996 Seating Position - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

I’ve been looking at 996s recently but I keep reading about how high/cramped the seating position is. I’ve not driven one as yet but as someone who struggles with finding a comfortable (read: low enough) seating position anyway, the comments I’ve read on t’internet about the subject concerns me. I’m 6ft1” and big built (I played prop in rugby to give you an idea) with more length in the torso than the legs. Ideally I’d be going for a 996.2 in either C2 or C4S flavour and the usage would exclusively be road driving, aside from a potential pilgrimage to the North Loop again in the next year or two; so comfort is important and cushion-less fixed buckets are out. I have a pair of Recaro CS on Recaro runners sitting from my old E92 M3 which I’d like to find a use for, providing suitable mounts/frames can be acquired and sit me low enough in the car. This type of thing looks like a potential go’er: https://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/product/planted-por... But I’d like to hear what other seats/mounts people have used to get around this issue? Or if there is a widely recognised magic combo to sitting as low as possible in a 996?

Wife and I have a 996tt, I find it very difficult to get comfortable in it to drive. Im 5ft10 but quite chunky (read rotund), the problem I have is the steering wheel has no up / down movement just in / out. My thighs don’t leave enough room for my hands to pass between the wheel in a comfortable position. In effect I have to sit with my legs pointing outwards (v shaped) to drive it spirited. I wouldn’t say the seat is high, just the wheel is too low. Only thing I can suggest is try one and see how you fit.

I am 6'2 and ran a 996.2 GT3 with fixed OE buckets and found it had plenty of room (for a helmet too).

I'm 6' 85kg so not massive but not small I've got the sports seats which are much derided. The steering wheel adjustment is a bit of a joke by modern standards. Despite these limitations I find that I can get very comfortable low position with good view of dials. As other posters have demonstrated there are loads of options for getting the right seat for you. I think the bigger question is whether it's the right car for you. It seems to me that people are either smitten or underwhelmed by the 996 and a test drive in a sorted one, even with a slightly compromised position, will tell you what you need to know. The way the market is ATM 997 seats with a 997 attached might be the way to go.

When I was looing 12+yrs ago I started with a 996 in mind but it eventually turned into a 997 (at 2x budget!) as the driving position was so much better for me. I'm 6ft5 for reference and not one to mess around with changing seats etc.

https://www.design911.co.uk/p/porsche-996-993-986-... Could be usefull...

Thank you for all the replies, they're much appreciated. I think first port of call should be to try and find a local 996 with standard seats and climb in to see if I can get comfortable. MB140 said: the problem I have is the steering wheel has no up / down movement just in / out. My thighs don’t leave enough room for my hands to pass between the wheel in a comfortable position. I have had this issue before. When I was a good number of stone lighter/smaller, I had an S2000 and my thighs were close to touching the steering wheel because there was no adjustment in the wheel of that car, they never collided, but it was quite a 'neat' fit in there.

HughG said: I'm 6'4 and had a 996.1 with standard/tombstone seats. The 996 electric seats go lower than the standard ones. I found the standard seats too narrow to be comfortable, and ideally would have liked more reach adjustment to bring the wheel further back. The centre console delete helps with space for your left knee. I ended up fitting 997 sports seats which sit lower and are wider across the lumbar which sorted the driving position for me. I saw the centre console delete and think that's definitely a direction I'd go too, I also like how it looks aesthetically so it would be a win/win modification. There is a readers thread I was reading recently, think it was Scottos 996.2 C2 thread possibly, who switched to the 997 seats and said they were a big improvement too.

RiccardoG said: When I was looing 12+yrs ago I started with a 996 in mind but it eventually turned into a 997 (at 2x budget!) as the driving position was so much better for me. I'm 6ft5 for reference and not one to mess around with changing seats etc. I also have searches set up for 997.1 cars too! However, they're a little more punchy price-wise and I'd be shopping for one which either needs a rebuild or has already had a full rebuild.. so that limits my options.

