Drop Down Seat Option

[scottspiess]

Hi all, it has been a while since I have been on the site. I have a question for the Birkin people out there. Has any of you done the Caterham drop down seat option on your Birkin. If you have, I would love to hear the pros and cons of doing this option. I am still struggling with correct seat position and would like to take up this option if it works for Birkin owners.

Thanks

Scott

[soareyes]

I dropped my seat about 2.5 inches below the old floor level and can't think of any negatives. I never hit anything with the lowered pan as the sump guard was still lower than the seat pan. I used an Ultrashield aluminum race seat bolted to a set of brackets I made, and these were bolted to the Birkin's frame. I guess one negative was that the seat was not adjustable fore and aft so you had to be tall to reach the pedals, but fortunately the new owner is about the same height as me (6' 3"). The lowered seat make a huge improvement in driving comfort as I looked through the center of the windshield instead of into the frame top, plus my head was out of most of the wind buffetting. Worth the effort!

Stan

[prabjohns]

I recently lowered my Birkin seat by about an inch or an inch and a half.
It's the stock seat. I did it so that is still reversible and I could put the seat adjuster back if I needed to. I took out the seat adjuster and ground down the flanges at the back but left enough metal to allow it to be bolted back in if needed. I cut away sections in the corners of the fiberglass seat to make room for the seatbelts and cut off the central low square bit of the seat so it would sit flush with the floor.
I added an aluminium lip to the front of the seat so I could use the bolts and threads from the front end of the adjuster to bolt the front of the seat in place.
Not as well engineered or as low as Stan's but it's improved things for me a bit. I'm 6'1" or 6'2".
Paul.

[scottspiess]

Guys thanks for your info. I am 6' 2" @ 210 and I ripped out the seat rails and I have a 15" Kirkey go cart seat in there now. It is a friction fit (no it is not loose and it holds tight), but I want a more final solution. I need to lower myself to clear the knee knocking ignistion key. Yes I know I can move it but I need to work on one thing at a time. I will get this started once I get done with my Masters program (6 weeks and counting). I found a kit for under $500, so I will go that route.

Thanks again for your help.

Scott