Having trouble finding seats - those w/ GT3 seats I have a couple Q's

First of all, I am 6'6". I am trying to gain about 1-1.5 inches more headroom for my helmet in my 996 coupe. I am currently looking at Sparco's but I have just found out that the Sparco's are REALLY tight and would require custom fabrication. (i.e. grinding metal from the car). Fill me in on how much headroom one gains with the GT3 seats. I know Brey Krause makes an adapter that lowers the seat, but I need some idea of what I could gain. Fill me in, please!! I wanna get back on the track this year!!! Chad

With the rails that come with the GT3 seats, you wil lose about a half inch of headroom as compared to the stock (non-sport) seats at their lowest position. BK makes rails that are, IIRC, up to 1" lower than the Porsche rails, so that could gain you some headroom. http://www.bkauto.com/porsche/r9079.php

I think I gained a small amount of headroom switching from the stock sport seat to the GT3 seat. As you mentioned the BK adapter will get you a little more. Just guessing, but I would think that the two together should get you at least the 1-1 1/2" you need.

Hmmm...thanks for the input. This is turning into a headache. My last car (my E36 M3) was great. I went with Recaros and gained great room. More info to get...thanks! Chad

That probably depends on how your backrest is adjusted on the stock seat (it's not adjustable on the GT3 seat), as further reclined equals more headroom. I have one of each in my car and was going to measure the difference in headroom out of curiousity (and to help answer the question), but realized that the number would be meaningless due to the angle of the backrest. Now that I think about it, I could put the backrest in the most vertical position just to get a baseline number for comparison (you could tweek the numbers to figure out whether you'd be gaining or losing headroom)...

Wouldn't it make more sense to measure from the bottom of the seat (where your *** goes) to the roof? I mean, the backrests most likely have different heights, so a comparison of that would be meaningless. Lower both seats to the greatest extent possible, then measure from the middle of the *** cushion(right where the pucker meter takes its reading when you get that "oh sh*t" moment on the track) to the roof, straight up. That might be a relevant comparison. The angle of the backrest should be relatively irrelevant since your track driving position should not vary by seat type (or at least not by much).

That would be tremendous! Please measure the stock seat lowered to the lowest setting and measure from the center of each seat cushion to the roof. Thank you very much. This will definately be of help! Chad

I measured from the back of the seat cushion to the headliner and...they're almost the same. GT3 seat: 38" sport seat: 37 3/4" Disclaimer--I have the full power seat and I don't know how its height compares to the base seats or the standard sport seats without the power up/down, forward/back. Also, I bought my GT3 seat used and therefore can't be 100% certain the height hasn't been altered (I don't think it has, but it does have the BK sub bar).

I am having GT3 seats put in tomorrow, with the BK brackets. I will try and remember to take exact measurements, but will also provide a more subjective report on how much extra room it creates. I am 6'3", and there was absolutly no way for me to fit with a helmet with the current seats and remain mildly comfortable. I can only imagine what its like at 6'6"

in my research for race seats, i have found that if you want low then sparco is the way to go. this info is supposedly from a recaro rep. where are you running into interference?

I am limited with the sparco's. This is confirmed by Speedware Motorsports. The Sparco's are too wide for the tub. Because of my size, I would need Evo II's. This really sucks. I didn't really want to blow ALL of my budget on just seats. Chad

Thank you!! I have supple leather, full power seats. This will help immensely!! Many thanks! C.

thx for the tip. i was thinking evo2s myself, now i'm on the search again. momo acropolis from subesports look good. supposed to be wider and sube has a carbon/kevlar version. i need to check into this .

I use GT3 seats without the cushions. It feels more connected to the road and I gained more inches. I measure 39 3/4" bottom of seat to headliner. Also I gain room when I strap tight my 6 point harness. I would guess 1/2 to 3/4". Which helmet you wear makes a big difference. I switched from Simpson to an Arai and again gained maybe an inch to 1 1/2". All this was because I was hitting my roll cage with my helmet, but now I'm a long ways from it. I tried the helmet before buying.