Too Tall for a 406!

[soggydog]

Hi - brand new member, new to 406's too.... I just picked up an Exec 2.1 TD 1997 with leccy everything (amazing condition, £355!) and I'm very happy apart from my head banging on the sunroof surround. Obviously I've used the electric motors to move the seat through all permutations of angle and height, but no joy. Has anyone ever tried cutting foam out of the seat? The leather on the front drivers seat is worn anyway, and I was going to get a replacement from a breakers - but have never attempted this? Help please. Got a headache!

Thanks

[DaiRees]

Hiya mate, welcome...

How tall are you then??

I don't think the electric seats go quite as low as the manual ones, I certainly found that I was sitting up higher in my 2nd 406 (Mk2 with 'lectrix) than I was in the first one (Mk1 with manual seats).

Maybe you could do the opposite of what most people do and take the leccys out and put manual seats in....

[highlander]

Crikey; I'm just a smidgeon over 6 feet, and a lot of that is leg, and I have a lot of room up above me.

I don't have a sunroof in mine though, and never having been in a 406 with a sunroof, I don't know how big the surround is.

My old '94 Clio had a sunroof, and my bonce was always rubbing up against the surround on that, so I know where you're coming from - it is annoying!

[Doggy]

One of the guys at work,(who's about 6' 5"), tried sitting in mine & couldn't get the seat low enough either.....

[soggydog]

I'm only 6' 3 - hardly Andre the Giant..... I think its the combination of sunroof AND electric seats - I'm going to cut a flap in the leather, and then try to dig out 2 inches of foam, if I can work around the heated seat elements! I did this in an MX-5, and it works a treat - with the bonus of dropping you down further into the cushion creating a "bucket" effect. I'm going to get a spare set of seats first though, with the correct facings, so I don't drive around with a flappy seat cover.

[Welly]

Mmm, that's a bit Heath Robinson but if you've done it before then why not - you don't want to lose the shape and form of the original though and be careful not to take too much out it might make it lumpy/uncomfortable.

The sunroof has lost you about 40 - 50mm headroom that's the problem imo.

I suppose for what you paid for the car then anything's worth a go if it suits you.

[mjb]

I'm 6'2" and had bags of room in mine! Mind you I have the seat at its lowest, quite far back and very reclined for maximum back support...

[eoin27]

I'm 5'9" and i fit in my 406

[johnny406]

Hey I'm 6ft 8 and fit in my 406 alright, sure not properly and I get a bad back after 3-4 hours.

The trick is to tilt the seat backwards and by this I mean so the base raises your calfs upward toward the steering wheel and then move the backrest back a little, the puts you just in front of the middle pillar and allows you a good view of roundabouts and tight junctions through the front and back windows

Only thing is your car gets reduced to a 3 seater, even midgets are crushed behind me.

Defender or Range rover next I think

[madbaggie28]

if you can get the cover off the foam and you start ripping foam out you will have to watch how far down you go if you go too far you will loosen the wire inserts in the foam and then the cover will not go back on

[Doggy]

Well, I'm 5' not much and have no trouble at all

Wonder what Mr Darwin would have made of this?

[soggydog]

Well, surgery was performed at 2pm today, and the patient is doing well. Armed with a spare leather cover from a breaker, I simply (!) took the old one off, and Low! 4 inches of foam to play with. i took off a couple of inches with a sharp kitchen knife, which with me on the seat (and therefore compressed) gave me another inch. And we all know another inch isn't too bad, is it?! That means I clear the sunroof, and don't have to drive with my seat reclined so far back - far more comfy. Interestingly I also found out why the heated seats didn't work. Twelve years of sweat and human leakage (shudder) had allowed moisture to rust, and then part, the electric filaments in the seat heater - which is like a tiny electric blanket in two parts, laying on the inner seat cushion. Stripped the wires back, insulation tape on, and it all works again. All I have to do now is refit the seat cover.

[lofty]

Im 6'6" and can get relativley comfy in mine - thats the benefit of having no sunroof i suppose?

Suffer with a numb bum after a while, i think due to the seat bases been squashy?

[eoin27]

Suffer with a numb bum after a while, i think due to the seat bases been squashy?

Thats what the tilt control is for. It balances the weight of your legs so it is evenly distributed up to your knee. I have mine on full tilt always. Very comfy

[mjb]

My tilt has to be set *just right*. Too flat and my legs are too straight so I have the seat too far back and the steering wheel's too far away. It also increases pressure on the butt and lower back. Too tilted and it sends my legs to sleep