Seat Lowering? How low?

[Shandon]

So how does someone go about figuring out whats better 1" or 2". Im 6 foot and I sit with the seat all the way back so moving back and forth is not even an interest to me. Is lower better? Does 1" not feel like its lower at all? A 1" seat would allow my helmet not to touch the roof but 2" may give me a better view? I dont know??? Give me some insight yall??

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

If you are sure you will never need to move the seat I would do the 2". You will need to deal with the Gateway module under the seat but it can be done. I'm 6'-2" and need a 2" with helmet, plus you feel better connected to the car when you can see out better.

 

[redtanrt10]

Try to sit in a viper that has either the 1" or 2". I have the 1" and you clearly notice the difference. My helmet has better clearance.

The 1" has fore and aft seat track movements the 2" is fixed. The 2" sits the seat too far back for me. Need to find someone and demo.

 

[CitySnake]

If you are sure you will never need to move the seat I would do the 2". You will need to deal with the Gateway module under the seat but it can be done. I'm 6'-2" and need a 2" with helmet, plus you feel better connected to the car when you can see out better.

Looks like he's got an '05 Mark.

RedTan's given you the best response. Find members with the kit and see for yourself. It's not your overall height that's critical, but your torso length. You should check where your eyes are relative to the dash and windshield, but it's also a matter of personal comfort. Lower is always better, but not to the point of reducing your road vision (fore and aft). Also, make sure you check with the seat back in the position you would want.

 

[ACRBruce]

Try to sit in a viper that has either the 1" or 2". I have the 1" and you clearly notice the difference. My helmet has better clearance.

The 1" has fore and aft seat track movements the 2" is fixed. The 2" sits the seat too far back for me. Need to find someone and demo.

Redtan,
Are you going to C&C this coming Saturday? I'm asking as quite a few of us are going and I'd love to sit in your car to test out the 1" kit for me and also for the wife to see if she can see out of the car with the kit in.
Thanks.

 

[kcobean]

At 6'4", the 2" kit was the only option for me. You lose the fore/aft adjustment, which isn't a problem as long as nobody else drives your car. My wife is 5'2", so this kit ruled out her being able to drive the car, which kinda stinks because while the high hoodline intimidated her a bit, she enjoyed driving the car.

The 2" kit made my car so much more enjoyable for me to drive it's like a different car. My knee doesn't hit the headlight bezel (as much), and my horizontal sight line is now well below the top of the windshield. I even removed my sun visor to gain the extra 3/4" it cost me.

If you just want a little more head-room, but are ok otherwise, stick to the 1" kit. If you're really cramped (which at 6'0", you're probably not), the 2" is the way to go.

 

[slysnake]

Added question.

The 2" kit locks the seat in place, but is it a set place or can you put it where you want before you lock it down. Do you understand what I mean?

 

[kcobean]

Added question.

The 2" kit locks the seat in place, but is it a set place or can you put it where you want before you lock it down. Do you understand what I mean?

If fixes the seat in the rear-most position. The kit is effectively 4 pieces of probably 1/4" thick steel bar with a threaded standoff on one end and a hole in the other. The hole is used to bolt the bar to the floor where the rails previously mounted, and the stand-offs bolt to the bottom of the seat.

 

[RTTTTed]

OR ... go to the illustrated upgrades and do both my 1 1/2" and my 3/4" seat track lowering methods. More than 2" lower and still adjustable seat track. I lowered my 1 1/4" and found that I was good at that height, but I did put upt pics on how easy it is to remove another 3/4" of seat height.

Ted

 

[kcobean]

OR ... go to the illustrated upgrades and do both my 1 1/2" and my 3/4" seat track lowering methods. More than 2" lower and still adjustable seat track. I lowered my 1 1/4" and found that I was good at that height, but I did put upt pics on how easy it is to remove another 3/4" of seat height.

Ted

I think most people don't have access to the tools you used in your process, which will prevent most from doing what you did.

 

[redtanrt10]

Redtan,
Are you going to C&C this coming Saturday? I'm asking as quite a few of us are going and I'd love to sit in your car to test out the 1" kit for me and also for the wife to see if she can see out of the car with the kit in.
Thanks.

Bruce,

I am but I may not have my 08, its getting the stripes painted. You're welcome to check out the seat. I was there last week, and I saw Hugh, who has a SS green '08. He has the 2" kit and hopefully he'll be there. If I don't have it Saturday we'll catch up sometime

 

[RTTTTed]

I think most people don't have access to the tools you used in your process, which will prevent most from doing what you did.

That may be so. Some people may not have the knowledge to use those tools as well. But, they have the money to pay someone to do it for them? They could removed the seat, covers and tracks if they wanted, that's probably half the job and only requires a socket and pliers.

