Tall people :-)
Discussion
As Viperzs says above, it depends on your relative proportions. A friend of mine is 6'2" and he had an Elise S1 as his only car for many years. Also, I'd guess the sales manager at my local Lotus dealer is at least 6', and he's never mentioned not fitting in the cars, which he drives all the time of course. Of greater concern with Lotus might be your relative proportions - I need quite a big steering wheel spacer to get comfortable in modern Lotuses - they're designed for a bent legs and straight arm driving position, so if you're long in the leg and short in the arms like me, you may struggle without a steering wheel spacer.
I'm about 6ft 4.5 inches and I fit fine, only issue is my knee touching the gear stick in fifth, but who uses fifth in an Elise apart from motorways when you aren't going to be using the gears anyway? My torso/leg proportions are bang on 'normal' according to a bike fitment I had, though I do have unusually long arms - which is quite handy for the geometry the Elise seating position provides for taller folk. Longest journey I've done is four hours or so with no discomfort to report. If you want the car enough you will find a way of fitting!
Mentioning long journeys is very pertinent actually. Your post reminded me that on longer journeys my right ankle used to really ache from being cramped back at an angle to get onto the throttle, which is a consequence of the straight arms and bent legs driving position. I know I'll get criticised for this, but the only way I could manage to drive my Elise at a steady speed for a long distance was to swap feet occasionally and use the left foot for the throttle whilst the right one rested for a minute or so - the later models of Elise have cruise control I think which would solve this problem. I get the same thing in most superminis though, so I'd say if you can drive a Corsa or a Micra in comfort you'd be fine in an Elise.
I've looked at and compared seat rails here http://www.britishspeed.com/forum/showthread.php?8...
I've built my own seat rails and gained a ton of room out of it...
I've built my own seat rails and gained a ton of room out of it...
I'm 6ft 4 and lived with my exige for over a year. Can't have been too bad as Im on the look for another.
The best thing I did though was put an elise parts 320 momo wheel and removable boss with a 20mm spacer. The wheel never touched my legs again....
And my legs are long.... You will be fine....
The best thing I did though was put an elise parts 320 momo wheel and removable boss with a 20mm spacer. The wheel never touched my legs again....
And my legs are long.... You will be fine....
scatty72 said:
I'm 6ft 4 and lived with my exige for over a year. Can't have been too bad as Im on the look for another.
The best thing I did though was put an elise parts 320 momo wheel and removable boss with a 20mm spacer. The wheel never touched my legs again....
And my legs are long.... You will be fine....
My trusty spacer's been with me since my first Elise ten years ago and I'm very uncomfortable without it. I can't remember the size, but I think it's 60mm. The best thing I did though was put an elise parts 320 momo wheel and removable boss with a 20mm spacer. The wheel never touched my legs again....
And my legs are long.... You will be fine....
There are a few things you can do to improve leg space under the steering wheel (I've done all three in my S1 Elise - 6'3", broad and well padded).
Firstly, you can space the wheel closer to you (this may or may not help - depends where your knees are at the moment in relation to the wheel. If they're in line with the wheel or further towards the front than the wheel then this will help anyway). Limitation is whether you can still reach the column stalks with your hands on the wheel - test the overlap as it is. Spacers are available from Elise Parts, Elise Shop etc.
Secondly, (this works on the S1 Elise, and I believe it should on the S2, but research will help), you can space the steering column upwards slightly using an aluminium spacer (5mm is the limit before the upper column shroud hits the Stack binnacle). See the diagram on Deroure, place a spacer between the column and parts 8/10 on bolt 16, and that will angle the column upwards slightly, giving more room. It also helps you see the gauges more clearly if you're tall in the body, particularly so if you fit a smaller wheel.
Thirdly, fit a smaller (or D-shaped) steering wheel. This can be in conjunction with #1 of course. If it's an air bag car, I think you'll need a resistor or similar to prevent the air bag warning light showing. The stock wheel is 320mm, so if you make the wheel slightly smaller, you'll also have more room. I find this preferable to the D-shaped wheels, but it depends on whether you're ok with the fact the steering weight will increase at low speeds. I've got a 280mm Momo Team fitted, and it's still perfectly manageable at slow speeds, though I suspect the 300mm wheel would have been sufficient when combined with the other modifications.