NAS said: https://www.design911.co.uk/p/porsche-996-993-986-... Could be usefull... Thanks for the link. I had already looked at swapping the standard 996 steering wheel (350mm I believe) for a smaller Personal steering wheel (330mm) with a boss kit which would bring the wheel out a little at the same time.. in the hope that the combo of the smaller wheel and boss kit would help increase the clearance between wheel/thighs.

You can also get an eccentric adapter for wheel which gives more clearance, did on my 996 C4S along with a momo prototipo

I fitted 997 sports seat to my 996 as I was getting shooting leg pains in the original standard seats. I'm in the new forest if you'd to try them. Im theory the car will be for sale later this year-c4s

I'm 6,1" 90kg. No giant. I'm all leg and broad shoulders. The 996 standard seats and sports are god awful things. They aren't designed for humans. You can easily swap them for 997/987 seats which gives far more room, go lower, more tilt to the base, better support etc. Lower console delete will give even more space if you have chunky thighs and the standard bus sized steering wheel could be switched for a smaller Momo. Someone above said the electric seats go lower in the 996. This isn't correct. They sit 1inch higher at the lowest setting due to all the electrics being under the base. I had them in my turbo. They were awful. ETA. If you ever fit in an s2000 then you shouldn't have any issues. I can't fit in them at all but I have space to spare in a 996. Edited by nunpuncher on Thursday 16th January 13:40

I'm 6'4 and had a 996.1 with standard/tombstone seats. The 996 electric seats go lower than the standard ones (someone below says this isn't correct, but it was my understanding, worth checking before relying on it!). I found the standard seats too narrow to be comfortable, and ideally would have liked more reach adjustment to bring the wheel further back. The centre console delete helps with space for your left knee. I ended up fitting 997 sports seats which sit lower and are wider across the lumbar which sorted the driving position for me. Edited by HughG on Thursday 16th January 14:39

20241227_125717 by Scott Osborne , on Flickr 997 seats and lower console delete makes them loads better. I've also fitted an aftermarket wheel with an eccentric spacer to lift the wheel up 15mm. I had looked at buckets but i was enjoying the heated seats, so got heated 997 seats and kept the heating functional. 20241214_164311 by Scott Osborne , on Flickr The 996 seats you feel like you're sitting on them, rather than in them too, otherwise i think they'd be generally okay. The 997 seats dont look like they are much lower but you feel like you're sat in them.

my word there is some utter tripe posted on here, i'm 6 ft and have standard seats in the 996 they are very comfy and i have plenty of room, if you can't fit in them i suggest losing some weight.

I'm just over 6ft tall & fairly broad shouldered and my sports seats were crippling me so I put some Cobra Nogaros in with sliding runners to allow friends and MrsC to drive (she's only been in it about 6 times in approx 6 yrs!) as well as me otherwise I'd have mounted the seat mounts straight to the floor. I also find the runners useful as I've taken the car a few times to LM24 & it helps with chucking the bags in the back.

brake fader said: my word there is some utter tripe posted on here, i'm 6 ft and have standard seats in the 996 they are very comfy and i have plenty of room, if you can't fit in them i suggest losing some weight. I’m a fat bugger (around the waist) but have quite skinny legs. I could lose all the weight in the world. For me the wheel is too low and too large in diameter by an inch or so. I agree though as a passenger the seats are very comfy and supportive.

I'm 6ft and a little over 90 kilos. I've had two 986s and have a 996 with standard electric seats. I'd agree with others that the seats and the gearing (in many Porsches) are there lowest points. I feel you sit 'on' rather than 'in' the seats. To me the rest of the car makes up for it. Though having done long drives (to Skye and across Europe) I find them comfortable for a sports car. As others have said, you can put 997 seats in a 996. I think I read an easier option was to change the seat cushion to the thiner cushion from a targa. Likewise, the centre console delete is fairly easy and looks good (I may have a friend with a black one). I've also recently learnt that (like many others) I was driving with the wheel too far away for proper car control...

