Tall people - how long until you found a comfortable position?

[G6JOJ]

Hi all, 

I'm currently in the market for a 986 and the one thing that's worrying me is getting comfortable as a tall-ish person. 

I'm 6'1.5 and I've seen threads here and elsewhere of similarly tall people finding the 986 absolutely fine. I've probably spent 2 hours driving them (between a couple of recent test drives and some time in a friend's last year) and I just can't quite get a seating position that gives me confidence of comfort on a long run. 

Taller 986 drivers - how long did it take you to find a good position? 

Cheers

[Baldrick]

Welcome.

I'm 6' and have had 3 986s and had exactly the same issue with the first 2 with standard 'tombstone' seats.

My latest one however has the 'sports wingback' seats and they give me significantly more legroom such that I'd have no concerns about a long journey. They're night and day really.

I believe fitting 987 seats gives the same result but it's not a cheap solution. 

Best position is found by putting the seat as high as it will go, racking it back to the stop of the runners and then lowering again until the backrest touches the firewall.

In summary it is possible. Good luck!

[Menoporsche]

How long does it take you to buy a 987  

[G6JOJ]

28 minutes ago, Baldrick said:

Welcome.

I'm 6' and have had 3 986s and had exactly the same issue with the first 2 with standard 'tombstone' seats.

My latest one however has the 'sports wingback' seats and they give me significantly more legroom such that I'd have no concerns about a long journey. They're night and day really.

I believe fitting 987 seats gives the same result but it's not a cheap solution. 

Best position is found by putting the seat as high as it will go, racking it back to the stop of the runners and then lowering again until the backrest touches the firewall.

In summary it is possible. Good luck!

Thanks for that! I'm half reassured, half even more nervous!

Interesting about the wingback seats! I don't think I've seen many if any of those in my search so far but I'll keep an eye out if that's the easy solve!

[JimC2407]

Perfectly comfy at 6'3" in mine with the seat as low and far back as it will go. Much prefer the tombstone seats as found the sports ones too restrictive and uncomfortable for my shoulders. Haven't tried the 987 seats out but others on here seem very happy having retro-fitted them.

[brillomaster]

Im 6'1 on a good day... first time i got in my 986, i found the seat didnt quite go low enough, and the steering wheel could do with being a smidge higher too. But comfortable enough in the leg.

Initially i found heel and toe hard as my knees banged the steering wheel, but ive learnt to drive with splayed legs now and can heel and toe ok. 

I know a 987 will be heaps better, but a 986 will do for another year or two.

[david_yorkshire]

I'm 6ft2;

Never had a problem on 986, 997, 996GT3, KN, 991GT3, 718, Taycan etc

[letsmile]

I’m 6ft4 and when I was last driving it years ago I felt absolutely fine, and I did alot of long tours to France, Italy, Spain. I have the seat as low as it goes and raked back so it’s literally forced into the back carpet. Sitting in it now, I think it would be great if the steering wheel would go a little higher, but still find it comfortable enough.

[Topbox]

Yep 6' 2" here and no issue in my 986. Did many a long day in Europe.  A few folk seem particularly sensitive on postion/comfort but most taller people get on fine in the 986. To answer your question though, the time it took to slide the seat back fully, maybe 3 seconds 😁

[map]

Am over 6’ and until Lockdown used my 986 daily. Have always found it comfortable on road or track and long days have all been absolutely fine.

As an example a few years ago I spent just under 24hrs in the car driving solo from Orvieto in Italy to Fulham in London, just over 1,100 miles. Aside from an “overnight” stop on the Italian side of Mont Blanc I was in the 986 the whole time.

Sure I was tired when I got home but that was due to the nature of the journey rather than any cabin/seating discomfort.

In terms of individual comfort - it depends on what sort of 6’+ someone is - relatively long legged or relatively long bodied and also I think whether or not their arms are especially simian.

The other factor is the condition of the seats - for example if the base webbing is broken or the foam is especially worn then the seat base won’t support you properly - this can mean the hips aren’t held level (left to right) which sets up a “twist” in the spine that leading to various to aches and pains in the back and legs. This needn’t be a massive problem as a few on the forum had fixed this themselves without spending much money 

As an aside it seems that right now someone could by a decent 986 use it for a while then if ultimately they didn’t feel it was for them sell it on and downgrade to a 987 without losing much (if any) money on the 986 purchase. 

[GmanB]

I think the key thing for tall people is getting the seat at it's absolute lowest position, which can be problematic as they tend to become harder to move the older they get. I'm by no means tall at 5'11, but prefer the seat at it's lowest to find my comfort position. Honestly, when I first purchased the cars 4 years ago it must have taken a good few months to find the right position. I do believe there is a comfortable position for most people in the 986 (unless your head touches the roof).