If you're vaguely local I can always show you how my car's setup so you can see whether it works for you.
Firstly, you can space the wheel closer to you (this may or may not help - depends where your knees are at the moment in relation to the wheel. If they're in line with the wheel or further towards the front than the wheel then this will help anyway). Limitation is whether you can still reach the column stalks with your hands on the wheel - test the overlap as it is. Spacers are available from Elise Parts, Elise Shop etc.
Secondly, (this works on the S1 Elise, and I believe it should on the S2, but research will help), you can space the steering column upwards slightly using an aluminium spacer (5mm is the limit before the upper column shroud hits the Stack binnacle). See the diagram on Deroure, place a spacer between the column and parts 8/10 on bolt 16, and that will angle the column upwards slightly, giving more room. It also helps you see the gauges more clearly if you're tall in the body, particularly so if you fit a smaller wheel.
Thirdly, fit a smaller (or D-shaped) steering wheel. This can be in conjunction with #1 of course. If it's an air bag car, I think you'll need a resistor or similar to prevent the air bag warning light showing. The stock wheel is 320mm, so if you make the wheel slightly smaller, you'll also have more room. I find this preferable to the D-shaped wheels, but it depends on whether you're ok with the fact the steering weight will increase at low speeds. I've got a 280mm Momo Team fitted, and it's still perfectly manageable at slow speeds, though I suspect the 300mm wheel would have been sufficient when combined with the other modifications.
If you're vaguely local I can always show you how my car's setup so you can see whether it works for you.
Edited by _Marvin on Thursday 31st May 23:15
As for off-center wheels, I don't like them. They only work with the steering wheel pointing straight ahead...and that is NOT what these care are designed to do...go only in a straight line. I also don't like it when you loosen up your grip on the steering wheel to let the wheel center back after a turn, your hands move up and down with the wheel.
I like the Momo 88 wheel. It is almost symmetrical with the the flat bottoms coming out to either side just a bit and the bottom coming up just a bit also. The movement of your hands while gliding over the steering wheel is just barely perceptible and not annoying like the OEM wheel.
With the EP quick release and my custom made seat rails, it made getting in and out of the car very easy for me (6' tall and some "padding") and my sons (6'-4" tall with no padding).
The only think I did not like about the EP quick release is the fiddling required to get the wheel back on...it got to be a real PITA to line up the wheel to get it back on. I don't recommend the EP quick release for that one reason, but I do highly recommend the Momo 88 wheel with some other quick release system. My next quick release is the NGR Innovations.
https://www.driftworks.com/catalogsearch/result/?c...
You can throw the wheel back on any which way, then rotate the wheel until it locks into place. And it locks up real solid.
I like the Momo 88 wheel. It is almost symmetrical with the the flat bottoms coming out to either side just a bit and the bottom coming up just a bit also. The movement of your hands while gliding over the steering wheel is just barely perceptible and not annoying like the OEM wheel.
With the EP quick release and my custom made seat rails, it made getting in and out of the car very easy for me (6' tall and some "padding") and my sons (6'-4" tall with no padding).
The only think I did not like about the EP quick release is the fiddling required to get the wheel back on...it got to be a real PITA to line up the wheel to get it back on. I don't recommend the EP quick release for that one reason, but I do highly recommend the Momo 88 wheel with some other quick release system. My next quick release is the NGR Innovations.
https://www.driftworks.com/catalogsearch/result/?c...
You can throw the wheel back on any which way, then rotate the wheel until it locks into place. And it locks up real solid.
Not much to add to the above, except to note that the standard Elise wheel does not have a concentric mounting point. By which I mean the top of the wheel is further away from the mount (or the horn/badge bit) than the bottom. Whatever you replace it with, make sure you retain that. It's a key part of the Lotus steering "feel". The Momo team retains this feature.