I'd offere to do it for a price through mail, but the 08s may be different than mine so I'd want to have the car here for reference. Easy enough to figure out I thought.

Ted

 

[CPPRHD265]

I find myself "scrunching" down to see under the rearview mirror on sweeping right handers... I also have the seat all the way back, and have not moved it in over a year. I'm thinking the 2 inch kit is the way to go but I'm not really sure as I've never been in a car that has either the 1 or 2 inch kit always stock.

For those that have done this, did you do the passenger side also?

 

[RTTTTed]

I have a GTS, which is probably a better fit, but normally the passenger is my wife and at 5'5" she prefers trucks to low slung sports cars. Lower wouldn't make her happy.

Ted

 

[Y2K10 SRT#39]

I find myself "scrunching" down to see under the rearview mirror on sweeping right handers... I also have the seat all the way back, and have not moved it in over a year. I'm thinking the 2 inch kit is the way to go but I'm not really sure as I've never been in a car that has either the 1 or 2 inch kit always stock.

For those that have done this, did you do the passenger side also?

I have done the 2" kit on both my GTS and my SRT-10. I have only done the driver's side on both. Nobody has ever said "how come that seat is lower than the other one?"
2" lower still is not enough for me to have a SRT-10 coupe.

PBR

 

[CitySnake]

I have done the 2" kit on both my GTS and my SRT-10. I have only done the driver's side on both. Nobody has ever said "how come that seat is lower than the other one?"
2" lower still is not enough for me to have a SRT-10 coupe.

PBR

Paul's right. In many cars, the 2 front seats are independent and have seat height adjustments (electric or mechanical). Just like you'd never notice it in those cars, you'll never notice it in your Viper.

 

[Darbgnik]

I only did the drivers side. Nobody has ever noticed the height difference of the seat, I always have to point it out.
I thought about doing the other side as it was an easy process, especially for a convertible, but laziness got the best of me. Maybe next year. One thing to remember is that if you want to do both sides evenly, you have to use the 2 inch drop, as the 1 inch retains the tracks and hits the amplifier on passenger side.
And about scrunching under the mirror on turns, remember the mirror pivots in 2 places, one at mirror, and one at the windshield. Some people forget this and have the mirror lower than necessary. Just grab that bad boy and push up as far as it will go, then readjust.
Hope this helps.

 

[rcl4668]

I am only about 6 feet tall but needed the 1'' lowering kit from Northwind on my 2008. The kit makes the difference between clearing the Autoform rollbar with my helmet and not and thereby being out of compliance at driver schools. I did not have the kit installed on my 2006 and my helmet would rub with the convertible top down. With the lowering kit I do not have this issue. I purchased the lowering kit from Jon B at Parts Rack and if you have questions you should contact him directly.

 

[Shandon]

So nobody here has thought that after putting in the 2" they were too low? Or put in the 1" and thought I wish I had done the 2"? If so then short of loosing the travel in the seat the 2" is the way to go. I tell you what with the motons dropping the car and then loosing 2" off the seat Im gonna feel like im on the road literaly

 

[kcobean]

I've had several tall guys sit in my car who had stock seats in theirs and all of them said "Wow, this is amazing!"

The 2" kit does make the car a little harder to get in and out of because the seat sits so much lower in the pan, the top of the side sill feels much higher, you'll almost feel like you're stepping over it.

Totally worth it though.

 

[Paul Hawker]

One of the best benefits of a seat lowering kit for tall people is that you no longer need to look out of the very top of the windshield.

Much better view of the road when looking out of the middle of the windshield. More comfortable too.

 

[Shandon]

Good info. Thanks everyone!

 

[Viper X]

2-inch kits in my SRTs. The improvement is huge.

Wouldn't have bought the cars without it.

Dan

 

[09 Venom]

Frankly, I don't know how anybody over 6 feet tall can fit in a stock Viper without leaning down. I like to drive sitting fairly straight up (like sitting in a chair) with my back flush up against the rear of the seat. At 6'3" the 2 inch kit was the only way I would ever own a Viper.
A little birdy told me that team SRT did not mind losing some Viper sales (to current Viper owners mind you) by not making the '09 2 inch seat lowering compatable. How bout that for loyalty!!

 

[kcobean]

Frankly, I don't know how anybody over 6 feet tall can fit in a stock Viper without leaning down. I like to drive sitting fairly straight up (like sitting in a chair) with my back flush up against the rear of the seat. At 6'3" the 2 inch kit was the only way I would ever own a Viper.
A little birdy told me that team SRT did not mind losing some Viper sales (to current Viper owners mind you) by not making the '09 2 inch seat lowering compatable. How bout that for loyalty!!

