Irony
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 02:04 PM |
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Viento seating height vs roll cage issue
I threw in a low bid on a pair of seats local to me and I won them. I didn't check sizes or anything as I just bid the minimum and nobody else
bid. The seats are quite large but I can fit them in the Viento with zero space to spare. The side bolsters are bent in slightly by the tunnel and
side panels. Both seats came with Fiat Bravo brackets and sliding rails. Having removed the Fiat stuff and adapted the sliders to fit to the seat I
put them into the car.
As you can see from the photos there is not much room between the top of the SWMBO's head and the rollcage. Shes a tall girl (5ft- 11). The
seats will be approx 6mm lower than the photos due to a sheet of 6mm ply I have placed tempararly underneath the seat. The only way I could get the
seats lower is by
1. Buying fibreglass seats and selling these (boring and the SWMBO doesn't like them)
2. Removing the sliding rails (not really a option in a Viento)
3. Buying some seats that are thinner at the bottom (these ones are about 40mm thick)
I don't feel that good about my head being higher or the same height as the rollcage, any thoughts????
Cheers Kev
 
Description
 
Description
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eddie99
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 02:06 PM |
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Whats your front vision like at that height? You may lower the seats and find you cant see over the scuttle... Admittedly i'm short so think of
these things.
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Irony
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 03:36 PM |
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I wouldn't want to be much lower visionwise. It seems as if the rollbar could have been a 50mm higher. I am perhaps worrying over nothing.
I have to admit the thought of rolling it is a bleak one. Has anyone ever seen a full caged Viento?
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eddie99
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 03:48 PM |
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Thats what i thought, comparing it to the rear parcel shelf area. It looks like the cage is quite low and that might be the problem.
Risk of rolling a seven is very low indeed but you might want to get the cage altered.
http://www.elitemotorsporteng.co.uk/
Twitter: @Elitemotoreng
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elite-Motorsport-Engineering/153409081394323
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loggyboy
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 03:59 PM |
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Do you plan on using it for anything other than road or trackday use? if you plan to do amy sort of motorsport then its an issue.
Mistral Motorsport
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wilkingj
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 04:01 PM |
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Also watch out for the aspect change in the rear view mirrors.
I failed my SVA on that!
ie dont sort the mirrors until you have fixed the seating issue.
IMHO the roll bar on Vientos is a tad on the low side.
I fitted Cobra seats and they are as low as I can get them, and my (Motor Bike) Helmet is just about level with the top of the bar.
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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Irony
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 04:06 PM |
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I only plan to do the occasional trackday. I went to Halfords to compare my seats with some others but they didn't have any. Stupid shop. If
I put the seats flat on the ground then I think the seats put your bum about 40mm of the ground at the lowest point. This doesn't seem a lot.
Other than glass fibre seats are there any thinner seats heightwise?
[Edited on 9/7/12 by Irony]
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jollygreengiant
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 05:03 PM |
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I kinda know where you are coming from on this, at 6' 4" I sit just under the bar with NO helmet, but just above the bar WITH a helmet.
Oh and I got my seats from the people that do all the Cobra car trim stuff at the shows. linky link
These are them out of car
and in car
and yes they are reclinable/adjustable back rake.
Beware of the Goldfish in the tulip mines. The ONLY defence against them is smoking peanut butter sandwiches.
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SteveWallace
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| posted on 9/7/12 at 07:24 PM |
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From the way that you have described them and what I can see, it looks like you have the same seats as me. I had fitted mine, but have taken them
back out now. I can drop one back in tomorrow and check where my head comes. I'm 6'2" and went for a Viento partially based on
feeling that my head was too far above the role bar than some others I tried - although I guess that the seat might have been lower.
How far above the side of the car does the role bar extend? I'll measure mine tomorrow as well.
I guess that the critical dimension is whether you are under a straight line from the top of the bar to the front of the chassis as this is where the
car will rest if it rolls, rather than a horizontal line at the height of the bar. I would not want to rely on it, but I suppose that you have a
couple of extra cm in terms of how much you would personally compress/deform and how much the seat padding would compress before you start snapping
vertibrae 
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Irony
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| posted on 10/7/12 at 07:26 AM |
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If I draw a imaginary line from the top of the roll bar to the nose cone then I will have to sit more or less on the floor. 
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loggyboy
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| posted on 10/7/12 at 10:18 AM |
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Heres the MSA guidance. But if you dont plan on Racing, sprinting or hillclimbing then its not much of an issue.
(Other than if you roll on the road/trackday and get squished!)
Mistral Motorsport
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Irony
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| posted on 10/7/12 at 10:27 AM |
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I would think the most likely place to draw that line to is the nosecone on the Viento. It seems to stick up quite high. I'll get a long piece
of wood and sit in it with the wood over my head.
Can't believe that no-one commented about the fact that I balanced the spirit level on the SWMBO's head. And the fact that shes wearing
her PJs and a dressing gown.
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loggyboy
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| posted on 10/7/12 at 10:52 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Irony
I would think the most likely place to draw that line to is the nosecone on the Viento. It seems to stick up quite high. I'll get a long piece
of wood and sit in it with the wood over my head.
If you rolled the nose cone would just squash, if you going to do it do it to the front chassis rail or its pointless.
Mistral Motorsport
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SteveWallace
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| posted on 10/7/12 at 04:02 PM |
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On mine, the highest point that might offer some structural resistance is the front of the engine as this is higher than the chassis.
Kev - I put my seats back in today and my head comes about 1cm below the top of the roll bar. The top of the role bar is 39cm above the chassis.
However, I have a more recent Viento than you and the roll bar bolts on (four mounting points with 3 bolts in each) Given my lack of clearance, I
might put an extra inch worth of steel plate between the mounting points and the chassis. If you really decide that you need to raise yours, maybe
you could cut it off and turn it into a bolt on type. Might be easier to buy seats with less padding though.
...Or you could change your SWMBO for a lower height one
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SteveWallace
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| posted on 10/7/12 at 04:14 PM |
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Viento with full roll cage in this thread (scroll down to see the pictures)...
full roll cage
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Irony
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| posted on 11/7/12 at 07:32 AM |
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I have bolted the first seat down now and I think my head comes about 30mm lower than the rollcage. That seems to work out correct with your
measurements as you are a couple of inches taller than me steve.
I have seen the viper Viento before and I actually saw it a Newark show on the back of a trailer once. It was the cars on the Luego owners stand that
year that made me want a Viento. However the Vipers chassis was completely modified to take the viper engine including I think the addition of the
rollcage. Shame the Viper project was abandoned really, I think he put the engine in a Sierra in the end.
It wouldn't make a difference if I swapped the SWMBO for a shorter version. I am only concerned about my head. 
[Edited on 11/7/12 by Irony]
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