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      02-15-2020, 07:44 PM   #1
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lowering seat brackets?

I always felt that i sit way too high in the M2 and want to know if anyone makes a lowering seat bracket that helps lower the position a couple of inches. Or can you fit the sparco/recaro seat brackets and rails to the OG m2 seats? I wouldn't mind losing the power seat function if i can just sit a couple of inches lower.
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      02-16-2020, 08:37 AM   #2
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      02-18-2020, 01:28 AM   #3
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      02-18-2020, 12:30 PM   #4
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I drive with the seat base at full backward tilt, and as low as it goes.

There isn't space underneath the seat for the rear mat to slide in, never mind someone's feet.

If you really want to sit lower, manual seats might help, but aftermarket is probably the only option.

All of the above is predicated on driving a DCT of course, as the centre console will get in the way of your arm if you put the seat lower on the 6MT...
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      02-18-2020, 02:08 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M Fifty View Post
I drive with the seat base at full backward tilt, and as low as it goes.

There isn't space underneath the seat for the rear mat to slide in, never mind someone's feet.

If you really want to sit lower, manual seats might help, but aftermarket is probably the only option.

All of the above is predicated on driving a DCT of course, as the centre console will get in the way of your arm if you put the seat lower on the 6MT...
ive got my seat the lowest itll go and titled as far back as itll go too but i still think its a bit tall for my taste.
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      02-18-2020, 04:17 PM   #6
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I'm 6'1" with arms a Gibbon would be proud of. If I sat lower I would struggle to see the bonnet...
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      02-29-2020, 10:31 AM   #7
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I’ve never liked the seat height of the OE seats either. While my helmet clears the roof, it feels like I’m sitting quite high. The arm rest is an interesting point. I’ll need to think about this. There’s a thread somewhere on this forum about rebuilding the center armrest with a thinner lid. Might have to refer to that very soon.

I’ve had enough of the stock seats, so I just picked up some Recaro Speed V seats, sliders and floor mounts. Will be installing this weekend. I’ll try to get some measurements. I’m thinking seat bottom to roof will be the most straightforward way to measure the difference, but I’m open to suggestions.

I track the M2 around 20-25 days per year and found the OE seats lacked lateral support, and the leather too slick. Fixed buckets were out, despite the higher likelihood of allowing a lower seating position. I drive as far as 1,000 miles each way to track days and the thought of a bucket for these trips was not appealing at all. Also, I carry my track wheels in the back for these longer trips and didn’t wand to wrestle them out with a fixed back seat in the way. Sportster shoulder harness pass through were too low for my shoulder height (future proofing in case I add a roll bar and tire trailer later).

I’ll post seat height results tomorrow.
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      07-04-2020, 12:19 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bentom2 View Post
I’ve never liked the seat height of the OE seats either. While my helmet clears the roof, it feels like I’m sitting quite high. The arm rest is an interesting point. I’ll need to think about this. There’s a thread somewhere on this forum about rebuilding the center armrest with a thinner lid. Might have to refer to that very soon.

I’ve had enough of the stock seats, so I just picked up some Recaro Speed V seats, sliders and floor mounts. Will be installing this weekend. I’ll try to get some measurements. I’m thinking seat bottom to roof will be the most straightforward way to measure the difference, but I’m open to suggestions.

I track the M2 around 20-25 days per year and found the OE seats lacked lateral support, and the leather too slick. Fixed buckets were out, despite the higher likelihood of allowing a lower seating position. I drive as far as 1,000 miles each way to track days and the thought of a bucket for these trips was not appealing at all. Also, I carry my track wheels in the back for these longer trips and didn’t wand to wrestle them out with a fixed back seat in the way. Sportster shoulder harness pass through were too low for my shoulder height (future proofing in case I add a roll bar and tire trailer later).

I’ll post seat height results tomorrow.
How’s the recaro seat height working out for you? Interested in fixing the seats as well
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      07-04-2020, 10:32 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Fabb View Post
How’s the recaro seat height working out for you? Interested in fixing the seats as well
I’m enjoying the lower seating position. I no longer have any issues with helmet contact along the door opening, which is great.