I am 6'6". It's tight, I'll admit it. Vision at top of screen is a little limited-but that's perhaps psychological... Sometimes find myself bending forwards slightly for 'visibility', but in reality that's because there is usually sky above horizon in 'normal' cars and forward visibility is fine in reality. Harness helps squeeze me down a bit....Traffic light issue is real. But watch the bonnet for the reflection... Light travels fast enough to negate any delay!
Getting in and out is more difficult earlier in the day soon after getting up due to lack of flexibility... But you'll learn the technique. Watch Jeremy Clarkson on YouTube... he's just under 6'6" I think. That'll give you an idea of space and size. It's fine once in (for me, anyway).
I thought about selling a while back because of thoughts of impracticality (and my love for the car slightly damaged by a drunkard jumping on it and cracking the paint - he admitted causing damage, disputes extent and now pursuing civil case...he just tried to set it aside but judge dismissed... bailiffs will be brought back in). Run something old and cheap as a sensible (and very good) normal car - I recommend Honda Jazz!!
Anyway. I couldn't do the selling. The car is amazing. Was always a dream. So I put up with slight discomfort for an otherwise awesome drive. And will hopefully get money back for the paint repair at some point...
Getting in and out is more difficult earlier in the day soon after getting up due to lack of flexibility... But you'll learn the technique. Watch Jeremy Clarkson on YouTube... he's just under 6'6" I think. That'll give you an idea of space and size. It's fine once in (for me, anyway).
I thought about selling a while back because of thoughts of impracticality (and my love for the car slightly damaged by a drunkard jumping on it and cracking the paint - he admitted causing damage, disputes extent and now pursuing civil case...he just tried to set it aside but judge dismissed... bailiffs will be brought back in). Run something old and cheap as a sensible (and very good) normal car - I recommend Honda Jazz!!
Anyway. I couldn't do the selling. The car is amazing. Was always a dream. So I put up with slight discomfort for an otherwise awesome drive. And will hopefully get money back for the paint repair at some point...
I'm 6'2" and have a S1 Elise. I recently sat into a new Elise 220 in the Regent St Lotus store and disappointingly my head was above the top of the seat and was hitting the roll bar cover.
I fit perfectly into the S1 with its original seats, not the perfect car for longer trips but worth trying if you don't fit into the newer cars.
I fit perfectly into the S1 with its original seats, not the perfect car for longer trips but worth trying if you don't fit into the newer cars.
E34 said:
I'm 6'2" and have a S1 Elise. I recently sat into a new Elise 220 in the Regent St Lotus store and disappointingly my head was above the top of the seat and was hitting the roll bar cover.
I fit perfectly into the S1 with its original seats, not the perfect car for longer trips but worth trying if you don't fit into the newer cars.
That's the problem I had. I'm 6 ft 6 and a bit... I've had 2x S1 Elises, and I can fit. I did many, many long journeys in them just fine. I fit perfectly into the S1 with its original seats, not the perfect car for longer trips but worth trying if you don't fit into the newer cars.
But I hit the rollover bar cover on S2s and VXs.
Solution? Simple! Bought a 2-11.
TartanPaint said:
E34 said:
I'm 6'2" and have a S1 Elise. I recently sat into a new Elise 220 in the Regent St Lotus store and disappointingly my head was above the top of the seat and was hitting the roll bar cover.
I fit perfectly into the S1 with its original seats, not the perfect car for longer trips but worth trying if you don't fit into the newer cars.
That's the problem I had. I'm 6 ft 6 and a bit... I've had 2x S1 Elises, and I can fit. I did many, many long journeys in them just fine. I fit perfectly into the S1 with its original seats, not the perfect car for longer trips but worth trying if you don't fit into the newer cars.
But I hit the rollover bar cover on S2s and VXs.
Solution? Simple! Bought a 2-11.
). It's the extra padding in the later cars that makes you sit higher.Jodele said:
I've looked at and compared seat rails here http://www.britishspeed.com/forum/showthread.php?8...
I've built my own seat rails and gained a ton of room out of it...
Hello Jodele would I still be able to get that schematic of the low seat rails you have .I've built my own seat rails and gained a ton of room out of it...
Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff