Too tall for the 911?

d5c5b · d5c5b's Garage

Heres a question...stupid or not, but i've never sat in a 911 (early atleast) have driven a new carrera...but im 6'4" and curious as to whether or not i would fit comfortably in an older 930 or even earlier SC etc. How tall are you guys and hows the fit for you?

also, side questions....whats DE stand for.....everyone says it and i know it has to do with tracking the car but i cant figure out what it stands for....thanks!

jstobo · 05-24-2005, 07:09 PM

I'm 6'3" and I don't push the seat all the way back in my 69. You should be okay. DE means Drivers Education.

coloradoporsche · 07:24 PM

I'm just under 6'-2". SC with sunroof is OK......until I put the helmet on.

cardsrule · 05-24-2005, 07:15 PM

I am 6'5" and just can barely fit in my 79 930. The seat is all the way back(just touching the back seat). I have the stock seats and I am thinking about getting rid of the rails to give me inch or 2.

PS just drive a 930 once and you will get one

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

I'm 6'1" and fit fine in my SC w/sunroof...until I put a helmet on. We ended up cutting out the stock seat mounts and doing a custom mount for a Sparco race seat, dropping it down a couple inches.

86 911 · 86 911's Garage

I'm 6'0'', and I fit fine in the 911... because it is a cabriolet. If the top was on, I'd say I would still have a lot of room. The only drawback is that it is hard to see if you put the sun visors down when you are driving.

Lukesportsman · 05-24-2005, 08:18 PM

Aluminum race seat bolted to floor. Don't let comfort win out over desire

ghnat · ghnat's Garage

I am 6'4" and fit nicely in my targa...

gavinlit · 05-24-2005, 08:30 PM

6'2" and have to have the seat forward a little. No problems with head room in my targa(roof on) but did feel a little squishy in a similar vintage coupe. Just another good reason to get a targa.

my2rotties · 05-24-2005, 08:37 PM

I am six fet tall, and fit fine on the driver's side. However, on the passenger side, the seat does not go back far enough. All my height is in my legs. I do fibd it tough to get out of the car in a feminine way though. It is just so low to the ground. I would never wear a skirt, that is for sure.

drsimonwong · 05-24-2005, 09:04 PM

Answering your question from a broader perspective the passenger side looses legroom in cars with AC. So if your companion is long of leg then there will be grumbles....:-)

Simon

ted · ted's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Lukesportsman
Aluminum race seat bolted to floor. Don't let comfort win out over desire

Agree! Or all the tall guys would be racing motorhomes or pick ups.

6'6" and my 69 911 street/track car has the Aluminum race seat bolted low and between the stock seat rails.
86 Turbo look w/sunroof has some after market seats mounted very low and I drive it daily.

mattr_914 · 05-24-2005, 09:26 PM

6'4" in my SWB 912 no problem. I bolted in '74 911 seats and its even less of a problem.

My 914 on the other hand...

Peterfrans · 05-24-2005, 09:38 PM

6'4" in my targa, with roof on no problem. The coupe has a sunroof and I kept bouncing my head to the roof until i lowered the seat rails.

Todd Simpson · 05-25-2005, 04:59 AM

I noticed a lot more leg room in my '71 compared to my '83. Anyone else have pre and post '74 cars notice this?

FA-18C · 05-25-2005, 07:44 AM

I am 6'3" and have had an 87 and several 72 and older. The earlier cars seem to have more headroom and leg room. There is also more footroom in my 70 than I had in my 87. With flight boots on (size 13's) it got a tad bit crowded down there.

dfink · 05-25-2005, 09:27 AM

6'1" and fit fine. Biggest problem in my 85 is that the steering wheel does not adjust. I can get plenty of leg room in fact usually have the seat a couple notches up but have to reach for the steering wheel. I suppose if you have longer arms the reach would be better. If your tall I think I would consider a cabriolet "cab" (convertable) unless you want to race or DE then don't get a cab, too many restrictions.

GettinHeadStuds · 05-25-2005, 09:41 AM

I'm 6'1 175 and don't fit well in my SC...

My head touches the roof (sunroof coupe) and I feel like I'm too far away from the steering wheel. I guess I've got really long legs and average length arms.... so my seat is way back... head hits the slant of the roof and arms need to be extended to reach wheel.

For some reason, when I drive the 911 daily my left shoulder gets REALLY strained. So much so that it "wings-out" when I lift weights. I deal with it and only think about it when I'm in traffic...

Good luck

Miguel Antonett · 05-25-2005, 09:51 AM

After you drive a real 930 (76-79) you'll figure it out... There is no substitute.

KobaltBlau · 05-25-2005, 10:00 AM

Maybe this has all been said but:

1. non-sunroof coupes have good head room
2. Targas have good head room (maybe even better than a non-sunroof coupe)
3. sunroof coupes are not so great in the headroom department
4. still, many tall guys have made sunroof coupes work, usually by changing the seat or lowering the seat rails
5. helmets make things substantially worse, and are required for DE events (now that you know what that means). However, I know a guy who is probably 6'3" and DE's his '82 sunroof coupe a lot with recaro sport seats (which do help).
6. 78+ (And even, to a lesser extent, 74-77) 911 coupes are hard to find without a sunroof, at least in the US.

If I were in your shoes, I would probably lean toward a targa if I wanted a later (but still pre-89, of course) model, and lean toward a non-sunroof coupe if I were looking at earlier cars. Just my humble opinion.