Only downside is the center console arm rest is a bit high now. I’ve been eying the M235iR and M2CS consoles wondering if one would fit. I have to drive a bit elbows out on track now. I’ve adjusted, and it doesn’t bother me too much, but it would be nice to have more elbow space.
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      07-04-2020, 10:37 AM   #10
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Fun fact form the BMW Performance Driving Course: The first thing they make you do is raise the seat and move it forward so you always have your elbows bent while keeping your hands on the wheel at 9 and 3 at all times.
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      07-04-2020, 12:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M Fifty View Post
Fun fact form the BMW Performance Driving Course: The first thing they make you do is raise the seat and move it forward so you always have your elbows bent while keeping your hands on the wheel at 9 and 3 at all times.
I wear a 37-38" sleeve dress shirt and prefer a very upright seating position on track, but have relatively short legs for my height. Getting to a spot where my elbows are bent really isn’t a problem as long as I have the headroom to sit as upright as I like.
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      07-05-2020, 10:10 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bentom2 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by M Fifty View Post
Fun fact form the BMW Performance Driving Course: The first thing they make you do is raise the seat and move it forward so you always have your elbows bent while keeping your hands on the wheel at 9 and 3 at all times.
I wear a 37-38" sleeve dress shirt and prefer a very upright seating position on track, but have relatively short legs for my height. Getting to a spot where my elbows are bent really isn’t a problem as long as I have the headroom to sit as upright as I like.
They sound great, any in car pics? Are you running a harness bar?
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      07-05-2020, 11:08 PM   #13
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They sound great, any in car pics? Are you running a harness bar?
I’ll try to get some pics soon. Haven’t taken any good ones yet.

No harness bar, and the Schroth Quickfit buckles unfortunately don’t fit through the seat pass throughs, so I’m using a CG-Lock for now on track. With these seats, it’s a decent combo. I might go to a half cage eventually, but torn by losing the option to carry track tires in the back.
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      07-06-2020, 06:33 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bentom2 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Montaver View Post
They sound great, any in car pics? Are you running a harness bar?
I’ll try to get some pics soon. Haven’t taken any good ones yet.

No harness bar, and the Schroth Quickfit buckles unfortunately don’t fit through the seat pass throughs, so I’m using a CG-Lock for now on track. With these seats, it’s a decent combo. I might go to a half cage eventually, but torn by losing the option to carry track tires in the back.
Nice, would love to see some pics when you get a chance. I'd like to put buckets in at some point, but willing to sacrifice a little depth for more comfort. How much better than the stock seats would you say? Thigh support in particular looks higher. I find the stock seats a bit shallow. I'm 5'11 so I think pole positions the holes would be too low for me, the speed V's look good. Did you use floor mounts or attach to sliders?
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      07-06-2020, 05:33 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Montaver View Post
Nice, would love to see some pics when you get a chance. I'd like to put buckets in at some point, but willing to sacrifice a little depth for more comfort. How much better than the stock seats would you say? Thigh support in particular looks higher. I find the stock seats a bit shallow. I'm 5'11 so I think pole positions the holes would be too low for me, the speed V's look good. Did you use floor mounts or attach to sliders?
Thigh and torso bolsters are definitely deeper/more supportive on the Speed seats. Not quite as deep as a fixed bucket like the Pole Position, but hips feel nicely locked in and torso is laterally well supported. A huge improvement over the stock seats for me.

Speeds with 3 point belt and CG Lock is working better for me than stock seats with Schroth Quickfits for lateral support. Not quite as good under heavy braking, but not far off.

The Speeds were the only seat, fixed or reclining from Recaro (at least from what my local shop had on display) that had shoulder pass throughs high enough for me.

In fixed back seats, Sparco had some much better options for a taller driver. I’m putting REV II seats in my 2002 for it’s return to the track later this year (I hope). I might set things up so the Speeds and REVII can be swapped between cars. We’ll see.

For mounting, I used Planted brackets and Recaro Sliders. Small beef; but the fore-aft adjustment range of the Recaro sliders is much smaller than the OEM seats. A longer legged driver might not have enough adjustment with this combo. My 5’6" wife also can’t quite get close enough to fully depress the clutch to the floor. Fortunately, we seldom drive each other’s cars.
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      07-24-2020, 10:01 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bentom2 View Post
I’ve never liked the seat height of the OE seats either. While my helmet clears the roof, it feels like I’m sitting quite high. The arm rest is an interesting point. I’ll need to think about this. There’s a thread somewhere on this forum about rebuilding the center armrest with a thinner lid. Might have to refer to that very soon.