I honestly don't think it's a matter of whether they mind or not, I don't think they had a choice. To be federally compliant with the intelligent airbag standard, they had to have the sensor on the rails. I don't hold it against 'em a bit, but it sounds like your little birdy may be putting a spin on the story.

 

[Viper X]

"To be federally compliant with the intelligent airbag standard, they had to have the sensor on the rails."

There is no issue with the airbag sensor and installing a 2-inch seat lowering kit. I just did this. The airbag sensor is very small and can easily be put back where it was under the seat in the lowered position.

The issue, and it's a big one, is with the new computer module that is located under the driver's seat. This is just plain stupid on someone at SRT's part. There are other places to put this small module and someone just plain dropped the ball.

These are supposed to be track cars. Unless you are a small woman, try putting a helmet on and driving a SRT coupe on the track without lowering the seat. The view from the driver's seat on the track with a helmet on is difficult for my 5' 7" / 135lb wife without lowering the seat at least one inch. Never mind that the top of your helmet is supposed to be lower than the roll bar.

I'm now struggling with finding a place to properly retrofit it. I wish that SRT had thought this through and taken the time to place this module somewhere else. It would have kept lowering the driver's seat easy and helped most of us normal size guys get into and out of the car better, drive the car better on the street, at the track and at the drags.

If any of you guys have lowered the seat 2-inches in an 08 / 09 car, please let me know where you put this small module.

Dan

 

[kcobean]

"To be federally compliant with the intelligent airbag standard, they had to have the sensor on the rails."

There is no issue with the airbag sensor and installing a 2-inch seat lowering kit. I just did this. The airbag sensor is very small and can easily be put back where it was under the seat in the lowered position.

The issue, and it's a big one, is with the new computer module that is located under the driver's seat. This is just plain stupid on someone at SRT's part. There are other places to put this small module and someone just plain dropped the ball.

These are supposed to be track cars. Unless you are a small woman, try putting a helmet on and driving a SRT coupe on the track without lowering the seat. The view from the driver's seat on the track with a helmet on is difficult for my 5' 7" / 135lb wife without lowering the seat at least one inch. Never mind that the top of your helmet is supposed to be lower than the roll bar.

I'm now struggling with finding a place to properly retrofit it. I wish that SRT had thought this through and taken the time to place this module somewhere else. It would have kept lowering the driver's seat easy and helped most of us normal size guys get into and out of the car better, drive the car better on the street, at the track and at the drags.

If any of you guys have lowered the seat 2-inches in an 08 / 09 car, please let me know where you put this small module.

Dan

Are you talking about the gateway module?

 

[09 Venom]

"To be federally compliant with the intelligent airbag standard, they had to have the sensor on the rails."

The issue, and it's a big one, is with the new computer module that is located under the driver's seat. This is just plain stupid on someone at SRT's part. There are other places to put this small module and someone just plain dropped the ball.

These are supposed to be track cars. Unless you are a small woman, try putting a helmet on and driving a SRT coupe on the track without lowering the seat. The view from the driver's seat on the track with a helmet on is difficult for my 5' 7" / 135lb wife without lowering the seat at least one inch. Never mind that the top of your helmet is supposed to be lower than the roll bar.

I'm now struggling with finding a place to properly retrofit it. I wish that SRT had thought this through and taken the time to place this module somewhere else. It would have kept lowering the driver's seat easy and helped most of us normal size guys get into and out of the car better, drive the car better on the street, at the track and at the drags.

If any of you guys have lowered the seat 2-inches in an 08 / 09 car, please let me know where you put this small module.

Dan

I agree totally.

 

[09 Venom]

I honestly don't think it's a matter of whether they mind or not, I don't think they had a choice. To be federally compliant with the intelligent airbag standard, they had to have the sensor on the rails. I don't hold it against 'em a bit, but it sounds like your little birdy may be putting a spin on the story.

Viper X is correct. The sensor can be relocated it is the gateway module that is the issue. Now it could probably be placed somewhere behind the seat (close to the floor) but no one wants to take the chance with liability issues. Also what happens when you try to sell in the future or upgrade? The black bracket the module sits on top of is welded to the frame. Once removed, a pain to put back.
And I believe the little birdy(who is VERY WELL respected on this forum).

 

[RTTTTed]

I fit OK but lowered the seat because I was unused to not seeing the sky in my windshield and couldn't see the traffic lights if I was the front of a lineup. It helped and now I need to use the sunvisors to block out the sun. I fit a helmet no problem in my GTS even before the seat drop.

Ted