Driver Seat Mod Redux

[RandyDaytona]

Hey all,

I was searching through some older posts where people wanted to lower the driver's seat in their 4th Gen. About the only concrete solution anyone had come up with putting some washers under the front seat mounting bolts to lift the front - then, the back could recline more and the person would effectively feel "lower" in the seat.

Well, most of these posts were circa-2008-ish, so I thought I'd see if anyone had come up with anything new since then.

To clarify - I actually want the entire thing to BE lower, period. I'm 6'2", but apparently it's all from the waist up - i.e. my legs aren't that long, so I don't need to recline way back and don't want to feel like I'm sitting in the backseat.

I took my seats out today and it looks like there's space for the entire seat to sit at least 1" lower if a bracket could be found for it. Or, if the existing bracket could be removed from the seat altogether and the 'rail' portion simply bolted to the floor - ? I don't know - not an engineer, here, and didn't sleep at a Holiday inn Express last night...

Any ideas from the seating-savvy members of the forum?

Thanks folks!

Ron

 

[RandyDaytona]

So I'm guessing everyone else is happy with their driver's seat.... (!)

Based on a couple of suggestions I read about (not sure if they were both on this forum or not), I decided to shave some foam off the underside of the seat and add/or add some washers under the front seat bolts to raise the front.

As anyone who has ever installed seat heaters knows, taking a seat apart to expose the cushion can be a pain in the ass, especially with those little hog rings or whatever they're called. Fortunately, I had done this before.

I got to the cushion and used a sanding pad to scrape about an inch of foam from the bottom (there's plenty to spare).

Then I put the seat back together and used a couple of the spacers I Menard's to raise the front part of the seat about a half inch.

Overall, it lets me a sit a LITTLE bit lower, but not too much. I'm still looking for a way to drop that rail. It looks like there's a nice 2" space that it could descend into with no problems, but it would probably mean getting some new rails and modding them. So, anyone with any ideas?

 

[WXman]

More power to you man. I looked at mine and I don't see any place to cut it down. The underpinnings of the seat are just barely above the floor as it is. Lowering the seat in a safe manner would be a PITA.

Besides, for me the problem is that when I lower the seat all the way, then my legs get uncomfortable and my knees are up into the steering wheel. The real solution would be more headroom, not a lower seat. Just my $0.02. I don't know why SUVs were designed around women. I test drove a 2005 Grand Cherokee Limited before buying my 4R and it was WORSE. I couldn't even hold my head up straight in that thing with the seat all the way down. Couldn't see traffic signals if you were first in line at the redlight either. It was awful. I guess they assume that women will be the primary drivers of these vehicles or something. It's terrible.

 

[LTDSC]

next weekend my friend and I will be trying to figure something out to make me sit lower. Im 6'8" and some days are good, some are terrible.

 

[CrimsonCountry]

next weekend my friend and I will be trying to figure something out to make me sit lower. Im 6'8" and some days are good, some are terrible.

My condolences. Ha. I'm just 6'2", same as the OP, and I find mine extremely cramped at times and really regret getting the sunroof. I would gladly take that tiny bit of extra headroom as I don't really like sitting in the back seat (leaned way back) while driving.

 

[LTDSC]

My condolences. Ha. I'm just 6'2", same as the OP, and I find mine extremely cramped at times and really regret getting the sunroof. I would gladly take that tiny bit of extra headroom as I don't really like sitting in the back seat (leaned way back) while driving.

i too regret the sunroof now. I sit all the way back and down, leaned real hard. Thankfully i have orangutan arms so i can easily reach the wheel. Its frustrating when im fully stretched out because i basically have to sit in the sunroof opening for my beebz hair. But when i turn left to look i always smack the roof.

 

[jdkilroy]

I've got the same problem; I've got about a fingers breadth between the top of my head and the overhead; I have inches to spare in my little Tacoma but not in the SUV. I would be happy with an all manual seat if it was lower.

Perhaps that is an option to explore; which models had manual seats?

 

[jdkilroy]

..... Im 6'8" and some days are good, some are terrible.

I can't imagine how you do it. I'm 6-03 and I have about a 1/2 ~ 3/4" of head room. I'm thinking the 4Runner is not a good rig for you.

 

[having fun]

Know what you tall guys are talking about. All my partners that are tall or big, complain about no room or the roof is to close, you should have bought a Sequa. Perfect for me and I bought it for my size, just perfect.

 

[LTDSC]

I can't imagine how you do it. I'm 6-03 and I have about a 1/2 ~ 3/4" of head room. I'm thinking the 4Runner is not a good rig for you.

i actually fit really good but ive also learned i dont have a ton of room in just about everything. Only real problem i have is when i look left i hit the roof.

Sadly, this wasnt noticed nor a problem during the test drive.

 

[RandyDaytona]

I don't know why SUVs were designed around women.

Or Japanese men...

LTDSC - let me know if you figure something out. 6'8"??? I don't feel quite as bad, now (!).

 

[zopperman]

I'm 5'10 and have no problems with the seat.. except jealousy :lol:

 

[aha2988]

Just throwing an Idea out there..

I saw either in this forum or somewhere else among the world wide internet a guy that had a tundra took all the interior out, cut two large size squares out of the floor, then boxed the holes back in with sheet metal deep enough to hold a 12 inch sub in each box, flush mounted expanded metal over the speakers and re-installed the carpet with the rest of the interior to end up with hidden sub woofers.

perhaps you could cut the floor out around the seat and drop the floor and inch or so then re-install. you would have to do a little custom carpeting as the factory carpet wouldn't work anymore but it would lower your seat for sure. Probably not the most ideal way your looking for but it was just a thought.

 

[wadle5]

I'm about 6'4 and I have found that for me to be comfortable headroom wise I either lean on the center console or on the window ledge. I guess what it was designed for, but also I will say the sun roof makes a huge difference, if I didn't have one this would just be uncomfortable all the time.