I’ve had enough of the stock seats, so I just picked up some Recaro Speed V seats, sliders and floor mounts. Will be installing this weekend. I’ll try to get some measurements. I’m thinking seat bottom to roof will be the most straightforward way to measure the difference, but I’m open to suggestions.

I track the M2 around 20-25 days per year and found the OE seats lacked lateral support, and the leather too slick. Fixed buckets were out, despite the higher likelihood of allowing a lower seating position. I drive as far as 1,000 miles each way to track days and the thought of a bucket for these trips was not appealing at all. Also, I carry my track wheels in the back for these longer trips and didn’t wand to wrestle them out with a fixed back seat in the way. Sportster shoulder harness pass through were too low for my shoulder height (future proofing in case I add a roll bar and tire trailer later).

I’ll post seat height results tomorrow.
Any trouble with an airbag error light from the passenger seat being removed? I'm assuming the Recaros don't have an OEM-type weight sensor for the front passenger dash airbag. I had fits with this issue when I put OMP racing seats in my 911 a few years ago. The dealer wouldn't code out the airbag error light due to legal/liability concerns, and no local indy shop had the ultra-expensive Porsche factory computer to do the coding.
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      07-25-2020, 11:42 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by paradocs98 View Post
Any trouble with an airbag error light from the passenger seat being removed? I'm assuming the Recaros don't have an OEM-type weight sensor for the front passenger dash airbag. I had fits with this issue when I put OMP racing seats in my 911 a few years ago. The dealer wouldn't code out the airbag error light due to legal/liability concerns, and no local indy shop had the ultra-expensive Porsche factory computer to do the coding.
There’s a whole cottage industry built around BMW coding. I found a local guy that took care of it for me. I believe there are remote options too if you can’t find anyone local, I think you just have to buy the cable. I didn’t look into this though since I found someone local with a good reputation.
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      07-26-2020, 04:09 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bentom2 View Post
There’s a whole cottage industry built around BMW coding. I found a local guy that took care of it for me. I believe there are remote options too if you can’t find anyone local, I think you just have to buy the cable. I didn’t look into this though since I found someone local with a good reputation.
Here's a DIY on how to do the coding work for seats (occupancy sensor, airbags, etc.)

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...9&postcount=40
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      07-26-2020, 04:14 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bentom2 View Post
I’ll try to get some pics soon. Haven’t taken any good ones yet.

No harness bar, and the Schroth Quickfit buckles unfortunately don’t fit through the seat pass throughs, so I’m using a CG-Lock for now on track. With these seats, it’s a decent combo. I might go to a half cage eventually, but torn by losing the option to carry track tires in the back.
Quickfit or Pro? I initially couldn't get the Pro center lock through my seats, but you can disassemble it and put the belt through then reconnect: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...24&postcount=8

Obviously if the side buckle won't fit that's a problem that's much harder to solve, since it doesn't come off.
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      07-26-2020, 04:28 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by asciimike View Post
Quickfit or Pro? I initially couldn't get the Pro center lock through my seats, but you can disassemble it and put the belt through then reconnect: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...24&postcount=8

Obviously if the side buckle won't fit that's a problem that's much harder to solve, since it doesn't come off.
I have the regular Quickfit. A friend brought over his set of pros so we could try them as well. Didn’t disassemble either set, but I believe one of the larger components was sewn in on both. It’s been a few months though, so recollection isn’t 100%.

Editing to add a new 3D printed trim piece could probably make this all work. A friend of a friend has offered to help. Haven’t taken him up on this yet. Also, the buckle components on the pro were more compact, and might be possible to fit through with some trimming of the plastics. Wasn’t willing to try trimming to fit borrowed harnesses on brand new seats at the time, but I found a source for replacement trim, so might dive into one of these options eventually, but also I’m pondering a half cage and 6 point harnesses, so we’ll see.

Last edited by bentom2; 07-26-2020 at 04:40 PM..
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      07-30-2020, 09:11 PM   #21
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Quote:
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They sound great, any in car pics? Are you running a harness bar?
Realized I never followed up with pictures of the Speeds installed, so snapped a couple quick photos while I was loading up the car for a day at the track tomorrow. Sorry, not sure why they rotated when uploaded.
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      07-30-2020, 11:39 PM   #22
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Does anyone know a shop in socal that might be able to custom fab this for us?
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