to other cars, the Mustangs have fairly upright seating and good visibility (the opposite of a Corvette), so we have some flexibility with driver position. When we build seat brackets we have the helmeted driver positioned in the car for mockup. That way they are in the position they want to be, for-aft, recline, height, arm position. And we can build the bracket to achieve that position.

Here's a test session with the owner of the '69 Camaro.


Another with an EVO-X we were prepping for W2W.


And...and impromptu (no helmet, no steering) test sit with an S197 customer being prepped for W2W safety equipment. See him straining forward in the seat? He was feeling out different positions.

 

[Wingrider]

Depending on the size of the seat, on sliders you may not have a lot of hight options... #BecauseSparcoXL