Seeing if anyone had advice on seats/seat setup or pedal extensions one can use to flatten my legs while driving and obviously be more comfortable.
I’m 6ft tall 190lbs so I’m not a giant by any means!
At the moment my seat is at factory settings and so are the pedals. My problem is my legs are cramped up just underneath the steering wheel causing my legs to sway which is extremely uncomfortable on long sweepers where I am literally pinching my legs against the steering column mount just to keep my legs from swaying. My legs also slight get in the way of the steering wheel which can be a PITA!
Ideally I’d like to to have my legs flat (flat’ish) just to be sitting more comfortably.
My seat seems like it can’t go back any further or be tipped at a greater angle. Are there tab extensions one can buy to move it back? Is there a better seat that is deeper around the rib area to allow the seat to be moved back slightly further? I feel like if I gained 2-3 inches of leg room it make a huge difference.
Assuming youre talking cik/sprint, if so Tillet t11 is a pretty laid back seat. If thats not enough they do make “extended porch” kits that move the pedals out further away from you.
Edit: there are also thick spacers that can be used between the seat and the lower seat supports to help move it back. Really though, how the weight distribution of the kart pans out is more important than comfort. Move it too far back and youll get too much weight on the rear axle.
Yeah I have no clue how you’re even driving that thing. I’m 6’1 and while I’m a little cramped I’m still very comfortable. I run a greyhound seat personally. And have plenty of room for adjustment if I needed it.
Only shot I could find showing where I am at. I’m actually going to move the pedals forward another 1” or 2 and see where that gets me for comfort/balance.
I was 6 foot 200lbs when I started and I was never that cramped. I have a long torso though. That looks wrong to me, but I’m not the guy who can explain how to fix, sadly.
Your torso is almost at a 90 to your legs. It looks off. @highSRT position seems more normal by comparison.
I’m running a standard issue comet kart seat in black fiberglass. With an azuza seat cover.
This shows it a little better. I can’t run a front porch because of the frame railing that is not detachable at the front. My only solution is to move the seat back it seems.
It looks like you can adjust the pedals further forward already, which should open up some space in your legs. If you have a set of scales to use, you can see how much you are able to move the seat. The seat position itself looks okay, so I would look at trying to set the pedals further back.
I am 6’9 and average around 220 lbs. I bought my chassis used. It is a 2012 Tony EVK. It was the first year they changed the front end set up. Front pedals mounting and hoop attachment point for the front bumper. I scoured the interwebs for a “Front Porch”. Nothing was available. Without it, my kneecaps were at my knuckles on the steering wheel. I found a guy that did metal fabrication for dirt stock cars. He was able to make me a custom Front Porch for about the same price as the previous gen factory porch. It moved my legs out 4 inches and allowed me to finally get the seat in the right position to balance my large weight in the kart. My knees now tuck under the steering wheel at the top of the tank.
Like Dom suggested, I would ask around the pits to find someone that either knows your chassis brand to give direction on where to source on or who can build you a custom Front Porch.
Another option would be to raise the steering column, and/or find a longer steering shaft with similar geometry. Running less tilt may also buy you some more knee room.
I was thinking of a longer steering column to add leg room. In addition I was thinking of trying to find a seat that had a deeper bucket to give me possibly a few more inches.
Does anyone know of a deeper seat? Maybe a modular seat? Which may keep my thighs in place as long as I tip it sharply enough?
I was also considering trying to extend the existing seat tabs by a few cm’s by bolting on a piece of steel to allow the seat to come back a touch.
Cutting a longer brake rod by 5-6cm may work in addition to allowing more slack on the accelerator cable to extend the pedal reach. My heel is already flush with the front bumper bar.
Putting a front porch will be an expensive endeavor as my frame will need to be cut and re-machined.
A few cm’s will make a big difference, so start with that. Longer steering column helps as well, bit it’ll change your arm position as well and may make you uncomfortable but you can probably get used to it over time. Do you have a tilted steering wheel hub right on right now? If you get a flat hub that will tilt the steering wheel more horizontally and open up some space at your knees.
I have a tilted steering wheel at 15 degrees with a flat top and bottom steering wheel. To your point my arm position will be slightly more cramped but it’s my overall seated position that I want to improve to feel more planted inside the kart itself giving my legs an extra margin of comfort.
I’m 6-3 and for my tony. We moved the pedals forward as much as we could. Moved the wheel up to the highest position. The seat is a T11. Its nice and comfy for me.
Be very careful about moving the seat back. Too much and you will have too much weight over the rear and not enough over the front. Almost all chassis manufacturers have an ideal seat placement based on height and weight. I would not stray too far from this or you will be chasing handling issues constantly. Seat position is the first step to for a base line setup. A deeper seat is not meant to move you back in the kart, only to support you more around the torso. I mounted my seat multiple times to get the front to rear weight distribution right.
There are ways to add to the front with out cutting and welding the frame.
You could easily have someone fabricate this for less than the cost of a new seat and it bolts on.
I’m going to purchase a new steering column. I currently have a 48.26cm. I’m thinking of going as long as possible to a 51cm column to give extra leg space. In addition I will see about adapting a custom pedal extension.
If I don’t need to buy a new seat that would cost me less $$. I’ve already dumped so much money into my project I’d like to keep expenses at a minimum!