brake fader said: my word there is some utter tripe posted on here, i'm 6 ft and have standard seats in the 996 they are very comfy and i have plenty of room, if you can't fit in them i suggest losing some weight. It may have escaped you, but we’re all different shapes and sizes, I’m 6ft and 13 stone, I had the hardback 996 Sports seats in a 996 GT2 and my current 996 C2, they were incredibly uncomfortable in the GT2 18 years ago, and rest assured they were no better in my C2. Quite frankly they’re up there with the worst seats I’ve experienced in any car, let alone what would have been a £60k plus Porsche back in 2002. I ripped them out and went the same route as MrC986 and fitted a set of Cobra Nogaros along with their extra low side mounts and mounting kit. Their fitment was one of the most transformative modifications I’ve carried out to the car, they’re incredibly comfortable, very supportive (and they encourage you to exploit the car’s brilliant chassis) The centre console delete was the icing on cake (along with the fitment of a Momo Cup steering wheel) You may beg to differ, and you are of course entitled to, but stating everyone else’s perspectives are “tripe” because they don’t align with yours, makes you appear a churlish buffoon.

My two p.... I had a 996.2 and put maybe 20k on it, long commutes and track. I'm 6 foot 4 and had the tombstones. The driving position is a bit unique (as were all previous 911s) but I guess you either get on with it it or you dont. You can install different runners or remove the rear stops to get the seat back a little further or do the momo wheel / console delete as others have suggested (I didnt like the way it looks so didint bother). I've got a 997 now with sports seats and it is more comfortable (the seats are height adjustable) and most important it has a reach and height adjustable steering column but I could have kept on living with the 996 quite happily.

I’m 6’4”, 85-90kg, 35” inside leg, and I’ve done 150k miles in my 996 over 17 years… standard seats, half of Olathe miles with a stock 4 spoke wheel, half with a Momo… car still has its centre console. I’ve never found it uncomfortable and have used it for multiple 400 miles in a day trips without issue. Momo wheel is the single best modification you can make to a 996 IMO. Transforms the driving position.

One issue I've found is that the 996 tombstone seats force you to arch your back which may or may not be in the right area for the arch or the right amount of arching. I've put a piece of foam to sit on that means my hips are lifted in such a way to negate the forced arching - the arching starts a bit lower which means my hips aren't being forced to arch quite so much. This is the only car I've ever had to do this. This does mean that you can't have a long body as you need to raise your hips but saying you're 5'10 or 6'3 may or may not be important because we all have different lengths of legs and bodies and different ratios. I know someone who has the hip joint in the same height off the ground as me (ie the same length of legs) but a longer body so he's 5'11 but I'm 5'8. This might also mean that if you have a longer body, the forced arch is actually less impactful. The bottom line (scuse the pun) is that you might hate the tombstone seats for a different reason and one person's fix is another person's irrelevance!

Im 5'11" 80kg and found the driving position difficult and tombstones uncomfortable, in a 996 4s. I have quite a wide back (44" chest) which didn't work with the seats - all these figures make this is like a dating site !. Also tried a car with the hardback sports seats, but they were worse. Even though I have skinny legs, they were in the way of the steering wheel. I found the centre delete sorted the leg issue. It also looked cool, Sold the car before I changed the seats!

Thank you very much to everyone who has replied to give me options and offered their personal experience of 996 seating and how they’ve improved it. It’s really appreciated. The car I was looking at turned out to be a bit rusty and since I’ve waited a long time to buy my first 911, I really don’t want to get into that cycle of chasing corrosion around the bodywork and underside. RiccardoG said: When I was looing 12+yrs ago I started with a 996 in mind but it eventually turned into a 997 (at 2x budget!) as the driving position was so much better for me. As per RiccardoG above, after realising the car I’d identified wasn’t going to be for me.. I continued to look at cars available and with a little more cash than the 996.2 C4S which I’d been looking at, I could get into a 997.1 C2S with a rebuild.. and then a 997.2 C2 appeared at the same money so I’ve agreed a deal with my p/ex and put a deposit on it, pending a viewing and being happy with it.