I have been pining away dreaming of the day I'll be able to buy myself an M coupe. The day came, I went to the dealer, turns out - I CAN'T FIT inside this car.

Well - sort of.

The tightness isn't overwhelming - and may even be "not bad enough" to stop me but I need YOUR help.

I am 6'4" tall, have a large torso - inseam is only 32-33, so it's all up top. I am also large framed. The seats - I can live with (originally thought they were too tight). But I'm sitting so high up (even with seat all the way down) that the roofline on front windshield is at my eye level. Forget seeing traffic lights!!!

Anyone do anything to make these bigger? In looking behind the seats, there seems to be a plastic cover of some sort - can these be removed to pick up an extra inch of "lean" or roll back? Can the divider be modified to gain room?

I had literaly written the car off, shopped the competition, and came back wanting. Then I test drove a straight 3.0 Z4 coupe - not even the M and it blew me away. The handling, engine, it's just a perfect package! I WANT!

I'm going to the dealer on Monday to spend some quality time with the unit they have. I am soooo hoping I can make this work.

Thanks in advance for any help you can throw my way!

Peet

Thats too funny. I have similar issues. Not with cars though, but with motorcycles. I'm 5'11" 240 and I have a head like a rottweiler. I'm not exactly heavyset nor tall but my shoulders are pretty wide and I have no neck! My suit size is 48 while my pants are 36/32. Anyway, when I ride my bikes I look like an elephant on a tricycle. It's kinda embarassing when I go to get fitted for things. Especially helmets. Anyway, the seats on the M coupe could probably be modified for your build. Perhaps they could bolt them directly to the floorboard or design a lower profile sliding track. I'm guessing that the rear deck can also be modified since there's nothing back there anyway, to allow the seat to go slightly farther back. Even if only an inch or so, it should make a big difference. The seats on my e36 compact have a lever that allows the seats to sink down towards the floorboard, which gives more headroom. My car is also lowered which makes climbing out a PITA, but atleast it's comfortable to drive. I wouldn't blow off buying the car of your dreams because of a simple fitment problem. More than likely if you flash the dealer some cash he'll find a way to make it fit. BTW, the mirrors on my bikes are useless, all I seem to get is a closeup my shoulders. I feel your pain big guy, but don't stop doing what makes you happy. Think about those little guys who have to sit on a pad to see over the dashboard.

The trim pieces behind the seat contain the speakers and connect to the central storage/sat nav dvd center. I've had the trim pieces at the top of the central structure off and it doesn't look like the rest of it is easy or practical to modify.

DT - I was referring to the seatback plastics, not the back/rear wall tha contains the speakers.

Please see diagram here:

ww w.realoem.com /bmw/diagrams/q/z/187.png

(reassemble the URL - sorry, dumb board software won't let me post pix or even a text only URL, super friendly 'eh?)

You've got a pretty short inseam, have you tried moving the seat forward and lean it way back? You'll end up moving the seat back to get in and out, but that's why we opted for the electric seats with the memory settings.

Jerry

Hmm. Good idea Jerry - I'll give it a shot tomorrow when I'm there!

P

A buddy of mine had a similar problem with a 911, and had the seats altered: they replaced the seat foam with thinner, denser material so it was lower but still supportive.

I had a friend with a similar problem, he's 6' 3" with only a 30 " inseam so he's extremely long-waisted. He bought an SL 500, and had to drive the thing with the seat tilted like a barcalounger.

He hated it after 6 months, and sold it back after using it maybe 25 times. While I'm not suggesting you'll have the same result, make sure the car is comfortable to you for a few hours, not minutes. There is nothing worse than hating a car you just bought and having to eat the depreciation.