I'm not particularly tall, 5'11", but the seat is just too tall for easy ingress and egress with respect to the XK8 convertible. Even when seated in the driving position, it's too tall. It feels like I'm perched on a stool. I'd prefer to feel more cosseted when driving. I've looked under the seat and I'm pretty sure I'm getting it as low as it goes, but there's a lot of wires and things underneath. Other than the height, I like the seats fine. Ideas?

 

Can you take a pic of your seat so we can see if it is stuck too high. Should be easy to compare.

You could probably take an inch or so out of the seat bottom by tinkering with the "basket" that the foam sits in. What that tinker looks like is dependent on the model year of your car. You would potentially be sacrificing *** comfort, depending on the ***, obviously.

 

Will do

 

Some of our cars, mine included, have adjustable seat height . This is changes by using one of the 3 buttons on a 1998 driver's seat. The most forward button toggles up and down to raise or lower the seat.

Hey maybe we'll get lucky and that's all it is for you.

Flee, notice that I mentioned the year. Sometimes things like the control structure changes over years. Please always tell us what year and what model you have in every question. That'll help a lot.

John

 

Funny you should mention that. When I bought my 2005 XKR it was to replace a 1995 Corvette and I actually had both for about a year. My main complaint was the seat height which felt more like a sedan than a "sports cruiser". The Corvette was the opposite extreme in that the seat was extremely low making the cabin feel like a cockpit. But I always felt the XKR seat should be maybe an inch or so lower to have more of a sporty feel.

Doug

 

2006. And the adjuster is set as low as it goes. Here are pictures for whatever they’re worth

 

I'm 5,10 and had the same issue with my 99. Try tipping the front of the seat up and reclining the back backwards, that's what I did and it works fine. Also, when getting out, both feet out and placed so when you get out you're facing the back of the car, same as getting in. Face the back, plop your butt iin the seat and bring your legs in.

 

Can't really tell much from those other than the wiring harness under the seat is not secured properly.

Can you get one from the side of the seat bottom, with the e-brake in the foreground and the console in the background? That would give us some reference points for comparison. One all the way down, and one all the way up, would help a lot.

 

Marvin - that’s what I do, plus recline the seatback all the way when getting in or out. The seat memory buttons are helpful.

I’ll try to straighten up the wires after Thanksgiving.

 

Has anyone successfully adjusted their seat height? I’m 6’6 and when I sit up straight the windshield surround blocks my view. I love the car enough to deal with it, but would be nice to fix. Would seats from a later XKR (Recaro) fix this?

 

Jacob, I'm a couple of inches shorter than you. I Cant tell you how many times I've looked at that drivers sun visor and thought "how bad would it look if I removed it, how hard would it be?" It sure does limit the angle of view - a lot. But reality checks that idea hard. It would look horrible and others, my girlfriend for example is less than 5'9" - she uses it all the time!

How about we think of the upper windshield surround as a built in sun blocker (what else can you do?).

I'm trying to think of a positive way to point out that, OTOH as you get older we definitely get shorter, I've definitely lost an inch or 2 in height... but while it's a fact, probably best not to joke about that one.

At 6'6" you're in a different category than I am. Too bad you don't have really short legs, you could lean the seat back and fix everything.

John

 

At 6-foot-7 there is simply no way for me to gain decent windshield visibility or get anything close to comfortable in my wife's 2006 XK8. I have tried all seat and steering wheel settings numerous times over the years but headroom, legroom, knee room, and foot room all remain miniscule for me. This is just not a vehicle for big and tall folks and I drive it as little as possible....

 

That’s the solution I arrived at. Pry off a plastic cover, remove 2 screws, and job done. I can squint, hold up a hand, or even raise the seat so the windshield frame is the visor. Also I didn’t want to stand on my head in the cold looking for a likely nonexistent problem. I figured even though it looks like spaghetti underneath the seat, since all seat controls work it’s probably as low as it goes.

 

I wish it were that simple, both the flaps in my visors are broken anyway. My head sits half way above the top of the car.

 

I have my seat all the way back and leaned back as far as I can. I too am 6'6ish and I am around the 360lb mark. As is usual, the rear view mirror is my nemesis as it blocks pretty much all of my view. I have gotten use to things not being built for me, and just live with it. Like they say, where there's a will there's a way. Am I completely comfortable, no. Am I more comfortable than in some other cars, yes. Let's face it, you can look at most sports cars and know they won't fit right. As for fitment, my heels touch, and I sometimes hit the gas pedal a little when I don't think about my skis when I hit the brake (154E shoes) my shins are against the sides of the foot well. My knees are partway around the steering wheel and I constantly jab my house key that is on my keyring, into my knee, and my left knee sometimes opens the gas door or trunk when I get in, that's annoying. My right leg is against the center console and my left against the door. My butt is slightly wider than the seat, and my back is much wider, with the headrest hitting the base of my skull basically. My head, unless I slunch down some has to be on an angle. I can't look out the side window without ducking as the roofline blocks half of my view and when at a light, I have to duck to see the light. I have to crawl into the car and my back has started to pull a spot on the edge of the headliner away, drrrrrr! I have a hard time buckling with a coat on, and either way I have to slide to the left to buckle. Like I've said, I have no misgivings that I look anything but awkward getting in or out of the car ,but I sure feel good when I'm in it! All said I have more room than in my 93 XJS convertible, which I did pull the visor out of, but I enjoy driving that too. Let's face it, if you're our size there aren't many cars out there that fit right.

 

Several of my friends ask if I'm disappointed that neither of my Jags are manual trans and I tell them yes, but I'd never be able to drive them if they were!