[½cwt]

I'm only a short ar*e at 5'8" but since getting my 986 my driving position not only in the Porsche but other cars has changed, possibly as a reaction to having more of a drivers' car.  I sit a bit more upright and closer to the wheel than previously.  With the new position I still find after a 5 or 6 hour drive that I have no aches or pains.  As noted above I get low too, I've always done this since my rallying days, which was due to height of weight in the car but I find it comfortable down there.  I guess if you have longer legs you have to do this to get them under the wheel though and the vertical adjustment has a lot of spring resistance to going down.  It is worth experimenting whatever size you are.

[Boxob]

6'1" and comfortable immediately. Have sports seats (with the wings) and lower console delete (from factory) which I've since learnt on here gives more leg room.

[G6JOJ]

Thanks, everyone! 
 

Those of you with the sport seats, how are they around the shoulders? Seem to be mixed reviews about comfort for broader shoulders. 
 

I’m a slightly wider than average guy so that’s a bit of a concern. Think I prefer the tombstones to look at so I’m hopeful that I can get those into a good position. Trying to find some sport seats to try but don’t seem many about! 
 

Cheers

[MickH]

As a 6ft 6er in a 987. Best thing I did was to space out the steering wheel. Gives loads more movement behind the wheel for your legs

[Baldrick]

Sports seats may be an issue if your shoulders are wide as one poster mentioned above.

I'm relatively slight so they work for me and as the backs are like a hard shell they go back a bit further against the firewall.

It seems it's very personal as you can see from all the answers and depends on your width and leg/torso ratio.

Best thing is to try them all and you can at least enjoy trying 👍

I'm sure you can make it work for you. Good luck!

[Menoporsche]

A final consideration if you want to track it. At some point your head may poke above the roll hoops. Thus rendering them useless. 

[Daboy3000]

Using washers or similar you can raise the front of the seat up about 10+mm. Gives you a bit of under thigh support. 

[G6JOJ]

Just been to drive another one (standard seats) and thanks to the tips in this thread, got a much better position. All the way up, seat back straight, all the way back, all the way down, recline seat back a little. 
 

Hilariously had to move forward one click in the end to fully press the clutch. 
 

First time I’ve been out in one solo, roof down, sun shining, half an hour in some twisties. What a car! Can’t wait to join the club. 
 

Really appreciate all the input

[Paul P]

12 hours ago, ½cwt said:

I'm only a short ar*e at 5'8" but since getting my 986 my driving position not only in the Porsche but other cars has changed, possibly as a reaction to having more of a drivers' car.  I sit a bit more upright and closer to the wheel than previously.  With the new position I still find after a 5 or 6 hour drive that I have no aches or pains.  As noted above I get low too, I've always done this since my rallying days, which was due to height of weight in the car but I find it comfortable down there.  I guess if you have longer legs you have to do this to get them under the wheel though and the vertical adjustment has a lot of spring resistance to going down.  It is worth experimenting whatever size you are.

Agree with the upright position.  If you sit like Porsche want you to it all seems to fall into place. 

[GmanB]

2 minutes ago, Paul P said:

Agree with the upright position.  If you sit like Porsche want you to it all seems to fall into place. 

Totally agree, the 986 requires two hands on the steering wheel most of the time and a relatively vertical back. Also with more bend in the arms, personally it feels I have a lot more control/strength on fast corners/breaking, but also gives me a better feel for what the car is telling me. I have a tip box, but I'd imagine it would help changing gears too. Almost certain I'd have burns and a broken nose at the very least in a head on collision though. 

[EXY]

On 6/2/2022 at 6:15 AM, map said:

As an aside it seems that right now someone could by a decent 986 use it for a while then if ultimately they didn’t feel it was for them sell it on and downgrade to a 987 without losing much (if any) money on the 986 purchase. 

I like your style sir  

[Jonobigblind]

I’m 6’2” and didn’t have a problem once I purchased some Toms and Puma Speedcats. The thinner sole just made it comfortable enough for me to drive without changing anything else in the car, plus the thin soles helped with heel and toe as well.

 

 

[MickH]

32 minutes ago, Jonobigblind said:

I’m 6’2” and didn’t have a problem once I purchased some Toms and Puma Speedcats. The thinner sole just made it comfortable enough for me to drive without changing anything else in the car, plus the thin soles helped with heel and toe as well.

 

 

Vans slip ons are also pretty good.  Plus the waffle soles are really grippy

[BrianJ]

I always find it takes me 6 months to sort the driving position in most cars. I was about 6'1" when I had my 986 (seem to have shrunk a bit since 😂). Once I got it right, it was one of the most comfy cars I have had, as have been its successors (987, 981). Did 80,000 miles in it in 6 years so I sat in those seats for quite a while! Funnily enough I found the instructions in the driver's manual about the seating position were a very good place to start - I ended up sitting nearer to the wheel with more bent arms than I expected. I had the standard-shaped seats with the multiple electric adjustments which included the seat base tilt, which helped a lot.