Lowering The Floor To Allow A Much Lower Seating Position

[engine killer 6]

Dear all,

 

I am planning to lower the floor as someone has done it here before but I am seeking advice of the thickness of those "L" shape sheet metal that welded to floor and exhaust tunnel.

 

Will a 2mm sheet metal be strong enough to support?

 

Thanks.

 

(sorry, the pictures were taken from here sometimes ago and I just cannot find the original post)

[Dj_mini 7]

Iv done the same in mine with a 2mm sheet and put a plate on either end on the seat rail.

Hope this helps:

 

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Heres how I did mine about 2 1/2 years ago, its still good and strong and up to the job

 

[Baz 421]

the first pics in the black car are James_R's car.

[boombang 2]

Done mine with 2mm and using 3mm to reinforce where seat bars will join

[engine killer 6]

Thank you all!

 

Have just been offered 3mm sheet metal, but will it be very hard to bend/fold?

 

Cheers.

[swordfish210 20]

not with a sheet metal folder

[Cameron 16]

Bit overkill isn't it? Have you seen the thickness of the bodywork you're welding it to?

I just used 16 swg for mine (1.6mm) and it's plenty strong enough.

 

 

 

[engine killer 6]

Bit overkill isn't it? Have you seen the thickness of the bodywork you're welding it to?

I just used 16 swg for mine (1.6mm) and it's plenty strong enough.

 

holy cow, your work looks so professional!

 

how much lower is that? it looks like it is about 3-4 inches below the top of the exhaust tunnel, am I correct?

 

the thickness of the original body is well under 2mm so i guess a 2 mm should be strong enough.

 

thank you very much for your pictures and i may just copy your way if you don't mind. B) :lol:

[welshpug 1,657]

Bit overkill isn't it? Have you seen the thickness of the bodywork you're welding it to?

I just used 16 swg for mine (1.6mm) and it's plenty strong enough.

 

depends if you're working to MSA regs or not.

[engine killer 6]

depends if you're working to MSA regs or not.

 

 

Sorry gentlemen forgive my asking, what are 16swg and MSA stand for?

 

Thanks.

[rally_kid 0]

Sorry gentlemen forgive my asking, what are 16swg and MSA stand for?

 

Thanks.

 

 

MSA is the motorsport association the governing body of motorsport for the uk

[Cameron 16]

holy cow, your work looks so professional!

 

Thanks?

 

Ah, do the MSA state that it has to be above a certain thickness then? What if you were to use the original mounts? They are only 20swg I think.

 

SWG = Standard Wire Gauge. The old fashioned way of measuring the thickness of sheet metal and tubes / wire etc. Strangely enough the higher the number the thinner the sheet. 16 swg (or 16 gauge) is about 1.6mm, 18 is 1.2mm, 20 is 0.9mm. I think.

[boombang 2]

MSA spec for seat mounts is 3mm steel. That's down to interpretation though, as with any car at some point you have to join the body, and that isn't going to be 3mm!

 

Best bet is to plate it with 3mm before you weld bars on IMHO

[Cameron 16]

Ah, so that's what the seats are actually bolted to rather than what the bit the seats are bolted to is welded to? If that makes sense.

[engine killer 6]

Ah, so that's what the seats are actually bolted to rather than what the bit the seats are bolted to is welded to? If that makes sense.

 

 

I have got my seats' mountings lowered last week, although it does not look as professional as yours but it works a treat.

 

Thank you for everyone's help, without those valuable suggestion and pictures I don't think I can get it done that easily. :lol:

[vicious-monkey87 0]

umm i don't want to sound stupid but why do so many people lower the floors? i'm assuming its to give a more comfortable seat height for bucket seats?

i have aftermarket seats in my other car and had to do something similar but i thought that the seating position in the GTi is quite good!

has anyone done this for standard seats? just curious lol

[welshpug 1,657]

a bucket seat generally also means a helmet will be worn, if you're near 6 feet tall you need the seat to be lower!

[vicious-monkey87 0]

ah fair enough, was just wondering really!

i generally prefer to sit low to the floor anyway as i'm quite tall so i might end up doing this anyway!

[bren_1.3 1]

for a rally car id like to get my passenger seat rails a bit further back towards the fuel tank i think. rather than weld both sets of bars along the same line.

[Para 82 2 Cars]

Where is the point of lowering your seat position ? :/

[vicious-monkey87 0]

i asked this already! its to allow for extra head room for bucket seats and helmets!

[mickie 3]

did anyone get faster lap times doing this mod ?

[Jrod 7]

IMO its more to do with strength, the standard mountings are terrible, in an accident they will rip out.

[engine killer 6]

In order to give a bit more head room when wearing a helmet and avoid banging your head/helmet to the roof, lowering those seat is necessary. The regulation in Hong Kong is very stubborn, all 2 and 3 doors car with rear seats have to have a tilt function for front seat when doing the mot, this gives a very hard task for trackdayer too.

 

By theory, sitting lower gives lower centre of gravity and improve handling but with bad visibility. Also, sitting lower means you have to stretch/straighten your legs a bit more and sit a bit further back, better weight distribution. Anyway, if I don't trackday I won't be doing this.