I'm just thinking aloud here so apologies in advance. Has anyone positioned their seat similar to how F1 drivers are seated? OK, perhaps not to
that extreme, but all the demo cars I've sat in have flat seats and your legs are either out straight, or bent and lifted off the seat. How
comfortable would a seat be if it was inclined backwards and lifted your knees up underneath the steering wheel?
I'm starting to see potential flaws in that plan already (detachable steering wheel would become a necessity rather than an option). I think at
the very least I might go for a heel bar at the bottom of the pedals so my legs can stay bent without having to keep them raised...
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Building: Sold turboblade, back to tin tops
posted on 9/6/14 at 01:48 PM
If you want to add a new scare factor why not, their feet are however stuck like that through necessity, for myself I would much rather be able to
extract myself easily especially if you get involved in an accident.
F1 cars enjoy crumple zones, super strong driver cells and all the other safety features our cars lack
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Building: Scimitar Sabre turbo and SS1 Turbo hillclimbers
posted on 9/6/14 at 01:49 PM
a lot of 750MC 'Clubmans' Cars have the driver lying down in essence, but haven't seen any with legs lifted like an F1 car is
currently.
Its a comfy enough position in a car that's about 12" tall! but for road use I think it would restrict vision too much
"Racing is life, everything else, before or after, is just waiting"---Steve McQueen
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Building: Nothing anymore, bought an MX5 instead
posted on 9/6/14 at 02:08 PM
Without the g-forces of F1 performance (and without F1 levels of fitness) wouldn't you legs just 'go to sleep' after about 30
minutes ? - no idea really but it was my 1st thought :unknown:
I guess it was more the 'knees up and supported' rather than a full blown F1 style? So keeping everything as it is but kicking the leading
edge of the seat up to have the legs bent. The feet would still be at the same height with floor mounted pedals.
I would guess most of you already drive with a slight bend in the knee rather than an absolutely straight leg?
I started out with the drivers seat tilted back to support behind the knees, and found that my legs below the knees went numb lol.
That and the fact that the headrest was ok with a lid on, if you could put up with the tapping noise on every bump, without the lid my head was to far
back and I got neck ache from trying to keep my head forward.
I have lowered the front of the seat, now much more comfortable
Lots of single seaters have feet inclined up similar to f1, mainly for aero purposes or to get suspension geometry they are after. I don't see
how it would benefit in a seven at all.
Thanks for all the replies, it does sound like one of those things that seems like an idea but has no practical benefit apart from pins and needles at
the end of the drive... and if that's what I wanted I'd stick with my motorbike!
Can't see any reason why you'd get pins and needles from a legs raised position. you don't get pins and needles in your head when
walking around (I presume) - your heart is a pump, the only reason for pins and needles is pressure points. Done right a reclined seat position can be
very comfy.
It will slow your exit.
I can't see it making any difference in a crash.
I plan for mine to be a more reclined position but not so far that my neck is cricked from the position.
We had a similar discussion over on the Locost USA forum last month and the biggest downside seemed to be feel & control of the car. I have no
experience with this but guys who seemed to know said it was much easier to feel & control the car the more vertical you were.
So that's my .02¢ worth although it might be worth less than .02¢ since it's anecdotal.