6' 6" Bloke in a 993

[TD2015]

Hey Guys,

I'm considering buying a 1997 LHD 993 C2S Coupe but have yet to sit in one. Before you laugh please note that I live on Crete and there are very few Porsche cars across here. I squeezed into a 964 Cab but am too tall i.e. 6' 6" to drive it.

I've been told that the 993 is built around the same chasis as the 964. However, I've also been told you can buy a Porche after market kit which lowers the seat and allows the rails to be moved further back. I've also read on this forum that some seats are lower than others. The C2S in question does not have a sun roof which should help a little with headroom.

Bascially what I'm asking is a) is anyone out there as tall as me and do they have a 993 and if so what did they do to fit comfortably inside and b) does anyone know of these kits which supposedly lower the seat and allow it to go back further? Also, would a turbo 3 spoke steering wheel be easier re knees etc - although the car in question is a tipitronic !!

Cheers

TD

ps I can fit in the later models ie the water cooled versions but obviously want a real Porsche !!

 

[cobalt911]

Hi TD,

I am 6'1" so you have five inches on me (!) but mine has a sun roof and I fit fine. I would have though without the roof you should be ok without lowering the seat?!? There also seems to be plenty of leg travel but I guess it also depends on leg length etc...

I think what I am trying to say is that I still have plenty of travel back in the seat and I am *relatively* tall...

Good luck!

Mark

 

[Mark Elder]

There is no "kit" required to move the seats back. The seats unbolt and then you re-fit in the further back location - ie there is a second set of bolt holes. You gain about an inch by doing this.

 

[TD2015]

Thanks Mark & Mark,

I spoke with a UK based Porsche dealer some weeks back and he said there was an after market kit that lowered the seat. I'll check again and perhaps find out more details re the kit and post on here - just in case there's someone else with my height looking for a 993. I've a feeling the sunroof would reduce the headlining height by at least an inch and perhaps more. I checked some pics of the glass targa top 993 when open and there appeared to be a good inch taken up by the glass and mechanism.

I'm going for the tipitronic so as to hopefully get more space in the footwell - size 12 feet come with the height - but also prefer the choice when driving. Crete has many winding, hilly roads and whilst not the perfect place to own a Porsche will certainly be both exciting and challenging. You should see how the Greeks drive across here!!

Cheers,

TD.

 

[craig2105]

Er - yeah - I've driven in Crete myself and some of the driving was "creative". I was advised by a local that should I hit a pedestrian, I should make sure that they are completely dead (i.e. reverse over the poor blighter) so as to avoid any complications with the local law enforcement chaps. Especially if the victim is a tourist...

Thankfully it was only necessary a couple of times - I could not have lived with the guilt, otherwise...[]

 

[TD2015]

Craig,

Run over a local and it's your fault and they can claim "blood money" through the courts. Run over a tourist and they go home on a stretcher and that's it. Therefore, much better to hit a tourist across here although because the C2S is so low to the ground I'm not sure either option would be too good for the car - never mind the poor pedestrian!!

The Greeks ignore all road rules, lights, one way signs etc and although the fines (if caught) are punitive it doesn't seem to bother them too much.

However, Crete has a National Road which runs from one side of the island to the other and it's probably the closest any of us will come to the Nuremberg Ring in Germany. It's like a race track and runs through some breathtaking scenery. In fact, purpose built for getting the very best out of your Porsche!

Jon

 

[IndischRot]

There are two sets of mounting holes for the seats; the rearward set gives you another inch of leg room. Some people claim they also give more head room but I don't understand how that can be possible given that both sets of holes are in the same plane that is almost perfectly horizontal.

WATER cooled (error corrected on 1 Nov) had an extra headroom option that I believe consisted on a thinner seat squab. Not sure this ever existed for the air cooled cars. There is a kit (basically spacers) to raise the seat but that's hardly what you want!

You can gain some headroom by reclining the backrest but for obvious reasons there's only so much you can do.

You really need to find a LHD car and see how you fit. I'm just under 6' and have very little head room in my sunroof-equipped coupe because I'm "tall in the torso" for my height.

 

[craig2105]

Hey John - yes it's all coming back. It was the blood money thing that the chap was talking about.

We've been to the island a couple of times and enjoyed it immensely. We were based around Chania and Platanias but that was a few years ago now. It was the motorcyclists that got me - they seemed entirely fearless and I can well remember the sound of bikes heading out of town with the revs climbing stratospherically. Once or twice you heard them going for it and then a loud bang and silence - followed by sirens a few minutes later. Quite an eery thing.

That road sounds like fun. I'm not sure if we ever found it but we did enjoy driving through the mountains which were spectacular.

Hope you sort out your seat issues. I'd love to drive my Targa over there but I don't think that's going to be happening any time soon!

Cheers, Craig

 

[Sam77]

I'm 6'2 and have a targa. There is plenty of head room but leg room is a little tight, hence I had to get a Tip. I tested a couple of manuals but it was very uncomfortable and I do a lot of miles.

I would say you will struggle.

 

[day1zero]

I am 6ft 1inch....and its tight especially with the offset pedal arrangement.....RHD.....just moved seat back an inch by changing bolt locations.....and has helped.....could probbably move seat back further with some creative metal work...(not too difficult)...its probably then becomes a question of head room as the roof slope to the rear window will come into play....

still buy 1 and just ram yourself in...wont be comfortable...but will out way all the benefits !!!

 

[Dylan1]

I am 6ft1" and touched the roof .without sunroof i would gain an inch or two but i still think you could end up with a very stiff neck .....but best of luck!!

any good osteopaths in crete??

 

[TD2015]

Last Friday I went across Rome to the Porsche franchise (my wife was shopping so no hassle from her)and the news is as follows.

1. Sat in a 1994 993 Cabriolet - the only 993 they had - and with the seat
right back my knees were jammed high on either side of the wheel about
half way up. My head was also hard against the canvas roof. There was no
way I could have driven that car in its current configuration. The gap
between the back of the seat and the small back seats might allow some room
for the rails to go back but then the seat back would not have reclined.
What's more with no steering wheel adjustment my knees could be a problem
too!!

2. Sat in a 2003 Cayman S and there was slightly more room in it, although
my head hit the roof. The steering wheel adjusted - unlike the 993 - and I
could have probably driven this car although not very comfortably. With
the seat right back it did not seem to want to recline too far which meant
my head had no chance.

3. Sat in a brand new 911 Targa and with the roof open no problem although
the top of my head would have been above the roof line of the car!! Roof
closed and there would be no chance to drive this car.

Strangely, the most room seemed to be in the Cayman which is contrary to
what I thought and also what I've read on various forums. Obviously I did not get
the chance to sit in a 993 coupe without sun roof but if the steering wheel
does not adjust then obviously the seat would need to go back a lot to
accommodate my height and as dyllan says the sloping roof would then come into effect.

Life seems a tad unfair right now !!

Jon

 

[JohnP]

As someone with a foot in both camps I'd have to say try a 968. A large, ex-police, basketball playing mate reckons it's the only Porsche he can ever get in comfortably. Mind you he's not 6 foot 6 and the front engined cars may not appeal.

John