Over six feet tall? Drive a manual?

If so I'd appreciate your advice - I'm ~6'2" and my left knee has to sit just next too and slightly behind the steering wheel, with my shin against the centre console. This is fine for country roads but when going through towns/general maneuvering my left hand can't easily get past my left knee. Who here has experienced this and come up with a cunning way of resolving it?

From what I have read then some say deleting the centre console gives more room but don't have experience myself.

I'd be happy to do that but for that it would mean losing my heated seat buttons (I have four window buttons as it's a cab).

There are 3 possible ways to go. The first as stated above is the centre console delete from the early 986 Boxster and 996 GT3. As for your window switches - do you have any unused blanks in the upper centre console to which they could be transplanted? The second option - bucket seats, which will of course effectively sit you lower and further back. OE GT3 buckets and runners are not cheap though (Teille.com have new ones from Eur2400 per chair and used ones are rare). The third is to either fit an aftermarket steering wheel extension (such as one of these : http://www.carnewal.com/products/P96/p96211/Steering-Wheel-Extender ) or the deep dish 996 Cup steering wheel (which would delete the airbag). By far the cheapest is option 1, so look into the viability of moving those buttons as a starting point I would say. :thumb:

I've got two blanks on the right hand side of the upper-console, so that could work. How much of a pain would it be to relocate the buttons - simple as pop the covers off and clip them in?

Follow up to last post - Carnewal only have the black trim, mine is Metropol blue, therefore looks like Suncoast would be the option: https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/gt3console.html Unless anyone knows a European source?

You can also move one of your original switches from left to right to leave a blank at either side for your seats. I did this with my cab switch as it's more ergonomically positioned when you're trying to belt up, start the car, engage gear, etc. Like so:

Awesome- glad to see it can be done. Was it straightforward?

See my write-up on it here: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=110099 Moving the heated seat switches may be a little more tricky depending on length of cables.

Thanks for that- and looking at this there's no suggestion that he had to extend the wires- http://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/210624-moved-heated-seat-switches-pic-s-of-work.html I've emailed Suncoast with my VIN, once they confirm they have a matching centre console delete kit I'll order it. Does seem bonkers to have to order parts for a German car from America, but there you go.

try rosepassion.com

Saw a suggestion on another forum from a 6 foot 7 guy who has extended his seat rails Not seen a pic But he's said it was a very cheap mod And I actually like my little cubby hole so wouldn't want to lose it

I looked at this when I got mine as I have the same left knee problem being 6 foot 4. The idea of extending the wheel didn't appeal as I don't need it any closer and didnt like the idea of the stalks being further away from the wheel. I looked at the console delete but decided against as Ive got PCM (which is useless really but id like to keep interior original) and tbh didn't like the look that much....If you want the delete kit, try your local Porsche dealer first. OE isn't any more expensive than after market for this kit. Rail extenders seem to work but I'd want to have a good look at them first as you wouldnt want the rail coming undone if you had a crash... Buckets, I like the idea and design911 has nice carbon GT3 replicas but I'm not a thin chap - one to think about after exhaust and suspension.... Option XSU - Porsche did an option for thinner seat cushions. As I really only need an extra inch of clearance I'm going to look at this further. If XSU isnt available for tombstones, I'll visit a retrimmer and see what they can do. I've also found I've just got used to the driving position after six months of ownership and it doesn't bug me as much as it used to. Hope that helps.

I thought I'd outline my experience with seats in the 996. I had comfort sets which I removed and fitted Hard Back Sports Seats. I had the backs colour coded Carrara White (not a typo!) and re-skinned. Huge difference. You sit lower than comfort seats but the same as standard seats. More supportive as the base contains more aggressive bolsters to keep you in place. To get more leg room you'll need to remove the seat stop brackets (give you 15mm more legroom). However, I would say even with the bracket removed they still do not give you the same leg room as standard or comfort seats (about 1.5 inches less which is a lot). I then ordered the XSU Lower seat option part from my local Porsche parts dept which consists of new base and inner back sponge (I paid about 100 british pounds). I only fitted it for the driver's side. This made a huge difference as I now sit lower and my back fits into the seat. Highly recommended. I went on a Porsche driving course so I now know how to set the seating position etc.. so the less leg room with the Sports seats is not an issue. So, for more leg room keep the standard seats and remove the seat stop bracket. For the lowest seating position keep the standard seats and fit the XSU option. For grippy seats get the Sports Seats and fit the XSU option and for looks get the sports seats colour coded! Remove the seat stop bracket in any case.

Thanks all- I have the hardbacked sports seats. I'm a little unsure if the wheel would be close enough if I moved the seat further back, I'll experiment. I'm definitely going to get a GT3 console delete, will see what f that is enough on its own or if more is required.