Hey folks, my car is a 97 m3 with a prepared class cage from Tcdesignfab. When I sit in the driver's seat, which is mounted low to the floor with custom mounts, I have plenty of vertical head clearance, but...

My helmet jsut about makings contact with the FIA padding on the cage tubing just to the left of my head. I can still turn my head left and right okay..., just wanted to know if this is a bad situation? There's not much I can do to at this point to move my head away from that padding.

If you are famililar with the BSCI FIA padding, it's very dense, and has different thicknesses at differents points as it wraps around the cage tubing. I currently have it oriented so that the thickest section of the padding is oriented straight down toward the ground. So, again, I can't add any distance between my helmet and the cage padding.

Anyway, just wanted to get a feel for opinions on this.

Once you start driving, the high-G loads will compress your spine making you shorter, and the problem will correct itself :)

Seriously, you want as much clearance as you can reasonably get, but it WILL change once in a "dynamic" situation. I have a similar issue in the 325 while sitting in the car on grid/paddock/whereever. Once under way on the track, it's a non-issue.

See you at the track in '06.

Jim

P.S. 500 posts - :redspot :)

Not to worry, Ben. Nothing you can do about it. Like Jim said....when you get out of the track, you won't even think about it. You''ll just hold your head a little to the side.

Jay

Cool, thanks for the info guys.

I just want to make myself as safe as I can be while I"m out there. This'll be my first time driving in a caged, gutted E36 m3, and in the worst case, I want to make sure I have the best odds I can have.

:Rant
I have a 330Ci and with the stock seat at its lowest setting my head still hits the roof so I have to hold it to the right slightly in the sunroof indention. And im only like 5'11".
End Rant:

:Rant
I have a 330Ci and with the stock seat at its lowest setting my head still hits the roof so I have to hold it to the right slightly in the sunroof indention. And im only like 5'11".
End Rant:

Recline the seat more. You'll feel like a low rider, but it'll get your helmet off the roof.

Jay

:Rant
I have a 330Ci and with the stock seat at its lowest setting my head still hits the roof so I have to hold it to the right slightly in the sunroof indention. And im only like 5'11".
End Rant:
I ended up getting a custom seat mount that puts me as low as the seat will go, and it's helped a lot (i'm 6'2" and more torso than legs). My head with helmet on no longer makes contact with the roof (granted, I don't have a headliner or sunroof control anymore)

I finally had Evosport make me a custom seat mount for my racecar which lowered it about an inch more than it already was. Prior to this, my helmet often touched the padding on the left where you are describing while getting strapped in. When racing, as others have mentioned, it was a non-issue. Now, with the custom seat mount AND removing the foam bottom cushion from my seat, I can't touch the padding if I tried! Great job by the guys at Evosport!!

I finally had Evosport make me a custom seat mount for my racecar which lowered it about an inch more than it already was.

I am 6'5" tall, and in my modified E21 racecar there is close to 4" between the top of my helmet and the roof. This tells you two things. 1) VAC seat mounts are great, and 2) BMW has been making their cars for shorter and shorter people each and every model.

-Dave

I ended up getting a custom seat mount that puts me as low as the seat will go, and it's helped a lot (i'm 6'2" and more torso than legs). My head with helmet on no longer makes contact with the roof (granted, I don't have a headliner or sunroof control anymore)

I've see a few cars where the floor pan was cut out and the seat anchors redone.