More good suggestions guys, thanks. Those Tillett seats look ideal, that's a good one to know about. I'm almost tempted to go with a low back seat and a seperate headrest, but I'm not sure what that'd be like on long drives, as I don't want it to be a trailer queen. It'll get trailered to track days or racing so I can use it properly and take spares, but I want to drive it to any shows. I'm not sure a low back would gain much over one of the full height Tillett ones anyway.
I've been having a play around with the SolidWorks model, and this is the best I've managed to get it, this allows some padding on the seat, and I've added a 40mm thick helmet to the chap to allow for that. (The modeled person was roughly measured off my self, but only roughly):
The only other thing I can think of to do is angle the top half of the main roll hoop backwards slightly, to let the headrest of the seat sit a little further back. Although I would like to keep some space between the spinning solid bits of the engine and my spine, even if there is a very solid bulkhead there.
The only issue with mounting the seat right down below the floors structural members is that it gets in the way of having a diagonal triangulating the floor.
Barty, That's a good idea, but I'm not sure how I'd get around the roof mould, extending it once it's made would mess up the weave of the carbon, and I can't mess with the mould because it's not mine. I also fear visibility might be a problem that way, plus there's the issue that I do love a low roof line ;D.
I've just been out and measured my Passat, it's not exactly low slung, but from the seat cushion to the roof is about 980mm, with loads of headroom, and from the throttle stop to the back of the backrest is about 1420mm. Which is more space than I've got in the mini. I'd gain a good 100mm from the thickness of the backrest, which would mean it's only 15mm higher than the space in the mini, so it does sound possible.
I've also realised I've been an idiot and completely forgot my housemate has an MGF, which is quite low slung, so I'll measure that when I get a chance and see how it compares.
Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, definitely got me thinking about it more, any measurements would still be awesome if anyone feels like breaking out the tape measure though.
I've been having a play around with the SolidWorks model, and this is the best I've managed to get it, this allows some padding on the seat, and I've added a 40mm thick helmet to the chap to allow for that. (The modeled person was roughly measured off my self, but only roughly):
The only other thing I can think of to do is angle the top half of the main roll hoop backwards slightly, to let the headrest of the seat sit a little further back. Although I would like to keep some space between the spinning solid bits of the engine and my spine, even if there is a very solid bulkhead there.
The only issue with mounting the seat right down below the floors structural members is that it gets in the way of having a diagonal triangulating the floor.
Barty, That's a good idea, but I'm not sure how I'd get around the roof mould, extending it once it's made would mess up the weave of the carbon, and I can't mess with the mould because it's not mine. I also fear visibility might be a problem that way, plus there's the issue that I do love a low roof line ;D.
I've just been out and measured my Passat, it's not exactly low slung, but from the seat cushion to the roof is about 980mm, with loads of headroom, and from the throttle stop to the back of the backrest is about 1420mm. Which is more space than I've got in the mini. I'd gain a good 100mm from the thickness of the backrest, which would mean it's only 15mm higher than the space in the mini, so it does sound possible.
I've also realised I've been an idiot and completely forgot my housemate has an MGF, which is quite low slung, so I'll measure that when I get a chance and see how it compares.
Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, definitely got me thinking about it more, any measurements would still be awesome if anyone feels like breaking out the tape measure though.
below your feet!
